All language subtitles for Odishon.1999.Arrow.1080p.BluRay.x265.hevc.10bit.AAC.5.1.commentary.V2-HeVK.mkv.stream10

Hi. I'll be your host
for this commentary.

My name is Masato Kobayashi.
I'm a film writer.

Let me introduce our guests:

the director, Takashi Miike,
and the screenwriter, Daisuke Tengan.

Hi.

Should I say "Nice to meet you"
or "Good evening"*

I'm guessing most people won't be
watching this during the daytime.

- Good evening. I'm Miike.
- Hi, Tengan here.

This year marks
the 10th anniversary of Audition.

Many of Miike's films have
been successful abroad,

but Audition is especially popular.

This film has influenced
horror writers all over the world.

In 2007, Time magazine
named Audition

one of the top 25 scariest horror movies,

alongside the likes
of Halloween,

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,
and Bambi.

How did you feel about that?

Well...

I didn't make this film
to compete at international festivals

or to make money overseas.

I just wanted to do
the best job I could do

while staying under budget

and still getting some enjoyment
out of the filmmaking process,

so it makes me very happy

for the film to get such recognition.

I feel like I'm Yoji Takita
with his movie Departures.

Well, they probably won't know
what I'm talking about.

That's a timely topic!

You know, it's been a while.

And I've been drinking a lot lately,

so you're going to have to forgive me
if I remember things incorrectly

or if I get something wrong.

- Looking forward to that.
- Okay.

Tengan, how do you feel
about the film's success?

As I recall,
when I accepted the job,

there were a lot of Japanese
horror movies being made.

I remember Miike told me that there
was no sense in making another one.

I think that horror movies
are generally done

by filmmakers
who genuinely love horror movies

and who specialise
in making horror movies.

Neither of us specialised
in horror movies,

so we knew right away
that we'd have a different approach.

As a result...

I was chosen for Masters of Horror.

And again, we wanted Tengan to write.
We didn't want anyone else.

Even for this genre,
we wanted Tengan.

And I don't specialise
in horror movies.

Oh, yeah,
I'm going to ask you about Imprint later.

Well...

The original story
was by Ryu Murakami.

You adapted his book to film.

Did you know the story
before you started production?

I had heard of it.

I had not read it yet.

Yeah, me neither.

So how and when
did this all get started?

Well...

There's this company, Omega Project.
It's a unique company.

And there was this guy, Yokohama.

He wasn't in the film industry.

He started this company

as a way of making money.

And this was a so-called
"independent film."

He liked the novel.

He thought the story was interesting,
and he thought it'd be a good movie.

So, he teamed up
with Shindo, our producer.

They talked to Murakami,
and they got the green light from him.

They discussed who they thought
would be best suited to direct.

I think that's how it started.

So, we weren't the ones
who brought in the story.

How was the original book
adapted for the film?

I think it's close
to the original story.

At least in the first half,
it's very close to the original story.

You did a good job at making it
feel more faithful than it is, Tengan.

Right, right.

In the beginning,
Murakami had a lot of ideas,

a lot of opinions
about how it should be made.

Since it's his story, it's his baby,
but also because he's a director, too,

so I pretended to listen.

When we finished the film,
we brought it to Murakami.

Right when it was completed,
there was a screening for Murakami only.

We weren't even there.

But just after the screening,
he called me, and he was very excited.

He said, "This is awesome.
This is great!"

Apparently, he liked the scenes
we changed from the original story.

I got the idea that he was willing
to trust other people

to turn his story to a movie.

But the basic story was well-written.
We put that into the script.

When you think about it,
all we really had to do

was add actors and sets
to the equation, make it real.

That's how we made this film.

Of all the movies I've made,

very few of them stick
so closely to the script,

but this was one of them.

Some scenes
toward the end did end up

being different
from the original story.

I used some more cinematic plots.

It is pretty different
from your typical horror movie...

but I think that's
what made it interesting.

So, do you not consider
Audition to be "horror"?

Well, usually
horror movies deal with...

something supernatural
or demonic or whatever.

So, how do I put this?

People get spooked by that.

They shake in fear.

From my point of view,
humans are much scarier.

Humans can be demons or angels.

So, in this movie...

well...

all the characters in this
are just regular folks,

but regular folks have dark sides,

and here those dark sides
are portrayed in kind of a bizarre way.

Aoyama ends up like he does,
and he is responsible for that.

One common theme
among these characters

is that they just want to be happy.

Usually Japanese horror movies

are based on old Japanese legends
and scary stories called kaidan.

It's always about grudges,
resentment, that kind of thing.

Sorrow, you know...

Jealousy, sometimes.

So, dead people become
these spirits of vengeance,

and they terrorise
the people who are still alive.

Now, I don't know that I would know
how to direct that kind of movie.

I don't necessarily want to make
a movie with that kind of story.

And of course, like we said,

it didn't feel like
we were making a horror movie.

Yeah, how should I put it?

Murakami's original story
was about trauma,

and it seemed to be
more of a psychological suspense,

so this movie was developed
with that kind of genre in mind.

I think when people go over the edge,
they get totally messed up.

That's normal.
That's human nature.

And what's happening isn't always clear,
but using a movie to show that is easier.

We can mix up many things.

Here's my take on it.

I think that Murakami experienced,
in his life,

a fear similar to what Aoyama,

played by Ryo Ishibashi,
was feeling.

He was making many films at that time,
and had many auditions.

In those auditions,
I don't think he met anyone like Asami,

but he probably met someone,

and in meeting that person,
something strange happened.

I felt like this story could be
a personal message to that person.

The message might be
"I still love you."

Pretty unfair form
of communication, by the way.

But maybe that's why
it doesn't seem like fiction.

The original story
seems to be written by a writer

who has experienced
something like this.

Since Murakami didn't
originally come from the film industry,

I think that when he got involved
in directing and making movies,

he must have found some things
very interesting, even strange.

Like auditions.
We do auditions; that's what we do.

But from his point of view,
he was probably like,

"Oh, she's sexy,"
and she's going, "What? Really?"

And when he starts wondering why
someone would come to that audition,

that can evolve
into a really scary story.

Maybe he did something to someone.
We don't know.

As a writer,
he probably saw something

that he found really intriguing.

How was Murakami
involved during production?

Did he show up on the set, or...?

No, no.
I only met him one time, actually.

We had a meeting
and we talked about a lot of things.

He didn't give me
any detailed instructions.

I think he wanted
to get a feel for who I was.

He'd entrusted me with his story;
it's only natural he'd want to meet,

but he didn't give me any ultimatums
or say that I couldn't do this or that.

He was not that kind of person.

He's onscreen now.

The main character
was played by Ryo Ishibashi.

Ishibashi is also a musician.

He was in a number of Yakuza pictures
before Audition, wasn't he?

What made you choose him
for this role?

That's a difficult question.

Well... we thought...

It had to be a middle-aged man
who was still pretty attractive.

Ten years ago, he looked like

a normal adult man...

At least to us.

He looked like he was kind to women,
and because of that,

maybe he could be insecure or unhappy
even though he's sexually attractive.

We couldn't think of anyone else
besides Ishibashi.

What else?

My intuition had told me

that he was hungry for something.

There weren't many engaging roles
in Japanese films at that time.

He was wondering what to do next.

I think he always had
Yusaku Matsuda in his mind.

He wanted to be competing with him,

but there were no good roles for him
to compete with Matsuda.

So we thought...
if we can offer him a good movie,

he could create his own world.

In the scenes toward the end,

he gets all mangled up.

He can't even move,
and he just groans in pain.

It must have been so uncool
for a rocker like him,

but he wanted the part,
he wanted to play it.

It felt right at the time.

How different was
the character played by Ishibashi

from the character that Tengan
had put in the script?

It was close.

Like Miike said,
he had to be sexually attractive.

And he looked indecisive.

In other words,
even if he says, "This way,"

he could be thinking,
"It may be that way."

So he's concerned.
He doesn't know what to do.

He has that kind of feeling.

And...

his age and his looks
matched the character perfectly.

I didn't know him then.

When I saw him at the screening,

I asked him to appear
in my other movies.

It was because he had made
such an impression in this film.

Do you like having auditions

for the films you direct?

Do you do auditions a lot?

You mean, like, regular auditions?

Yes.

Do you ever just pick someone
you don't know to be in your movie?

Yeah. I think that's the basis
for creating something new.

You might like the person.

It's a gamble.

You can't know everything
from an audition.

But you can get a feeling.

You chose the person,
it's like trying your luck.

Or, you can insist
that you got lucky,

because you'd already
chosen them long ago.

So...

But you can't complain because
you're the one who made the choice.

And sometimes you can't decide.

How about you, Miike?
Do you like having auditions?

Yeah, I like them, but...

when I'm having an audition,

I get this funny feeling, like
I'm actually imitating another audition.

In other words...

I'm just copying what I've learned
from older colleagues,

so my auditions aren't
specifically "mine".

So, these days, my assistant director
will hold the auditions,

which allows me to watch from the side
and sort of be more objective.

And if I feel like asking
or saying something, I will.

But when I think back,
I've definitely held auditions where,

the moment the person
comes through the door,

I know they're the one.

Yeah, me too.

That's exactly how
Aoyama felt in Audition.

He had this strong feeling
just from looking at her picture.

So, when he sees her,
his mind is already made up.

He asks some questions, but...

it's just confirming the feeling he had.

I think it's very close to my experience.

You encounter someone
who was born to play the role.

As soon as the person opens the door,
you know that they're the one.

I think that's true of a lot of auditions.

How about the auditions for this film?

That is, for Audition
did anything like that happen?

Do you remember?

No. For this film,
most of the actors were...

Well, we thought about Asami's role.
We researched a lot.

And we met some people,

but it wasn't like an audition.

We already had someone in mind,

but we thought that maybe
that wouldn't be fair,

so we decided to see some actors.

For other parts, we sought out...

unique actors to play certain roles.

This house we used as a set
is located in Seijo.

No, it's located in Denenchofu,
an upscale residential area.

We made a surprise visit to this house,
which is just owned by a regular family.

We asked them to let us use the house.

We put all the family members
in an upstairs room for a few days.

We were filming till midnight.

It's amazing they let us
use the house.

Did you show up there
without any notice?

No, we actually took half a month
to negotiate and get consent.

And since we used
every room in the house,

when we left,
it was sort of like moving out.

So, you sort of lived on set.

It was a very Japanese way
to shoot a movie.

We begged to rent this house
from this family.

How did Dead or Alive
and Audition influence your career?

I mean, you used to make
direct-to-video movies and genre films.

Now, you make films that are screened
at international film festivals.

I think these two films
must have given you an opportunity

to go in a new direction.

So, for you, Miike,
would you say that's accurate,

that these two films had an impact
on your life or your career?

Well, aside from my personal feelings
about those two movies,

the fact is that Audition
helped me a lot,

and it happened
at just the right time.

Yes, I directed this movie,

but without the producers
who wanted to make this film

or Murakami's original story,
it wouldn't have happened.

Without Tengan's screenplay,
it wouldn't have happened.

I once realised, "I see."

I am a filmmaker,
but it's not as though

I made the film all by myself.

There were a series of encounters,
and this film came along.

And because it did,
a lot of things changed significantly.

It started in a small festival
called Courmayeur.

From there, it was selected
for the Rotterdam Film Festival.

I got an award.

Since I was used to those direct-to-video
movies, the "*-Cinema",

film festivals were like...

something from another planet.

So, I thought...

I wasn't worried about pleasing
foreign audiences.

"If I keep on doing
whatever I'm doing in Japan,

"people around the world
will watch them."

And that was a great thing.

Film is a very powerful medium.

So, this movie
is very important to me,

but it's difficult for me
to get away from it.

I'm currently working on a film
that is considered "normal,"

so in Europe they're going,
"Miike is finished,"

and "The man who made
Audition is gone."

But that means that it had
a huge impact, didn't it?

I think so.
After Audition and Visitor Q,

Imprint, which was also
written by Tengan, came along,

and people started to consider me
a horror movie director.

We just saw her picture
on the screen a little while ago.

Shiina, the main actress,
was in Tokyo Gore Police recently.

Right. She's back. Yes.

She quit once because
she had her heart broken.

I heard she was in Kyushu.

She came back
and she's doing good.

I see. So, she hadn't
been doing a lot of acting.

Yeah. Well...

She doesn't seem to be interested
in living the life of an actress.

She's had her good moments
and her bad moments,

and, you know...

It's not everything.
It's not the most important thing.

She started out as a model.

She was different
from other actresses.

The feeling she gives this film
wasn't created from whole cloth.

It was kind of her true colour.

We wanted to bring that feeling,
as it was, into the film.

That's Eihi Shiina.

It's difficult to create
that kind of aura in acting.

We have to make up
an episode for her.

There isn't much information
about her in the movie,

but her presence itself just feels
ominous and foreboding.

How about you, Tengan?

Yeah, she's very mysterious.

Wasn't she in a Yukisada movie?
I saw her in something at a screening.

She was mysterious.
We're not sure if she's like that normally.

And I think we didn't
really get to know her.

We wanted to keep our distance
to keep that feeling as real as possible.

It feels like she has something inside
that is disturbing.

Her natural tension
just makes people feel that way.

I think that fit the film.

