Hiroyuki Sanada News

Speed Racer Premiere Report (4) He heard us!!

Well, I got to finish this story, which I started 2 month ago...  sorry for a HUGE delay.

After the exciting luncheon and a short walk, we arrived at the Tokyo Dome gate.  It was still raining lightly.  We were a bit nervous because we did not know whether we could sit together in the Dome at all.

So we had enough number of "tickets" which RinRin obtained from somewhere.  As mentioned before, she never told us how she got them, but I noticed that they were marked as "Yokohama Tire", the biggest sponsor for the movie in Japan.  Anyway, they were not exactly the tickets, with seat assignments.  They were coupons to be exchanged with two tickets at the gate.  And since we were not sure about the procedure, we did not know if we can exchange the bundle of coupons to a block of seats, for about 20 of us altogether.

Luckily, we could.  At the ticket counter, set under the tent in front of the Dome gate, three of the team members held all the coupons and exchanged them for a block of seats.  It was on 2nd floor, not very close to the stage, but almost right in the center, the perfect place to watch the screen in the middle.

There was still some time until the starting time, so we split up for the moment.  Taiwanese team and some others who traveled long went back to their hotel, others on day trip took a refugee from the rain in coffee shops.  I was sipping lemon soda with RinRin, Akira and some other members in a coffee shop in a nearby hotel.

A little before the event started, we were all back at the Tokyo Dome gate.  People have started to shuffle in.  Then, out of blue, someone came to talked to RinRin.  It was one of the Rain fans.  I am not even sure whether RinRin knew her before or not, but anyway, this Rain fan gave RinRin 3 "arena" coupons, saying that some of her friends could not make it and she did not want to waste them.

Then we realized that the "good" tickets had probably systematically distributed to Rain fans through a secret channel.  But it was already official that Rain was not coming to the event, and appearantly lots of fans did not show up because of that.  It was not fair...

So anyway we at least had 6 seats in the arena, where you could have a direct access to the stars on the show floor.  RinRin offered them first to Taiwanese fans, but they did not want to take the offer, saying that they would rather sit with the rest of us, as it was more fun.  Most of other Japanese fans felt the same way.

But DITA wanted to take the offer, as she was a new fan and had never seen him in person, so she did not want to let this opportunity go.  Most of the other fans are long time fans and had seen him in person before in one way or another. 

We also decided to send "Brother Chikuwabu" down to the arena together with DITA.  The event officials checked our bags and confiscated all the cameras, so we could not take the pictures.  But Brother Chikuwabu had a secret weapon, which would not get noticed by the officials (but I am not telling you what!!  ;-), so we asked him to get close to him and "shoot" him with his secret weapon.

So now Brother Chikuwabu transformed into the Agent Chikuwabu, and off went to the arena floor with DITA.  We all went in to look for our own seats.

Tokyo Dome is the home franchise of Tokyo Giants, the most popular pro baseball team in Japan, and is on one of the biggest baseball stadium in Japan.  The top dome was closed, so the stadium looked like a huge circus.  In the front, HUMONGOUS screen was set up, and HUMONGOUS black projector was towering up in the middle of the floor, just like Darth Vador.  Behind the projector, "Mach 5" race car was displayed, and the surrounding area was marked as the stage.  The front part of the arena were covered with folding chairs facing the screen.  Mach 5 looked so small from the second floor.  Some people were walking around on the arena floor, and the 1st/2nd floor regular seats were getting eventually filled.  We searched for our secret agents on the arena floor.

Our team identification was "fans" with Mr. Musha's photo on one side and a kanji character "SHIN" (真), the first letter of "Sanada" and means "truth".  We confirmed that our agents waved the ID fans down there, and we started our business on the sky deck.

Sakura made a sign that said "Sanada" to be held by two people, and Akira made the "KEEP ON RUNNING" sign, each letter separately - both REALLY elaborate and beautiful!!  So we distributed all these signs to our members, and decided on what to yell when Sanada-san appeared at what sign and at what moment.  We were all anxious, because we were SO far away from the floor, and was wondering whether he could hear us, even though we were a bunch of screaming ladies.

On time, the event started.  The light wend off, the spot light was lit towards Mach 5.  Unfortunately for us, a loud music started to be played, further diminishing our hope that Hiro could hear us.  The master of ceremony introduced different celebrities, such as the singer of the theme song, a famous Japanese car race driver, Kano sisters (Japanese version of "Paris Hilton" - I don't know what they do, but they are celebs for some reason), etc.  Further into the show, it was about time...

