日本前首相小泉純一郎爲奧特曼配音
Japan's former premier Junichiro Koizumi, known for crooning Elvis Presley songs while in office, is lending his voice to a superhero movie, reports said Tuesday.
Koizumi, 67, has provided the voiceover for the extraterrestrial hero who fights not political opponents in the Diet legislature but monsters and aliens from outer space, according to the movie's producers.
Koizumi, now retired from politics, ruled Japan for more than five years until 2006, in contrast to his three conservative successors who each quit the post of prime minister within a year.
While in office, Koizumi displayed his media savvy by singing Elvis hits during a visit to Graceland, Tennessee, with then US president George W. Bush.
His performance will be in "MegaMonsterBattle -- Ultra Galaxy," which is due to be screened in Japan on December 12. His character fires a flash of light to attack evil enemies and shouts: "Pay for your transgression!"
"No one else can play this significant role except for former premier Koizumi, who once led the country," said Junko Kitazawa of Tsuburaya Production, which made the latest movie version to the TV series.
Koizumi first planned to decline the request to appear in the movie but changed his mind after his son, Shinjiro, who took over his seat in parliament in the recent elections, encouraged him to accept it, reports said.
Koizumi's eldest son, Kotaro, is a professional actor.
The Ultraman television series first appeared on TV in 1966. Ultraman, a silver-suited masked hero, comes from outer planet to save the Earth from gigantic monsters.
"The Ultraman series can be enjoyed by an entire family over three generations," Koizumi told Nippon Television.
據本週二的報道稱，曾在在位期間唱貓王歌曲而出名的日本前首相小泉純一郎將爲一部超級英雄電影配音。
據電影製片人透露，67歲的小泉將擔任影片中外星英雄的配音，不過這位外星英雄的敵人不是議會立法機關中的政治對手，而是來自外太空的怪物和外星人。
已退出政壇的小泉純一郎任日本首相長達五年多，直到2006年才卸任，與他的三個任職不到一年就辭職的保守派繼任者形成鮮明對比。
小泉在任首相期間訪問美國田納西州的格雷斯蘭時與時任美國總統喬治•W•布什合唱貓王的熱門歌曲，顯示了其善於利用媒體的一面。
此次小泉將在電影《大怪獸之戰——奧特曼銀河傳說》中擔任配音。該影片將於12月12日在日本上映。他所演繹的角色在攻擊邪惡的敵人時射出一道光，並大喊：“爲你們的罪過付出代價吧！”
圓谷電影製作公司的北沢順子說：“沒有人比曾領導日本的前首相小泉純一郎更能勝任這一重要角色。”圓谷製作公司已將奧特曼這一最新系列片的電影版製作成了電視劇。
最初小泉拒絕參演這部電影，但在兒子進次郎的鼓勵下，他最終接受了這一邀請。小泉進次郎在最近的日本議會選舉中接替父親，當選議員。
小泉的長子孝太郎是一名職業演員。
奧特曼電視系列劇於1966年首播。奧特曼是一個來自外星球的、身穿銀衣頭戴面具的英雄，他的使命是戰勝巨型怪物，拯救地球。
小泉在接受日本電視臺的採訪時說：“奧特曼是一部一家三代都能看的電視劇。”
Vocabulary:
croon: to sing (popular songs) in a soft, sentimental manner 柔情地唱（流行歌曲等）（croon a lullaby 低聲哼唱催眠曲）
voiceover: the voice of an unseen narrator, or of an onscreen character not seen speaking, in a movie or a television broadcast 畫外音，旁白
extraterrestrial: originating, located, or occurring outside Earth or its atmosphere 地球之外的，外星的
Diet:a national or local legislative assembly in certain countries, such as Japan （丹麥、日本等的）議會，國會
savvy: practical understanding or shrewdness 理解能力；悟性
screen: to show or project (a movie, for example) on a screen 放映（電影等）（This film is being screened at main cinemas in town. 這部電影正在城裏各大影院放映。）
transgression: sin or crime 罪過
