AceShowbiz - Moviemaker Michael Mann was impressed with Ansel Elgort's preparation for new movie "Tokyo Vice", revealing the "Baby Driver" star studied journalism and Japanese to master his character.

The actor plays a newshound who clashes with a major crime boss in the new movie, which was six days into production in Tokyo when the coronavirus shut down the film, and Mann is keen to get back behind the camera after raving about his leading man.

"Ansel has been ferocious, in prep (preparation)," the director tells Deadline. "He wrote about three stories. Lowell Bergman, my friend from 'The Insider' (film), hooked us up with Jason Felch, who teaches journalism but was an investigative reporter at the LA (Los Angeles) Times, and James Queally, a great crime reporter at the LA Times. We spent a time in South Central, downtown, and Ansel did three different stories to learn the complications of that job..."

"He (also) threw himself in a four-hour, Japanese-language only classes every day (sic). After an intense four weeks, he can walk into a restaurant and have a conversation and Japanese-speakers say his accent is good..."

"I'm thrilled with what I'm seeing. It's a very immersive piece of work he's doing. That's what I wanted from him, and it's certainly what he's done."