And finally, it was time!  Emile Hirsch was introduced first, and he walked in.  Then Sanada-san was called in.  Just about when he entered onto the floor, we started screaming, "Sanada-saaan!!" as we decided on.

But the music was so loud and our voice was not going through at all.  In addition, our seats were right above the entrance to the floor, so he was facing back from us when he was walking towards the show floor.  So heck, in "fire at will!" manner, we kept screaming, raising up our "KEEP ON RUNNING" signs and waving ID fans at the same time.

He reached to Mach 5 stage, and Emile and him were answering the interview by the master of ceremony.  We silenced for a moment to listen to him.  He talked about his excitement to be in the movie, as its original animation series was his childhood memory, and that he had a "chill" ("musha-burui" in Japanese, the word play with his role "Mr. Musha").  The stadium was in laughter.

A few minutes of appearance, but was memorable.  I was imagining DITA was almost DYING instantly on the floor!

So both stars started to waking towards the gate = us.  Again, we started screaming in unison, with KEEP ON RUNNING and fans.  After a few tries, and right before he went into the darkness of the floor gate, finally our voice was heard and he looked up on us!!!

He sent us a HUGE wave with both arms.  We all JUMPED from the seat, screaming even more loudly, "He heard us!!  He heard us!!"

So we tried again, and this time, he waved us again, with a deep bow.  Then he disappeared out from our sight.

For a few moments, we were totally stunned.  Akira and RinRin were both crying, so were some others.  Taiwanese fans were almost dancing around.  It was a perfect ending!!

I am not sure if he noticed "KEEP ON RUNNING" sign, or he realized the meaning of the sign if he DID notice it.  But at least we had a VERY brief exchange with Sanada-san, and we all did it in international team!  It was a great moment.

There were a few more minutes till the "Speed Racer" screening started.  Emily, Neko and Yuko left before the movie, because they had already seen the film in Taiwan and had something else to do.  We exchanged the greetings, and then they left.

Rest of us stayed on to watch the movie.  After the movie is over, we united with our secret agents again near the gate.  Agent Chikuwabu showed us the secret photo of Sanada-san in front of Mach 5, and DITA was totally intoxicated by Sanada-san and was dream-walking.  We reconstructed "KEEP ON RUNNING" sign and took some photos before we split up.  Then we all exchanged "SAYONARA" for the night.  Some was to stay overnight and travel back to their home the next day, others were heading to one subway station, yet some others were walking to another train station. 

Thank you, Emily, Neko and Yuko for coming all the way from Taiwan.  Thank you, RinRin to organize the event and secretly getting hold of all the tickets.  Thank you, Akira for making "KEEP ON RUNNING" sign.  Thank you everyone for coming all the way.  Thank you, Agent Chikuwabu, for taking a risk (?) of our important mission.

And most of all, THANK YOU, HIRO, for the great movie and for coming all the way to Japan.  As you repeatedly say, even at the fan level, we are forming little bridges here and there, crossing the national borders.  And many of us have discovered, for the first time, that it is so much fun to walk over these little bridges.

It was a good, good memory of one summer night dream. 

Speed Racer Premiere Report (3) The Luncheon and Kaneda's costumes

The place was called "En" restaurant.  The luncheon was supposed to start at 12 noon, and I was a bit late.  The restaurant serves modern-traditional Japanese cuisine.  (See "Speed Racer" photo album on this blog, on the right column.)  RinRin has reserved a small tatami room.  From the glass walls, we could see Tokyo Dome, where the premiere event would be taking place.

When I arrived, most of the people were already there.  Some familiar faces were there.  I have met RinRin and Akira before, and I also met Ayayan and Yuki at AEGIS events.  We sat along two long tables, with RinRin and Akira facing Emily, Yuko and Neko - the three Taiwanese amigas.  RinRin was distributing the "SHIN" fan that she made.  They were so beautiful!!  (I will take a pic later and will put it up on the album.)

After this, my memory is quite fuzzy.  The sequence of events were not accurate AT ALL....

We all toasted for this happy event, as well as to wish happiness and health of Sanada-san.  Food was great.

Akira showed off her special art nails.  She took a "Musha" pic and a checker flag design, shrunk it down to a nail size, and printed out on a special "temporary tattoo" paper.  Then stack it on her nails.  It was UNBELIEVABLE!

We all had a small name tag on the table, and everyone wanted to have Akira draw her "cat Akira" character on that tag.  So she kept on drawing.

Sakura came over to Taiwan team table from the other side.  She studied Chinese, prepared and practiced a greeting in Chinese specially for that day.  I guess Taiwan team understood (because I had no idea what she was saying...) and everyone clapped loudly.  It was SO SWEET!

