by Chris MaGee
There seems to be a deluge of Japanese actors jumping behind the camera these days. Way back there was news of Naoto Takenaka bringing us his zombie comedy “Yamagata Scream”, then there was word of comedian Yuichi Kimura getting set to direct his counterfeiting film “Nisesatsu” and finally we had none other than Koji Yakusho bringing his dream project “Gama no Abura” to the big screen, so guess who’s making noises about their directorial ambitions now? Ken Watanabe, that’s who!
According to a report on Tokyograph today the “Last Samurai” and “Memories of Tomorrow” star caught the directing bug while watching Clint Eastwood martial the troops for his WW2 epic “Letters from Iwo Jima” and since then Watanabe has been working on a script for his directorial debut. What’s frustrating is that he’s keeping mum on what the film is about, what the genre might be and when it may see the light of day. Well, he is saying that he doubts his schedule will allow him to sit in the director’s chair until sometime next year.
Watanabe-san, some advice. I remember that when I was flirting with the idea of becoming a screenwriter I picked up a book by William Froug called “Zen and the Art of Screenwriting” (I know, dumb title) in which he gives some truly sage advice to first time writers and directors: never tell people that you’re working on something until it’s actually done! Trust me it takes the pressure off you to hammer away at something in secret, plus it doesn’t frustrate your fans (and film bloggers). Wakarimashita ka?
According to a report on Tokyograph today the “Last Samurai” and “Memories of Tomorrow” star caught the directing bug while watching Clint Eastwood martial the troops for his WW2 epic “Letters from Iwo Jima” and since then Watanabe has been working on a script for his directorial debut. What’s frustrating is that he’s keeping mum on what the film is about, what the genre might be and when it may see the light of day. Well, he is saying that he doubts his schedule will allow him to sit in the director’s chair until sometime next year.
Watanabe-san, some advice. I remember that when I was flirting with the idea of becoming a screenwriter I picked up a book by William Froug called “Zen and the Art of Screenwriting” (I know, dumb title) in which he gives some truly sage advice to first time writers and directors: never tell people that you’re working on something until it’s actually done! Trust me it takes the pressure off you to hammer away at something in secret, plus it doesn’t frustrate your fans (and film bloggers). Wakarimashita ka?
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment