MOVIES/TV Mark Schilling reviews the Shinji Aramaki-directed anime “Appleseed: Ex-Machina” for The Japan Times. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

MOVIES/TV Citizen-produced cable TV programs offering local information have been attracting attention as a way of revitalizing community ties, while also giving talented individuals a breakthrough they might otherwise never have had. [YOMIURI]

MOVIES/TV Promotional trailers, posters and leaflets for themovie “Sukiyaki Western: Django” were altered after Shinto shrine keepers protested against a scene in the movie where a man is hanged from a torii, it was revealed on Saturday. (2)

MOVIES/TV The Cinema Mode movie theater in Fukuyama, Hiroshima, are about to try out a brand new concept for movie-goers - where the customer gets to pay as much, or as little as he wants depending on how satisfied he was with the movie. (1)

MOVIES/TV The eight-month pregnant Yoshimi Asada, member of the comedy duo “Pirates,” is currently filming for a role in a semi-documentary film titled “Baby’s Breath.” The director has revealed he hopes to film Asada’s actual childbirth for the film. [TOKYOGRAPH]

MOVIES/TV The Australian government is pushing ahead with an ambitious plan to host a Japanese soap opera as a means of reviving tourist numbers from Japan. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

MOVIES/TV Mark Schilling reviews Takashii Miike’s latest movie, “Sukiyaku Western: Django” for The Japan Times. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

MOVIES/TV TBS and its subsidiary Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, Inc. handed out punishments Monday to 19 directors and 13 employees for their part in scandals relating to three TV programs broadcast in the past few months, it was learned Wednesday. [YOMIURI]

MOVIES/TV Starting Oct. 1, viewers in Japan will be able to tune in to such popular Home Box Office programs as “The Sopranos” and “Band of Brothers” via Jupiter Telecommunications Co.‘s cable TV service. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

MOVIES/TV Jin Akanishi, member of the popular boy band KAT-TUN, belonging to the legendary Johnny’s Entertainment talent agency, will play the lead role in the upcoming Nihon TV drama “Yukan Club.” This will be the first time Akanishi appears on a TV drama without the other band members. (10)

MOVIES/TV A 17-year-old boy suffered serious eye injuries after a baseball hit one of his eyes during an audition for an NHK drama. [MSN MAINICHI]

MOVIES/TV Beginning October 1, 80 episodes of HBO series including “The Sopranos” will be made available in high definition through Jupiter Telecommunications Co. J:COM on Demand, the largest multiple cable TV systems operator in Japan. [REUTERS]

MOVIES/TV Tourism bosses in the Lake District in North West England are expecting a flood of visitors from Japan after the release of the film Miss Potter in the country. [BBC NEWS]

MOVIES/TV Kyoko Fukada is set to play the lead in a one-episode drama titled “Aoi Hitomi to Nuage,” based on the novel by Keisuke Matsuoka in November. [TOKYOGRAPH]

MOVIES/TV Japanese director Takeshi Kitano will be the first winner of the Venice International Film Festival’s new “Glory to the Film Maker!” award, organizers have announced.

MOVIES/TV Actor Takashi Sorimachi will play the lead role in the Nihon TV-series “Dream Man” (tentative title), to be aired this fall, it was revealed on Tuesday. This will be the first time in three years that Soramachi appears in a TV-series, since the 2004 drama “Hotman 2.” (1)

MOVIES/TV Masamitsu Mizuno, manager of the independent movie house Shintomi-Za, thanks members of the audience for coming as he holds the curtain at the exit. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

MOVIES/TV Actress and singer Aya Ueto is set to take on her first role as a mother in a Fuji TV drama series this fall, tentatively titled “Wild Mama.“ [TOKYOGRAPH]

MOVIES/TV Mitsuru Akaboshi is a big man in the world of Japan’s little people, rising — metaphorically at least — from the streets of Saitama Prefecture’s gritty Hasuda to become arguably the country’s most famous midget actor. [MSN MAINICHI]

MOVIES/TV Popular 21-year-old actress and singer Aya Ueto attended a press conference ahead of the 2-part TBS TV-series “Wachigaiya Itosato”, to be aired September 9, 9 p.m) at the TBS office in Asakusa, Tokyo.