Hiroyuki Sanada interview "The City of Your Final Destination" - Vol. 2

via www.youtube.com

Q. Some people say you are the "party boss" (enkai-bucho). Were you the one when you were "camping", and are you while you stay in L.A.?

HS. Well, I am doing pretty much the same thing in any company. This time, everyone else was with James Ivory for the first time, except for Anthony, but for me it was the second time, so I was a bit like a liaison, particularly till people got used to the environment. I am used to the "camp" like settings, but some people were not, so even though they have their own room, they still share kitchen, dining, and so on, and live together, they sometimes felt frustrated and started wondering why they had to do this. But I thought the director was doing it on purpose, to create the family-like atmosphere, just like the case in "Sunshine". It is particularly hard to work overseas, but if you overcome the obstacles together, the real teamwork would be made. So I preached the advantage of "camp" life to them. It is still only my second time with the director, but I learned the way of communication between him and the team members then, James Ivory style, so I also explained such things to others occasionally. As for parties, this time, I restricted myself from them this time, other than big official ones. Everyday I had to learn English lines, and sometimes it changes the day before filming, so I did not have time to organize parties. Instead, I massaged the director's shoulder everyday. Other people watched it and lined up saying "I'm next." (laugh) So this time I was not a party boss, but rather a masseur, a healing boss, maybe.

Q. Do you invite people to your house for parties?

HS. In Hollywood, I don't often invite people to my house. Of course there are lots of invitations to others' house or birthday parties, gathering up tens of people. But don't you think that parties over here don't need "party boss", like start without noticing and dwindle down without noticing, with no speeches or agenda? If you do that, people would feel awkward. So the Japanese style "party bossing" is not wanted here. So I do like Romans do when in Rome, according to each house or occasion. I am participating them as a learner of how to behave in them, in different kinds of parties, rather than a boss. But sometimes things don't go smoothly, or food does not get served on time, just because nobody says anything. In such situation, where if one person says something the things would flow, I sneak in and arrange things quietly behind the scenes, then go back like nothing happened and drink. So that is sometimes even more tiring than "bossing" myself. I feel more natural cheering up everyone with headband (laugh), but I am a learner now.

Q. Which city would you choose as your "final destination"?

HS. I still don't know, at all. I think the film is asking the same question to the moviegoers. I have been going to different countries, meeting different directors and working with different actors, and each time I have contact with different values and learn many things. Then I seek the next place to utilize them, wonder what city is the best place for that. I have been located in L.A. for some years now but it is not final. If I find the place for the next thing, I will go there, and I think I will repeat that step. This is not necessarily my final destination, and of course Japan is my home base, where I feel the more homesick the older I get. But I still want to go different places to learn more things, so I don't think about settling down in one place, but rather I would drift around like a gypsy (laugh) according to what is best for me at the time. And maybe the place where I fall on the ground is the final place (laugh), but I have no idea where it will be.

Q. So what do you like and dislike about L.A.?

HS. First of all, I love the weather, not too cold and not too hot, great for relaxing and training, although it is inconvenient that you cannot go anywhere without a car, but I like driving, so it is not too hard for me anyway. And as the biggest reason that I am here now, this is the place where all the movie industry people gather from all over the world and all the information is centered around here. If I get contacted, I can just go and meet the person in the afternoon easily. That is why I felt it is necessary to be here, and I am glad I am here, at least for now.

Q. What do you want to convey to Japanese movie industry people or actors, among the things you learned here in Hollywood?

HS. First when I started working here, I had troubles with different systems. There is no union in Japan, and over here, I feel protected but at the same time somewhat resticted. I sometimes feel a negative side effect of the system that is too much advanced. In that sense, I think that Japan has just started to open doors to the world, and there are lots of room for improvement, so I want people to take good points about Hollywood, and blend with the old-fashioned, gun-ho, craftsmanship and spiritualistic style in Japan, in a good way. If you do that, I think we can make a ideal culture. In addition, over here, the top people in many areas such as props or costumes, are excellent, but there are also many average people. In comparison, Japanese staff people have to manage with a lot less budget and time, so they have come up with many techniques and tips to rationalize the process, and I feel that they are really great in such creativity. In London when I did the live theater work, they told me that the work that London staff would do in two weeks got done by Japanese staff in 30 minutes so they would lose their job. The same thing for movie making. So I learn great things about Hollywood but at the same time I newly realized how high the level and the quality of Japanese staff members. It really hit me big time. So now that this side is opening up the gate to them, I hope that more people would feel confident to come and jump in here, and learn and build on it, and repeat this process to expand. I want younger people, including actors like me, to think that way.

May 01, 2010 in Actor | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Date: 2016-01-05; view: 759