On a lighter note....

Exactly a year after BarackObama was elected to replace him as president, GeorgeW. Bush was in Japan on Wednesday talking about his former life—in sports.

Bush, a former part-owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team, offered no assessment of choices facing his successor.

Instead, he dished out advice to Japanese university students about running a sports franchise.

“Now I’m retired, so I’m glad to be talking about sports,” Bush told an auditorium full of students and staff at prestigious Waseda University.

Bush was generally unpopular in Japan during his time as president because of opposition to the U. S.-led war in Iraq, but you wouldn’t know it from the warm reception he received. A cheerleading team performed stunts for him on stage and attendees eagerly reached out to shake his hand.

During his brief speech, Bush outlined key points for developing a successful franchise:Make sure the stadium has a pleasant environment; hire “good baseball people” to make key decisions about players; treat the media “as an ally, not an antagonist.”

But the best marketing is winning, he said.

“Problem is, it’s not that easy,” the former two-term president said.

“Beyond’ cool ...

Actor TomHanks says viewers are in for a realistic “wartime experience” when the new film he produced, “Beyond All Boundaries,” opens at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans on Friday.

The film will be shown at the museum’s new Victory Theater, which includes “4-D” elements such as props, simulated winds and shaking seats. Images from Pearl Harbor to the wintry Battle of the Bulge are shown on a 120-foot-wide screen.

The film incorporates vintage film footage, animation and sensory effects so audiences can feel the rumbling of tank treads and booming of anti-aircraft fire.

“This is not just a widescreen movie,” said Hanks, who narrates the 35-minute film, as well as an introductory video that will be shown as viewers wait to enter the theater. “There’s actual things that pop up, actual elements that come into it that put you in the environment.”

Victory Theater has been a highly anticipated attraction at the museum. The theater was built specifically for “Beyond All Boundaries” as part of a $300 million museum expansion that is expected to continue through 2015.

Two other additions—a canteen that will showcase musical revues inspired by USO-style productions and a restaurant called The American Sector that will be overseen by chef John Besh —are also opening Friday.

In the market....

BradPitt says he is in the market for a new motorcycle.

The actor, in Tokyo to promote his latest movie, “Inglourious Basterds,” said he trashed his favorite bike recently while trying to escape overzealous photographers.

“I had a little mishap,” he said. “No injuries, except my ego. I was trying to get away from some paparazzi and instead gave them a good story. It was my favorite bike, so that is really sad.”

“Inglourious Basterds,” directed by QuentinTarantino, premiered in Tokyo on Wednesday.