ARASHI TRANSLATION

+act. May 2018 - Director Miike on Sakurai: “The Charm of Sakurai Sho as Actor, as Human” (Abstract) Part 2

In terms of acting, he has some technical points that have improved. Though I am not sure if it is good or not… the biggest characteristic of his acting is that his ability to reproduce the scene is tremendously high. His acting is stable. No matter how many times he acts, at the same timing, he would act this, then this, then this… he did not practice for this. He is just able to repeat his acting many times “naturally”. I think he has gone through special trainings and has accumulated experiences that other actors don’t have. Because he has concerts every year in which he needs to perform on stage, check his position on stage according to the lighting, and perform in front of tens of thousands of people in a very tense mood… he has overwhelming sense of stability.

Therefore, he is also good at dubbing that can be said to be No.1 even in Japan. According to the situation of sound recording, a day or two has to be reserved for dubbing for changing the nuance of the scenes. In a long scriptline, in the phrase “though so, is should be ○○”, only the “though so” need to be dubbed (giggle). Even for such slight scriptline, he manages to connect the dubbed one to the rest smoothly, the timing of him saying the scriptlines and his partners saying the scriptlines is just inborn in his mind. Therefore, I just need to explain a bit and then he gets it and can straight go to dubbing and make it in one shot even he doesn’t watch the video clip. I think this is indeed one of his characteristics.

His “concentration” is beyond our imagination. He is totally concentrated at that moment. When they have live performance, once they have done it they would imprinted it in their mind. Like the choreography of the debut song which they have done many times, they would have no problem dance it now, right? Because these things are imprinted in their mind. Such ultimate practice is like Ichikawa Ebizo. It is like classical art performance. For us who work in movie industry, in the first place there is no such thing as “same thing”. There is no such thing as “same scriptline”, when a scriptline is said, “it’s done!” and then we put this scriptline aside and go to the next scene. But for them, they have to repeat what they have done… like dance the same song, sing the same lyrics, so they have to imprint what they have to do in their mind. This is indeed the marvel of Johnny’s. They have gone through the trainings since young and they are used to it.

He is an extraordinary person, very extraordinary. He makes others feel comfortable. He has good sense and sincerely work on his jobs… in entertainment industry there are many people who are just the opposite, who get attention that “they’ve done something skillfully” but actually they haven’t. But somehow… he is the type who lives earnestly and works earnestly. And he is not arrogant and takes every chance as challenge. He is interesting. In the future if there is such fate, of course I want to work with him again. Although it’s the same for all actors, when a work is done we’re like “I hope to work with you again”, but it doesn’t mean a promise. I can’t promise that I shall be directing in the future, perhaps he is the same too. … Especially it’s very tough to be leading actor. Even “just to be here” is a difficult thing… Especially for the leading actors, in addition to such awareness, if they don’t have the awareness and resolution of working to their earnest, they can’t continue to be leading actors. Among them, probably… he “is here”. He “is here” well “as ARASHI”, as well as “as Sakurai Sho in ARASHI” and “as actor Sakurai Sho”.

Sakurai-kun, frankly saying, is not the type with extraordinary personality. He has a sense of stability that he can be in anywhere. The character Aoe is also a person with no much characteristic. But because of this, Sakurai-kun has a lot of similarities. A person who loves geochemistry… this is such a big scale. A subject to study the university through the Earth with hundreds of million and billions of years as unit. And then to look for the joy, sadness, anger, sorrow, and fortune of people in it from this viewpoint. This is already not a viewpoint of either an actor or an idol. He has to draw himself apart from it and look into himself objectively. He can only act the character by looking into this. In this sense he has a lot of similarities with Aoe.

- - -
Director Miike on Sho:
Part 2: https://arashitranslation.dreamwidth.org/151842.html [Fin]
Part 1: https://arashitranslation.dreamwidth.org/151633.html

Sho-san’s individual interview:
Part 3: https://arashitranslation.dreamwidth.org/151343.html
Part 2: https://arashitranslation.dreamwidth.org/150521.html
Part 1: https://arashitranslation.dreamwidth.org/150190.html

(Do you write notes in your script?)
No.

