Diva Velez

Brash and shocking as the subject it is based on, Netflix’s The Naked Director shows no sign of modesty in its second season. Delving further into the 'fall' part of the rise and fall of porn industry pioneer, Muranishi Toru, the series’ lead director, Take Masaharu, talked exclusively with LMD about the risks of taking a darker turn, how tried and true methods saved shooting during the corona pandemic, and the enduring inspiration of Tokyo street legend, Shinjuku Tiger.

A combustible erotic tale of two opposites drawn together by a shocking act, Netflix’s Ride Or Die is determined from its outset to push envelopes. Starring Japan’s It Girl, Dallas-born model, fashion designer/entrepreneur, Mizuhara Kiko, and former Gesu no Kiwami Otome drummer, Sato Honami, Director Hiroki Ryuichi challenges the two actresses with this deeply intimate story of love and obsession that tests onscreen sexuality and gender norms.

One of the Grande Dames of Korean cinema, Youn Yuh-jung has never been afraid of taking a chance. Her 1971 feature debut in Director Kim Ki-young’s psychosexual thriller, Woman of Fire,  sealed Youn’s reputation as a bold maverick amongst actresses. Nearly fifty years later, Youn makes her US feature debut as the matriarch of Minari, Director Lee Isaac Chung’s semi-autobiographical opus; a role which has already won Ms. Youn many awards and new fans around the world.