Tegoshi on Cinema Square Vol 30 - Translation
Scans credit to sailorocean
Summary: Interview with Tegoshi and Matsuyama Kenichi about the movie Dareka ga Watashi ni Kisu wo Shita ~Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac~, in which they talk about the characters they play, their impressions of each other and their experiences on the movie set. The Cinema Square staff also make an observation about the main character Naomi, that I happen to agree with!
Dareka ga Watashi ni Kisu wo Shita ~Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac~
Following from the cross-talk in the last issue between Horikita Maki, who plays the heroine in Dareka ga Watashi ni Kisu wo Shita, and director Hans Canosa, we present the cross-talk between Matsuyama Kenichi and Tegoshi Yuya! They talk to us about their image of the heroine, the characters they play, and their collaboration with a foreign director.
A fresh filming process, where only the director knows which is the ok take
Matsuyama: (Looking at the previous issue of this magazine) Have you watched Bandage?
---I haven't. Have you?
M: No, not yet. The director is a musician, right?
Tegoshi: Kobayashi Takeshi. Producer of Mr. Children and other acts. Has he ever directed a movie?
M: Nope, this is probably his first.
T: Eh-!
M: First works interest me.
---Because it is said that people throw everything into their first works.
M: That's right.
---This is an interesting topic, but this cross-talk will be about the work that the 2 of you have acted in. I'll be counting on you (laugh). First, please tell us about your collaboration with director Hans Canosa.
M: Hans is very clear about what he wants to do; right from our first meeting, he said "I want to try something new". I thought, it would be good if I could be of assistance to him in this, and perhaps I can learn something from this too.
T: What left a deep impression on me was on the first day we met, he said "I would like you to focus on the energy, and act as you deem fit." I myself thought about what Mirai's character would be like, like about his habit of taking his glasses off and blowing at them when he's nervous, and creating Mirai together with Hans was fun.
M: The background of Yuji, the character I play, is that he has depression. I often talked to Hans about how to switch between Yuji's expressions of frustration and depression. And, the cameras would roll from the first test shoot. I'd never encountered such a filming process before, and I found it really interesting. The fact that all the takes were actual takes, that's a first for me.
T: In addition, we didn't know which take he's eventually going to use. Usually, when I get the 'OK', I think "Ah, he's going to use that take", but with Hans, even after the 'OK', he would say things like "Can you add a bit more anger" or "Now can you make your expression gentler", and have different takes. So I didn't think about which was OK and which was NG, and I just put my trust in the director.
---What are your thoughts after seeing the finished work?
T: Because we didn't know which takes were going to be used, it felt fresh watching and realising "Oh, this was the one that was used!". This is the first time I watched a movie I was in so objectively. The i-frame was really pretty (a technique in which separate screens appear within the main image)!
M: I think Hans succeeded in doing everything he wanted to do. And, Tegoshi-kun's acting in English was excellent.
T: Thank you (laugh)!
Their image of each other is mature Tegoshi Yuya and manly Matsuyama Kenichi
---The characters you are playing both have a lot of personality. Do you think they are similar to yourselves in any way?
M: Yuji doesn't tear down the walls between himself and others, and seems like a distant person; if the walls are removed, everything about himself will spill out. Parts of him that are weak and spoilt etc. He has weak points that he can't control, even though he knows that they will make Naomi (Horikita Maki) suffer. It's easier for him if he never gets close to anyone, but yet doing this won't solve anything... I understand very well this conflict within him.
---From Tegoshi-san's perspective, do you think this is what Yuji and Matsuyama-san have in common?
T: I don't know much about what he is like in private so I can't really say...
M: That's true (laugh).
T: But everyone will have, to some extent, that kind of trait I think. For me, to someone with whom I have taken down all the walls, I will be able to talk about everything, like work and my private life.
---Then, what is Mirai like, compared to yourself?
T: The difference is, he can be calm towards the girl he likes... even though that's not what he really wants to do, he is able to calmly watch over her from the sidelines. I'm the type to just say the things I want to say (laugh). Tegoshi would have said "Why Yuji?", directly to Naomi. So while acting, I was thinking, "Mirai is mature". When Mirai blurts out his unhappiness with Naomi, which he had been suppressing, in the scene in the yearbook clubroom, that was the part I thought was more like me.
M: But occasions like this, when Mirai lets his emotions explode, are really rare; he's essentially a very mature person. Just from reading the script I could see that about him. I think it'd be nice if I could behave like that too, and I think Tegoshi-kun is also like that. Tegoshi-kun is really mature.
T: Is that so!?
M: Yes. He would answer all questions properly during all the interviews, without making a face. I can't do it.
T: Ahahahaha (laugh)!
