MORE 2012.08 - Nino's 'It'
More procrastination. Or should I say MORE procrastination?
Either way, enjoy!
- - - - -
It {一途}
Although there's a cynical reality to his words and his views, there is no sense of the everyday life present in them. What lies along the path that Ninomiya Kazunari has walked wholeheartedly up to now?
Chapter #44
A grim expression
"You never wake up in the morning, throw open the window and think 'This feels great!'. So in that sense you might say nobody really has a sense of everyday life[1]. (laughs)"
It is said that 'your room reflects you', but there is still no sense of his everyday life there. "First of all, I've very few things. In terms of decorations, there's Arashi's autographs. During our 10th anniversary since our debut, we signed 5000 limited edition autograph boards. They're numbered, but as for what number I have... I don't remember (laughs). And then there's the commemorative shield given to us for our drama 'Saigo no Yakusoku', coloured paper with a drawing by Matsumoto Taiyo-sensei and Leader's (Ohno Satoshi) Gandhi statue. As for scripts, I only have 'Letters from Iwo Jima' and 'Tekkon Kinkreet'. Ah, and there's the GANTZ suit stowed away somewhere (laughs)."
In other words, you don't have much attachment to things.
"When I was a kid I was addicted to baseball - I didn't even have hobbies like collecting figures or anything (laughs). I like taking photos, but I never print more than the number I want to give people. And then the rest is just data on my computer..."
A thought strikes him and he pulls out his mobile phone. "Here." He shows us an image. The photos are from Arashi's 4 consecutive years of concerts at the Kokuritsu Stadium. There's one taken during a rehearsal where they're having a meeting on the stage. The sun is setting; the stage is awash with light and their gazes are fixed on the yet unfilled auditorium. It's a shot which captures something that almost seems sacred.
"Precious, isn't it? (laughs) This was taken in our first year at Kokuritsu. That that time, we didn't know if we'd ever do another concert in Kokuritsu again. So all the members were taking photos too. That's partly why our rehearsals never went anywhere (laughs). What's interesting is that this photo couldn't have been taken by anyone but Arashi on that stage. The cameramen would go from the rehearsal straight to the real thing and could have taken photos of us right up until the green room, but at the end of the day, that would still have been taken from where the cameraman was - that's from his viewpoint, right? He wouldn't get a photo of the auditorium from the stage. On the other hand, I wouldn't be able to see a 5-person Arashi, so I wouldn't have been able to take it either! (laughs)"
If each person has a different position from where they stand, then their viewpoint also differs. If their viewpoint differs, then naturally, what they see and think will differ too.
"Same goes for a movie audience. This time, for the filming for 'Platinum Data', we didn't have the usual on-location interview. There are those who think that 'Platinum Data' is a movie with far more backstory than necessary, so the promotional staff discussed it with everyone. We want the completed work to be something that many can watch on its own; that's something that the staff and the actors are all agreed on. However, whilst thinking about the matter of promotion, for us, we have to first turn all our efforts to creating the work. Over and above that, the battle can be fought from the launch onwards."
Maybe when I get older, I'll become a 'scary person'.
"All things aside, while we're costing our extras precious time, we really want to try for efficacy while preserving the true essence of things. For example, there may be new ways to promote the work or cover events. Even challenging the norm with a different viewpoint, experimenting; that's not a problem for me. However, by saying these things, they probably think I'm a selfish little pest (laughs)."
That can't be helped. If need be, clear up the misunderstanding of Nino's thinking.
"Speaking of which, the legendary 'scary veterans' that used to exist on most sets seem to have become pretty rare, haven't they? Nowadays, I guess they go for harmless and inoffensive people. But is that really true? I've had opportunities to work on sets where there are a lot of older, scary people of the old-fashioned type. They'd be old actors who strongly assert themselves, occasionally lose their tempers and exude an intimidating air. Everyone would be terrified of them and pretend to respect them while keeping their distance, but I liked them. I figured there was a reason those old-timers put on a grim expression and purposely made the air sour. It was for the sake of saying things that were hard to put in words or making people aware of things that had no meaning even if spoken, wasn't it? We often talk about 'reading the atmosphere' but what's that really all about? To me, in order to intensify a piece or anything else, sometimes you need someone wise enough to understand that who can make a grim face."
So will Nino become a 'scary person' one day?
"I've still got seniors like that whom I can rely on, so there's no need for me to purposely make a grim face yet. Maybe as I get older, I'll become a 'scary person' (laughs)."
- - - - -
Kazunari Ninomiya
Born 17th June 1983 in Tokyo. The movie 'Platinum Data' is to be released in 2013. As noted in passing during the interview, Nino has, generally speaking, very few things in his room. "As much as I'd like to display souvenirs from the members, they mostly tend to be t-shirts (laughs)." What about gaming software? When asked, he replies, "I don't usually keep that many games. I only have about 2 games where I've clocked over 400 hours on. I do keep games with short-cuts that I'd play over and over again though." Naturally he'd get talkative about gaming...
- - - - -
[1] The phrase used is '生活感がない' which literally means 'no sense of life'.
If you say someone has no sense of life, it doesn't mean they're dead (or dead boring...). It means that they almost don't seem real; you can't imagine them taking a dump or getting roadrage or tripping over the cat or generally doing stuff that a normal person would do in everyday life.
If you say a room has no sense of life, then it's like a show room or a very spartan room that doesn't look like it's been lived in.
>> 'It' column by Yoshi Rei from the August 2012 MORE magazine.
>> Photography by Emori Yasuyuki.
>> Any corrections/suggestions/feedback? Feel free to give me a shout ^__^
>> Not too fussed about credit/re-use as long as no profit or harm comes from it.
>> More MORE
Sharing the Nino-love is much encouraged <3
[originally posted 2012-08-18 03:14:00]
<< back || index || next >>
Either way, enjoy!
