Arata Furuta and Dir. Keisuke Yoshida about Tori Matsuzaka
Furuta: He is a serious and sincere actor. I felt that he's hardworking and professional. He could do both pull and push in the performance. Because of that I was able to keep pushing.
Tori's acting is very realistic. He can play plain and unpolished roles altho he looks attractive. He doesn't overdo it as an actor, and can act naturally. He's almighty actor (in english). That's why I wanted to work with him. I cast him for many other reasons too.
Is there a particular scene that stands out in your memory?
Furuta: The last scene with Tori. We were both physically and mentally exhausted, both as actors and as ourselves.
Dir. Yoshida: That's just one-cut. I left that scene to the two of them. After all the shoots, I decided "I'll just take one-cut for last scene whatever comes out, I'll take as fate and put that to the film. During the actual shooting, I was staring at them and surprised.
Dir. Yoshida: As the director, I wanted to keep cool, but I saw unexpected performances and was too emotional to say "cut". But, I was relieved to see the normally cool script supervisor crying beside me.
***Dir said the very last shot of Furuta-san is "after cut" reaction.
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Those who are curious on how various Japanese cinema awards' selection processes work. More or less same as other countries tho. But if u want details on which award emphasizes which aspect (be it performance or art or attitude or money) :D
So, the only "QUALITY" award is Kinema Junpo. As it's voted by film critics.
Academy, like oscars, is voted by filmmakers and staff so things like star power, box office are involved. (Since they have to eat with this job. :D). Says that it's not award for purely quality but highly regarded as technicians are recognized.
What do you like about each other?
Tori: Furuta-san's voice. During Paddington, he recorded first so that we have a guide to record. Thanks to him, it's much easier for us. I really like his warm voice.
Tori: Also, his communications skills. He can communicate with all people from various occupations from different places.
Tori: Third, he's very observant. Just listening to our interview today, his powers of observation of people are amazing. He spewed this venom (lol), but I realized that he observes so many people and has a big picture view. I thought it was cool.
Impression on each other
Tori: He's a person who has established his own position and his own things. I don't think there is anyone who can match Furuta-san. I feel that he is unique. I've seen him on stage many times.
Tori: I first came to know Furuta-san in "Kisarazu Cat's Eye (2002)". I was still a student. Furuta-san's role left a strong impact on me, and I laughed every time. Since I started working here, I've gradually come to know that he's an amazing person.
Furuta: I've known him since he was in "Samurai Sentai Shinkenger". At first I thought, "Tori Matsuzaka is going to play a bear? Aren't we wasting money?" but I enjoyed a lot working with Tori in Paddington.
Q: The main characters were all impressive and stuck in my mind. What did you pay special attention to in terms of casting and direction this time?
A: The main cast is made up of famous people, but I wanted to work with only people who are really good at acting for this film.
A: It may sound bad to put it this way, but I didn't want to cast people just because they were popular. Of course, Furuta-san and Tori are very good actors and very popular. Basically, I cast them based on their skill in acting and whether they fit the role or not.
Q: Beside your expression ability, your physical appearance here was also impressive. You seems to be having contractures steadily, your eyes are faint, and yet you seem to be staring at the same point. (T/N: Pls watch trailer.)
A: Yes, I did. In the scene where I confronted Furuta-san, I wanted to express the feeling of being unable to look or move, so I ran simulations before filming the scene.
Q: Your physical approach in Call Boy was also famous. Is this a style that you've been pursuing for a long time?
(T/N: Apparently in Japan, acting is termed as psychological and physical approach. I think? Why am I searching these in Japanese?) note.com/asakawa13/n/n8…