Erika-sama, Japan's Royal B****
 

A few days ago the cast of the brand new movie "Closed Note" were at a press conference. Erika Sawajiri is the star of the movie, but was NOT interested in doing anything to promote. You don't have to speak Japanese to see what a b**** she is being in this Entertainment News clip (and the fact that you don't even have to know Japanese to see what a b**** she is speaks volumes).

It's good to know that America isn't the only country with self-important mindless starlets, but it's also a little sad.

YouTube - 司会者にガンを飛ばす沢尻エリカ　映画『Closed Note』初日舞台挨拶

wow i was really surprised by that video!:eek: shes a really good actress because when i saw her in 1 litre of tears(which might i add was a very good/sad drama) she looked like a nice person in real life and her hair isnt very pretty in that "promotional" interview thing

A lot of the newscasters commented on her wig (which I guess she wears sometimes). For some reason she REALLY didn't want to be there. One rumor said she wasn't happy with an interview that happened before this press conference (either the same day or the day before) but when the interviewer heard that he was very surprised, and it was a very normal fluff interview.

The Japanese media and paparazzi are like sharks. If there is blood in the water they will strike, but in general are very star-friendly. Most media won't print pictures of stars in private moments UNLESS there is a scandal attached. In return, stars (movie, tv, music, etc...) are pretty open with the media. It isn't uncommon to see interview with famous people as they get off a plane from vacation. Instead of brushing the cameras away the good star will stop for a few minute to talk about his trip to Hawaii or where ever. It's a pretty healthy system. In a country like Japan, it's funny, privacy isn't as important to the individual, but is more respected. You just don't have the same privacy we do in the west (that's why public baths would never work here) but certain boundaries are respected, even by paparazzi.

That being said, this was a major promotional event for her starring role (at 21 years old) in a movie. She has gotten a lot of praise for "1 Liter of Tears", but this complete ass-out in front of the entire Japanese media confirmed many rumors of how difficult a person she is to work with.

I am not sure why it bugs me so much. I guess a part of me thinks that someone, like Elizibeth Taylor, who has been doted on for decades has a little bit of a right to be a prima donna. But someone who had been on a pedastal for only a tiny fraction of her life has taken a real chance to take a dump on the movie which should propel her to greater stardom. That's always so baffling to me.

I don`t know. Half of me feels really sorry for her. If she really had gone around to over 100 of these for the SAME movie, I have to say that I understand her feelings to an extent.
Sure, it`s part of the job, but she`s human too. Sometimes it`s hard to just ignore stress and keep that happy face.

Yes, I had seen that she was scheduled for 100 promotional events for this movie. And I do understand what you are saying, Nyororin.

But this looked like a big one to me. There was a ton of media in the theater there... I am guessing most of those 100 events were one-on-ones and visiting local TV stations. This looked like the one to have her A-game on at.

She may only be 21, but she isn't 6, and that's how she acted. This disdain in her eyes for the poor woman asking her such softballs as "Are there any scenes that stick out to you in particular" and having her answer "Not really" would be headlines in AMERICA if a starlet did that. And we don't even have this geinokai-media system. She might as well of taken a dump on the stage.

I am sure you know her story better than I do Nyororin, (though I did watch some of 1 Liter of Tears, and thought she seemed like a good enough actress), but I feel more sorry for her costars now. This is the Lindsay Lohan of Japan, it seems, and if history repeats...well...Lohan's last few films have tanked, no one wants to work with her, she has been in rehab for months, she is 21 and looks all of 40, and is about to have the career of a 40-year-old child star.

i think she has been known to be "outspoken", but i guess she went overboard on this one. I think she already issued a public apology for this incident, one show cited that their might be a problem with her talent agency . I have not seen her act though, but saw her on lots of commercial and magazine covers

*ALL* of the publicity events have a ton of media in the room. They`re all there to try to catch some sort of blooper, or some sort interesting comment that is said only at one PR event. Basically, the SAME media people also run around to all 100 of these things, and ask the same questions over and over to try to get a special answer.

Of course, this event drowned out any of her proper behavior at all the other events. To me, it just really sounded like she was fed up with the whole media fiasco. As it seems she really did act normally at the other events, I am going to try to give her the benefit of a doubt on this one.

I can`t say I`m a fan, but the Japanese media is CRAZY recently, so I feel for her.

I might be a little tainted by the bevy of American starlets who are breaking-down big time right now in Hollywood, so I am probably seeing this one with BEI-colored glasses. I do know that Japanese public people are worked to the bone. The American paparazzi is now a slave to the internet. Nobodys like Perez Hilton can become national media correspondents with a little saavy and a few exclusive pictures. Like Japan, in America EVERYONE carrys a camera all the time, so the value of the paparazzi has decreased, and then they need to make their photos more valuable by getting more exclusive shots.

