Gantz Premiere (finally~)
First off, I know it’s been a while. I apologize; however, I make no promises to post again anytime soon. :p
So, if you’re reading this you’re probably not interested in hearing my ramblings, but rather information on the U.S. GANTZ premiere and all that it entails, so here you go....
Premiere:
We arrived at the Mann’s Chinese Theater at around 1:30ish, but the theater didn’t start lining people up ‘till around three. I would just like to say that it was fantastic seeing so many Arashi fans in one place. I really don’t know many Arashi fans in real life, so it was really cool to see a bunch of us assembled for the premiere. We entered the lobby and were lined up at the far end of a random hall way. Random, I know, but it wasn’t that bad, except for the heat, which sucked because it was also an extremely warm day outside. We were then lead by the theater staff (by groups of 20) to a long black table with signs for people to line up to based on their last name (A-F, G-O, etc). Here we received our ticket, free poster, and a notice about some event info. We then lined up to go INTO the theater, which, incidentally landed Starr and the rest of us in ANOTHER hallway…which kinda sucked because there were a lot of us lined up there in a hallway that felt like it had no air conditioning.
Around 4:30ish (not really sure exactly, it was between 4:15 and 4:45 for sure), our fabulous stars, Ninomiya Kazunari and Matsuyama Kenichi entered and we all were allowed a brief, but unforgettable look at these two beautiful men. <3 We were then seated. We received our GANTZ shirts just before entering the auditorium. The theater was… surprisingly warm, but still better than a hallway. There was a brief introduction of our stars by our MC and then the movie started. I’ll go into my comments of the movie later, as I’m sure most of the people reading this don’t care.
After the movie was over Ninomiya and Matsuyama entered again for the 15 minute interview that consisted of reviewed questions that were submitted from fans. The cameras stopped rolling and then we received an extra 15 minutes of Q&A. After that, the press took some photos (which I’m sure are fantastic) and then they took one big photo that included the audience. This was probably the best thing in the world and I am so glad we chose the seats we did. Basically we chose the very back of the orchestral seats and the photo was taken in that walkway in between the orchestral and the regular seats. Sooo… yeah, I was so close that if I wanted to touch Nino or MatsuKen, I could. It was the closest I could ever dream of being to anyone as popular as an Arashi member… and if I wasn’t sitting, I think I would have fainted. That’s pretty much the event in its entirety.
Movie:
Before anything else, I would just like to say bravo to the production team on this movie. Thank you visual effect artists, compositors, animators (and riggers, you know I love you <3), any lighting artist, and especially the artists who were responsible for the shaders/materials. I love you guys. You did a great job and you should be proud, because as a person deeply invested in the entertainment industry, I’m proud of you.
The movie was really something fantastic. The CG was really nicely done. In fact, the only criticism I have is with lightning.... which, in itself is not an easy task to perfect. My main issue was in one particular shot in the scene where the Nino is testing out his powers. The shot of him flying through the air looks a bit… awkward. Not really with the choice of the shot, but I think it was just something strange with the compositing. It just didn’t look right, perhaps some issue with the lighting on Nino vs. his surroundings (granted, the compositing wasn’t as bad as the last Indiana Jones movie… WHICH NEVER HAPPENED!!!). Or it could just have looked funny because it was in the theater and not on my computer or television. I guess we’ll see when the movie comes out to DVD.
Now, on to the dubs! …which were awful. Granted, I never expected them to be fantastic, but I really would have preferred subs. You can’t go wrong with subs. All of those people that say subs are a pain need to suck it up and just get used to reading subs. Now, you’re probably thinking, “Joyce, that’s not very nice, some people are illiterate or can’t read that fast.” We’ll, I just have to say “tough sh*t.” We DO NOT possess the same caliber of voice actors that Japan does, that’s the simple fact, and unfortunately it really plays down the drama and the emotional intensity of the feature when you use U.S. voice actors. If subs are really that hard, then read more subs; practice makes perfect, baby. I also know that a lot of people really are really unhappy with the dub, or unhappy with the reaction of the audience. However, in our defense, the dubs were SO BAD or so AWKWARD that it was just plain funny… and bit pathetic. So, thank you VIZ for the gesture, but please-I’m begging you-don’t dub part two. Please just sub it.
