Death Note Stage Musical Coming in 2015

A stage musical based on the popular Death Note anime/manga series is announced. This musical will run in Japan and South Korea in 2015.

American composer Frank Wildhorn (composer of Whitney Houston songs, The Count of Monte Cristo) and Natalie Cole is scoring the musical with Jack Murphy (The Civil War, The Count of Monte Cristo) writing the lyrics. Ivan Menchell (Bonnie and Clyde, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) writing the scripts.

Directed by Tamiya Kuriyama, a a recipient of the Japanese government's Medal with Purple Ribbon, this musical will play in Tokyo's Nissay Theatre in April 2015 and in Seoul's LG Arts Center in July and August 2015.

Lastly, the cast for this musical is not yet announced.

[Source: Anime News Network]

Russian Parents Wants Death Note Banned in Russia

Japan Times reported that a group of Russian parents complained to President Vladimir Putin via an open letter to ban the popular Death Note manga series. The reason for it is that they find the series harmful to children.

According to local media reports, a 15-year-old girl commited suicide by jumping from a window of her 13th floor apartment in Yekaterinburg on Feb. 20. She left 4 Death Note manga volumes and a suicide note before doing the act. The local police is investigating of a possible connection between her death and the manga series.

In the letter, the parents of the girl demanded that sales of the books and related DVDs be banned, arguing that the popular manga series is generating interest in death among children and it badly affects their emotional development.

All 12 volumes of the Death Note series were translated and published in Russia by 2012.

Iron Man 3 Director Shane Black Still Involved with the Hollywood Live-Action Death Note Film

Bleeding Cool had an interview with Iron Man 3 director, Shane Black about the current status of his other projects. One of this projects is the live-action movie adaptation of Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata's popular manga, Death Note.

The interview revealed that Mr. Black is still involved with Hollywood's take of the popular supernatural manga. Though there are no any updates about it, the interview revealed that he is dedicated in working on the Doc Savage movie for 3 months.

The last update we have for the Death Note movie was last October of 2011 during his Long Beach Comic Con panel. In the said panel, he revealed that elements of the original source material such as Ryuk and Light's transformation into the villain we know still exist in the upcoming movie.