Now we're seeing
the audition scene of this film.

Who are these people?

Some of them
are young prospective actresses.

By the way,
this lady is a staff member.

We improvised some of these,
which made it like a real audition.

We just left the camera rolling
and kept the good ones.

But I'm not really very good
at that kind of thing.

It could've been better.

This scene is kind of sluggish.

But the sluggishness could be
perceived as being very Japanese.

In Japan, once we say "Okay,"
it's difficult to do it again.

Back then, it was very difficult
to check rushes and reshoot the scene.

You're destined to make some mistakes.

Your film will have some mistakes.

Accept it and move on.

So, that brings some uncertainty
and imperfections that were not planned,

but the effect is mostly positive, I think.

If it was perfect,
and it dictated the audience's feeling,

people would feel like
it was too calculated and overdone,

and I'd guess it probably
wouldn't have been so popular.

It looks like you took
a long time to shoot this scene.

It was just rolling.

There were no bloopers.

We would just call "Next!"
That's all we did.

And there were people
who were watching the audition.

They were waiting for their turn
and watching on the side.

They watched the people performing.

They couldn't figure out what to do.
Some tried very hard.

Others were totally nervous.

There were no directions,
so it was very realistic.

Even just looking at her back,
I feel something scary.

She has something.
I wonder how she is in real life.

We're going to see some horrific stuff.

If we could see her ambition
as an actress or something,

we could understand
what she wanted to do.

But she wasn't like that.
She was so mysterious.

We didn't want to ruin the mystery,

so we tried not to talk to her much.

We didn't try to understand her,
and she didn't ask us anything.

That was our relationship.

Even 10 years later,

I probably still
don't know who she is.

By the way,
this scene is too long.

We wanted to show the audition
going on and on and on

to show how long it took
to finally get to her.

The title is Audition
and this is the only audition scene.

I think these two male characters
are totally opposite.

Kunimura is...

How can I put this?

Back then, he was already established,
but he was an unusual type.

He wasn't an actor everybody knew.

The pros knew who he was.

He was very cooperative.

He doesn't have much ego,
and he pays attention to what's going on.

He thinks about how
his character should be played

in relation to the other character,
Aoyama, played by Ishibashi.

Of course, it was described
in the script, but for example,

he chooses his tone of voice
based on the other actors.

It depended on how
the others acted.

He is a wonderful actor
for a director.

In this scene,
she is wearing a white dress.

Does that mean something?

It's more of a suit.

Well...

We wanted it
as simple as possible.

It doesn't show much pride.

At first glance,
she looks like an open person.

But you can't actually tell who she is.

We tried to use
a simple costume for her.

It applies to her hairstyle and makeup.
She had very little makeup on.

How old was she back then?

Who? Shiina?

I think she was 23 or 24.

Ishibashi is talking now.

She has an unusual face.

Let's talk about Tengan's career.

Okay.

You've been involved
in many movies as a writer,

and you direct, too.

Can we talk about
the films you directed?

- The films I directed?
- Yeah.

I directed Aiki
and Ishibashi was in that, too.

And I did Waiting in the Dark.

The Most Beautiful Night in the World
hit the screens last year.

I've done some documentaries,
like Muteki no Handicap.

I'm so twisted.

I'm twisted.

Last year's movie was so twisted.

- What do you think?
- I'm a huge fan.

He's not trying to please people.

I think, in Japan,

there are very few people
who make films like that.

It's like it's not his job.

It's more like fate.
He makes films because it's his fate.

Meanwhile, we make films
to make a living.

It's the complete opposite.

What do you think?

Maybe it's not my job.
Maybe it's fate, like you say.

That's the ideal.

If it were like that forever
that'd be great,

but it can't always be like that.

Did you like writing Audition?

Yeah. I like writing screenplays.

So, I enjoy writing for myself
and other people.

I really enjoy writing.

Is there a difference

between writing for yourself
and writing for other directors?

Recently, there has not been
much difference.

But when I've never worked
with a particular director,

since I don't know
the person very well,

I'll tend to write more details.

This was the first film
that I worked on with Miike.

The whole time I was writing,
I wondered how Miike would direct it.

The script was very detailed,
so I had a lot of questions.

"What does that mean?"
"When did this happen?"

But everything
just had to be accepted.

I realised that maybe
I didn't have to understand everything.

You can't always tell which scene
is from whose point of view.

When I was reading this story,

I thought everybody
would share time with somebody,

but each person probably has
a totally individual perspective.

Three people are here right now,
but we all see this moment differently,

and things take on entirely different
meanings from alternate points of view.

That's the reality. When we fall in love
and spend time together,

we tend to think we share the same time
and same kinds of feelings,

but actually there are two
thoroughly different worlds.

Each person has his or her own world.

And people forget to think
of each other's feelings, or world.

So, oddly...

the sequence in the last half
was actually kind of natural.

I wasn't trying to make it eccentric.

I shot it in a natural way.

So, after Audition,
as you guys told me,

you worked together on lmprint
for Showtime's Masters of Horror.

I was criticised
by so many people for that.

I was told to do
whatever I wanted to do.

American producers watched Audition,
and they liked it.

I was chosen for Masters of Horror.
All big-name directors on the series.

And the 13th film,
the last in the series, was mine.

I wondered why
they chose mine for last.

I thought,
"This is going to be so much fun."

It was for cable TV, and they said
I could do whatever I wanted.

America is a country of liberty.
There is freedom of expression.

They told me to do something
I couldn't get away with in Japan.

So I did it, and they said,
"That's too much."

They said,
"We can't air this on cable TV."

In England, it was shown uncut,

so it was still watched
by a lot of people.

But I do think that putting
Tengan and I together...

is dangerous for producers.

But we haven't learned our lesson.
He's writing a story for me right now.

It's going to be a serious,
period-piece drama,

and Tengan is writing the story.

- Is it 13 Assassins?
- Yes.

I think some folks
in Toho may even pass out...

when they learn
what the story is about.

They don't understand us.

It's unbelievable.

Yeah, they'll misunderstand.
They'll never get it.

So, are you allowed
to talk about the story?

It's not that I'm not allowed.
It's just that it's unfinished.

We don't even know
where the story will end up yet.

I can understand distributors worrying.
We need a big audience.

And it's going to cost a lot,

so if we don't get a big audience

we will lose money,
and I understand that.

But how do we want
to entertain the audience?

Maybe it'll just be an okay film
for people to come and have a good time,

but that's not what we're after,
that's not what we're shooting for.

We don't find
that kind of movie very attractive.

We're not against that kind of thing,

but if we're being true to ourselves,
the movie is going to be crazy.

There are landmines
placed throughout the story.

It's very exciting.

We're going to set a new record
for most people killed in a story.