- - - - -
It {一途}
Although there's a cynical reality to his words and his views, there is no sense of the everyday life present in them. What lies along the path that Ninomiya Kazunari has walked wholeheartedly up to now?
Chapter #44
A grim expression
"You never wake up in the morning, throw open the window and think 'This feels great!'. So in that sense you might say nobody really has a sense of everyday life[1]. (laughs)"
It is said that 'your room reflects you', but there is still no sense of his everyday life there. "First of all, I've very few things. In terms of decorations, there's Arashi's autographs. During our 10th anniversary since our debut, we signed 5000 limited edition autograph boards. They're numbered, but as for what number I have... I don't remember (laughs). And then there's the commemorative shield given to us for our drama 'Saigo no Yakusoku', coloured paper with a drawing by Matsumoto Taiyo-sensei and Leader's (Ohno Satoshi) Gandhi statue. As for scripts, I only have 'Letters from Iwo Jima' and 'Tekkon Kinkreet'. Ah, and there's the GANTZ suit stowed away somewhere (laughs)."
In other words, you don't have much attachment to things.
"When I was a kid I was addicted to baseball - I didn't even have hobbies like collecting figures or anything (laughs). I like taking photos, but I never print more than the number I want to give people. And then the rest is just data on my computer..."
A thought strikes him and he pulls out his mobile phone. "Here." He shows us an image. The photos are from Arashi's 4 consecutive years of concerts at the Kokuritsu Stadium. There's one taken during a rehearsal where they're having a meeting on the stage. The sun is setting; the stage is awash with light and their gazes are fixed on the yet unfilled auditorium. It's a shot which captures something that almost seems sacred.
"Precious, isn't it? (laughs) This was taken in our first year at Kokuritsu. That that time, we didn't know if we'd ever do another concert in Kokuritsu again. So all the members were taking photos too. That's partly why our rehearsals never went anywhere (laughs). What's interesting is that this photo couldn't have been taken by anyone but Arashi on that stage. The cameramen would go from the rehearsal straight to the real thing and could have taken photos of us right up until the green room, but at the end of the day, that would still have been taken from where the cameraman was - that's from his viewpoint, right? He wouldn't get a photo of the auditorium from the stage. On the other hand, I wouldn't be able to see a 5-person Arashi, so I wouldn't have been able to take it either! (laughs)"
If each person has a different position from where they stand, then their viewpoint also differs. If their viewpoint differs, then naturally, what they see and think will differ too.
"Same goes for a movie audience. This time, for the filming for 'Platinum Data', we didn't have the usual on-location interview. There are those who think that 'Platinum Data' is a movie with far more backstory than necessary, so the promotional staff discussed it with everyone. We want the completed work to be something that many can watch on its own; that's something that the staff and the actors are all agreed on. However, whilst thinking about the matter of promotion, for us, we have to first turn all our efforts to creating the work. Over and above that, the battle can be fought from the launch onwards."
Maybe when I get older, I'll become a 'scary person'.
"All things aside, while we're costing our extras precious time, we really want to try for efficacy while preserving the true essence of things. For example, there may be new ways to promote the work or cover events. Even challenging the norm with a different viewpoint, experimenting; that's not a problem for me. However, by saying these things, they probably think I'm a selfish little pest (laughs)."
That can't be helped. If need be, clear up the misunderstanding of Nino's thinking.
"Speaking of which, the legendary 'scary veterans' that used to exist on most sets seem to have become pretty rare, haven't they? Nowadays, I guess they go for harmless and inoffensive people. But is that really true? I've had opportunities to work on sets where there are a lot of older, scary people of the old-fashioned type. They'd be old actors who strongly assert themselves, occasionally lose their tempers and exude an intimidating air. Everyone would be terrified of them and pretend to respect them while keeping their distance, but I liked them. I figured there was a reason those old-timers put on a grim expression and purposely made the air sour. It was for the sake of saying things that were hard to put in words or making people aware of things that had no meaning even if spoken, wasn't it? We often talk about 'reading the atmosphere' but what's that really all about? To me, in order to intensify a piece or anything else, sometimes you need someone wise enough to understand that who can make a grim face."
So will Nino become a 'scary person' one day?
"I've still got seniors like that whom I can rely on, so there's no need for me to purposely make a grim face yet. Maybe as I get older, I'll become a 'scary person' (laughs)."
- - - - -
Kazunari Ninomiya
Born 17th June 1983 in Tokyo. The movie 'Platinum Data' is to be released in 2013. As noted in passing during the interview, Nino has, generally speaking, very few things in his room. "As much as I'd like to display souvenirs from the members, they mostly tend to be t-shirts (laughs)." What about gaming software? When asked, he replies, "I don't usually keep that many games. I only have about 2 games where I've clocked over 400 hours on. I do keep games with short-cuts that I'd play over and over again though." Naturally he'd get talkative about gaming...
- - - - -
[1] The phrase used is '生活感がない' which literally means 'no sense of life'.
If you say someone has no sense of life, it doesn't mean they're dead (or dead boring...). It means that they almost don't seem real; you can't imagine them taking a dump or getting roadrage or tripping over the cat or generally doing stuff that a normal person would do in everyday life.
If you say a room has no sense of life, then it's like a show room or a very spartan room that doesn't look like it's been lived in.
>> 'It' column by Yoshi Rei from the August 2012 MORE magazine.
>> Photography by Emori Yasuyuki.
>> Any corrections/suggestions/feedback? Feel free to give me a shout ^__^
>> Not too fussed about credit/re-use as long as no profit or harm comes from it.
>> More MORE
Sharing the Nino-love is much encouraged <3
[originally posted 2012-08-18 03:14:00]
<< back || index || next >>