(No? Not even drawing lines something like that?)
No. Same for the script of Sakiboku, it’s terribly clean (giggle).

(Unimaginable… that amount of scriptlines but the script is without note)
My scripts are clean. I don’t write anything at all on them. In the past I did write? But, perhaps those notes were not necessary. I also don’t know how to do it. I just read the script the same way as reading a book. And I get the whole picture of the whole story. And I remember the scriptlines only by saying them loud.

(Have you encountered occasions that you didn’t manage to remember the scriptlines?)
Even I had, there is no choice other than to remember them. Though I am often commented “you could remember your lines well”, how to say, this is the very basic thing of our works. Like if you go to a restaurant and the chef says to you, “sorry, we don’t have ingredients here”, you would respond “Ha?”, right? Prepare the ingredients, then think about “So, what cuisine would I make?”, this is the start line. It can’t be that I have no scriptlines in me, right? It’s not whether I can make it or cannot make it, it’s “nothing”. Therefore, there is no choice other than remembering the scriptlines well.

This time I didn’t prepare anything in particular for my character (giggle). Therefore, when I’m asked “how did you create your character?”, I have no idea. Well, though it was the same when I acted Principal (during Sakiboku). (bitter smile). Even I myself have no idea. Because I don’t think I’m trying to make any difference depending on my work. I don’t think much about tricky things. I only face my work one by one. Because I acted so in my previous work, it’d be bad if I act similarly this time…… I don’t have such thoughts. “Laplace” is “Laplace”. And the filming of the movie completed. And, “Sakiboku” and “Sakiboku”. I treat my works this way.

The hairstyle of Aoe is that we don’t want to hide the everyday Sakurai Sho. As a result, I may change my everyday visual. But it is not that I strongly “want” to do this. This time the hairstyle was also decided by discussion between Director and staff. (Take the promo leaflet of the movie and look at it) wa, “The most impact work of the year “Laplace’s Witch” dominates the GW!”! It’s scheduled to be roadshow at GW! What should we do with this!!

We watched the preview early February. When I filmed the movie I didn’t know how it would turn out. The completed work may be very different from what I thought when I first got the offer. Frankly speaking, at very first I thought “How can this work be made into movie?” Though there is CG, how should the story be shown to audience? When I watched the completed work, I thought “indeed this is movie”. I thought that if it was not in the format of movie this work could not be shown.

There was the feeling of scale in the dry ice scene which somehow couldn’t be seen in drama. The dry ice scene was interesting. We filmed that in a park in Tokyo and there was not a special waiting room. We just sat on the bench of the park to wait for filming. And it was weekend, and I saw my friend of same school year to carry his child to the park and he asked “Oo~! What are you doing here?” (giggle). And we had conversation like “I am filming a movie here” “Eh now, you are filming a movie!?”. We haven’t met long time. And what a coincidence that I met Hoshida (Yoshiko)-san, the director of “Tokio Chichi He no Dengon”, and I said “Just now I am filming the movie of story originally written by Higashino Keigo-san” (giggle). I am the type of person who frequently meets people coincidentally (giggle).

(What did you talk to Director Miike during preview?)
I told that the scenes which I didn’t know how to film were indeed interesting, and there were various great efforts made to the visuals and it was interesting, I told him my feelings right after watching the preview. Tomorrow I shall have a dialogue with Director, we may talk about various things.

(ARASHI members also praised a lot the movie poster saying Sakurai-san in the poster is a handsome man)
Hahaha! I flatter myself that I am handsome (giggle). We really took a lot of shots. The poster also made the green room during tour excited, members were saying like “look at this handsome guy!” (giggle).

(Even without reading the original work or with other information, this is a really interesting work to watch)
Yes yes yes, really so. Therefore, rather than “the movie delivers such message!”, “this remained in my mind”, same as “Yatterman”, it feels like riding on the roller coaster in amusement park. You just need to enjoy the time you watch it.

(Please do watch it in GW)
To dominate the GW……. It’d be great if it can be (giggle).