The number is unbelievable.

It seems like no matter what I write,
there are always characters left to kill.

Just wait until you see it.

So, the screenplay is almost finished?

Yes, almost.

Are you planning
on shooting this year?

Yes.

We are planning to show it
at the Venice Film Festival next year.

That's our goal.

Miike,
you studied filmmaking at a school

founded by Tengan's father,
Shohei Imamura, right?

Well, I went to school,
but I'm not sure if I studied or not!

I would like to ask
about your relationship with Imamura.

Can you tell me about
your work relationship?

Or were you friends?

Well, I was...

before... how do I put this?

Imamura is surrounded
by fascinating people,

a lot of very unique folks.

And you go, "How did these people
get involved in filmmaking?"

I was working
as an assistant director for TV shows.

My role was to make sure
the production was on track.

The job and I were like oil and water.

I don't think I'm someone who should
ever be an assistant director.

A person like me is not supposed
to be there, at least usually.

But I guess I was useful in a way.

I don't think Imamura
was expecting much from me

as an assistant director.

I wasn't Imamura's understudy
or anything like that.

The way they lived and worked
was reflected in their movies.

It was about how your life
became intertwined with filmmaking.

That was the big difference
from other directors,

and that's not something
I can duplicate.

So, I have to make films in my way
and with my own voice.

I just have to do it in my own style.

That's what I learned from him.
In that sense, I'm like him.

Doing something different from him
was the way to go.

But I really regret
that I wasn't of much help to him.

He had this way of looking at me,
like, "Why are you here?"

So, did you guys
know each other before this?

Not really.
We had only met once.

You might not remember this,
but I met you at a New Year's party.

Yeah, that's right.

At that time...

I had just started working for Imamura.

I see.

So, we knew each other
but hadn't yet had a conversation,

and I got a call from him for this film.

I heard about him
through Inagaki,

who was working for Imamura
as a set designer.

They were saying, "Daisuke Tengan
is a really thought-provoking guy."

The people talking about Tengan's
productions really seemed to...

enjoy feeling the pain.

I think they really felt
like they were making something.

They seemed to have fun
and enjoy the uniqueness.

It had obviously been
a pleasant experience.

Is that accurate?

Yeah,
my productions are tough,

but I think Miike's productions
are tough, too.

Yes, physically tough.

It's the same thing.

We didn't have a lot of time
to shoot this, you know?

How many days?

How many days?
I don't remember...

but I think it was about three weeks.

Is that too short for you now?

No, but back then, three weeks
was one week longer than usual.

On most of my movies,
I had to shoot everything in two weeks,

and I got really used to working like that.

I knew how to direct
in that kind of schedule.

As time went on,
I'd get more and more days to shoot.

If, all of a sudden,
I get a whole three months,

that would be a huge movie.

If we worked for three months

as intensely as we work
on those two-week shoots, we'd die.

So, having three months means
we'd work more leisurely.

We'd have to make each day
a good deal easier on everyone.

I didn't know how to do that.

Far from it,

my style was pushing everyone
as much as I could, working hard,

even when we were exhausted,
and finishing in two or three weeks.

Tengan, what about you?
Was it always a battle against time?

Yeah, it was like that for me, too.

Short and concentrated.

Even if we have a lot of days to shoot,
it still feels very tight.

You have to struggle
to keep your concentration.

I heard Tarantino talking about you.

He said Miike was the director
who was making the most films.

And it's true.
You make a lot of movies.

What's that like?
How are you able to do so many?

Well, there are a lot of directors
who are just constantly putting out films.

Directors of "Pink Films" in Japan,
for instance, put out tons of stuff.

In Mexico, there are movies
coming out all the time.

It was never my intention, really,

to be known for making a lot of films.

But it's kind of convenient.

Oh, that's scary.
The bag moved suddenly.

It just kind of happened.

I didn't set out to make so many.
It wasn't part of some big scheme.

It just kind of happened that way.

After every movie, I always feel like
I only have one movie left in me.

When I'm shooting a longer picture,

I think about making commercials
or something on the side,

just by using extra time, the crew
and equipment are already there.

I don't think it's necessarily a good thing
to make so many movies...

but in Japan you can't really make a living
if you're not shooting all the time.

I understand.

Ishibashi looked skinnier back then.

I think he's a size bigger now.
He looks very dignified.

He didn't always have a lot of roles,
but things have been happening.

He had always wanted...

to work in Hollywood,
to try something...

he wanted to try something
outside of Japan.

And if he wants
to follow Matsuda's example,

he has to go abroad,
and that's what he's been doing.

He's been putting himself out there.
He learned English.

Miike, did you go
through any changes

during the shooting of this?

Well... how can I put this?

Well...

This was not the first one.

Even though it wasn't a big production,
I wanted to use film,

and I wanted to make it
for theatrical release.

Before this,
I used film for promotion,

to sell videos
to the theatre audiences,

theatrical films as promotion,

so even though this wasn't going
to have a big budget,

it was my intention
for it to be seen theatrically.

It was really the first film that
I made specifically for that format.

You used to make "V-Cinema",

but after Audition and Dead or Alive

your area was bigger,
your audience was bigger.

You made bigger pictures,

so you sort of went through
three different arenas of film.

Now do you think about
the budget or the genre

when you are considering a project

and thinking about which gig to accept?

No. No.

Usually... the way it usually goes...

If I'm not paying close enough attention,
then it can really go any way.

But from the producers
that I used to work with,

to just the people I hung out with,

some, obviously, have come
and gone over the years,

but others have kept plugging away.

Sometimes people will form
a new company or something,

and that might be a place
where I can bring a project.

Time passes, and gradually...

everyone who once worked together
has scattered to different areas,

and each person is working hard
to make their own way.

But when they get the chance,

sometimes they'll think of me
and give me a call.

This has happened time and time again
with people I used to know.

Inevitably, my films are staffed with folks
who've all worked with me before.

I see.

My goal isn't necessarily to get
every person in the country to see it,

but when a lot of people
watch your movie

and you're recognised in the industry,

it's easier to get a lot more freedom
on these low-budget projects.

Casting becomes easier.

You don't have to sacrifice quality.

So, I will keep on making films
and meeting more people.

Look at stuff like genre movies
or "Pink Films",

those can be made
with very low budgets.

They don't have to be huge movies.

I want to make interesting movies.

What are your plans
for the future, Tengan?

More directing?

Well...

My approach to filmmaking
is a little different from Miike's.

When a professional makes a film,
it can be intriguing,

but lately I'm thinking that
there are limits to what they can do.

I want to make something
that is amateurish.

A pro makes movies
as an occupation.

They don't want anything in there
to be unnecessary,

but they lose something
when they always work in that mind-set.

