Takakura returns to bigscreen

Tokyo -- Actor Ken Takakura, an icon in Japan since the 1960s, is making his first pic in six years, "Anata E" (To You). Best known for his work in the gang genre, Takakura, 80, will star as a prison counselor who journeys to Kyushu Island to scatter his dead wife's ashes. Yasuo Furuhata, who has made 18 pics with the actor over the years, will helm, while Takeshi Aoshima is scripting based on a story by the film's producer, Seichi Ichiko. With a legacy of near 100 movies, Takakura has become very choosy about the projects he takes on. But he said he was deeply moved by "Anata E." Shooting will start on Sept. 7 and wrap in November. Release is skedded for fall 2012. In addition to his domestic work, Takakura has starred in several foreign pics, including Zhang Yimou's "Riding Along for Thousands of Miles" (2005), Fred Schepisi's "Mr. Baseball" (1992) and Sydney Pollack's "The Yakuza" (1974). Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com