[translation] Yamapi in Cinema Square vol.33
Sorry for the delay. I promised to post this by yesterday but I sort of... overslept (;^_^>
I also promised highlights, but... there aren't any! There are only a few difference compared to the other 2 interviews, and they were random sentences that would have made no sense posted separately XD
So here's full translation:
Yamashita Tomohisa in Cinema Square vol.33
Location report and interview
Thanks to kyara and watchful21 for the scans.
Please do not re-post. Linking is fine ^^
the SHOOTING SCENE - report from location
Body driven to the utmost limits, and eyes shining brightly...
A Yamashita Tomohisa that we have never seen is right over there!
The legendary and famous comic "Ashita no Joe" gets a grand cast and a live action adaptation.
We infiltrated into the shooting of the most important scene; the fateful fight of Joe vs. Rikiishi!
In there, rather than the two actors, it's probably more appropriate to say the boxers, Yamashita and Iseya...
Even the extras admire their boxer appearance
This goes back to late April. A fine, cheerful day in early summer. A certain location in Kawasaki, "think spot KAWASAKI" is wrapped with steaming enthusiasm since morning.
In the center of the venue a red ring fully surrounded by audience (extras). Matching with Showa 40s era from the original work, people with retro fashion have come, which is splendid. But among those, we can spot male audience who like real boxing. This day, it's the climax of their performance; it's the shooting of the exchange between Joe (Yamashita Tomohisa) and Rikiishi (Iseya Yusuke). Both of them make their entrance with their finely trained bodies, a commotion arises naturally. Not a mere macho constitution, but bodies like steel, polished to the very limits. Sunken cheeks. And eyes shining brightly, as if starving for something! Both of them, having turned completely into boxers, face each other. Even though the camera hasn't started rolling yet, encouraging shouts of "Joe!" "Rikiishi!" keep flying about in succession. As if answering to that, on the ring they start practicing their push-ups and punches (<- really fast!). Needless to say they're the fictitious arch-rivals Joe and Rikiishi. However, at times, when Yamashita does push-ups, Iseya goes on his back, a happy service for the audience (?!). Gazing joyfully at them from the side of the ring is Tange (Kagawa Teruyuki) who seems like he's just come out of the manga. That outfit, which can only be said to be a perfect copy, takes 2 hours everyday to put together and is the result of sepcial make-up. Kagawa, famous for passionately loving boxing, made an enthusiastic comment: "I even have a feeling that, the 30 years during which I've constantly watched boxing, was all for the sake of this role." He sometimes gives movement advice to the both of them and addresses the extras lightheartedly; actively in movement from start to end.
The VFX (Visual Effects) makes use of a high speed camera (HS), which is typical of Director Sori Fumihiko. In the scene of an explosion of Rikiishi's upper cut, the HS camera-man moves the camera up and down slowly and shoots. Watching that from the edge seems somewhat surreal, but when it's shown on the monitor, it seems like a totally different thing! Iseya, with his 5% body fat percentage (!) jumps up and down, shaking Yamashita's long hair, which is a trademark of Joe... In another cut, sounds of admiration from the audience while Yamashita lands a high-speed punch that literally seems to cut through the air. Scene after scene, applauses well up and never stop till the very end.
Director Sori takes the mic and carefully explains to the extras what sort of movie this will be, and how long we'll have to wait to see it. The staff members as well shout out to the extras, "We'd like to borrow your strength for a little longer!" That's quite impressive. Treasuring the extras like that, a match scene loaded with a realistic feeling comes to life. With a great amount of respect to the original work, Director Sori challenges a new approach in this movie, through which his sincere spirit is conveyed.
Yamashita Tomohisa interview
Now that we're done shooting I'm just relieved it's over without anyone of the staff or cast getting injured. I'm finally at ease. It's a work that could not have been completed with my own strength and feelings only, I feel we were able to finish it thanks to everyone's support.