At least, that's how I feel.

It's kind of the opposite
of how big movies are approached.

My roots are in independent film,

and I think that's the direction
I want to return to now.

It's difficult in Japan,
because there aren't as many producers.

I mean...

I find something interesting
and want to do it with these people,

and we find some people
to make it happen.

Then we get together
and create something.

But the current producers in Japan
are kind of all the same; they're trendy.

They say, when we edit,
"It's too long."

And I think,
"What's wrong with being too long?"

They say, "The pace isn't good,"
or "This line isn't necessary."

They don't want anything unnecessary.

If the movie's nothing but good stuff,
I think that gets kind of boring.

They like big stars in the movies,

and the big stars have to look cool.

And to make them look cool,
they bring in other, less-cool actors.

It's so unnatural.

People who try to resist that tendency,

I think that's a great quality to have.

That's definitely something Tengan has.

It's a weapon that you can use
to shape your film.

In America, there are factors
that create variety in filmmaking.

For example, we can't tell
if Steven Soderbergh is a pro or not.

Tarantino is totally an amateur...

at least in that sense.

Can you explain that?

He doesn't know how to shoot.

Really?

He knows what kind of shot he wants.

When I went to see
the shooting of Grindhouse,

he was having fun
riding in the stunt car.

He was saying,
"This is scary! It's so cool!"

And they just keep on going.
They go on and on.

In that sense, he's not trying
to be a "professional" filmmaker.

And for the audience,
that's why he's great,

they keep that atmosphere
and let him make whatever he wants.

They can still commercialise his films
and make a lot of money.

But there are some people
who are really proactive.

They challenge.

They want to be successful,
even for just a short time, in Hollywood,

rather than having a long
and "safe" career somewhere else.

In Japan, there are no producers
like that at all.

So, there are many, many films
that come out that are all right,

but they aren't very interesting
or challenging.

It's extremely difficult for unique voices
to compete in that environment.

Everybody has the same style.

They try to make it appear different
by using more distinctive music,

or fancy cutting
or camera movements,

and they may think that
that stuff makes their films unique,

but I don't think so,
it's not about that.

So, I was lucky.
Miike understood my story.

I wrote the story,
but I was always wondering,

"What are people going to think
when they read this?"

I wondered a little bit.

But I handed it over, turned it in.

I was so excited to meet him
and get his reaction.

And he said it was good.

So... that's really
how it all came together,

and that made me really happy.

But even with Miike behind it,

if other people had found it
confusing or unclear,

the movie wouldn't have received
the recognition that it has.

The audience wouldn't have
found it as interesting.

In Japan, it's pretty difficult
to make this kind of film.

What was it like
when you made Imprint?

We knew that might cause problems,
but we did it anyway.

It was a shorter-form film
called Imprint.

It was close to the original story.

I got the impression that they really
wanted me to do something.

They'd seen Audition overseas.

One good thing about Audition,

you'll never know the reason
why the movie was made.

That's the power of it.

For Imprint, we had direction.
We knew why we were making it...

so in that sense,
it was easier to make.

That could have been our motivation...
for crossing the line.

I never thought about it like
"crossing the line," though.

Audition was so much scarier.

The story was realistic.

The original story was like that.

Imprint had a story that was
kind of set in its own world.

It wasn't that real-life kind of fear
that you feel with Audition.

With Imprint, I think Miike took
his enthusiasm to an extreme.

Hey, I just did
what the script said to do.

This guy's the dangerous one.

But it was impossible
for American audiences

to understand killing an infant
because of poverty,

or getting an abortion
or throwing a baby in the river.

They probably didn't see any reason
for there to be movie about that.

The reaction to Audition between
Europe and America was very different.

In London and Paris,
there were all these female reporters.

They said that I was a feminist.

They thought, "Hey, she's getting
revenge on these womanisers."

In New York, I was told by male and
female reporters that I was the devil.

I was like, "Really?"

I wanted to say,
"Asami is the devil in this, not me."

Each country has its own reaction.

They have totally varied perspectives.

Audiences from Japan,
Europe and America,

they all had very particular responses
to watching Imprint.

But Tobe Hooper, the director,
told me...

that when there was
an announcement in the newspaper

that the film wouldn't be aired on TV,
that's when I became a real director.

Which was very Tobe Hooper
of him to say.

He is awesome.

Yeah, I'm not sure
if that makes me happy or not.

I felt like the plot's development in this
was covered up.

For example, you learn about Asami,
but only little by little.

Her strangeness
is revealed very gradually.

It all happens very slowly.

Was that the plan
when you were writing?

Was that what you wanted,

or did you guys have discussions
about the pacing and things like that?

In the original story,

it doesn't show how Asami lives
or much of her background,

but she says things
that sound too peculiar to be true,

and I really wanted to emphasise
that aspect in the script.

And I think Miike had a vision
of where he wanted to take it.

Yeah, as far as the plot,
I left it up to him.

Whenever we'd meet, I told him
to do whatever he wanted to do.

He took the story where he wanted.

You know...

a screenplay is kind of...

its own art form,

separate from the final film.

So it's up to... the writer.

In Japan, writers are appreciated
for incorporating the opinions and ideas

of the producers and the directors;
not only is that appreciated, it's expected.

They're expected to listen
to everybody's opinions.

Of course,
when you work that way...

you have to actually use these ideas
from all these other various people.

That's why I wanted to leave him alone
as much as possible.

When I read the story
for the first time...

except the last sequence...

I thought that it would be
relatively easy for me to shoot.

So, for the first hour,

which is the first 60 pages in the script,

everything's pretty normal,
there's no jumping around in time.

As a movie, it's explanatory,
it's very matter-of-fact,

and it includes some scenes
which could have been cut out

so the audience could
get the impression

that this movie is not all
it's cracked up to be.

It was like, if the plot didn't move forward
enough in the next five minutes,

some audiences would have walked out,
and by then it'd be too late to reach them.

So, it's almost too late.

They spend the first hour thinking that
the film is not what they heard about,

getting more and more frustrated
as it goes along,

and then, suddenly,
the plot develops in a crazy way.

So, I find the plot very uncommon.

But upon reading the story,
I could imagine how to make it.

I knew how I should do it
right when I read it.

So, I think that's...

that's probably the biggest difference
between the original story

and the plot of the screenplay.

What do you think?

When I write,

if the story belongs to a certain genre,
such as psychological thriller,

I would have the story develop
at a faster pace for the first half.

Maybe put in more action scenes.

I'd probably use more cinematic plots.

Once I realised this film wouldn't
be like that, I stopped writing.

I realised I might have been going
in the wrong direction.

I left the script for two or three days.

I was just waiting
for something to hit me.

Then the thought of playing
with time occurred to me.