RinRin and Neko were talking with a mixture of English and text language (Chinese and Japanese share some common kanji characters, and even though they are pronounced differently, the meaning of the character is the same, so we can somewhat understand each other by writing kanji characters) about "Shin Hanshichi Torimono-cho".  It is a NHK TV drama series in 1997 and relatively unknown among Hiro's works, because it is not made into video/DVD and is VERY hard to obtain the copy.  But IT is the most favorite piece of RinRin's.  Hiro plays Edo-era (18th century) civilian detective - smart, sexy and cool.  RinRin found out that Neko knew about it, and that its original novel was translated into Chinese and is published there, and were SO excited.

I asked the Taiwanese team what they were doing since they got to Tokyo.  They did relatively typical sight-seeing, such as Asakusa at first - and then on the second day, to my surprise, they went to Ashikaga city.  OMG, they are SO DEEP.....  Ashikaga is the location for another NHK TV drama series "Taiheiki" (1991), about the first Shogun of Muromachi Bakufu, called Takauji Ashikaga, circa 14th century.  It was a year-long HUGE scale historical drama, but also has been relatively unknown because only the digest version was available on DVD until recently.  (I understand the full-version is now available.)  Even in Japan, the ones who recently became his fan recently usually don't have much access to this piece, so I was SO SURPRISED that the team knew about it, and even chose to go to Ashikaga!!  And even more surprisingly, it was the second time that Yuko had been there!  Yuko told me she has been Hiro fan for 25 years!!  WOW!!

So many different Hiro topic filled the air, but I was mainly talking to Taiwan members so I did not have much chance to talk to ladies on the other table - unfortunately.  Then our 18th member of the lunch meeting appeared - the Brother Chikuwabu, hero of the day, arrived late.

He is the collector of movie memorabilia, and was a popular figure at AEGIS blog, so many people knew him already.  He has brought his TREASURES.  First off, he showed us the poster from "SUNSHINE" - the picture of "IKARUS II" crew, all wearing Santa Clause hats - which was used in the movie.  We all could not help but SCREAM and all gathered around the photo - then the restaurant waiter guy came appologetically to tell us to quiet down - they got complaint from the next room!  ^^;

Then he took out actual costumes that Hiro used in SUNSHINE - Capt. Kaneda's jacket, shirt, pants, boots etc...that he got from eBay.  Some things were missing, tho - he got out-bid by reiko for sunglasses! Everyone took turns to put it on (or some people sniffed it...) and again took pictures.  Some even bursted into tears!

Then other people started to pass around their other treasures as well - old magazines, photos, other memorabilias about Hiro - and again, everyone got so excited.

Time passed so quickly, and we again took some time to decide how to take photo in the restaurant - but at the end, we took the group photo, all holding up the SHIN fan made by RinRin.

I took so many pictures, but some people don't like to have their photos made public, so I had to limit my photo showing only to the ones without people's faces.  I am sorry about it, and I hope you understand.

At around 3pm, we got out of the restaurant and started to walking towards Tokyo Dome.  A bit nervous time was approaching.

(to be continued)

Speed Racer Premiere Report (2) The rainy day

After some dark days, 5 days before the premiere, and just two days before the Taiwan team landed on Tokyo, the things got a huge dramatic turn.  RinRin's blog announced that it was CONFIRMED that Sanada-san would be at the premiere.  One of the Japan team member actually called Warner Bros. Japan, and they said Sanada-san was SCHEDULED to be there.  Media announcements on newspaper also showed his name, along with Emile Hirsch.  The team's spirit started to rise again.

In addition, RinRin informed me that she has somehow - magically - secured extra tickets for all of us - Taiwan team and I, and even some more extras.  I was so surprised.  She never told me, and still has not told me, how she obtained the tickets.  Anyway, it sounded like everything was arranged perfectly by RinRin. It was TOTALLY amazing.

So Taiwan team arrived on June 26 in Tokyo.  I got here on June 28, the day before the premiere.  Emily called on my cell phone that night, and confirmed that they were here already.  The weather forcast said that it will be pouring rain on June 29.

I thought, OMG, it is just PERFECT!  As I mentioned before, RAIN means that Sanada-san is here.  Since his young idol days, his rain jinx has been famous among his fans.  Wherever he goes, it rains.  I saw a TV interview recording that he was talking about this jinx himself several years ago.  It was a thundering rain in L.A. at "The White Countess" premiere, it rained at "AEGIS" premiere.  The jinx still holds recently.  (And Thanks to our Egyptian friend from SHIN forum, to let us know that rain also means good things in Egypt!!)