This time, adapting such a big and popular work into a live action, you're bound to have pros and cons. But making a movie out of it maybe somethings will be easier to convey, and all the staff did their utmost in order not to damage the original work. I myself felt a lot of pressure and was distressed about it at first. But since I was chosen to play the role of Joe, I decided to do all that I could for the role. The reaction around me was also amazing. Whenever I said, "I'm shooting a movie," everyone would say, "Oh I know. 'Joe,' right?" At those moments I felt that a lot of people are really looking forward to it.
The story's setting is the Showa 40s period when everyone was very energetic and had hungry spirits. I thought it would be nice if I could revive that feeling too, and, since I'd like for people even younger than me to watch this, I wanted to convey that passion. The passion of never giving up, lifting oneself up over and over again and living life for all its worth. Actually, the cast around me were really enthusiastic so I was pulled along gradually into those emotions. After a while of real punching with Iseya-san, who plays the role of Rikiishi, I started feeling like, "I'll never lose to you!" That's probably how I was able to link with Joe's growth.
There are a lot of things that were tough during the shooting (bitter smile). Before the mental difficulties, first came the physical ones. The day before a match scene, I could eat almost nothing, because otherwise it would show in the shoot. And with the everyday training I lost 5kg. I recommend boxing to anyone who wants to go on a diet (laugh). And when it's finally the match scene, you have to get in the mood and raise your emotions. There were times when I struck a punch for real (!). It was really hard to maintain that sort of feeling in me. I usually don't get angry, but while doing Joe I got irritated quite often (laugh). When you say things like "Ora~!" everyday, even if you go back to your normal life, you end up saying "Ora~!" there as well. Being angry everyday and keeping that burning fighting spirit was the hardest part, all in all.
Whenever we hit each other for real our hearts connected
In boxing scenes, if we took one wrong step it would end up in a big injury, so I paid a lot of attention and concentration on that. Actually, I got striked at the face several times, but I didn't think of what sort of job I had to do next. You can't do anything if you keep thinking of those things. Before a fighting scene, I did muscle training on the ring with Iseya-san, and that was also to enter the right state of mind. When you hit and get hit for real, you really get an adrenaline rush. Though to be honest, I was scared of hitting and being hit at first. Because it hurts (laugh). But Iseya-san would say, "Give me all you've got!" so our spirits gradually blended together, and we were able to do punch each other seriously. A weird emotion was born between us. A really odd one, hard to describe... Like our hearts connected when we took a swing at each other, things that are conveyed without the need for words. This was a first for me.
Kagawa-san, playing the role of Tange, told me, "Actors can't do it if they're slightly not right in the head." I understood what he meant fully. I realized that there are things one can't do unless one crosses the line. In my case, I crossed that line about 2 weeks after the shooting started. The motive was... that I got punched (laugh)? I'm not really sure, but around that time my fear of hitting and being hit just disappeared, and I even stopped caring about the camera. I think Director Sori was able to shoot that moment and didn't make me conscious of the presence of the camera. Shooting the same scenes over and over from all different angles, not eating... You'd really go crazy (laugh). There are several moments when I really flipped (laugh). I think those fight scenes would have been impossible without the presence of the extras. They were really cooperative from morning till evening! They stayed behind beyond the decided times and kept encouraging us. That helped me a lot in acting. I really felt we were creating this together, and the word "extra" just got a different meaning. They weren't extras anymore, but co-actors.
Meeting Kagawa-san for this was a great asset for me. Working together it felt like we were partners. He instructed me both on the boxing and acting levels. Kagawa-san has been watching boxing for over 30 years, so I followed his advice without thinking twice about it and I was able to go ahead according to what he said. Even for Joe's emotional side, he would even instruct me passionately saying, "Joe! Right now, this is how Joe is!" (laugh). Tange's line that goes something like, "If you don't live desperately for your life's worth, there will be no tomorrow," is still ringing in my heart. I think it's hard to dedicate oneself into a single thing in this wealthy era we're living in, but I'd be happy if people could realize the importance of that while watching this movie.
