More 2013.06 - Nino's 'It'
It's been a while, huh?
Enjoy!
- - - - -
It {一途}
Spring; the season of new things. Ninomiya Kazunari too has had the advent of 'something new'. Earnestly, he wonders - what sort of new path will open up before him?
Chapter #54
The Chosen
April marked the start of his first solo show, 'Nino-san'. For the span of 3 months, 5 directors would take turns in trying out different projects during this trial period. One will be chosen from amongst them to become a regular of the show. From the interview that took place at the midpoint of those 3.5 months, Nino commented, “I hadn't heard any of the particulars”.
“I hadn't met any of the directors before, but I'd actually worked with one of them almost 10 years ago. In one of Arashi's late-night shows, we had a surreal project called 'Would White Radish Seedlings Grow in an Afro?'. At that time, we planted some white radish sprouts on the head of one guy who had an afro. Incidentally, they sprouted, so Round 2 was a project called 'Would a Spider Spin a Web in an Afro?' (laughs). It'd be pretty interesting meeting him again in this form.”
You sound happy talking about that. Even so, in half a year the 5 will be whittled down to just one. It's not like you'll get to keep working with all of them.
“That won't be my doing. It'll be the choice of the viewers, won't it?”
To be able to speak so unhesitatingly of such a harsh reality comes from the fact that Nino has always been standing on an unsparing stage where you are either chosen or not.
“After I joined Johnny & Associates, I probably went for about 30 or so auditions. Since we didn't have any regular work in our teens, going for auditions was like a job in itself. I failed most of them though; I probably only got accepted to 2, maybe 3 of them? I think I only made it for the stageplay 'Stand By Me' and the drama 'Amagi Goe'.”
You speak of it so indifferently now, but for Ninomiya the teen, surely the experience of countless failures must have been frustrating.
“Not at all. After all, it wasn't like I went with the sentiment of wanting to be selected. The agency would tell me, 'Go for that audition' and I'd just follow the instruction. I mean, to me, the goal wasn't in the result of the audition; I just aimed to get there on time. After that, I just did as I was told there. I don't think I've budged from my stance of somehow getting through it without trying too hard.”
'To be chosen', that's something you have no control over.
However, although I never felt frustrated at failing an audition, there have been many times when I thought, “That's unreasonable”.
“There are auditions where you're simply told, 'Smile, please' and then when you smile, they tell you that the reason you've failed the audition is because fillings can be seen. So it becomes the problem of 'So it's just my teeth? They don't even look at your skill?' I privately swore never to work with people who took that stance. (laughs) To this day, I still haven't forgotten those unreasonable experiences, or the various others besides.
On the other hand, I suppose one of the most significant experiences of being chosen would be for 'Letters from Iwo Jima'. I had been at the training hall for one of Arashi's rehearsals when I happened to meet the boss and he remarked offhand, “Mind going for an audition for a war movie this time?” Since he'd just treated me to dinner, I simply replied, “Sure, can do” at the time and ended up actually going for the audition. (laughs) Clint Eastwood would be directing the movie, but I hadn't known it at the time. Apparently even the folks at the Agency hadn't known either. The day of the audition dawned and when I went there, the director wasn't there and it was just a video screen test. I was all like, 'If I don't meet Clint, then I won't be able to brag about it to my friends!' (laughs). As fate would have it, I ended up getting the chance to appear in it...”
Even from the start, you went for the audition to join the Johnny's Agency because your mother promised you pocket money. You didn't know how to dance and just went and hung around there by yourself and nevertheless, you were chosen. Hence, Nino naturally came to the conclusion that being chosen or not wasn't something you had any control over.
“Most people work hard with the intention of being chosen, and I think for the most part, those people do get chosen. But for me, I think the standard for being chosen has to do with whether the role suits you and whether the other party's wishes or timing fit. It's the same for everything. I feel like there's very little you can control. For example, we do VS Arashi without a script; it's entirely ad-libbed because at the end of the day, we can't predict whether we'd win or lose. Even if you wish for an ideal future, that does't happen in reality. Since that's the case, you can desire all sorts of things but it's best not to over-think things or worry; it's fine to just stay as you are. Just focus on the present.”
- - - - -
Kazunari Ninomiya
Born 17th June 1983 in Tokyo. 'Nino-san' started airing on NTV on the late-night slot. On the topic of 'Arashi Meetings' that came up in Sakurai-kun's 10,000 word interview on page 328, he said, “All of us have different personalities (laughs). Even without saying, amongst the three of us, Leader and I are the type who don't really think about the future. I think Aiba-chan is the type to really think about the subtleties though.”
- - - - -
>> 'It' column by Yoshi Rei from the June 2013 MORE magazine.
>> Photography by Emori Yasuyuki.
>> Scans from nepheliads.