- - -
Director Miike on Sho:
Part 2: https://arashitranslation.dreamwidth.org/151842.html [Fin]
Part 1: https://arashitranslation.dreamwidth.org/151633.html

Sho-san’s individual interview:
Part 3: https://arashitranslation.dreamwidth.org/151343.html [Fin]
Part 2: https://arashitranslation.dreamwidth.org/150521.html
Part 1: https://arashitranslation.dreamwidth.org/150190.html

Aoe is like the trunk of a tree in this story. I was like the centre who met and interacted with various people. That was interesting. Though audience might not know this just by watching the movie, for instance, I and Shida Mirai-chan (the researcher of Aoe’s lab) only had a day together for filming… what’s more we had only few hours together. Almost like half day. Same for Lily Franky-san, we only had a day together for filming.

Because everyone is so impressive, when audience watch the movie, it gives an impression that they have been there all along. Speaking of my schedule, it is like today I had filming with Lily-san, tomorrow with ○○-san. Various people enter the filming by turn. This was very joyful. Of course when I read the script I knew about this (scene, setting etc.). but I don’t know how to make it. I was very joyful thinking about how all the actors would act with the information in their hands.

Tamaki-kun is handsome (heartily). Handsome to an extent that it seems not real. I thought “he is so handsome!” when I saw him (giggle).

I don’t mean that this work is wholly “Hirose Suzu’s work”, but in this work she somehow looked like an adult and indeed there were scenes that she looked kawaii too. In our free time we have been chatting all along and had training, so the moment the camera was on roll and she showed the expression of Madoka, really… not Aoe but there were lot of times I felt surprised. She showed new expressions. Though may be the same for the drama “anone”, I thought that she had many expressions to show.

It was the first time I acted with Lily-san. A role of that sort of feeling, right? He was a resolute character who did a lot of explanation. Though the scenes were tense, in-between the filming we have been talking about whisky (giggle), like “before you sleep you drink whisky mixing with hot water then you’ll have a good sleep”. I did it the night I was back home (giggle). In that sense, that sort of luxury was too much for me. I hope to film more scenes with Lily-san, also for Shida Mirai-chan and everyone, I hope to film more scenes with them.

Because there were so many splendid actors, I didn’t know how it would be until I really acted. Though I had certain preparation, it felt like I didn’t know how it would be until we faced each other. And I had total trust to Director Miike. I thought that he would tell me if anything went wrong. Therefore, I wasn’t really aware that I had to do something.

(After filming this movie you filmed Sakiboku) Yes yes, yes so. That was really a site that we filmed neatly one by one. Well, in that sense, last year I did many things that I haven’t done long time. I filmed movie, I filmed drama…… things like that. Really it was fun. Thought I might have done it since long time, I enjoyed a lot at the sites. How to say…… I reached the filming sites in a condition that I knew what was to be filmed, because I have read the script. Indeed it was interesting to think about “so, how would the actors perform this scene?”. On the contrary, I also reached the sites thinking “let’s act like this”, and acted straight what I planned. Not only when the camera was on roll, I made preparation, and then performed at the sites. What changed when I performed on site? I was happy experiencing this.

(Seems you say a lot about joy of acting). Um. Enjoy…… because there is no absolute answer, it was a difficult thing. Indeed no matter where I go, I am not “actor”. I am not in a position to talk about acting. If I am to say, it feels like “acting is difficult. But I enjoy it”.
(In that sense, though you also found acting was difficult in the past, comparing with past…) Um…… perhaps I like acting now.
(Though in the past you said “it feels that I am an outsider”) Yes. I started acting with a feeling “somehow I am not suitable to it, I am not……”. In that sense, I thought that I got to enjoy it. And indeed, that might be the period of time which I could enter the role. Though I was not really aware of it.
(Indeed that felt different from before?) Yes it felt different.

(From which work onwards did you feel something has changed?) (Thinking deeply) ……. “Blackboard” had big influence to me. Probably “Blackboard”, or “Kimi ni Sasageru Emblem” in which I experienced wheelchair. Such works which were based on real history or stories of real people might cast great influence on me. Because you got to go into the roles, you couldn’t make it without getting into the roles. I thought that cast big change.