M: Even when I want to try my best, apparently I will make a face without realising it...
---That's not true! (laugh)
M: I'll work hard (laugh).
---By the way, what is the impression Tegoshi-san has of Matsuyama-san?
T: We had very few scenes together in the movie, and even in the waiting room we would cross paths without meeting; so we really have no episodes with each other to speak of. But it is after the movie shoot, through the party to celebrate the end of the movie shoot, the poster shoot, and the many interviews today, that we are finally starting to understand each other bit by bit...
M: That's true.
T: So, at this point, the impression is "manly".
M: Really!?
T: From the appearance (laugh).
M: I've been told (by the people around me) that I'm "a woman inside".
T: Ahahahaha (laugh). Because I usually see you at official occasions. I will stay tuned for when I get to see the relaxed side of you (laugh).
What do they think of the woman initiating the kiss, and Naomi the little devil?
---I think, if she wasn't played by Horikita Maki, Naomi would have been like a little devil, or a girl disliked by other people.
M: Ah! During our free time just now, Tegoshi-kun and I talked about that. If you think about it calmly, she's kind of amazing.
T: Un. In reality, there are men who are toyed around by cunning women; because this is the charm of a woman, I won't complain about that. And I'm sure there are men who think it is their fortune to be toyed around. But, I would like to have an ordinary relationship without being toyed around. Thinking about it objectively, Naomi is amazing. 3 relationships (laugh). She's got a lot of energy.
M: Naomi is charming because Horikita-san is playing her (laugh). But I think, even if I had fallen for a person who everything thinks is outrageous, I wouldn't think so myself.
---The final question. This movie revolves around a kiss. During the press conference, Anton Yelchin-san said "men welcome it when women initiate the kiss too". What do you think?
T: I would be happy, but I still think the man should initiate. I guess I'm old-fashioned when it comes to things like that.
M: The party who wants to do it should just initiate. But both should feel that they "want to".
---Thank you very much!
Memo on the interview
They are rivals in the movie. But they actually have a frank relationship with each other
In the movie, they are rivals who compete for Naomi, played by Horikita Maki. Even though they didn't see much of each other on the movie set, they were able to face each other squarely, and the interview was carried out in a frank and open atmosphere. It seems that the similarity between them is how unguarded and candid they both are.
Check Point
1 New visuals to represent memories
The i-frame was used, which creates 3-dimensional images by lining up 2-dimensional images such that they extend towards the back. By overlapping the meaning embodied in each frame, the characters' feelings and memories are presented dynamically.
2 The romantic snow scene
During the shooting which was carried out between end-November 2008 and the beginning of January 2009, the coldest part was the filming of the scene where Naomi and Yuji played with snow. At the steps in front of the school where Naomi fell and lost her memories, the scene which formed the best memory for the 2 characters was filmed.
Report of the stage greeting
An impressive sight of young talents from America and Japan, lined up together on stage!
Horikita, Matsuyama, Tegoshi, Yelchin and the director attended the press conference and stage greeting held on 20 January. They talked about what they thought about the movie, the characters, and about acting in English. What was memorable during the exchanges, was Matsuyama looking at Yelchin warmly while the latter was speaking very quickly and passionately. "Although we had few scenes together, we had gone out together to drink, and I was happy that we were able to get along," Matsuyama said.
The director's talk about the movie's international releases also roused interest. "It is confirmed to be released in Hong Kong, a release is in the works in the US, and offers have come from Taiwan, China and Korea. I am happy that international agents have discovered Japan's young talents."
About the movie, they each made an appeal to the audience in their own words: "I think it's a romantic and beautiful movie about love" (Horikita), "I think the values towards love aren't that different between America and Japan" (Matsuyama), "I think it's a movie that described the kind of excitement and youth that I didn't experience during my own high school days." (Tegoshi), "I think it's a love story that also depicts an intelligent girl's search for herself" (Yelchin).
The shooting scene
Hans Canosa talks about how he casted the Japanese actors
I am a fan of Death Note (laugh). Kenichi's good at bringing characters that originally existed on paper to life. Yuya has the ability to make people love him, so I thought he would be able to play the difficult role of Mirai. For Maki, she talked to me about Japanese teenagers' thinking towards love. At that point, I just thought "That's Naomi!"
Just like the movie itself, the movie set was full of exchanges in both English and Japanese
Like what Matsuyama said, "Horikita-san was able to converse with the director fluently in English", Horikita's English language ability improved greatly during the shooting. But 2 translators were still needed on the set: one to translate the director's instructions, and the other to carry out simultaneous translation of the actors' lines into English. How great are the powers of concentration of the director, who had to watch the acting and listen to the actors' and translators' voices all at once!?