[Kimura Takuya] 'HERO'; PR event at Nippon Budokan

Kimura Takuya and fellow cast members walked a 50m red carpet yesterday at a PR event for the movie adaptation of his hugely successful TV drama "Hero". The event was held at the Nippon Budokan and attended by 5,000 screaming - and very lucky - fans. Demand for tickets had been such that some 400,000 people were less lucky. First aired in 2001, "Hero" is the most popular drama series ever for Fuji TV and was revived for a special last year. The movie version will open on September 8 on something close to the record number of 461 screens nationwide currently showing "Saiyuki", which stars fellow SMAP member Katori Shingo (30). (Japan-zone)