Tell us briefly about your role in Ninja 2.
Kane Kosugi: I play a character named Nakabara, a senpai. He is a year older than the main character, played by Scott Adkins. Both of our characters were trained in martial arts. We had different teachers, but I started studying a little earlier than him, so he treats me with some kind of respect. I am something of a friend and mentor to him, and in difficult times I help him. His wife was killed, so I helped him. Nakabara is a multifaceted character. Truly deep. He is wise. Knows many Japanese proverbs. I have been involved in martial arts all my life. He is a master. On the outside he gives the impression of being a good person, but on the inside he is multi-layered. Interesting character.
What impression did director Isaac Florentine make on you?
Kane Kosugi: Oh, he's great. We met him once more than ten years ago. I always wanted to work with him. We talked about this constantly. There were a couple of opportunities, but it only happened now. When I heard about this project, I immediately emailed him and asked if it was true that he would be directing. It turned out that yes, and that’s basically all I needed to know. Judging by everything I've heard from a lot of fighters, judging by the films he's made... he's been in the movie business for a long time and knows his stuff. Many directors who make action films don't really understand martial arts. For the most part, they're just directors. When it comes to filming action scenes, they leave it to the production directors. While they are doing everything, the director takes a break. From what people say and from my conversations with him, he is a veritable encyclopedia of martial arts. He knows everything about martial arts and is a practitioner himself. He knows how to make it look good. It is very rare to have such a person. I didn't have to work with people like that often.
How practical is he about the action and fight scenes in this film?
Kane Kosugi: I've only done a few scenes so far, but I've seen the work he's done. He is very practical. Knows what he needs. Knows where to put the camera, knows how to talk to actors. Makes everyone feel comfortable. This is very important - even if there are good fight scenes, but they don't fit with the actor or his style - the actor may feel uncomfortable, it may cause difficulties, but he does a great job of making us all comfortable.
Tell me a little about Tim Man and his team. They did fight choreography and some stunts.
Kane Kosugi: I trained with Tim. I've never had to work with him before. I got the part and talked to Isaac. He said: “Tim Man is our production director.” He gave me his website address and I watched him fight very well. I came here to Thailand and trained with Tim. He's very good, his team is very, very good. Skillful guys. They trained for a long time.
Let's talk a little about working with Scott Adkins.
Kane Kosugi: Scott is cool. At first I was a little nervous. I was looking forward to the start of our collaboration with him. I've heard about him for a long time. Isaac always wanted us to work with him. I saw what he was capable of. No one can move like him, especially if you take actors who are not from Asia. For a long time I wanted to act with someone who knows how to fight on screen and is not a stuntman. It was interesting. He said to himself: “Wow! I better start training, I don’t want him to kick my ass.” (laughs) Scott has a lot of positive qualities. Before filming began, he sent me an e-mail saying, “Let's have a great fight together.” He's easy to get along with. He is the main character of the film... He was always the first to start a conversation with me, although it should have been the other way around. Very rare.
Which of the films you saw with Scott's participation made the strongest impression on you?
Kane Kosugi: Undisputed 2. I watched some clips from Ninja. I didn’t want to watch the whole film, because I didn’t want to have a preconceived notion about the second part. In other words, it is radically different from the first one. I worked with a lot of stuntmen who worked with Scott. Same with some actors. I heard about him from many people, saw a large number of videos with his participation on YouTube.
What can we expect from Ninja 2?
Kane Kosugi: What Isaac is trying to do and how the filming process is going... I heard that the first Ninja had a lot of CGI... but Isaac wanted to go back to the good old days, with real action. This is what we do. No cables. Only the human body and our capabilities. Movies use cables and CGI a lot these days, so you'll notice the difference. Like The Expendables, throwback to the 80s. A nice sight. After all this high-tech computer stuff, it's nice to come back and see real things again. Add to this a plot with several unexpected twists. There will be plenty of action in it. There are more than 15 fight scenes. Scott was given a lot of things!
Do you enjoy filming in Thailand?
Kane Kosugi: I've been here more than 10 times and worked on many Japanese projects. So I know the crews are very good. The standards are truly worthy of Hollywood. Often I had to film in harsh conditions. Working in Asia... we filmed for 26 hours straight. Action scenes were filmed for 26 hours without a break. Wow. It was on the set of a movie called Blood Heat. I've acted in Chinese films where three days of non-stop shooting required four hours of sleep. It was hard then too.
You've mentioned that you're bringing an '80s feel to your new films. You yourself went through film school in the 80s. They starred with their father in many films, and starred with Jean-Claude Van Damme in Black Eagle. What is the difference between filming modern films and action films of the time when you were still a child? Do you feel the difference or is everything the same?
Kane Kosugi: It's more difficult now. The audience has already seen a lot. They don't occupy their minds. They know how to distinguish a fake from an original. They know where the cables were and where they weren’t. They've watched so many action movies that it's hard to surprise them. I think this is important. Who wants to go to the cinema to see a film and see there something that has already been seen more than once. People want something unexpected, something that will grab them and make them forget about their worries. That's why they go to the cinema. They want to be entertained for two hours. It's more difficult, and it makes it harder for people to immerse themselves in the film. When I go to watch an action movie, I look for something I haven't seen yet. The way it was filmed or in what way. Surprising the audience is what matters.
Let's go back a little. How does it feel to be Sho Kosugi's son, to act in films with a father who was, by and large, a ninja?
Kane Kosugi: It was great. (laughs) I would say that I had a lot of girl fans, but that’s not true. Friends always asked me about my father and about filming. It was interesting. I really liked this job, and I always wanted to become an actor. I immediately liked it when I first saw my father in the film, and then I got into the cinema myself. The first movie I did with my dad was Revenge of the Ninja, and the first movie I saw my dad in was Enter the Ninja. There he played a negative character, but even playing a villain, in my eyes he looked like a hero. And all because I wanted to become an actor.
I wanted to ask this question later, but I'll ask it now: Did you and your brother Shane decide to become actors and do martial arts on your own, or did your father make the decision for you?
Kane Kosugi: I had to do martial arts. Our parents wanted us to take up this from a certain age. They wanted us to study. Whether it's martial arts or playing the piano. We didn't have much choice. When we were little, we just wanted to play. Now, looking back, I am grateful to them for keeping us busy. But we always wanted to become actors. They gave us this opportunity. If we didn't want it, no one would force us.
SECOND PART OF THE INTERVIEW
Author: David J. Moore
Source: outlawvern.com
Translation: EvilDollaR
Thanks for the link Celpaso
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Tags: Ninja: Shadow Of A Tear, Isaac Florentine, Kane Kosugi, Scott Adkins
Tags: Ninja: Shadow Of A Tear, Isaac Florentine, Kane Kosugi, Scott Adkins
IMHO the films of the Bruceplotation era are not the best example. At least not for the faint of heart.
Guys, watch the movie "DEADLY GAME". I think that's what it was called at one time. Bruce's clone played there. And Bolo Young Si. In this picture I counted something like 27 fights!
It's not a matter of quantity, but of quality.
It feels like lately that people are hungry.
Oh how! Intriguing!)
There will be more scenes, this interview was taken when filming had not yet ended.
Thank you, interesting interview) I’m looking forward to the continuation)
PS It’s a pity that they didn’t film enough fight scenes with him (oh well... and thanks for that, that they are present at all.