everyone hates her extra-toothed head:
Sulky Erika Sawajiri not quite big enough to pull off prima donna pouting
Sullen starlet Erika Sawajiri has had to make a shame-faced apology after fans reacted with outrage to her petulant display at an event to promote her latest movie, Yukan Fuji (10/3) says.
The 21-year-old actress infuriated movie-goers last weekend when she gave nothing more than single word replies to prompts from an emcee trying to spark some life into the promotional event for "Closed Note," Sawajiri's new movie.
Irate fans were so embittered by Sawajiri's snooty display, they flooded the movie's official website with so many complaints its distributor Toho was forced to shut down the page.
Furor followed until Sawajiri had to eat humble pie and issue a possibly career-saving apology on the website of her talent agency Stardust on Tuesday afternoon.
"I've created a tremendous amount of trouble for all concerned and I'm terribly sorry," Yukan Fuji quotes the message posted in Sawajiri's name. "I was the cause of all the bad things that happened at the event and I intend to take responsibility for my actions. What happened proved to me that I still have a lot of growing up to do."
Onlookers suspected something was amiss before the greeting held in a preview of "Closed Note" at the Nichigeki Theater in Tokyo's Yurakucho district on Sept. 29 when Sawajiri turned up in a long, blonde wig and wearing a leopard-skin dress. Their fears were confirmed when she muttered a simple, "Thanks for coming," then folded her arms and stood silently with a snooty look on her face as events unfolded.
Emcee Miki Tominaga tried to gee up the young actress with plenty of prompts, including asking her what her favorite scene in "Closed Note" was, but Sawajiri merely snarled, "Nothing in particular."
Fellow cast members including Yuko Takeuchi, the movie's director and others appearing on stage with Sawajiri did their best to liven up proceedings, but the night had already fallen flat. Sawajiri made things even worse when she kept everybody waiting until she was ready when it came time for a group photo session.
Yukan Fuji notes that disgusted spectators let loose on Toho's "Closed Note" website.
"I was looking forward to the movie, but after what went on, I'm not going to see it now," one audience participant writes.
Another adds: "Who the hell does (Sawajiri) think she is?"
So great was the ill-will Sawajiri managed to generate, Toho shut down the movie's website, proving that not all publicity is good publicity. Movie industry pundits expect Sawajiri's tantrum will have adverse effects on the movie's box office.
Ripples stemming from the incident spread far and wide. Sawajiri was widely criticized in the media. And emcee Tominaga blasted her.
"We belong to the same talent agency, so I wanted to try and end things on a high note," the lowbrow afternoon tabloid quotes Tominaga saying in a message posted on her blog on Monday.
Yukan Fuji (10/3).Further unwanted publicity was generated when Tominaga's blog message was removed not long after she had posted it, once again drawing attention to the actress's antics.
Sawajiri posted her apology on Tuesday afternoon to try and quell the fuss. She'll get a chance to redeem herself on Saturday, when she's due to promote "Closed Note" at the Pusan International Film Festival, where fans hope she'll live up to her word.
"I think it's time for me to take a good, hard look at myself," Sawajiri says in her apology posted in Yukan Fuji. "I'm really, really sorry for everything that happened." (By Ryann Connell)
(Mainichi Japan�j October 5, 2007
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/culture/news/20071005p2g00m0dm005000c.html 
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