Junichi Okada & Michihito Fujii Talk Netflix’s ‘Last Samurai Standing’: Streaming Is The ‘Place To Experiment’

[ad_1] Billed as Netflix Japan‘s tentpole title for the 12 months, Final Samurai Standing is about in 1878 Japan, and assembles 292 fallen samurais for a survival recreation, the place the final competitor standing will get to assert a 100 billion yen (almost $656M) prize.

Japan’s Junichi Okada, previously of boyband V6, stars because the lead actor within the sequence, whereas additionally juggling producer and motion choreographer duties.

Alongside Okada, writer-director Michihito Fujii (The Journalist, Faceless) helms the sequence. Each labored collectively on the movie, Laborious Days, in 2023.

Okada was initially approached by Netflix to provide a sequence collectively — one that will contain “updating” the interval piece for modern tastes. Okada agreed, on the situation that he may select among the individuals he would work with, together with friends like Fujii.

Fujii added that he and Okada admired the late legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa (Rashomon, Seven Samurai) and wished to pay homage to his works, by means of Final Samurai Standing.

He additionally acknowledged that 2024 sequence Shogun has additionally cultivated international curiosity in samurais and Japanese historical past, and he's excited for Final Samurai Standing to grab this cultural second when it premieres on Netflix on November 13.

“I wished to work along with Fujii-san, paying respect to the tradition of the interval piece, however on the identical time, tackle the problem of updating the interval piece. In my forties, that is one thing that I actually wish to dedicate my time to,” says Fujii.

Making a interval piece for the current

Okada additionally appears to be like again at his earlier singing profession in a boyband and says, “There was a track referred to as ‘Made in Japan’ which I debuted to after I was 16. Even after I turned an actor, I proceed to suppose that approach, eager to create one thing that's ‘made in Japan.'”

He hyperlinks that ambition to what he's at present doing with Final Samurai Standing, and stated that he's proud that he can put Japanese tradition and historical past — just like the tales of samurais — on the world map.

Tailored from the novel, “Ikusagami,” by Shogo Imamura, Final Samurai Standing picks up within the Meiji interval in Japan, in 1878, the place the samurais skilled a pointy decline of their standing. For hundreds of years, the sword-wielding samurai have been the ruling warrior class in Japan’s feudal society, and seen as navy elites and cultural icons.

Underneath Japan’s new modernization legal guidelines, samurai have been banned from carrying swords and turn into an more and more impoverished and forgotten class of a vanished period. A mysterious invitation begins to flow into, and 292 samurai collect on the Tenryu-ji temple for a match, within the hopes of successful the huge money prize.

Fujii was significantly drawn to the story of the samurais’ waning affect in society and stated that there are parallels to the current, in how the pandemic and now, AI, have basically modified the significance of some professions. He wished to ask a query by means of the sequence: who're the samurais of immediately?

Fujii says: “I spotted that what could make the story extra fascinating, even thought it's set within the Meiji interval, is for it to be seen as not only a story that befell a very long time in the past, however for individuals to see it as their very own story, on this present interval. I wished to have the younger viewers watching this to not see it as one thing that’s outdated.”

Trying on the panorama of movie, tv and streaming, Fujii emphasizes that streaming is a “place to experiment.

“TV dramas have been there earlier than I used to be born, and movie has a long-standing historical past. The one media that has been created after I used to be born is the streaming platform,” says Fujii. “What’s most fascinating about streaming media is that that is the place to experiment.”

Producing practical motion

Multi-hyphenate Okada stated that whereas he was initially slated to hitch simply as a producer, he was quickly requested to steer the motion choreography too, given his in depth expertise in varied martial arts, together with jiu-jitsu, jeet kune do and shooto, amongst others.

“They requested me, you’re additionally going to be a part of this as an actor, proper? So I stated sure, though I wasn’t so positive if I may do each producing and appearing collectively,” stated Okada. “I've finished the roles of motion choreographer and actor, however not the function of producer, with being a lead actor. However I made a decision to only bounce in and take a look at.”

Okada performs the function of Shujiro Saga, a once-feared legendary murderer who finally ends up becoming a member of the lethal recreation within the hopes of incomes cash to avoid wasting his ailing spouse and youngster.

Hideaki Ito (Umizaru), Kazunari Ninomiya (from J-pop boy group Arashi), actress Kaya Kiyohara (Love is for the Canines), and Yumia Fujisaki (The Parades) are additionally a part of the forged.

One perk that Okada loved, for carrying so many hats? He may greenlight a number of his stunts — ones {that a} producer might need stopped for being too dangerous or costly.

“One factor that was optimistic of doing all three roles, is that even when it’s seen as harmful and never capable of be finished, I’m capable of eliminate that, as different individuals don't have to take the accountability. For instance, usually they’ll ask, ‘What in regards to the insurance coverage?’ No person can take the accountability, so these dangers are inclined to get stopped. However in case you are the producer, I stated, ‘nicely, Okada desires to do it, so let’s do it’ and we managed to comprehend many conditions.”

Okada provides that they have been capable of additionally work with longer takes, as he did most of his personal stunt work, drawing from his 20-year-long profession within the movie trade. He wished to make use of as a lot actual motion craft on set as attainable, and decrease the quantity of VFX wanted.

“Since I’m the individual doing the motion and stunts, we are able to do the lengthy take,” says Okada. “I do have an enormous respect for stunt individuals, however then it's a must to shoot from the again to cover issues.”

Fujii picks out the night-time meeting of 292 samurais within the first episode as essentially the most advanced scene that he needed to direct.

The entire samurais have been actual actors — none have been created by means of visible results.

“For the crew, this was actually difficult, and we spent about three weeks to rearrange this shoot, in the course of winter,” says Okada. “To have a rehearsal of 300 individuals was not attainable, so we had an motion crew of 20 individuals, and ensure we're in utterly alignment in what was going to occur, after which we referred to as the actors. We organized them in smaller teams, from group, A, B, C, all the best way to G, after which we put them into the motion scene.

“For instance, we'd say that group A would have a sure form of power, after which the B group must cross over. Then the C crew must struggle over right here,” provides Okada. “There have been a number of minute calculations, with the individuals within the background to create such actions.”

Sources of inspiration

Apart from Akira Kurosawa, Okada names Shogun star Hiroyuki Sanada as certainly one of his function fashions, alongside different bandmates he grew up with. His adolescent years weren't straightforward, and he typically had questions on his profession and identification.

“I didn’t have a father and I puzzled what sort of man I wished to develop as much as be,” says Okada. “By way of group actions, after I was an idol, I additionally puzzled how my profession was going to prove. I used to be additionally the youngest, so I all the time puzzled what I wanted to say, for different individuals to take heed to what I wished to do. However since I began after I was 14, I constructed up a number of expertise, and I put up a number of different individuals as my function fashions.

“There have been many actors that taught me, after I was an idol, and inspired me to proceed,” provides Okada.

Fujii additionally praises Okada’s “childlike-ness” in the best way he thinks creatively.

“Creators have to have a child-like mind-set and humor, and I used to be capable of finding that [in him],” says Okada. “Once we accomplished, we cried. We have been a little bit bit embarrassed, however I feel our friendship has actually deepened.”