EVERYTHING ELSE!
First off, I just want to say that Nino is SO MUCH PRETTIER IN PERSON! …and, well, he looks good on the screen, too. So thank you, Japan, for making your men ridiculously good looking. He’s so pretty he makes me giddy and maybe a little weak in the knees. Men should not be this pretty (as it makes us ladies a little bit silly), but I AM THANKFUL FOR IT! I <3 you boys!
The second thing I would like to say is that for a long, long, long, long-pretty much forever-I have envied fans in not only Japan, but the rest of Asia. However, after seeing this premiere…well, I can’t say that I envy them any less, but I am happy. I’m really just grateful that I was able to see Nino from a pretty close distance… a distance that can be measured in feet and yards and still be a single digit. It’s… it’s…. amazing. And again, he’s so pretty. <3
Third thing, I am super glad we had this premiere… well… I mean, I’d also settle for this movie just being shown in theaters. Matsuyama was speaking about this in the interview (or Q&A) that he was really thankful that this movie was not set in the Japanese feudal/Samurai era such as the Memoirs of the Geisha movie; to this, I would have to say, I completely agree. Of course, I love samurais and geishas (especially geishas. Who doesn’t like pretty performers that can sing and dance and be all around delightful and entertaining?), but every movie can’t be like that. So, thank you everyone who worked on this movie-especially you, Mr./Ms. Producer, because if the film industry is anything like the game industry, you’ve have to put up with at least some crap to see this through.
Fourth thing, thank you to the rest of the Arashi fans out there who asked questions in the interview/Q&A. I really appreciate your effort in not making us look like tools by asking only questions to Nino. Seriously, thank you, and I love you guys. Now, let’s work towards getting some tours out here in the West!! <3
[/ramble]
So, if you’re reading this you’re probably not interested in hearing my ramblings, but rather information on the U.S. GANTZ premiere and all that it entails, so here you go....
Premiere:
We arrived at the Mann’s Chinese Theater at around 1:30ish, but the theater didn’t start lining people up ‘till around three. I would just like to say that it was fantastic seeing so many Arashi fans in one place. I really don’t know many Arashi fans in real life, so it was really cool to see a bunch of us assembled for the premiere. We entered the lobby and were lined up at the far end of a random hall way. Random, I know, but it wasn’t that bad, except for the heat, which sucked because it was also an extremely warm day outside. We were then lead by the theater staff (by groups of 20) to a long black table with signs for people to line up to based on their last name (A-F, G-O, etc). Here we received our ticket, free poster, and a notice about some event info. We then lined up to go INTO the theater, which, incidentally landed Starr and the rest of us in ANOTHER hallway…which kinda sucked because there were a lot of us lined up there in a hallway that felt like it had no air conditioning.
Around 4:30ish (not really sure exactly, it was between 4:15 and 4:45 for sure), our fabulous stars, Ninomiya Kazunari and Matsuyama Kenichi entered and we all were allowed a brief, but unforgettable look at these two beautiful men. <3 We were then seated. We received our GANTZ shirts just before entering the auditorium. The theater was… surprisingly warm, but still better than a hallway. There was a brief introduction of our stars by our MC and then the movie started. I’ll go into my comments of the movie later, as I’m sure most of the people reading this don’t care.
After the movie was over Ninomiya and Matsuyama entered again for the 15 minute interview that consisted of reviewed questions that were submitted from fans. The cameras stopped rolling and then we received an extra 15 minutes of Q&A. After that, the press took some photos (which I’m sure are fantastic) and then they took one big photo that included the audience. This was probably the best thing in the world and I am so glad we chose the seats we did. Basically we chose the very back of the orchestral seats and the photo was taken in that walkway in between the orchestral and the regular seats. Sooo… yeah, I was so close that if I wanted to touch Nino or MatsuKen, I could. It was the closest I could ever dream of being to anyone as popular as an Arashi member… and if I wasn’t sitting, I think I would have fainted. That’s pretty much the event in its entirety.
