CASSHERN’s Kaz Kiriya Talks GOEMON And Shares First Image!

Can you explain some about the background story of Goemon?  I know the legend is very well known in Japan but virtually nobody here has any clue who he was.

GOEMON was a legendary thief who stole from the rich and gave to the poor, like Robin Hood.  He was, in a way, the first Japanese rock star figure who rebelled against the establishment, so much so that he decided to kill an oppressive Japanese Lord and then was caught and boiled to death.  This is pretty much all we know about GOEMON, and much remains in mystery.  Therefore he was a wonderful character for me to play with.

Reports are that you’ve modernized the story, is it going to be set in a “real” world or in some sort of stylized, more fantasy oriented world?

I wanted to stay away from the traditional Japanese look.  I believe Akira Kurosawa perfected the aesthetic, and I didn’t want to make something that people have already seen.  This movie has a very strong fantasy look based on Japanese and other Asian influences, and even some European aesthetic.  I took much liberty with the story, too.  All the characters in the story really existed, but they interact differently from what the text book tells.  Also I made a great effort not to lose audiences who aren’t familiar with Japanese history.

With shooting now done and release not scheduled until 2009, last I heard, you’ve obviously left yourself a lot of time for post.  How is this going to compare visually to Casshern?  What’s the basic breakdown of natural sets and effects to digital backlot?

The biggest complaint I received from my CGI team on CASSHERN was the lack of time.  So I gave them enough time to really polish the detail this time.  However, the amount of work we have to accomplish on GOEMON is approximately three times what we did on CASSHERN, so in the end we still don’t have enough time.  We are doing a lot of things that couldn’t be done with CASSHERN.  Well, this is an epic movie.

The most common criticism of Casshern came from people complaining it valued style over substance.  Did that upset you and did it affect the development process for Goemon?

I’m REALLY glad that you asked the question.  I simply wanted to challenge conventional movie making with CASSHERN.  Unfortunately, some people didn’t quite know whether I intended the structure or if it was simply a flaw.  It was more sad than upsetting.  I suppose it was seen as too ambitious for the first time director.  GOEMON is really focused on the story, to say “Hey, I can do this too”.  Of course I will be criticized by my fans for being… linear.

How hands on are you during the post-production process?  Are you going to be locked in to Goemon exclusively until it is finished or will you also be working on your English language film?

I will be very hands on.  However, I’m involved with some English language projects, so I intend to oversee the process as I develop other projects.  The editing is almost done, since we employed a real time editing system.  The rest of the time is for the CGI and composite.  Advancing technology allows me to oversee the process from anywhere in the world through the net.

And, not really related, but just because I’m curious ... the much shorter US DVD of Casshern is being billed as a directors cut.  How involved were you on that?

NO COMMENT, sorry.

Related Links

• Check the still here.
• Check the official Goemon website here.
• Check the Casshern trailer here.

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