Good Morning, World

This is just me putting a prayer out into the world that when The Movies start being "A Thing" again that Naoki Kobayashi, who I fell for and hard thanks to that Netflix movie Earthquake Bird ages ago, is in some of them. Happy Monday, everybody. (pic via)

HAPPY INDEPLAIDPANTS DAY!

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Thanks to MNPP friend The Futurist on Twitter for gifting me with the idea for a brand new MNPP Holiday -- InDePlaidPants Day! July 4th's never been a holiday I've had a ton of interest in, seeing as how I hate the summertime and most summertime activities on the one hand (although I do love hot dogs) and on the other too much blind patriotism tends to make my skin crawl -- having your very being politicized and debated for one's entire life will do that, funny enough. And so here, a thing we can all agree on! Hot guys wearing plaid pants, just like this website's name!

HAPPY INDEPLAIDPANTS DAY!!!!
(h/t @T_FUTURIST) pic.twitter.com/ipRj8uyI9l

— Jason Adams (@JAMNPP) July 4, 2020

I don't have a tag for photos of actors in plaid pants here on the site proper even though it's something I've always contemplated -- there are a lot scattered at this search link though, and there is a proper "Plaid Pants" tag on our Tumblr, you can  check out those modest archives over here. Next year, now that this idea exists, I'll plan a better bigger plaider day, but y'all do your part and go put on your own fave pair and together we'll celebrate InDePlaidPants right.

Today's Fanboy Delusion

Today I'd rather be...

... slamming Naoki against the net.

Tennis seems like a safe "social distancing" sport sort of kind of, doesn't it? Everybody stays far away from each other anyway. I guess it depends on one's paranoia about one person touching the ball and then that ball flying at the other person's face where the ball is then struck with great force, expelling whatever came with it into the surrounding area and yeah okay I have now totally talked myself out of tennis. Nothing is safe! It's for the best anyway because if Earthquake Bird actor and recent crush Naoki Kobayaski was standing opposite me looking like this all social distancing bets woulda been off. (pic via)

Naoki Kobayashi Two Times

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Today I'd much, much, much rather 

be road tripping with Naoki (pics via), 

that's for damn sure.

Naoki Kobayashi Twenty Times

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Da Man Magazine has just caught up with my new favorite J-Pop choreographer turned movie actor Naoki Kobayashi -- you might recall we got a little obsessed when the Netflix thriller Earthquake Bird with Alicia Vikander and Riley Keough and him came out last November -- and besides gifting us with a little chat with him in which he makes it clear he definitely wants to act more, thank goodness -- put him opposite Michael Fassbender immediately, world!!! -- they also gifted us with a small tonnage of photographs, which I will now re-gift to y'all right on after the jump...

Good Morning, World

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Any worry that I had going in to Earthquake Bird about my brand new crush on Japanese actor Naoki Kobayashi -- someone I'd never even heard of before a few weeks previously, but have since caught up on thoroughly -- might disappear once I saw him act went right out the window once I watched the movie this past weekend. The movie's only okay, but his charisma has charisma.

That dancing scene with Riley Keough glimpsed in the trailer is a real highlight -- you can tell the J-Pop star and choreographer was jazzed to be shaking it with Elvis' grand-baby. The movie itself gets less interesting as it goes along, diluting all the weird characterizations it introduces with some last act Lifetime simplifications, but the three leads (even Alicia Vikander, who's never been all that interesting to me before) weave together a weird little knot worth watching. Riley is, as always, a blast. Anyway to top that off Naoki shows a surprising amount of skin in the movie, which is why we're here just admit it, and you can take that in after the jump...

Good Morning, Gratuitous Naoki Kobayashi

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This marks our third post on Naoki Kobayashi, the J-Pop star turned model turned movie actor, in as many weeks -- see the first one here and the second one here -- which lets on that I've gone and worked myself into a frenzy; hopefully now that I can actually see him act in something he'll prove worth the effort beyond just the eye candy. Don't get me wrong...

... I like the candy. But the man has got such a fantastic face (and everything out from there) that I'm hoping he gives me a good excuse to keep obsessing for the long haul. But to step back, that "something" I can see him in (almost) now is Earthquake Bird, the Netflix film that's got him romancing both Alicia Vikander and Riley Keough, to menacing effect. It will hit Netflix Midnight tonight. (ETA Netflix has changed the release to November 15th, apparently. Boo!)

Whether Naoki gets more roles here in the U.S. remains to be seen -- the movies finally seem to be catching on to the sex appeal of Asian men here in the States a thousand lifetimes after everyone with working eyes has been long standing here on this spot, and all the roles can't go to Henry Golding right? But let's watch Earthquake Bird first before we get totally ahead of ourselves on Naoki, I suppose. 

Well let's watch Earthquake Bird and let's also look at the dozens of photos that I managed to dig up for this post... and then definitely get ahead of ourselves anyway. By the way a lot of these are off Naoki's Instagram, which I recommend following. But there's more besides all here on yonder after the jump...

Naoki Naoki, Who's There

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On Monday I shared with you some photos of the extremely handsome actor Naoki Kobayashi and told you of Earthquake Bird, his forthcoming Netflix flick with Alicia Vikander and our fave Elvis grand-baby Riley Keough -- I told you therein that the film is released on November 1st ...

... which I don't know if you've checked a calendar but is only three weeks from now! So it makes sense they're giving us a trailer today -- they might have done this sooner? Netflix always only seems to let us know that movies are coming like, immediately -- and now I shall share it with you!

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My favorite moment in the trailer is that dance scene...

... it hints at between Naoki and Riley -- is anybody else getting total Tokyo Drifter vibes from all the shots where Naoki's in that big suit? And Tokyo Drifter comparisons are never a bad thing.

Anyway I have a feeling that all of the highlights will be Riley oriented, but that could just be my bias. We'll see. The film was directed by Wash Westmoreland, who went from the gay porn comedy The Fluffer in 2001 to directing Julianne Moore to her Oscar statue with Still Alice in 2014 -- that man's had quite a career, I'd say. But I definitely trust him to shoot Naoki for all the prettiness he can wring from him...

Naoki Kobayashi Nine Times

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I'm as surprised as anybody that Elvis' grand-baby has become a signifier of film quality here in 2019 but if I see the name Riley Keough in a movie's cast I will now see that movie, no questions asked. No they haven't all been winners -- Hold the Dark with Alexander Skarsgard was a real slog -- but they've all been interesting at least, and when they have been winners they've been American Honey or Logan Lucky or Mad fucking Max. She's got a significant batting average.

Anyway all that's the long way to say that I only looked up the movie Earthquake Bird because I first saw these photos of this here gorgeous fellow Naoki Kobayashi in Esquire (via), which led me to his IMDb, which led me to the film. But as soon as I saw Riley's in it I had two reasons to see the thing, which hits Netflix on November 1st. Hit the jump to see the rest of this shoot, along with a bonus shot off of Naoki's Instagram you shouldn't miss either...