Apr 7, 2006 04:13 PM
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Hollywood, 11:12 AM
Tue Feb 9
56 posts in the last 24 hours
In most walks of life, a few minutes of niceties between two individuals in which subjects such as hair length and looking one's age are discussed would hardly be given a second thought. But when the two individuals happen to be Hollywood's most beloved leading man and the Prime Minister of Japan, the exchange instantly becomes international headline news, which we then regurgitate here, for you to read, ponder, then ponder why you are pondering moments before moving on to your next Friday time-killing activity:
Hair topped the agenda when movie star Tom Hanks met Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Friday, with the normally short-haired Hanks expressing admiration for Koizumi's wavy locks."You changed your look," an ebullient Koizumi greeted Hanks, who let his hair grow long for his starring role in the movie "The Da Vinci Code," which he was in Japan to promote.
"I wanted a hairstyle that looked like you," Hanks quipped, referring to the "lion mane" of wavy gray hair that has become one of Koizumi's trademarks.
During the brief, jocular meeting at Koizumi's office, the 64-year-old prime minister also told Hanks, 49, that he looked much younger in his films.
Hanks grimaced but quickly replied, "My children are constantly reminding me what an old man I am."
Later, he told reporters that he was trying to become a U.S. version of Koizumi, adding: "I'll be working on the gray."
Prime Minister Koizumi then explained that in his culture, when a guest remarks admiringly on one's hair, it is customary to sign one's DVD copy of You've Got Mail, which he just happened to have with him. Hanks obliged, on the condition that he be permitted to run his hands through the politician's flowing locks. The Japanese leader dutifully obliged, responding "Aveda Rosemary Mint conditioner," when Hanks pressed his nose to the strands and asked what that "bewitching scent" was.
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