Even if the story goes
back and forth in time,

I thought the audience should
still be able to follow it.

And since they were seeing it visually,

it'd be less confusing
than it would be to read.

Because of CG technology,
we can do anything now.

We can control space,

so the audience isn't going
to be impressed, necessarily,

regardless of what we do with time
and space; they've seen it before.

But sitting in a theatre,
you're sharing time with others.

You're forced to share that time.

So, I thought, if I could work on that,
it could be intriguing.

That's what I was thinking.

As Miike said before,

we share time when we watch something,
and sometimes it's slow,

and sometimes it's fast,
and I wanted to control how that felt.

I really wanted the audience to feel
an acceleration of time in the last half.

That's what I wanted to do.

Miike understood that
and did his thing.

When I saw this film at a screening...

I was impressed in a lot of ways.

The story was perfectly visualised.

When I write,
it's the world of imagination.

Here he is. Renji Ishibashi.

He's kind of a toy
in the Japanese film industry.

Everybody has fun playing with him.
Just how to play is up to you.

He'll tell you, "I'm not your toy,"
but he really does enjoy it.

As an actor,
he knows what he's doing.

He's in several of my movies.
I really love him.

Was this film
the first thing you did with him?

We did
The Bird People in China.

He'd say, "I'm an actor
who can handle the shooting,

"even in remote areas,
so don't worry about it."

But then he'd start whining and going,
"Do you know I was a child actor?"

"I can't handle this anymore."

He was whining.

I thought that was hilarious.

I really wanted to put him
in my movies.

He's just an enthralling guy.

He's like a vestige of an older
Japanese film industry.

He worked with Shintaro Katsu
all the time.

He missed him a lot.
He wished Katsu was there.

Although I wasn't a member

of any of the five major
Japanese production companies

and I've worked freely,

when I come into contact
with someone like him,

it reminds me that the older generations
are not irrelevant to us,

nor are we to them.

He genuinely loves acting.

He had special makeup on that day.

No, it's not that day.
He had another scene.

He had some crazy makeup
on for the scene.

And he had to wait for eight hours.

And there was another guy
who was waiting there,

so he kept on telling the other actor,
for eight hours,

how terrible the shooting of
The Bird People in China had been.

So, when I told the actor,
"I'm so sorry we made you wait,"

he said, "No problem. Thanks to The Bird
People in China, I didn't get bored."

He was able to talk about it
for eight hours.

It must have been tough
for the listener, actually.

Had you worked with him, Tengan?

No, I hadn't.

This is so confusing.

But we feel something from him.
He is awesome.

Let's talk about
the scenes coming up.

It relates to the story.

I think she had experienced
some trauma in her childhood,

and it became this huge part of her.
Her love became obsession.

That's how I look at it.

Her only way of showing love
was through torture,

since she had been tortured
when she was a kid

by the Renji Ishibashi character.

She thought they were the same thing.

That's why she tortured people
she loved as an expression of love.

Yeah, that's one way to look at it.

She may have some other reasons.

Like...

I can say that you're right
about her craziness

growing out of the nature of events
that happened in her past.

I think those things had an impact
on her in very special ways.

To play a role, actors usually
ask lots of questions,

and they try to better understand
the character.

But she felt intuitively that
she knew how to play this role.

We didn't ask how she interpreted it,
because we liked it that way

and we wanted
to hold on to the mystery.

We didn't force our image
of the character on her.

Usually we're supposed to understand
all of the characters in a film.

That's the director's job

and the assistant director's job,
I've been told that all my life.

"You need to understand
your characters.

"Use your understanding
to direct them."

But, in this case,
I didn't understand,

and I couldn't pretend that I did.

So, when we were not sure
about something, we asked Asami.

That's what we did.
It didn't always clear up our questions.

Even if we got an answer,
we couldn't tell if it was true or not.

Come to think of it,
this seems to happen to me a lot.

The idea of cause and effect

is, of course, easy to understand,
and it's very useful,

but there are things
that are unbelievable.

The past Asami talks about
sounds a little different

from what the real story must be.

So... well...

Look, Miike visualised something
as disgusting as this.

I wrote it, but I wondered
if you would actually shoot it.

And he did.
He visualises every single line.

When I saw this scene,
I realised that he shot everything.

So, it was written in the script.

Yes, it was.

But a lot of directors don't
or won't shoot everything,

and some will get mad
if I don't write out every little detail.

But this guy shoots
everything that's in the script.

Did that make you happy?

Well... I'm not sure.

I felt, sometimes, that I could have
written some parts better.

But I didn't feel like
there was anything unnecessary.

The director of photography
was Hideo Yamamoto, right?

Yes.

Had you worked with him before?

When I was making "V-Cinema"

and I was an assistant director,

he did a lot of work on set,
mostly as a camera assistant.

Unlike in America,
we have to climb up the career ladder.

The person
in the lowest position loads film,

then starts pulling focus after learning
some stuff, then adjusts apertures,

then becomes chief, then finally
becomes a camera operator.

That's how the Japanese
film industry works.

And I was the third assistant director,
and doing slating.

Then I was the second, then chief,
then finally I became a director.

In the camera department,
the climb to the top is a bit faster,

but it's close, it's almost the same.

I think we went
to the same school, too.

- Right.
- Yokohama.

I think we were
in the same year or something.

I knew his name.

But you didn't meet
until you were both on the set.

Right. We met
when we were still assistants.

One day, we were going,
"Wow, we came all that way."

But it's not like...

we were best friends or anything.

We eat together sometimes,
but we don't know each other real well.

We're not aware of each other's
personal lives.

When I want to respect someone...

I want to keep a good image
of them in my head,

and I think knowing them too well
can be detrimental to the work.

The more we just work together,

the further my image probably goes
away from the reality, I imagine.

But he's very flexible.

He has some hang-up about death.

Yamamoto shot one
of Takeshi Kitano's films.

It was Fireworks.

His films are very different.

He almost died once.
It might've been an attempted suicide.

But he recovered
and started shooting films.

So, he had a near-death experience.

What's interesting about
Hideo Yamamoto is... he prays.

His father and mother
both died early on in his life.

She died right after he was born.

None of his relatives are living,

so I think he thought that when
he got to be his parents' age, he'd die.

He could've been thinking that
since he was a kid.

It's natural.
He's tried to forget it, but can't.

That's who he is.

So, whatever life he's led past that age
has been like extra time.

He's okay, too, he's very healthy.

But that's not something
anyone can just learn.

You can't create that in the frame

or in the lighting.

But how he lives
definitely shows in the picture,

no matter what he shoots,
it shows right there.

For me, it had to be
Hideo Yamamoto.

He doesn't want to do
anything eccentric.

He doesn't try
to make a good picture.