It was Sunday, and I had to run lots of errands before hopping on the Tokyo-bound train.  Yes, it was pouring rain.  Great, great, great!!

There was a major delay on my train, due to an accident earlier in the day, so I was about 20 minutes late for the luncheon.  Getting off at Suidobashi station, I quickly found the restaurant in front of the station.

And the rainy day miracle began.

(to be continued)

Speed Racer Premiere Report (1) The beginning

So sorry that I have not written the detailed report about what happened at Tokyo Premiere. I am currently on vacation, so my kids are around and the net connection at my mom's house is not too great - OK, so much for excuses.

I will start the story from way back, circa April 2008. There was Speed Racer Los Angeles premiere in April, and I wrote about the premiere on my blog, including the news that there will be a Tokyo Premiere, as the only event in Asia, on June 29. In L.A. interview, Sanada-san was clearly saying that he was planning to appear at Tokyo event.

http://hogacentral.blogs.com/hiroyuki_sanada_news/2008/04/hiro-in-speed-r.html

Then, Emily from Taiwan sent me an e-mail that she was planning to come to Tokyo for the premiere, and she would talk to some other Taiwanese fans to join up. I myself usually go to Japan around that time for summer vacation, and this year my schedule allowed me to be there on 6/29. So I got really excited and wrote back to Emily that I was happy to meet them in Tokyo, and maybe other Japanese fans would be delighted to meet them, too. I wrote a comment on RinRin's blog about the idea of holding a gathering with Taiwanese/Japanese fans together on the day of the premiere. RinRin quickly agreed, and we all started to plan things for the day.

The biggest obstacle was how to obtain the tickets for the premiere event. They were not officially "sold" anywhere - tickets were all distributed to sponsor companies and media. These companies, in turn, held various sweepstakes and gave away the tickets to their own customers. So RinRin's blog was filled with different sweekstakes info every day - from event magazine to "Hotwheel" Mach5 version. Japanese fans entered them frantically, but I could not do anything from the U.S., so I had given up on the idea of actually attending the premiere from the beginning. I was hoping someone could get 3 extra tickets for Emily and friends, but was not too optimistic about it. Rumor was going around that a huge chunk of tickets had been assigned to Rain fans, maybe through fan clubs etc. Remember, "Hanryu (Korean)" boom in Japan is still going on, for the past several years, and this young Korean singer has a large fan base there. But for some time, no Sanada-fan got lucky on sweepstakes. Everyone was so frustrated.

A few weeks before the event, a rumor that Hiro would not be at the premiere started to sneak around. I was not too surprised, given the box office status in the US and other territories, but I was worried about our Taiwanese friends. So I wrote to Emily about the possibility, but at that time, she and two other friends already had reserved the plane tickets. So they informed RinRin and me that they would come anyway - they are so dedicated!!! And RinRin did not have the tickets for the event at that time, so we were thinking maybe we will just meet up for the fan gathering, and write a letter together to Sanada-san. This rumor also said that no major actor would come from overseas for the premiere, and even the big attraction Rain cancelled out.

OMG... what a disaster! We were all pretty somber around that time. But anyway, for the totally dedicated Taiwanese fans, RinRin chose the time and location for the gathering, and announced it on her blog, without mentioning the rumor. After all, it was just a rumor and nothing was confirmed. Bunch of Japanese fans signed up for the gathering - RinRin decided to do Luncheon, instead of dinner, because the premiere event will start from 6pm and will last till around 9pm. I was prepared for the worst scenario at that time, and still was happy to think that Taiwanese fans and Japanese fans could get together and talk about Sanada-san for hours!!

(to be continued)

Tokyo Premiere quick report

Yes, we have done it!

On the day (6/29), it was pouring rain from the morning.  Yes, that means Sanada-san is here!!  (For those who are not familiar - Hiro is famous for his "rain jinx" - wherever he goes it rains.  It proved true when I interviewed him at "The White Countess" premiere in Los Angeles.)

Before the premiere began, our International Sanada team has gathered in a Japanese restaurant near Tokyo Dome.  There were 15 of us from Japan and 3 from Taiwan (me included in Japanese team).  We took lots of pictures, and people pass around their treasures all related to Sanada-san - old magazine clips, movie memorabilia etc.

Then at the premiere, we all sat together (with a few of us go down to the arena with a special arrangement...).  We were at the second level of the staduim and pretty far from the floor.  Sanada-san appeared with Emile Hirsch on the floor, and of course we shouted together - and finally Sanada-san noticed us right before he exited from the stage.

