On Tuesday it was announced that Keisuke Matsuoka’s popular mystery novel series “Bannou Kanteishi Q” (All-Around Appraiser Q) will be made into a live-action movie titled Bannou Kanteishi Q: Mona Lisa no Hitomi with actress Haruka Ayase (28) playing protagonist Riko Rinda. Actor Tori Matsuzaka (25) will co-star as a magazine editor named Ogasawara who joins Riko as they investigate a mysterious incident. Shinsuke Sato (GANTZ, Library Wars) is directing the film.
Ayase’s character, Riko, was named the #1 most likable female character by Kadokawa Bunko and has broad appeal among a wide-ranging audience of readers. In addition, the film will be based on “Bannou Kanteishi Q no Jikenbo IX”, which was selected by fans as the best installment of the original novel series.
In the movie, Ogasawara is doing a story on Riko Rinda, a gifted appraiser who was recently appointed temporary curator of the Louvre Museum. Soon, they uncover a mystery which calls into question the authenticity of Leonardo da Vinci’s famed Mona Lisa painting. Eriko Hatsune has also been cast in the film and Hiroaki Murakami will appear as a representative of the Louvre.
Filming of “Bannou Kanteishi Q: Mona Lisa no Hitomi” began on October 16, and a large-scale shoot will take place on location in Paris, France in late November. The movie will be released by Toho in Japan in early summer 2014.
nipponcinema