Leading Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano, whose latest film, "Mongol," was nominated for an Academy Award in the best foreign language film category, said he hopes the flick will win an Oscar later this month.

During a recent press conference in Tokyo, Asano, who plays the main role of Genghis Khan in the film, told reporters, "I'm happy that the film was rewarded with an Academy Award nomination because the shooting was very tough and took a tremendous amount of time. I'm praying that the film will win an award."

The film traces the life of Genghis Khan from his childhood days as a nomad through to the days when he established the Mongolian Empire.

The film was directed by Russian director Sergei Bodrov, who is known for such works as "Bear's Kiss" (2002) and "Prisoner of the Mountains" (1996). The shooting took place in China, taking seven months in 2005 and 2006 and cost about 5 billion yen.

Negotiations are still underway for the release of the film in Japan. The winners of the Academy Awards will be announced on Feb. 25 Japan Time (Feb. 24 U.S. Time).

Copyright 2005-2006 THE MAINICHI NEWSPAPERS. All rights reserved. Mainichi features the best news in Japan, current news in Japan, Japan news in English, Japan business news, Tokyo Japan news, and Japan entertainment news. Mainichi News is syndicated in accordance with editorial regulations: personal and noncommercial purposes.

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