I will write a bit more in detail later.  In the mean time, please go to RinRin's blog for the collection of links to the articles and photos from yesterday.

http://blogs.dion.ne.jp/hiderinkomari/

Misty

Just watched "Speed Racer"!

So today is the opening day of "Speed Racer".  Originally I was planning to drive up to San Francisco to see it in an IMAX theater by myself, as nobody else in the family wanted to see it before.  But thanks to ALL the promotions in the cereal box, lego sets, candies, cell phone games, etc., etc...  my 6-year old son suddenly declared that he wanted to see it this morning, and if the little brother goes, of course big brother has to go.  If both go, I need another adult to handle the toilet times, so daddy has to go.  So after all, I had to "change my plan" (as in the movie -- hehehe, wait till you see it if you haven't!!) and the entire family went to see it.

Turns out I am glad I went with the family.  You can certainly enjoy it more with kids.  It is not a serious movie to go by yourself.  And I am glad that I was hearing all the bad reputation beforehand - thanks to it, it was NOT AS BAD AS I EXPECTED. ^^;

I knew Sanada-san was just a small appearance.  So it was just as expected.  Aside from that, as a movie, it certainly is hard to follow the story.  There are so many bad guys, and you don't know who is on which side, they switch around.  And the movie is LONG.  My guess is that they took a lesson from "Pirates of The Caribbean III" - make it complicated so people will buy DVD to figure it out later.  (My son and me asked to each other, "So... that Korean guy with anger management problem - is he the bad guy or good guy??" "What is Sanada-san up to??" "What happened to the 'evidence' or whatever??"...)LOL

And for those normal adults, the colorful anime-like graphics may be too much, but I am somewhat used to it - thanks to my boys.  It is just another 3D video game for me - race cars fly around and land on the different dimention and start running again - it is a NORMAL world in their arcade racing game.  One of the race scenes also remided me of "pod racing" scene of "Star Wars".  The races/battles were really not bad at all.  I enjoyed it, to be honest.  And thank god, nobody dies even in hard car crash.  It is a family movie.

There are lots of laughs, and "family fun".  Interestingly, I felt that the sense of humor in this movie is a new balance between American slapstick style and Japanese anime humor.  These days, you find some American cartoon shows that strangely combine "Japanese anime style" characters with American ones, with "anime-style" expressions (sweat, tears, eyes become dots, etc...), and this "Speed Racer" reminds me of this strange hybrid anime.  Sanada-san was saying that it is for the kids in the 21st century, and I now understand what he is saying.

I particularly liked the "safety feature" of the race cars when they crash - how the driver gets out - I laughed so hard. 

The biggest problem I had in this movie was the conversation part.  They try to squeeze in too much information into a few conversations - so they can use the other parts for spectacular race scenes - so I could not fully understand, particularly that Royalton guy's presentation.  Some other conversations were just too long.  I guess I just have to wait for DVD to clarify that...

And Mr. Musha - he really looked like the "hook" into the sequels.  But as Reiko says, HE LOOKS REALLY LOOKS BEAUTIFUL AND IMPRESSIVE in his short appearances.  I really don't know how well it does in box office - the theater I went was only half full at 6pm show, which was still early - so I am not that optimistic about the sequel possibility.  Mr. Musha surely looked a "mysterious" and "big, bad guy", bigger and darker than the main bad villain in this film, so if a sequel comes out, it will be quite interesting.

Anyhow.  It certainly is very different movie, probably hard to swallow for normal movie critiques and adult movie goers, and I am curious to see how 21st centry kids will see it.  My boys certainly were excited to see it.  Oh, and by the way, other than Sanada-san, Mathew Fox was SO COOL!!

さて、今日はいよいよ「スピードレーサー」初日です！当初は、子供たちは「行かない」と言っていたので、一人でサンフランシスコまで行って、IMAXシアターで見ようと思っていたのですが、このところ、シリアルの箱には「マッハ号」のおまけははいってるし、テレビではタイアップ広告をガンガンやっているし、6歳児のほうは携帯ゲームにはまっているし、そんなこんなで見事に宣伝にはまり、「ママが行くならぼくも行く！」と今朝になって言い出しました。弟が行くなら、当然兄も行きますよね。二人で「パパも行こう」と大騒ぎして、ついに家族全員で行くことになり、従って近所のいつもの映画館に「予定変更」。（「予定変更」というネタが、映画でも出てきますので、お楽しみに。）

でも、結局はやっぱり、子供たちと一緒に見に行ってよかったと思います。やはりこれは、子供と一緒に見たほうが楽しい映画だと思いました。夕方6時の回で、田舎映画館は半分ぐらいの入り。

