Professional Luncheon:
Danny Glover, Actor & Executive Producer;
Saki Takaoka, Actress;
"The Harimaya Bridge"

The speech and Q & A will be in English & Japanese with simultaneous interpretation.

Legendary actor Danny Glover is joining the lengthening list of Hollywood movie makers setting films in Japan. Glover is the executive producer of "The Harimaya Bridge," now being shot on location in Kochi Prefecture.

Glover is one of Hollywood's most in-demand actors, noted for working in both blockbuster action movies as well as serious dramatic roles. He may be best known to moviegoers for his co-starring role in the "Lethal Weapon" action series. Other film work includes "Dreamgirls," "The Color Purple," "The Royal Tenenbaums," "The Rainmaker," and many others. He has also done extensive work in television, twice earning Emmy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor. His production credits include "Toussaint," "3 A.M.," "Good Fences" and "Buffalo Soldiers."

Hollywood seems to have discovered Japan in recent years with Sofia Coppola shooting her 2003 hit "Lost in Translation" in Japan and Clint Eastwood's 2006 WW II films "Letters from Iwo Jima" and "Flags of Our Fathers" set partly on Iwo Jima. And now "The Harimaya Bridge" is in production here. The film follows an African American man who comes to Japan to retrieve a collection of paintings produced by his son, who had been living in Kochi Prefecture until his untimely death. The father encounters both kindness and discrimination and has to confront his own troubled past. The movie wrestles with the issues of discrimination and reconciliation and seeks to help establish a candid dialogue between the Japanese people and African Americans.

Danny Glover will discuss the film and its message at this luncheon. He will be joined by former model turned-actress Saki Takaoka, who stars as the woman who was engaged to the son. Takaoka is a Japanese Academy Best Actress and Newcomer of the Year award winner and has more than 20 works to her credit.

Sandwich: Smoked salmon & avocado wrap, white onion, lettuce, cucumber & cottage cheese.
Hot Lunch: Sage marinated grilled chicken, herbed gnocchi, sauteed spinach & mushroom cream.
Dining Room Special: Herb crusted veal fillet, buttered parsnip, sauteed spinach & cabernet jus.

Saki Takaoka & Danny Glover