I also promised highlights, but... there aren't any! There are only a few difference compared to the other 2 interviews, and they were random sentences that would have made no sense posted separately XD
So here's full translation:
Yamashita Tomohisa in Cinema Square vol.33
Location report and interview
Thanks to kyara and watchful21 for the scans.
Please do not re-post. Linking is fine ^^
the SHOOTING SCENE - report from location
Body driven to the utmost limits, and eyes shining brightly...
A Yamashita Tomohisa that we have never seen is right over there!
The legendary and famous comic "Ashita no Joe" gets a grand cast and a live action adaptation.
We infiltrated into the shooting of the most important scene; the fateful fight of Joe vs. Rikiishi!
In there, rather than the two actors, it's probably more appropriate to say the boxers, Yamashita and Iseya...
Even the extras admire their boxer appearance
This goes back to late April. A fine, cheerful day in early summer. A certain location in Kawasaki, "think spot KAWASAKI" is wrapped with steaming enthusiasm since morning.
In the center of the venue a red ring fully surrounded by audience (extras). Matching with Showa 40s era from the original work, people with retro fashion have come, which is splendid. But among those, we can spot male audience who like real boxing. This day, it's the climax of their performance; it's the shooting of the exchange between Joe (Yamashita Tomohisa) and Rikiishi (Iseya Yusuke). Both of them make their entrance with their finely trained bodies, a commotion arises naturally. Not a mere macho constitution, but bodies like steel, polished to the very limits. Sunken cheeks. And eyes shining brightly, as if starving for something! Both of them, having turned completely into boxers, face each other. Even though the camera hasn't started rolling yet, encouraging shouts of "Joe!" "Rikiishi!" keep flying about in succession. As if answering to that, on the ring they start practicing their push-ups and punches (<- really fast!). Needless to say they're the fictitious arch-rivals Joe and Rikiishi. However, at times, when Yamashita does push-ups, Iseya goes on his back, a happy service for the audience (?!). Gazing joyfully at them from the side of the ring is Tange (Kagawa Teruyuki) who seems like he's just come out of the manga. That outfit, which can only be said to be a perfect copy, takes 2 hours everyday to put together and is the result of sepcial make-up. Kagawa, famous for passionately loving boxing, made an enthusiastic comment: "I even have a feeling that, the 30 years during which I've constantly watched boxing, was all for the sake of this role." He sometimes gives movement advice to the both of them and addresses the extras lightheartedly; actively in movement from start to end.
The VFX (Visual Effects) makes use of a high speed camera (HS), which is typical of Director Sori Fumihiko. In the scene of an explosion of Rikiishi's upper cut, the HS camera-man moves the camera up and down slowly and shoots. Watching that from the edge seems somewhat surreal, but when it's shown on the monitor, it seems like a totally different thing! Iseya, with his 5% body fat percentage (!) jumps up and down, shaking Yamashita's long hair, which is a trademark of Joe... In another cut, sounds of admiration from the audience while Yamashita lands a high-speed punch that literally seems to cut through the air. Scene after scene, applauses well up and never stop till the very end.
Director Sori takes the mic and carefully explains to the extras what sort of movie this will be, and how long we'll have to wait to see it. The staff members as well shout out to the extras, "We'd like to borrow your strength for a little longer!" That's quite impressive. Treasuring the extras like that, a match scene loaded with a realistic feeling comes to life. With a great amount of respect to the original work, Director Sori challenges a new approach in this movie, through which his sincere spirit is conveyed.
Yamashita Tomohisa interview
Now that we're done shooting I'm just relieved it's over without anyone of the staff or cast getting injured. I'm finally at ease. It's a work that could not have been completed with my own strength and feelings only, I feel we were able to finish it thanks to everyone's support.