>> 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 2013-06-22 19:15:00]
<< back || index || next >>
Enjoy!
- - - - -
It {一途}
Spring; the season of new things. Ninomiya Kazunari too has had the advent of 'something new'. Earnestly, he wonders - what sort of new path will open up before him?
Chapter #54
The Chosen
April marked the start of his first solo show, 'Nino-san'. For the span of 3 months, 5 directors would take turns in trying out different projects during this trial period. One will be chosen from amongst them to become a regular of the show. From the interview that took place at the midpoint of those 3.5 months, Nino commented, “I hadn't heard any of the particulars”.
“I hadn't met any of the directors before, but I'd actually worked with one of them almost 10 years ago. In one of Arashi's late-night shows, we had a surreal project called 'Would White Radish Seedlings Grow in an Afro?'. At that time, we planted some white radish sprouts on the head of one guy who had an afro. Incidentally, they sprouted, so Round 2 was a project called 'Would a Spider Spin a Web in an Afro?' (laughs). It'd be pretty interesting meeting him again in this form.”
You sound happy talking about that. Even so, in half a year the 5 will be whittled down to just one. It's not like you'll get to keep working with all of them.
“That won't be my doing. It'll be the choice of the viewers, won't it?”
To be able to speak so unhesitatingly of such a harsh reality comes from the fact that Nino has always been standing on an unsparing stage where you are either chosen or not.
“After I joined Johnny & Associates, I probably went for about 30 or so auditions. Since we didn't have any regular work in our teens, going for auditions was like a job in itself. I failed most of them though; I probably only got accepted to 2, maybe 3 of them? I think I only made it for the stageplay 'Stand By Me' and the drama 'Amagi Goe'.”
You speak of it so indifferently now, but for Ninomiya the teen, surely the experience of countless failures must have been frustrating.
“Not at all. After all, it wasn't like I went with the sentiment of wanting to be selected. The agency would tell me, 'Go for that audition' and I'd just follow the instruction. I mean, to me, the goal wasn't in the result of the audition; I just aimed to get there on time. After that, I just did as I was told there. I don't think I've budged from my stance of somehow getting through it without trying too hard.”
'To be chosen', that's something you have no control over.
However, although I never felt frustrated at failing an audition, there have been many times when I thought, “That's unreasonable”.
“There are auditions where you're simply told, 'Smile, please' and then when you smile, they tell you that the reason you've failed the audition is because fillings can be seen. So it becomes the problem of 'So it's just my teeth? They don't even look at your skill?' I privately swore never to work with people who took that stance. (laughs) To this day, I still haven't forgotten those unreasonable experiences, or the various others besides.
On the other hand, I suppose one of the most significant experiences of being chosen would be for 'Letters from Iwo Jima'. I had been at the training hall for one of Arashi's rehearsals when I happened to meet the boss and he remarked offhand, “Mind going for an audition for a war movie this time?” Since he'd just treated me to dinner, I simply replied, “Sure, can do” at the time and ended up actually going for the audition. (laughs) Clint Eastwood would be directing the movie, but I hadn't known it at the time. Apparently even the folks at the Agency hadn't known either. The day of the audition dawned and when I went there, the director wasn't there and it was just a video screen test. I was all like, 'If I don't meet Clint, then I won't be able to brag about it to my friends!' (laughs). As fate would have it, I ended up getting the chance to appear in it...”
Even from the start, you went for the audition to join the Johnny's Agency because your mother promised you pocket money. You didn't know how to dance and just went and hung around there by yourself and nevertheless, you were chosen. Hence, Nino naturally came to the conclusion that being chosen or not wasn't something you had any control over.
“Most people work hard with the intention of being chosen, and I think for the most part, those people do get chosen. But for me, I think the standard for being chosen has to do with whether the role suits you and whether the other party's wishes or timing fit. It's the same for everything. I feel like there's very little you can control. For example, we do VS Arashi without a script; it's entirely ad-libbed because at the end of the day, we can't predict whether we'd win or lose. Even if you wish for an ideal future, that does't happen in reality. Since that's the case, you can desire all sorts of things but it's best not to over-think things or worry; it's fine to just stay as you are. Just focus on the present.”
- - - - -
Kazunari Ninomiya
Born 17th June 1983 in Tokyo. 'Nino-san' started airing on NTV on the late-night slot. On the topic of 'Arashi Meetings' that came up in Sakurai-kun's 10,000 word interview on page 328, he said, “All of us have different personalities (laughs). Even without saying, amongst the three of us, Leader and I are the type who don't really think about the future. I think Aiba-chan is the type to really think about the subtleties though.”
- - - - -
>> 'It' column by Yoshi Rei from the June 2013 MORE magazine.
>> Photography by Emori Yasuyuki.
>> Scans from nepheliads.
>> 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 2013-06-22 19:15:00]
<< back || index || next >>