噂どおり、プロットが複雑で、悪者がたくさん出てくるし、いいやつと悪いやつが入れ替わったりして、どれがなんだかよくわかりません。しかも、子供映画にしては長い（2時間以上）。これはもしや、「パイレーツ・オブ・カリビアンIII」のマネをして、プロットをわかりにくくして、あとでDVDを買って謎解きをさせようという作戦では・・・と思っています。6年生の息子と、「あの怒りの感情制御に問題のある韓国人は、いいヤツなの、悪いやつなの？？」「さなださんって、一体なんなの？」「で、探していた『証拠』はどうなった？？」と、二人でワケがわからなくなっていました。

で、あの超カラフルでぶっとんだグラフィックは、多分普通の大人や映画評論家には評判悪いんじゃないかなー、と心配ですが、実のところ私には、それほど違和感はありませんでした・・・子供たちがアーケードでやっているドライビング・ゲームや、家でやっている3Dグラフィックのゲームを見慣れているおかげ。砂漠でのレース場面は、ちょっと「スターウォーズ」の「ポッドレース」を彷彿とさせるところもあり、実はけっこう楽しみました。めっちゃ面白かったですよ。子供映画でもあり、誰も死なないのもいい。特に、事故がおきたときに、どうやってドライバーが脱出するかという安全装置が面白いですよ！

あと、笑いがいっぱいあるのもいいですね。面白いと思ったのは、この映画の「ユーモアのセンス」というのは、アメリカ的なスラップスティック的な笑と、日本のアニメ的なユーモアセンスが微妙に混じっているように感じられたことです。最近、息子たちが見ているアメリカのアニメで、アメリカ的な太線に大味なキャラクターと、完全に日本アニメのキャラクターがごっちゃに混じった番組があって、目が点になったり涙が太い線になって流れたり、モロに日本アニメちっくな表現が使われているのですが、そういった「日本アニメ」的なユーモアセンスというのが、アメリカの子供たちの中でも、ゲームをやったり日本アニメを見たりする先端的な子供たちの間で、じわじわ理解されているように思うのです。この映画のユーモアセンスも、そういう先端的な子供たちにはけっこう受けるんじゃないか、と思います。真田さんが、インタビューの中で、「21世紀の映画で、子供たちは素直に受け取るけれど、大人がどう思うか」と発言されていましたが、なるほど、本当にその通りだと思います。単にグラフィックだけでなく、ユーモアセンスという意味でも、普通のアメリカ人の大人が、このユーモアセンスをどう受け止めるか、リスキーでもあり、興味深くもあります。

私が一番困ったのは、「会話」が早すぎてついていけなかったこと。時間の大半がレースに使われるため、数少ない会話シーンになるべくたくさん情報を入れようということで、早すぎてわからない・・・（涙）特に、メインの悪者の言ってることが半分ぐらいわかりません・・・

で、Mr. Musha。彼は完全に、「続編」へのつなぎ、みたいな雰囲気を漂わせています。確かに、レイコさんの情報どおり、その短い登場時間の間でも、とってもステキで存在感たっぷりです。でも、私は多少前知識があるけれど、そうでない人にはナニモノなんだか全然わかんないでしょうな・・・　今日の客の入りからして、続編ができるかどうかはヒジョーに微妙ですが・・もしできたら、あの謎だらけのMr.Mushaはとっても活躍しそう！なにせ、今回のメインの悪いやつよりも、もっと大物の雰囲気を漂わしているんですから。むふふ・・

いやーでも、本当に、面白かったですよ。お子さんのおられる方、特にゲーム大好きなお子さんの場合は、是非ご一緒に見てください。そのほうがたくさん楽しめると思います。あ、そうそう、それから、真田さん以外では、マシュー・フォックスがクールです！！

Interview VIDEO on Variety Japan

Variety Japan is GREAT!  They have put up a nice interview video of Sanada-san from "Speed Racer" premiere last weekend!

"Speed Racer" interview video (Variety Japan)

He is saying like this:
===============================================================
Q:  You are the only cast from Japan this time.  Did you feel any responsibility?
A:  I had a bit of responsiblity or pressure, but more than anything, I wanted to participate in this Japanese anime which Wachowski Brothers direct, even as a small role.  In the scrpit, my role is in charge of the dark side in this family movie, mysterious and incomprehensive like "what the heck they are doing in the back".  I was asked to express that part by just being there, so it was a bit difficult.  But in actual filming, I did various versions, with more funky, or more mysterious, or easier to understand.  Each brother gives different direction, and the actors digest both and come up with their own interpretation.  At times, brothers looked to each other in the eyes and nod, and we knew that was the best take.  In those times, actors also felt that they did the best, matching with the directors, so it was quite interesting process.  After that, it was all up to editing, so I did not know what the film would be like until I actually saw it.