This time, adapting such a big and popular work into a live action, you're bound to have pros and cons. But making a movie out of it maybe somethings will be easier to convey, and all the staff did their utmost in order not to damage the original work. I myself felt a lot of pressure and was distressed about it at first. But since I was chosen to play the role of Joe, I decided to do all that I could for the role. The reaction around me was also amazing. Whenever I said, "I'm shooting a movie," everyone would say, "Oh I know. 'Joe,' right?" At those moments I felt that a lot of people are really looking forward to it.
The story's setting is the Showa 40s period when everyone was very energetic and had hungry spirits. I thought it would be nice if I could revive that feeling too, and, since I'd like for people even younger than me to watch this, I wanted to convey that passion. The passion of never giving up, lifting oneself up over and over again and living life for all its worth. Actually, the cast around me were really enthusiastic so I was pulled along gradually into those emotions. After a while of real punching with Iseya-san, who plays the role of Rikiishi, I started feeling like, "I'll never lose to you!" That's probably how I was able to link with Joe's growth.
There are a lot of things that were tough during the shooting (bitter smile). Before the mental difficulties, first came the physical ones. The day before a match scene, I could eat almost nothing, because otherwise it would show in the shoot. And with the everyday training I lost 5kg. I recommend boxing to anyone who wants to go on a diet (laugh). And when it's finally the match scene, you have to get in the mood and raise your emotions. There were times when I struck a punch for real (!). It was really hard to maintain that sort of feeling in me. I usually don't get angry, but while doing Joe I got irritated quite often (laugh). When you say things like "Ora~!" everyday, even if you go back to your normal life, you end up saying "Ora~!" there as well. Being angry everyday and keeping that burning fighting spirit was the hardest part, all in all.
Whenever we hit each other for real our hearts connected
In boxing scenes, if we took one wrong step it would end up in a big injury, so I paid a lot of attention and concentration on that. Actually, I got striked at the face several times, but I didn't think of what sort of job I had to do next. You can't do anything if you keep thinking of those things. Before a fighting scene, I did muscle training on the ring with Iseya-san, and that was also to enter the right state of mind. When you hit and get hit for real, you really get an adrenaline rush. Though to be honest, I was scared of hitting and being hit at first. Because it hurts (laugh). But Iseya-san would say, "Give me all you've got!" so our spirits gradually blended together, and we were able to do punch each other seriously. A weird emotion was born between us. A really odd one, hard to describe... Like our hearts connected when we took a swing at each other, things that are conveyed without the need for words. This was a first for me.
Kagawa-san, playing the role of Tange, told me, "Actors can't do it if they're slightly not right in the head." I understood what he meant fully. I realized that there are things one can't do unless one crosses the line. In my case, I crossed that line about 2 weeks after the shooting started. The motive was... that I got punched (laugh)? I'm not really sure, but around that time my fear of hitting and being hit just disappeared, and I even stopped caring about the camera. I think Director Sori was able to shoot that moment and didn't make me conscious of the presence of the camera. Shooting the same scenes over and over from all different angles, not eating... You'd really go crazy (laugh). There are several moments when I really flipped (laugh). I think those fight scenes would have been impossible without the presence of the extras. They were really cooperative from morning till evening! They stayed behind beyond the decided times and kept encouraging us. That helped me a lot in acting. I really felt we were creating this together, and the word "extra" just got a different meaning. They weren't extras anymore, but co-actors.
Meeting Kagawa-san for this was a great asset for me. Working together it felt like we were partners. He instructed me both on the boxing and acting levels. Kagawa-san has been watching boxing for over 30 years, so I followed his advice without thinking twice about it and I was able to go ahead according to what he said. Even for Joe's emotional side, he would even instruct me passionately saying, "Joe! Right now, this is how Joe is!" (laugh). Tange's line that goes something like, "If you don't live desperately for your life's worth, there will be no tomorrow," is still ringing in my heart. I think it's hard to dedicate oneself into a single thing in this wealthy era we're living in, but I'd be happy if people could realize the importance of that while watching this movie.