Movie:
Before anything else, I would just like to say bravo to the production team on this movie. Thank you visual effect artists, compositors, animators (and riggers, you know I love you <3), any lighting artist, and especially the artists who were responsible for the shaders/materials. I love you guys. You did a great job and you should be proud, because as a person deeply invested in the entertainment industry, I’m proud of you.
The movie was really something fantastic. The CG was really nicely done. In fact, the only criticism I have is with lightning.... which, in itself is not an easy task to perfect. My main issue was in one particular shot in the scene where the Nino is testing out his powers. The shot of him flying through the air looks a bit… awkward. Not really with the choice of the shot, but I think it was just something strange with the compositing. It just didn’t look right, perhaps some issue with the lighting on Nino vs. his surroundings (granted, the compositing wasn’t as bad as the last Indiana Jones movie… WHICH NEVER HAPPENED!!!). Or it could just have looked funny because it was in the theater and not on my computer or television. I guess we’ll see when the movie comes out to DVD.
Now, on to the dubs! …which were awful. Granted, I never expected them to be fantastic, but I really would have preferred subs. You can’t go wrong with subs. All of those people that say subs are a pain need to suck it up and just get used to reading subs. Now, you’re probably thinking, “Joyce, that’s not very nice, some people are illiterate or can’t read that fast.” We’ll, I just have to say “tough sh*t.” We DO NOT possess the same caliber of voice actors that Japan does, that’s the simple fact, and unfortunately it really plays down the drama and the emotional intensity of the feature when you use U.S. voice actors. If subs are really that hard, then read more subs; practice makes perfect, baby. I also know that a lot of people really are really unhappy with the dub, or unhappy with the reaction of the audience. However, in our defense, the dubs were SO BAD or so AWKWARD that it was just plain funny… and bit pathetic. So, thank you VIZ for the gesture, but please-I’m begging you-don’t dub part two. Please just sub it.
EVERYTHING ELSE!
First off, I just want to say that Nino is SO MUCH PRETTIER IN PERSON! …and, well, he looks good on the screen, too. So thank you, Japan, for making your men ridiculously good looking. He’s so pretty he makes me giddy and maybe a little weak in the knees. Men should not be this pretty (as it makes us ladies a little bit silly), but I AM THANKFUL FOR IT! I <3 you boys!
The second thing I would like to say is that for a long, long, long, long-pretty much forever-I have envied fans in not only Japan, but the rest of Asia. However, after seeing this premiere…well, I can’t say that I envy them any less, but I am happy. I’m really just grateful that I was able to see Nino from a pretty close distance… a distance that can be measured in feet and yards and still be a single digit. It’s… it’s…. amazing. And again, he’s so pretty. <3
Third thing, I am super glad we had this premiere… well… I mean, I’d also settle for this movie just being shown in theaters. Matsuyama was speaking about this in the interview (or Q&A) that he was really thankful that this movie was not set in the Japanese feudal/Samurai era such as the Memoirs of the Geisha movie; to this, I would have to say, I completely agree. Of course, I love samurais and geishas (especially geishas. Who doesn’t like pretty performers that can sing and dance and be all around delightful and entertaining?), but every movie can’t be like that. So, thank you everyone who worked on this movie-especially you, Mr./Ms. Producer, because if the film industry is anything like the game industry, you’ve have to put up with at least some crap to see this through.
Fourth thing, thank you to the rest of the Arashi fans out there who asked questions in the interview/Q&A. I really appreciate your effort in not making us look like tools by asking only questions to Nino. Seriously, thank you, and I love you guys. Now, let’s work towards getting some tours out here in the West!! <3
[/ramble]