Shinoda’s most recent production is a historical thriller that focuses on the intriguing figure of Richard Sorge, the German newspaper correspondent who passed Japanese military secrets to the Russians during the early years of World War II prior to his capture and execution. A hero to the Allied forces, Sorge provided warnings to Moscow that German armies would attack the Soviets. Shinoda casts the Scottish actor Iain Glen as Sorge, in a demanding role that follows this complex figure nearly from cradle to grave. Released this past summer in Japan, Spy Sorge was a box-office hit and received several Japan Academy Prize nominations.