What kind of watches do top celebrities choose? Celebrity Watch Hunting is a series of columns that showcases private moments of celebrities from around the world. This time, we'll be introducing the watch chosen by Philippe Lacheau, director and star of the film "City Hunter: The Movie," which was released on November 29, 2019!
City Hunter THE MOVIE: The Greatest Mission in History
City Hunter, which has just been adapted into a live-action film in France, is a popular manga by Hojo Tsukasa that began serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump in 1985 and was adapted into a TV anime series in 1987. In 2019, the first new anime film in 20 years, City Hunter: Shinjuku Private Eyes, was released in February, grossing over 15 billion yen, followed by the French live-action version, City Hunter: The Movie: The Greatest Mission in History, making this the year in which the term "City Hunter Year" was often heard.
Japanese release version dubbing voice actors
The voice actors for this dubbed version have been replaced by Yamadera Kouichi and Sawashiro Miyuki, replacing the duo of Kamiya Akira and Ikura Kazue. The rest of the main cast is the same as in the TV anime version.
Ryo Saeba: Koichi Yamadera
Makimura Kaori: Sawashiro Miyuki
Umibozu (Hayato Ijuin): Tesshō Genda
Hideyuki Makimura: Hideyuki Tanaka
Saeko Nogami: Shunsui Ichiryusai (formerly Yoko Asagami)
Philippe Lacheau
The director and lead actor in the live-action version is Philippe Lacheau, who we will introduce here. Born in France in 1980, he has worked in the country as a comedian, actor, and film director. The photo we have selected was taken at the opening ceremony of France's L'Alpe d'Huez International Comedy Film Festival in January 2016. It was around the time he was directing and starring in the hit French adventure comedy, Hya-Hya!
"City Hunter" was broadcast in France in the 90s. A long-time fan of the series, he sent a plot, proposal, and letter for a live-action version to the office of original author Hojo Tsukasa, and his enthusiasm was conveyed to Hojo, which led to the realization of this film adaptation. His passion can be seen throughout the film, from the use of songs played in the anime such as "Get Wild" to the appearance of "that" crow.
Let's take a look at his wrist. The logo can be seen on the sunray-finished blue dial. Philippe Lacheau is wearing a Baume & Mercier Clifton, which features a pointer date with a red-tipped diamond-shaped hand that displays the date, a triple calendar with windows displaying the month and day of the week, and a moon phase. This model is equipped with a Dubois-Dépraz module, and is a cost-effective watch priced under 50 yen despite being equipped with a triple calendar moon phase. It was released in 2013, and a white dial model has now been added.
Baume & Mercier "Clifton"
When adapting City Hunter into a live-action film, Philippe Lacheau paid homage to the original work by Hojo Tsukasa and made sure not to lose its originality. His approach of creating something unique while still maintaining the essential points seems to be evident in his choice of watch.
