[translation] Yamapi in Cinema★Cinema vol.27
It's Yamapi again (￣▽￣)ノ
I apologize this took so long to post. After this I will try to see if there's anything interesting in Cinema Square and Only Star.
Yamashita Tomohisa in Cinema★Cinema vol.27
『Ashita no Joe』shooting report and long interview with Yamashita Tomohisa
Many thanks to kyara and watchful21 for the scans.
Please note: I sort of tried to guess the names. Other than Yamapi's (duh!) and Iseya-san's names, I'm not sure of the others ^^;; Sorry >.<
Please do not re-post. Linking is fine (^_^)
The ban lifted, finally!『Ashita no Joe』
Opens on February 2011
From the shooting location: Report & long interview with Yamashita Tomohisa!
Yamashita Tomohisa acts the lead role, Yabuki Joe, in the much-talked-about movie 『Ashita no Joe』.
Shooting took place this year from late March till May.
We went for a visit at the end of April at the Kawasaki location, so, along with the status report, we bring you the interview we had with Yamashita after the crank up!!
PART.1 SHOOTING REPORT
Joe & Rikiishi, bodies trained to the very limits
Splendid revival of the lively Korakuen Hall [ 1] of the 40's period of the Showa era [ 2]
An old gym with wooden audience seats installed crowded around the central ring. About 500 extras acting as audience, all of them wearing clothes and sporting hair styles of Showa's 40s era, and a revival of the atmosphere of the Korakuen Hall of that time.
On the ring are Yamashita Tomohisa, playing Yabuki Joe, and Iseya Yusuke, playing Rikiishi Toru. It's the fight climax scene between Joe and Rikiishi. On both their thin skins the very minimum sinew stands out, certainly boxers' bodies. Suffering more wieght loss than Joe, Iseya faced the measurement scene without eating or drinking for 4.5 days.
Rikiishi swings an upper at Joe, who has dropped both his arms loosely in his no-guard strategy, but Joe avoids it moving his upper body. That series of short movements is shot over and over from every angle. During the break, Director Sori Fumihiko rises on the ring and gives detailed guidance to Iseya's upper and Yamashita's dodging. The director that made his debut with 『Ping Pong』 producing a novel image expression, his pickiness about things can be felt everywhere.
Nonetheless a harmonious atmosphere spreads itself on location. During shooting breaks, as Yamashita starts doings push ups on the ring, Iseya fools around and strikes a pose pushing him down. When they see that, the audience cheers loudly, 「Joe, ganbare!」. That felt exactly like the energy-filled atomsphere of Showa 40's Japan.
PART.2 INTERVIEW
Acting as Yabuki Joe Yamashita Tomohisa
Both body and soul, burning until bright white, putting all himself into the shooting of 『Ashita no Joe』. As an actor and person, Yamashita Tomohisa looks back on the days that were extremely big in accomplishment.
I want to bring across Joe who's betting on boxing, and convey the importance of that one aspect
I went into this work with all the force I could give
Everybody knows 「Ashita no Joe」. Still now it's a national manga loved by many. Turning it into a live action will probably have pros and cons, first of all for me to play the role of Joe. That by itself gave me some distress and I felt a lot of pressure. Thinking of it simply as an actor, participating in such a work is very significant, and at the same time I'm very grateful for being chosen. I feel it's destiny that I came to know Joe and in that case I wanted to go for it with all my force. I had that positive feeling about it.
What I kept in mind while shooting was first to get close to it without damaging the original work. I think everyone, co-actors and staff members, felt the same way. After that was to hold about the same passion as Joe had. If Joe doesn't shine constantly even when he's not boxing then it's no good, don't you think? But I usually don't get irate, so it was a bit hard at first to keep having the same tension Joe has. As shooting progressed I was able to gradually link with Joe's feelings. Though because of that, even in my everyday life I'd get irritated at the smallest things (laugh).
