Ansel Elgort to star in drama series based on memoir 'Tokyo Vice'

by Rachael Merritt

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

WarnerMedia’s production of “Tokyo Vice” is set to bring an adaption of Jake Adelstein’s journalistic investigations into Japan’s criminal underworld to its streaming service.

The 10-episode series will star Ansel Elgort as Adelstein, who is a columnist for The Japan Times, as 25-year-old Elgort makes his television debut after a string of successful feature films that includes “Baby Driver,” “The Fault in Our Stars” and the “Divergent” franchise.

“Tokyo Vice” will be based on Adelstein’s 2009 memoir, “Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan,” which chronicles his experience investigating the yakuza at the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper.

According to entertainment news site Variety, Elgort will also act as executive producer alongside Emily Gerson Saines and Josh Lesher.

The show will be written and adapted by Tony Award-winning playwright J.T. Rogers (“Oslo”), and Destin Daniel Cretton (“Short Term 12”) will direct.

An unsuccessfully produced film adaption of “Tokyo Vice” was announced in 2013 and scheduled for production in mid-2014, with British actor Daniel Radcliffe from “Harry Potter” in the role of Adelstein.

In light of the lasting casting choice, Adelstein tweeted “My only comment: Mr. Elgort is a great guy and @stagewriter (J.T. Rogers) is brilliant. A good friend.”

Adelstein has been a regular contributor to The Japan Times since 2012, continuing to report on issues of crime, law and social justice in Japan via his The Dark Side of the Rising Sun column.

“Tokyo Vice” is the second official series from WarnerMedia, which has announced plans to grow its streaming service by incorporating HBO and Cinemax into its package in an attempt to gain a competitive edge in the lucrative streaming market.

LATEST ENTERTAINMENT NEWS STORIES

Actor Peter Fonda poses for a portrait on a replica of the "Captain America" bike from the film "Easy Rider" in Glendale, California, in October 2009. Fonda died Friday at the age of 79.

'Easy Rider' star, 1960s swashbuckler Peter Fonda dies at 79: Actor Peter Fonda, the son of a Hollywood legend who became a movie star in his own right after both writing and starring in the counter-culture classic "Easy Rider," has died. His family said in a...

Placido Domingo speaks at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles in 2014. On Tuesday, the LA Opera said it will hire outside counsel to investigate allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior by the opera legend. Domingo has denied the accusations, but noted: "Still, it is painful to hear that I may have upset anyone or made them feel uncomfortable."

European opera houses await LA sexual abuse probe into famed tenor Placido Domingo: While two U.S. opera houses immediately canceled performances by famed tenor Placido Domingo following sexual harassment allegations, European opera houses are taking stances ranging from supportiv...

Spanish opera singer Placido Domingo speaks onstage at his 50th anniversary celebration at the season premiere of Trittico at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City last fall. The opera great denied multiple allegations of sexual harassment Tuesday, insisting that he believed all interactions and relationships throughout his long career "were always welcomed and consensual."

Opera legend Placido Domingo defends himself against sexual harassment claims: Opera great Placido Domingo defended himself against multiple allegations of sexual harassment Tuesday, insisting that he believed all interactions and relationships throughout his long career "wer...