Q:  In Last Samurai, you gave lots of advice about Japanese behavior or tradition.  How about in this film?
A:  Well, I did a lot in the Last Samurai, but if I do too much, it is not very polite, but I am still trying to advice on the critical things.  This time, I did a little bit about the things in the set etc.  There are still times that the depiction is so stereotypical and ancient, so in those times, I try to explain nicely and actually show it.  I hope it will change the image little by little and will lead to expand the opportunity for Japanese and other Asian actors.

In Japan, it will open in July, so  I am looking forward to meeting you at Japan Premiere.
===============================================================

皆様

こちらでは、「スピードレーサー」来週公開ということで、あちこちでがんがんプロモーションをやっています。こちらでは、日本のような「応募して抽選でなんとか」というのはほとんどないのですが、昨日買ってきた子供用のシリアルは、箱の中にミニカーがおまけでついていて、今朝開けてみたらマッハ号がはいっていて、「スピードの車だ！」と子供は喜んでおりました。（残念ながら、ムシャ・モータース・バージョンはないのですが・・・）

こちらでまずヒットしないことには、続編も望めませんから、がんばって来週は私も、わずかながら、アメリカの売上げに貢献しに行ってきますねっ！

Misty

"Speed Racer" sequels potential??

There are also lots of Hiro articles on Japanese press related to Speed Racer (and THANK YOU THESE PRESS PEOPLE to write Hiro's interview!!), and many of them mention "the possibility of sequels or spin-off", according to producer Joel Silver (the big guy in pink jacket with shades posing with hiro).

It certainly depends on how the first movie goes in the box office, but Silver states "it would be interesting to reveal the truth of mysterious Mr. Musha in the sequels, and if that happens, more opportunity will be available for Japanese actors."

Hiro himself expresses his interest in such sequels - "Yes, the story is easy to expand.  Mr. Musha ends up with just a mystery this time, but if there is a next one, I would be happy if his true identity gets revealed."

Some other Japanese articles talk about Hiro's opinion...

• Hiro wore a black jacket with a scull design on the back.  (No photo shows it, tho..)
• I love the original "Speed Racer" anime.  So when the screenplay was sent to me, I decided immediately to participate.  I asked the directors to let me get on the bandwagon, even if the role is a bad guy or a small role.
• I am here as a representative of a fan of the original story, not so much as a rep from Japan.
• (Regarding the new digital filming - they didn't use the film but the image goes directly to the hard disk) They didn't have to worry about wasting film, so the camera stayed rolling even while the directors give instructions.  So any of these images can be used in editing.  It was very interesting and educating to me.
• The final film is live action plus the cutting edge of 21st century computer graphics.  The point is how the original anime generation look at such computer based graphics.  The younger generation probably will absorb it with no problem, and I hope the older generation realize that we are in this type of era, while feeling the spirit of the original story.
• I don't care too much about the size of my role.  My interest is to work with great staff and cast members, if it is interesting screenplay or project, in any country.  My current balance between the low-budget indies and the big-budget commercial works is the best.  I want the situation to be like a routine, that just aother Japanese actor is here working, rather than the sheer fact that I take part in foreign film gets hyped up.

Variety Japan
SANSPO
Gyao
Barks (1)
Barks (2)

Reiko also just informed me that producer Joel Silver talks about the sequel potential in his interview as well.  (This is in English)

Joes Silver Interview

Several sponsoers/partners started to open their process of Japan Premiere ticket sweepstakes.  So far, event magazine Pia, movie theater chain, Toysrus, NTV network have posted their sweepstakes.  To me, it is impossible to do anything to get tickets.... (sigh...)

Like... you are supposed to buy this in Toysrus in Japan and get a sticker on the products, then stick it on a sheet and send it over...

Speed Racer Hotwheel

All these links and information come from RinRin and her friends in Japan.  Thank you, guys!

Misty

"Speed Racer" L.A. Premiere coverage - English articles

The premiere event for "Speed Racer" was held in Los Angeles last Saturday, and there are lots of coverage of Hiro.

Yahoo! (US) photo
Yahoo! (US) news
WireImage
WireImage (Puma sponsor event)
Getty Images (1)
Getty Images (2)
Sharlotte.com (1)
Sharlotte.com (2)
SHIN post from annie
IESB.net
JAMD.com

Misty

Hiro in Speed racer - good news and bad news

Reiko has been posting about Speed Racer in SHIN forum quite a bit.