The reason I was able to become as passionate as Joe is that the strength of the people around me is enormous. Kagawa-san and Iseya-san were several times, several ten times more passionate, and that passion just naturally pulled me along. Specially from an enthusiastic boxing fan as Kagawa-san, I received passionate direction both for boxing and acting. Saying things like, 「Joe! This is how you punch!」 「This scene with this sort of emotion!」 Certainly a partner, Kagawa-san was my Tange (laugh). Doing this with Kagawa-san has turned out to be a great asset. Iseya-san as well, doing the role of Rikiishi, telling me, 「Give it all you've got!」 was very reliable. As shooting went on, we gradually came to work smoothly together. At first I was scared of being hit, but that naturally turned into a 「I will not lose!」 feeling. That process resembles the emotions Joe has toward Rikiishi a lot. By punching each other adrenaline really starts flowing and we seriously give it our all.
In boxing scenes, if you take one wrong step you can end up with a big injury, so I paid a lot of attention to precision. At any rate, all scenes were physically hard. If you first eat it will show in the footage, so we usually can't eat before a match scene. Within that, everyday training and punching each other. ...well, one would lose his temper easily. I think there are many scenes in which we really snapped (laugh). What was strange, is that from a certain point onwards I suddenly stopped being scared of hitting and being hit. 「If you're gonna go at it, then do it!」 that sort of tension (laugh). I even lost consciousness of the camera's presence most of the time. Kagawa-san said, 「An actor is no good if he doesn't have some loose screws in his head」. I somehow came to understand that. I think it was a good experience, for an actor. I actually did do a little boxing before, but I came to like it more after working on this. When we were hitting each other for real, though we're not Joe and Rikiishi, there was sympathy between our hearts that went beyond words. When the souls of two men collide like that, it feels good after all. Most importantly because the body tenses up considerably. My abs even tightened quite a lot. I recommend this to people who want to go on a diet. ...it's quite tough to reach this point (laugh). The tough shooting ended safely without anyone getting injured, and right now I'm relieved. It would have been absolutely impossible with my own strength only. Thanks to the encouragement and collaboration I received from everyone, starting from Kagawa-san and Iseya-san, and the many people who cheered me on, I was able to do this. Specially the match scenes; many people came from morning till night, stayed on even after the originally planned time, and kept cheering us on. Along with feeling the strength of 「Ashita no Joe」, being able to finish this work together with everyone made me really happy. Even when I'm off the set, if conversation drifts on the topic of the movie shooting, different people encourage me saying, 「You're 『Joe』, right? Give it your best」. There's a good response that this will definitely be a good production, no doubt about it. Shooting has finally ended but there are still a lot of things to do with the director, like advertising. I want to wait for its completion and not forget Joe's emotions. ...though I don't think it's that easy to forget; it was so full of impressive events that when I look at scene photos my memory is refreshed suddenly (laugh).
Before the shoot, when I read the original work, I felt the goodness of the Japanese people back at that time. Everyone is so full of energy and has a hungry spirit. Specially Joe who suffered several setbacks but kept going on without giving up. I feel he lived his life for all its worth. All the more in the movie, it seems as if there's Tange saying to Joe, 「If you don't live your life for what it's worth, then there will be no tomorrow」. Those words made me reflect a lot; just as Joe poured all his strength into boxing, it's probably important to devote oneself to one thing. I think it's more neat to live like that rather than just live randomly day by day. That, more than anything, brings a better feeling tomorrow, don't you think? Comparing now with back then, we live in a time of material abundance and way too many choices. I think that living like Joe did amongst all this is difficult, but I want to convey the importance of that one thing that I felt during the shoot to all the young people. That sort of message that the original work holds, if it can get across to a lot more people this time through the movie, it would make us really happy.
---
T/N:
[1] Kōrakuen Hall (後楽園ホール) is an arena in Tokyo, part of Tokyo Dome City, which has hosted many boxing, professional wrestling and mixed martial arts matches. More
[2] Showa era: Starting 1926~1989. Showa 40's is from 1965~1974.
As I said in my note at the beginning regarding names, other than that of Yamapi and Iseya-san, I'm not sure of the others. I'm sorry about this (^^;) If I got one wrong, and you're sure of it, do tell (^_^)
Did you notice how the writer kept referring to Yamapi as "Joe" while he called Iseya by his name? XD
I apologize this took so long to post. After this I will try to see if there's anything interesting in Cinema Square and Only Star.
