Sion Sono is a favoured director on this blog. Two seasons and a whole load of reviews testify to that. I’ll admit that it’s primarily his horror films like Suicide Circle and Strange Circus that I love but recently he has branched out into serious topical drama and critical respectability with Himizu and Land of Hope, two titles that tackle the Great East Japan Earthquake.
News of his latest project has been revealed thanks to Anime News Network and it is an adaptation of Santa Inoue’s Tokyo Tribes manga. The manga is a seinen title which ran from 1997 to 2005 in the urban fashion magazine boon. It mixes US street culture with a future dystopian reading of Tokyo where different gangs control different territory.
I’m not really a fan of the manga but Sono is on the director’s chair. Furthermore he has 
created a YouTube channel for the film where open auditions will be held for the film’s cast. Both he and Santa Inoue have recorded messages about the project and instructions on how one can audition
To audition you must introduce yourself, “describe and demonstrate a special skill, act out a scene that includes their favourite character from the series, and give a message to the director.” Successful auditions at this point will get to audition in person.
It will be worth keeping an eye on this channel just to see what comes up from time to time. Shooting for the film starts in the summer!