Therefore, now of course I feel I am an “outsider”. Though so, I think the feeling of “enjoying” is bigger. Therefore, while I have both feelings, the feeling of “enjoying” might become bigger.

(Do you enjoy living the life of another person (by acting)?)
Uum. At that moment, rather than enjoying…… really I felt diving in their lives. When I looked back I “enjoyed” that time, but I didn’t feel “enjoying” when acting.

- - -
Director Miike on Sho:
Part 2: https://arashitranslation.dreamwidth.org/151842.html [Fin]
Part 1: https://arashitranslation.dreamwidth.org/151633.html

Sho-san’s individual interview:
Part 3: https://arashitranslation.dreamwidth.org/151343.html [Fin]
Part 2: https://arashitranslation.dreamwidth.org/150521.html
Part 1: https://arashitranslation.dreamwidth.org/150190.html

There was a scene which Aoe taught passionately, the contents were too difficult for me to understand. May be the same for the students who looked so bored listening to such difficult teaching (giggle). However, the role was not so scholarly, so I did not make the role scholarly but acted it naturally.

It is a story that Aoe does not move like detective but various geniuses are involved in an incident. Rather than portraying my own highlight scenes, my role is to pass the highlight scenes to those geniuses. It would be great if they would enjoy the involvement.

Because the waiting room is actually the room of the ryokan, I was in kotatsu reading newspapers and watching TV programmes, in free time I went to eat ramen…… I had more free time than in Tokyo, I felt like passing my time at ease.

Because the family of a friend of mine has a sushi restaurant in Fukushima, I sent sushi as refreshment. Though we respectively were to eat them when anybody has free time, Director Miike Takashi paused the filming at his discretion and we all ate the refreshment together. Such flow of time which was unique to movie was comfortable.

The role Madoka was bit too strong, right? (giggle) When I was relaxing at the hot spring hotel she suddenly came in and made a pushing request…… I think the role is excusable because this is acted by Hirose Suzu (giggle).

Suzu-chan has a frank personality. When she has free time she had training, we did dash and knee bend together. Because Aoe is a role that turns around on the palm of Madoka, perhaps we communicated in a way that resembled the relationship of our roles too.

I have no supernatural power at all. But when I was a child, there were several times that after I entered a shop which has no customers, suddenly the shop started to be filled with crowd, I thought “perhaps I have the power of gathering people……?” (giggle).

S: People often switch (for various tasks) right? I don’t do this, because there were many things that I wasn’t able to do, so I don’t push myself in various tasks but fit myself into them. In the morning I had filming on drama with post-war as background, from noon I had interviews with Olympics players, at night I had live news reporting, if I switched between tasks I couldn’t be able to make it in time (giggle).
 
S: When I get more and more works in my career, the works become easier. But I don’t want to work just as it is. It is for certain that when I act I steadfastly remember the scriptlines, when I conduct interview I drum the information of the interviewees into my head, if there is any study that is necessary to be a caster I steadfastly study it. If I don’t prepare I couldn’t even regret, right? If I have already prepared to my best, even it turned out not to be so good, such experience could become bread for my future works.
 
S: I have training day by day in order to stay physically active when I become 40, 50 years old. But I don’t think I want to look young by force. I feel like things signifying growth such as wrinkles and white hair would also lead to men’s coolness. Recently I become able to understand “taking rest is also part of the work”, and I occasionally spend my day doing nothing, but somehow it is difficult (giggle).
 
S: My role (in Laplace’s Witch) is a university professor made involved in a case related to the heroine acted by Hirose Suzu-san. Because it was a passive role, I was puzzled at first, then I thought about it and made the role for myself bit by bit. It’s the first time I worked with Director Miike Takashi again since “Yatterman” (2008). There are also many staff working in both films, I enjoyed working with them again in the atmosphere like class reunion.
 
S: I feel like I can be more motivated if I don’t know the future. But if I can know about future I may want to know my age (giggle). Because I want to keep going on so that I would not leave anything undone when I die.