TOKYO – Japanese multi-hyphenate, Takeshi Kitano unveiled his latest directorial effort, "Achilles to Kame" (Achilles and the Tortoise) on Wednesday at the Nikkatsu studio in Tokyo.

Pic stars Kitano as a talentless-but-dedicated artist who plugs along with the support of his long-suffering wife, played by Kanako Higuchi. Comic Yurei Yanagi and Kumiko Aso play the couple in their youth.

Shooting started on Feb 10 and is skedded to wrap in mid-April. Release is set for this fall. Kitano is also eyeing a world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, where he had his greatest triumph, winning a Golden Lion for his cop drama "Hana-Bi" in 1997.

"(The message of the film) is that even people without talent should live for all they're worth, facing reality -- it's a story about the harshness of the artistic life," Kitano said.

The script, also by Kitano, was inspired by what he described as his own "idiotic paintings that had piled up." "I thought 'why not use them in a movie?'" he said.

He also criticized the many Japanese pics based on novels, TV dramas and other source materials as "lacking originality." "A film should be made from an original script," he said.

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