He regrets it
when he makes a good picture.

He likes simple shooting.

I don't think he likes being told,
"That was a great picture."

I think he likes making a good film,
not creating a good picture.

I really appreciate that approach.

So, do you work with him often?

Yes, we do.

We did Yatterman together.

That had nothing to do
with death, though.

I heard you had
a promotional tour for Audition.

Was that in 2001 ?

Right.

And then 9/11 happened.

Right, it was the same time.

We were planning to attend
a film festival in Toronto.

We were going to do a promotion
for Ichi the Killer.

The promotion came with barf bags.

It was this big event
where the audience received barf bags.

Anyway, we were going to go
over there for this promotion.

Right before that, it was going
to be released in Los Angeles.

So, we stopped off in Los Angeles
for this other promotion.

We went to Los Angeles
and promoted our film,

and on the day we were going
to fly to Toronto,

we found out something terrible
had happened in New York.

Of course, our flight was cancelled,
and we couldn't go to Toronto.

They were wondering if they should
even continue the festival.

They decided to continue with it,
to show that the terrorists had not won.

I thought that was great.

We were going to go back to Japan
on a flight out of San Francisco.

So, as we're driving
from Los Angeles to San Francisco,

we found out Dead or Alive was
going to be released that same day.

They invited us to come
and promote that,

so we showed up and did
an audience meet-and-greet.

That was a strange series
of experiences.

It's totally off-topic,

but Imamura's last work was
September 11,

and Tengan wrote the screenplay.

I guess you guys made
the film together, right?

When I heard about the project...

I thought it would be great.
I thought it was a great idea.

It was something inevitable.

Imamura wasn't expecting
anything like that.

Right.
The project was brought to him.

But he really felt something for it,
and decided to accept it.

This was great.
Tomorowo Taguchi was incredible.

It was an almost
inhuman performance.

I think that film is a masterpiece.

And you wrote the screenplay,
Tengan?

Yes. One of the stories.

And they brought the project to you?

Yeah, yeah.

It was 11 directors from around the world
all working together on one movie.

And the theme was the attacks?

No, it wasn't.

There was this piece
of Chinese poetry.

A author named Masuji Ibuse
had translated it,

and Imamura added one line to the end.

He wanted to make a film
out of this poem.

He wanted to do it with Ken Ogata,

and he left the story part to me.

He was like, "I want to shoot this.
The story is up to you."

You can't tell who this guy is.
Even Japanese people can't tell.

We talked about Fireworks,
which was shot by Yamamoto,

and this guy was
the main character in that.

The movie received the Golden Lion
at the Venice Film Festival.

His name is Ren Osugi.

He's received all kinds of awards
for best actor in Japan.

When he eats vomit,
he says, "Yummy."

He is also a "toy" type,
like Ishibashi.

Could you believe it
when he accepted this role?

Well... many actors are actually...

not very happy about the roles
they usually get.

The more popular they become,
the more likable roles they have to play.

They get typecast as these likable guys,
even when they're bad guys.

And when it's a good guy
everybody has to feel sympathy for him.

Most actors are outlaws.

Many of them feel like, "I didn't become
an actor to say this stupid line."

I think he really wanted
to play this kind of role.

This is so terrible.
He's only wearing briefs.

This was the special
makeup scene, right?

We talked about
the eight hours, right?

This was the scene they waited for.

The guy in the bag, Ren Osugi,
he was the listener.

That's a scarier situation
than the story in the movie.

How frightening.

The frustration exploded
in the form of great acting,

and that made the movie scarier.

Somewhere around here,
as Tengan talked about before,

the story starts going
back and forth in time.

There was order up until this point,
but now it's starting to get messed up.

The characters start losing control.

Directing these scenes,
it's like something was driving me.

We couldn't discuss it too much.

The story made sense to us somehow,

and we didn't want to change
that feeling.

Did you shoot the scenes
in the order they were scripted?

In order?
There's no way to shoot in order.

We have to shoot everything
for each set one set at a time.

It gets all out of order,
but that's inevitable.

It's inconvenient, but there are
also good things about it.

We have control over the movie.

It gives us a measure of control
over the actors.

If they don't follow instructions,
there will be continuity problems.

So, I can keep my film under control.
For the most part.

Oh, the scene where he gets killed.

She looks very happy
for some reason.

Cutting meat.
Just cutting meat here.

For the last scene...

the sound guy, Kenji Shibazaki,
did a really good job.

He's done most of my films,

and he's probably done
half of all Japanese films, really.

Yeah, most of my films, too.

He's a really strange guy.

Like a little boy sometimes.

He makes weird sounds and noises
that other people can't make.

He was in the studio
for a long time for this scene.

The scene was like this,
she's cutting through flesh,

and she's cutting
into a big bone with this wire.

And he was trying really hard

to create the sound of the moment
the wire finally reaches the bone.

The sound changes
when it reaches the bone.

He put all his efforts into that scene.

If his parents saw how he worked,
I bet they'd have... mixed feelings.

When I saw him right after Imprint,

as soon as he saw my face,
he was like, "Was that okay?"

I went, "I don't know."

This whole bit, this scene...

It was a little different
from the original story.

What really struck me,
what stayed with me

was the simplicity of each character
in such crazy situations.

Things get really messed up,
but they're still simple people.

She changes her clothes,
she follows the right steps.

Things go back and forth in time.

But she handles the simple process
of cutting legs with no problem.

It's not an illusion,
it happens for real.

There was a contrast.

And I felt scared
when I was reading it.

How did you feel
when you were writing?

I wrote in a bit
of an elevated mood,

but when you see it visually,
it suddenly has become real.

That's the power of visuals.
When I see it, it makes me feel sick.

It's started.

From this moment on,
Ishibashi can't act anymore.

She injects him with something.
All he can do is move his hands.

And groan.
He can just groan.

I think he had concerns about
how long he had to be like that.

When we started shooting,

he was a little concerned,

but as it goes, Asami made him
feel like he could do anything.

So, he was willing
to move just his hands.

Of course, he's an actor
and he's acting,

but all his tricks and tools as an actor
have been taken away from him here.

But he's the main character.
He has to be there.

Shiina never asked...

why Asami was doing this.

But she looks most beautiful
in this scene for some reason.

It's interesting.
Oh, he is moving his hand.

Did you have
a special way of shooting this?

No, nothing out of the ordinary.

But... you know...

this may sound strange,
but the atmosphere on the set...

is kind of gentle and calm
for violent scenes.

It's filled with love.

When they fight,
the punches can't hit anyone.

But it has to look like they hit.
For this scene, it has to look painful.

And it accelerates.

That's cruel.

She really looks like she's going to go
"Kiri-kiri-kiri" in that cute way.