Yamashita Tomohisa in Cinema★Cinema vol.27
『Ashita no Joe』shooting report and long interview with Yamashita Tomohisa
Many thanks to kyara and watchful21 for the scans.
Please note: I sort of tried to guess the names. Other than Yamapi's (duh!) and Iseya-san's names, I'm not sure of the others ^^;; Sorry >.<
Please do not re-post. Linking is fine (^_^)
The ban lifted, finally!『Ashita no Joe』
Opens on February 2011
From the shooting location: Report & long interview with Yamashita Tomohisa!
Yamashita Tomohisa acts the lead role, Yabuki Joe, in the much-talked-about movie 『Ashita no Joe』.
Shooting took place this year from late March till May.
We went for a visit at the end of April at the Kawasaki location, so, along with the status report, we bring you the interview we had with Yamashita after the crank up!!
PART.1 SHOOTING REPORT
Joe & Rikiishi, bodies trained to the very limits
Splendid revival of the lively Korakuen Hall [ 1] of the 40's period of the Showa era [ 2]
An old gym with wooden audience seats installed crowded around the central ring. About 500 extras acting as audience, all of them wearing clothes and sporting hair styles of Showa's 40s era, and a revival of the atmosphere of the Korakuen Hall of that time.
On the ring are Yamashita Tomohisa, playing Yabuki Joe, and Iseya Yusuke, playing Rikiishi Toru. It's the fight climax scene between Joe and Rikiishi. On both their thin skins the very minimum sinew stands out, certainly boxers' bodies. Suffering more wieght loss than Joe, Iseya faced the measurement scene without eating or drinking for 4.5 days.
Rikiishi swings an upper at Joe, who has dropped both his arms loosely in his no-guard strategy, but Joe avoids it moving his upper body. That series of short movements is shot over and over from every angle. During the break, Director Sori Fumihiko rises on the ring and gives detailed guidance to Iseya's upper and Yamashita's dodging. The director that made his debut with 『Ping Pong』 producing a novel image expression, his pickiness about things can be felt everywhere.
Nonetheless a harmonious atmosphere spreads itself on location. During shooting breaks, as Yamashita starts doings push ups on the ring, Iseya fools around and strikes a pose pushing him down. When they see that, the audience cheers loudly, 「Joe, ganbare!」. That felt exactly like the energy-filled atomsphere of Showa 40's Japan.
PART.2 INTERVIEW
Acting as Yabuki Joe Yamashita Tomohisa
Both body and soul, burning until bright white, putting all himself into the shooting of 『Ashita no Joe』. As an actor and person, Yamashita Tomohisa looks back on the days that were extremely big in accomplishment.
I want to bring across Joe who's betting on boxing, and convey the importance of that one aspect
I went into this work with all the force I could give
Everybody knows 「Ashita no Joe」. Still now it's a national manga loved by many. Turning it into a live action will probably have pros and cons, first of all for me to play the role of Joe. That by itself gave me some distress and I felt a lot of pressure. Thinking of it simply as an actor, participating in such a work is very significant, and at the same time I'm very grateful for being chosen. I feel it's destiny that I came to know Joe and in that case I wanted to go for it with all my force. I had that positive feeling about it.
What I kept in mind while shooting was first to get close to it without damaging the original work. I think everyone, co-actors and staff members, felt the same way. After that was to hold about the same passion as Joe had. If Joe doesn't shine constantly even when he's not boxing then it's no good, don't you think? But I usually don't get irate, so it was a bit hard at first to keep having the same tension Joe has. As shooting progressed I was able to gradually link with Joe's feelings. Though because of that, even in my everyday life I'd get irritated at the smallest things (laugh).