SHIN "Speed Racer" thread

This time, let's begin with the bad news.  She writes here that his role is VERY MUCH diminished down to CAMEO, at best.  His screen time is very short, although he looks FABULOUS in those short appearances.  She found it out at the special screening last week in LA for the industry people.  Please see the above thread for more details.  She is also following it up with the post about how difficult situation he is under, given the Asian actors status in Hollywood in general.  So please stay tuned.

RinRin also is telling me that the HUGE Tokyo premiere will be VERY MUCH focused on Rain, the Korean actor, instead of Sanada-san, and there may not be even a chance for hiro fans to get it.

Sigh...  Poor guy...

OK, then move onto the good news.

Reiko also writes that Hiro will appear on another special screening event at ImaginAsian theater in L.A. along with Rain!!

***********************************************************************************
Advanced screening of "Speed Racer" in Los Angeles
Speed Racer Special Advance Screening
This Month's Spotlight Speed Racer Special Advance Screening
April 25, 7pm

ImaginAsian Center, 251 South Main Street, LA
Don't be in the grandstands when Speed Racer arrives! ImaginAsian Entertainment and Warner Brothers want you to join Rain and Hiroyuki Sanada at the special advance screening of the Wachowski brothers' newest film at the ImaginAsian Center in LA. For your chance for an invite to this exclusive, red carpet event, go to www.iatv.tv/speedracer !

http://movingonwithrain.blogspot.com/2008/04/advanced-screening-of-speed-racer-in.html

http://www.theimaginasian.com/la/events.php

***********************************************************************************
If anybody live close to LA, please GO and support Hiro!!

It also is confirmed that Sanada-san is schedule to appear in Tokyo premiere. 

Yes, I know.  His role will be small, but he is that kind of person.  Remember, at "The Promise", when the movie got so much criticizm and was ostracized in US, and all the other cast members stopped supporting Director Chen Kaige, Hiro still stood by him till the end.  He was on the stage with Kaige in the devastating US premiere.  (I could know about this, thanks again to Reiko's real place report.  No media has written about it, because no press was there anyway.)  He does what he promised to do no matter what, and he keeps his support once he is commited. Because he is "The Ultimate Samurai".  That is why we love him.

日本の皆様

ロスのレイコさんが、先週「スピードレーサー」の業界向け特別試写会に行かれたそうで、その様子がSHINフォーラムにアップされています。

SHIN "Speed Racer" thread

つまり、真田さんの出演時間は極めて短くなってしまい、「カメオ出演」がせいぜい、といった感じになってしまったそうで、レイコさんはめっちゃくちゃショックを受けています。これに続き、「ハリウッドにおけるアジア人俳優がいかに難しい立場にあるか、真田さんがいかに難しい戦いを戦っているのか」という点について、もう少し詳しく書き込んでいく予定だそうですので、英語の読める方は、引き続きそちらにご注目ください。

東京プレミアも、どうやらRainさんに完全に焦点が当たっているようで、なんだか寂しい限りです・・・

さて、悪いニュースはこのぐらいにして、よいニュース。日本在住の方にはあまりよくはないのですが・・・ロスの「ImaginAsian」というアジア映画専門映画館にて、今週特別試写会があり、真田さんもRainさんとともにご出席予定だそうです！（上記リンクをご覧ください）

それから、真田さんが東京のプレミアに出席されることも確定だそうです。

http://www.japantoday.com/ 

いかに出演時間が短くても、「行く」といったら必ず行かれるのが真田さんです。「プロミス」のときも、映画がさんざんな批評を浴び、アメリカでも配給権をめぐるゴタゴタや、環境問題だのパロディ問題だののゴシップでチェン・カイコー監督が叩かれ、他の出演者が監督を見捨ててどのイベントにも来なくなってしまっても、真田さんは最後の最後まで、監督のそばに立っていました。ボロボロになった末、ようやくこぎつけたアメリカでのプレミアで、観客もまばらな中、カイコー監督が尾羽打ち枯らした風情で憔悴しきって挨拶したあと、たった一人、真田さんは監督をサポートしてスピーチしました。（この話も、プレミアに行くことができたレイコさんの現場レポートのおかげで私は知ることができました。どこのマスコミも書いていません。だって、誰もいなかったんだから。）

たとえ劣勢になろうとも、一度コミットしたら貫くのが、サムライ・真田広之。だから好きなんですよねっ！皆様！

Misty