What she's doing is horrible, though.

She can't help doing this,
and that feeling shows on her face.

She kind of looks happy.

I think this scene turned out
to be pretty great.

Casting was great.

If it wasn't her...

- It would've been different.
- I think so.

She is not trying
to show who she is.

She doesn't have any intention
of doing that.

It looks like it took
a long time to shoot this.

We try not to take too long
to do these kinds of scenes.

I mean...

Of course,
it took more than one day.

For instance, in regular scenes,
we'll break on normal schedules,

but we can't just break for an hour
in the middle of a painful scene.

Even if it's a little rough,
we have to keep moving.

Our camera guy wanted
to add one more light here,

but he knows the priority
is the actors, not the lighting.

I don't have to say that.
He already knows.

In that way, we keep on going
without losing the tension.

Of course,
we shoot till very late at night.

You know,
when you were a kid,

and you were really tired at night,

wasn't it fun to stay awake just because
your parents had told you not to?

We'd all start feeling excited
after 2:00 in the morning.

We're all used to being on the set,

but it suddenly becomes
something like a fun event.

We shoot scenes
with some special makeup on one day,

and move on to the next day.

Or we take a few hours' break
and move on to the next scene.

There's no other way to do it.

There's a consistency to her.
She always has it.

Here's where
she starts cutting his legs.

This scene seemed to have had
an influence on Hollywood movies.

The impact of the scene
was so strong.

Yeah, Eli Roth.

Right.
Hostel was the example.

They really love horror movies,

so this ended up being
one of their favourites.

It didn't start with this movie.
There were others before it.

But from their point of view,
they really enjoyed it, I guess.

I wonder if there's anyone else
in America besides Eli Roth

who will listen to this commentary.

He might be watching this
with Tarantino.

It's difficult to imagine

what kind of person
would listen to this.

But if it's Eli,
I can imagine that.

Can you hear me, Eli?

Can you hear me?
Can you hear me, Tarantino?

This scene...

She's always the same.

I know it's a movie, but she's been
acting crazy for a while.

And she always had this way
of making it all appear normal, you know?

In this sequence, for example,
where she puts liquid in a syringe.

She just does it as if it's something
she does all the time in real life.

Oh, no... That's bad.

The sound effects were great in this.
The sound of the cutting.

She's smiling innocently.

- That looks incredible.
- It's classic.

This was great.

How was the special makeup
done for this scene?

Matsui did the makeup.
I work with him a lot.

He's weird, too.
It's like his life wears special makeup.

But he's wonderful.

We offered him this gig
with very little time or budget,

but he doesn't think about that stuff,
he just concentrates on doing his best.

I heard that in Japan
and some other countries,

sometimes people would walk out
because of this scene.

Yeah, there were always
some at the festivals.

Some people came without knowing
what kind of movie it was.

They thought it was about an audition.

There were some who couldn't take it
even if they knew what it was about.

One time, I was at a festival and
I was watching it with an audience,

and this person walked up to me
and said, "You're sick."

In English, of course.
She had to say that to me.

When she left, the audience
around me started clapping.

They were like,
"She left! You're sick!

"You're sick! You're one of us!"

They were like that.

I think it's natural
to have different reactions.

When we sit in the dark,
we have our own preferences.

We have our own favourites.

But there is a tendency
to try to make films

that everybody can enjoy
and cry together over.

To me, that's unnatural.

I went through all kinds of criticism
at many different festivals,

and I think...

We should all make different movies.
That's the way to go.

In that sense,
this movie was very successful...

since you got
such a variety of reactions.

I think the audience's feelings
and reactions are stronger in a theatre.

It's scary to watch my own films
with audiences.

When it's for foreigners, I don't know
how it's being translated or conveyed.

Some folks get mad,
but others enjoy it a lot.

The reactions of the audience
are always diverse.

It's completely different
at each and every festival.

You can feel it right there.

That's one reason I find my job
as a director so fascinating.

Have you watched your films
with theatre audiences?

Yes.

- It's not comfortable.
- It's uncomfortable.

Yeah, it makes me very restless,

and I feel that way
whether they like it or not.

I would probably feel better
if someone told me, "You're sick."

I really was scolded
by this middle-aged lady.

That's funny.

In Hollywood, they love remakes.
They love to remake old movies.

Several Japanese horror movies have
been remade in America and other places.

Have you received any offers like that?

Yes, I have, frequently.

Over there...

they don't want to miss anything
they see as having potential.

But it's about timing.

Good timing or bad timing.

And I think, for this film...

I think it matches the story
to have Asian characters.

If they were to remake
this film in America,

it could become something
completely different.

There she goes.

Have you had offers to direct movies
in other countries?

Yes.

Do you have any plans
to do something like that?

Oh, definitely.
It depends on my schedule.

For one thing...

I think...

the pay would be much better
than it is in Japan.

But we have different philosophies
about filmmaking schedules and time.

Going over there would be like selling
one or two years' worth of my time.

I just can't get used to the idea.

We've negotiated but not agreed,
and the projects fade away.

Do you mean that you have
to start committing your time

once you've accepted a project,
even before shooting begins?

I just feel scared that
my freedom will be taken away.

Also, it looks tough. A lot of people
are watching you in Hollywood.

You have to show rushes
to the guys in suits.

And I like the privilege of final cut.

So, I'm just not sure if that's
where I want to go as a director.

So, 10 years have passed.

Time flies.

When you see this film
that you made 10 years ago,

do you have a different impression
than you did before?

What do you think?

It's well-balanced in certain ways.

I think there was a good balance
among the actors, the crew,

the director and me.

That had to help.

If there wasn't a good balance,
it would have turned out differently.

I think there are things
you can make only at certain times.

I don't have any complaints
watching it now.

It does feel a little like watching
somebody else's film

when I see something
I did 10 years ago.

But it's precious.

I don't want to change anything.
I have no intention of changing it.

Can you tell me
what Audition meant to you,

as a director, when you think
about your career?

And Tengan, when you think about
how your screenplay works,

what does Audition mean to you?
Can you tell me?

I'm just glad that people
other than Japanese movie fans

have watched this film,
people from all over the world.

Cult movie fans.

We rented a regular house,
we shot it in Japan,

and it was accepted the world over
just as it was.

I really feel that...

there are a lot of things
I can do in Japan.

I don't have to leave Japan to do
a big film that finds an audience.

When I go overseas
and tell people I wrote Audition...

some people get so excited.

It reminds me that so many people...

from all different places have seen it.

I think the film has a power,
and that's led to it being so recognised.

I feel incredibly lucky
to have been involved in it at all.

All right.
Thank you both so much.

And remember, we're working
together again on our new project.

I'm not sure
what's going to happen.

It will be allowed to be shown.

It better be!