You are very generous to give her the benefit of the doubt, Nyororin, and are probably sick of this story. I have only watched a couple clips on YouTube, so I don't know the scale of the impact in Japan, but I will say this. If she didn't want to go onstage THAT BAD, she could have said she had cramps or something, and it would have been out of the spotlight in moments. But when you get Wada Akiko calling you names on TV, you know you pulled a pretty big gaffe. The pressure, the media, the long hours...sure, but she wore that costume on stage pre-meditated, snapped her venom at people that didn't deserve it, and potentially damaged not only her own career, but the careers of the other actors and crew that worked hard on that project.

Maybe she is getting roasted, but she does deserve a little sting.

I did just hear she made a tearful apology (but I can't find it on YouTube).

I am not sure what her "talent agency" had to do with her perfomance at that press conference, though. If she was angry at her schedule, she should take it out on them behind closed doors.

The latest news I`ve heard on it is that she hadn`t slept for 4 days - morning, afternoon, evening, late night press conferences - scattered all over Japan - with little rest/preparation time between them.

Which is a big part of my feeling sorry for her. I can`t sleep, under any circumstances, unless I am able to lie down in a bed/futon. I snap after about 24 hours of being unable to properly rest. Of course, I`m not a star, but I think that if she lasted the 4 days up until then... it`s amazing.

as far as I know, the apology was in a form of a letter released by stardust ( her agency ).. it was said that it was posted on the web, i tried checking her website as well as stardust but it was not there.. I only catched the last part of the letter, so i don't know if she wrote the reason there or not..


4 days straight?? wow she is tough, I don't know if its the same week but she also did a commercial 2 straight days , so i guess the stress just get to her..

zzzz erika thinks she can get away with anything just because she has a nice face >.> LAAAZZZYYY

You can see the embaressment of her colleages, it's them I feel sorry for. They're the ones being PR donkeys as well but they're being professional still.

This was a pretty big gaff, who knows if she'll recover. I don't particually like her (not seen 1ltr of tears) so I won't be crying if she ends up in some late night semi porno show.

You know, even is she does have a hard schedule, I still don't think that excuses her behavior. If she had been falling asleep on stage, or wore sunglasses to hide the big bags under her eyes, OK, I get it. But she was being nothing short of nasty.

That's a side of Erika I haven't seen yet O__O
I'm amazed.... I love her music though ^__^

I don`t really think it *excuses* her behavior. I just feel a bit sorry for her that she was pushed into a position that caused her to snap. It doesn`t mean I approve of what she did.

I guess I just identify a bit because that`s the way I respond to heavy stress... And I can sort of see myself doing something similar in that situation. Not that I`d ever *be* in that situation, but still.

Of course, that`s only if she was doing it because she was very very stressed out, and not just because she was having a little fit. If that`s the case, well, she should be slapped - preferably by one of the other cast members.

I think it's kinda cool that Akiko Wada went off on her (too bad it wasn't to her face). But I agree, that dude who was standing next to her should have kicked her in the shin.

The sad thing is if the movie flops, it will all be blamed on her, and that is too much of a punishment, I think. (See I do have a heart...in here somewhere).

wow i dnt even knw the lady she's so stuck up in here
is dat a wig shes using?

Yes...it's a [terrible] wig.

i knew it no wonder she kept fixin it lol
maybe she jus acted lyk dat cuz of a bad hair day-or the wig was iching the hell out of her

No. More videos of her being a princess are popping up.

YouTube - SAWAJIRI ERIKA IS PISSED OFF Part 1

I guess that event wasn't the only time she decided not to answer questions.

until i read this thread i had never heard of this girl i watched the vid link at the start and her manner annoyed me alot, i cant understand japanese (exept that they said thankyou alot) but she made it clear she has her head up her A**....i think if she wasnt prepared to fake a smile for the sake of promoting her career then she doesnt deserve to be where she is. she needs to show more dedication to her fans because i am sure she lost quite a few over this vid^__^ if she cant act well enough to mask her mood she chose the wrong profession.

Now I am not in Japan, so I don't know all the details, but that is pretty much my take on it, too, Gunslinger. It is interesting to have an event like this happen so soon after Britney Spears' ass-out at the MTV Video Awards. I feel like American stars live on different planets than reality, but maybe that is true all around the world.

I was raised to be humble, and to treat everything I had as a gift. I think that's how most normal parents raise their kids, so for this B to be on TV and feel like the SUPER talent-friendly media is a bother is the upper eschelon of B-ness. The poor announcer is making up for her answers in a very uncomfortable and apologetic way.

"Were there any particular scenes in the movie that stuck out when you were filming?"

What a softball question. You film a movie for several weeks. Here's a chance to tell an interesting story about some on-set incident or anecdote.

Her answer: "Not really."

So the announcer, shocked, has to fill-in "None, really? How interesting. One might expect there would be."

This is 10 times as uncomfortable in Japanese as it is in the west.

sounds horrible i feel bad for the announcer......she is pretty though^____^ im guessing its more her looks than her "shining personality" that got her where she is.

Well, my guess is that like a Lindsay Lohan, she has a lot of talent, but not a lot of social skills.