The reason I was able to become as passionate as Joe is that the strength of the people around me is enormous. Kagawa-san and Iseya-san were several times, several ten times more passionate, and that passion just naturally pulled me along. Specially from an enthusiastic boxing fan as Kagawa-san, I received passionate direction both for boxing and acting. Saying things like, 「Joe! This is how you punch!」 「This scene with this sort of emotion!」 Certainly a partner, Kagawa-san was my Tange (laugh). Doing this with Kagawa-san has turned out to be a great asset. Iseya-san as well, doing the role of Rikiishi, telling me, 「Give it all you've got!」 was very reliable. As shooting went on, we gradually came to work smoothly together. At first I was scared of being hit, but that naturally turned into a 「I will not lose!」 feeling. That process resembles the emotions Joe has toward Rikiishi a lot. By punching each other adrenaline really starts flowing and we seriously give it our all.
In boxing scenes, if you take one wrong step you can end up with a big injury, so I paid a lot of attention to precision. At any rate, all scenes were physically hard. If you first eat it will show in the footage, so we usually can't eat before a match scene. Within that, everyday training and punching each other. ...well, one would lose his temper easily. I think there are many scenes in which we really snapped (laugh). What was strange, is that from a certain point onwards I suddenly stopped being scared of hitting and being hit. 「If you're gonna go at it, then do it!」 that sort of tension (laugh). I even lost consciousness of the camera's presence most of the time. Kagawa-san said, 「An actor is no good if he doesn't have some loose screws in his head」. I somehow came to understand that. I think it was a good experience, for an actor. I actually did do a little boxing before, but I came to like it more after working on this. When we were hitting each other for real, though we're not Joe and Rikiishi, there was sympathy between our hearts that went beyond words. When the souls of two men collide like that, it feels good after all. Most importantly because the body tenses up considerably. My abs even tightened quite a lot. I recommend this to people who want to go on a diet. ...it's quite tough to reach this point (laugh). The tough shooting ended safely without anyone getting injured, and right now I'm relieved. It would have been absolutely impossible with my own strength only. Thanks to the encouragement and collaboration I received from everyone, starting from Kagawa-san and Iseya-san, and the many people who cheered me on, I was able to do this. Specially the match scenes; many people came from morning till night, stayed on even after the originally planned time, and kept cheering us on. Along with feeling the strength of 「Ashita no Joe」, being able to finish this work together with everyone made me really happy. Even when I'm off the set, if conversation drifts on the topic of the movie shooting, different people encourage me saying, 「You're 『Joe』, right? Give it your best」. There's a good response that this will definitely be a good production, no doubt about it. Shooting has finally ended but there are still a lot of things to do with the director, like advertising. I want to wait for its completion and not forget Joe's emotions. ...though I don't think it's that easy to forget; it was so full of impressive events that when I look at scene photos my memory is refreshed suddenly (laugh).
Before the shoot, when I read the original work, I felt the goodness of the Japanese people back at that time. Everyone is so full of energy and has a hungry spirit. Specially Joe who suffered several setbacks but kept going on without giving up. I feel he lived his life for all its worth. All the more in the movie, it seems as if there's Tange saying to Joe, 「If you don't live your life for what it's worth, then there will be no tomorrow」. Those words made me reflect a lot; just as Joe poured all his strength into boxing, it's probably important to devote oneself to one thing. I think it's more neat to live like that rather than just live randomly day by day. That, more than anything, brings a better feeling tomorrow, don't you think? Comparing now with back then, we live in a time of material abundance and way too many choices. I think that living like Joe did amongst all this is difficult, but I want to convey the importance of that one thing that I felt during the shoot to all the young people. That sort of message that the original work holds, if it can get across to a lot more people this time through the movie, it would make us really happy.
---
T/N:
[1] Kōrakuen Hall (後楽園ホール) is an arena in Tokyo, part of Tokyo Dome City, which has hosted many boxing, professional wrestling and mixed martial arts matches. More
[2] Showa era: Starting 1926~1989. Showa 40's is from 1965~1974.
As I said in my note at the beginning regarding names, other than that of Yamapi and Iseya-san, I'm not sure of the others. I'm sorry about this (^^;) If I got one wrong, and you're sure of it, do tell (^_^)
Did you notice how the writer kept referring to Yamapi as "Joe" while he called Iseya by his name? XD