iWeekly interview Aug 2013 - A Gathering of the Stars! (Part 2 of 2)

[barbosa2007.livejournal.com]

Here's the second portion of the iWeekly interview! Reporter Yang Liling sits down with Sho, Keiko and Shiina as they talk about their impressions of each other and of Singapore.

God! Please, Just Give Me Some More Time

T/N: The title is a reference to the drama starring Fukada Kyoko and Kaneshiro Takeshi, which also aired in Singapore in the 1990s.

Although we shot the cover photo individually, the interview had to be carried out with all 3 stars together.

Beginning with the phrase “Konbawa, good evening” and ending with “Thank you, xie xie”, despite that I didn’t understand most of the conversation, I thought it was a pleasant exchange. Well, except that the tiny room had no less than 30 people squeezed into it. A relaxing interview it was not.

As I had thought, the interview was “lost in translation”.

The thing with language is, if you’re off by one word, your meaning deviates by a mile. A slight variation in word usage can lead to a gross misinterpretation.

Being placed in a passive position meant that I could explain something even if I saw looks of confusion and surprise on their faces.

Having prepared 25 questions (including opening questions), I was only able to ask 8 and 1/3 of them. So if you felt that the interview didn’t seem to answer the question, it’s because what you’re reading didn’t match my original intention.

It’s really out of my control. The same thing goes for both life and celebrity interviews.

Life lessons #3: The journey is more important than the destination. There’s no point in struggling meaninglessly.

iWeekly: Have your impressions of each other changed after working together?

Sho: Oh yes. For Kitagawa-san, how should I put this… I had this impression that she was a Cool Beauty, [Keiko laughs while saying, “Oh, thanks!”] but after getting to know her, I found her to be a very approachable and open person. Shiina-san looked like a stern person who didn’t take well to jokes, I even thought he was slightly scary, but he turned out to be someone with a great sense of humor. We would often chat together. My impression after working with them changed quite a bit, they truly surprised me. They looked cool, but they really were very interesting, I’m happy to have worked with them.

Keiko: I had a similar impression of Shiina-san, he seems like The Actor; he’d always be reading his script, trying to get into character. It felt as if I couldn’t interrupt him while he was reading his script. That was my previous impression of him. But in actual fact, he’s the kind of person who would talk to you about what you ate the day before, he was very chatty and would ask about my health and condition.

In the past, I used to think that if Shiina-san was standing, I definitely couldn’t sit down, so I felt very nervous, but it wasn’t like that at all. He has such a great interest in anything and everything, so I could talk about all things under the sun with him, like the latest trend and what not. Even though I’m much younger than he is, there wasn’t a great distance between us.

T/N: Shiina is 49 (!!) while Keiko is 27.

Half of my impression of Sakurai-san matched my actual experience. I imagined he was someone who didn’t have idle time for jokes because he always so busy and had so many work assignments. He’s a perfectionist. Like Superman, if he sees that something ought to be done, he’ll do his best in completing it. He’s someone who doesn’t leave any gaps open. When I first met him, I thought I couldn’t tease him or crack any jokes with him, but he also gave this boyish vibe of someone who’s 29 but hasn’t gone on to being 30.

Shiina: Both [Sho and Keiko] were younger than I am, and I hadn’t met them prior to this, I’ve only seen them on TV. Sho-chan is a member of Japan’s top idol group Arashi, so I have this idol image of him. But having worked with him, I saw the “human side” of him in addition to his perfect idol persona. He has a mature disposition for someone his age. Besides acting, he also works as a news caster. He was able to clearly memorize his convoluted lines amidst such a packed schedule, and he never shows how hard he has worked in front of others.

Even though Keiko-chan and I belong to the same agency, we have never met, so initially I thought she was just a pretty actress. I’ve been in the business for a long time, but I’m never seen such a frank and natural actress; she’d often say how hungry she was, whine a little, she has a natural beauty that way. After getting dolled up, she transforms into a glamorous and mature actress. She’s a very well balanced and moldable actress.

iWeekly: Filming onboard a ship meant that the cast and crew spent each day together. I’m sure it must have been different from filming in Japan, right?

Keiko: There were filming locations everywhere in the ship, so when I didn’t have a scene to shoot, I would go to the restaurant, or watch someone else’s scene. Normally, when filming on land, I would go home after my scenes were done. However, no matter where I went on the ship, someone would be filming. So during my free time, I thought I might as well go see the other actors film their scenes; as a result, I grew really close to the staff, that was the best thing when it came to shooting onboard a ship.

Sho: The swaying! Because of the ship’s swaying, we encountered many problems while filming. The lighting took an especially long time, and the cameras would sway along with the ship. Although there were many hiccups, as Kitagawa-san said, the cast and crew came together, which made for a meaningful experience.

Shiina: I don’t really like the sea. If the ship capsized, it would be terrifying, haha. We spent about 10 days shooting onboard the ship. I don’t think I’d ever go for a cruise holiday, so this has been a very precious experience.

iWeekly: We heard that Sakurai-san shot around 500 photos. What kind of photos did you take?

Sho: The swimming pool, movie theatre, stage, entrance, lobby, etc. The cruise’s lobby was very extravagant, so I shot a couple of those. I don’t often get the chance to be on board a huge ship like this, so I took a lot of commemorative shots.

iWeekly: What did you like most about Singapore?

Keiko: The food! I had Malay fried rice on the ship, it was something spicy. The food was really great, and the locals were so warm and welcoming.

Shiina: To me, it was a place that I haven’t been to before. Yesterday I went to Sentosa, that was pretty interesting, I wanted to go again! There was a huge Merlion, which I never knew that it existed. When I saw it, I was very happy. Oh, does the Merlion belong to Universal Studios?

Sho: The Universal Studios theme park seems fun, doesn’t it?

Shiina: Yeah, it was! There were swimming pools everywhere!

Sho: You’ve got to be kidding, right? I like Singapore for 2 reasons: firstly, the streets are very clean, they look very fashionable and elegant; secondly, like Kitagawa-san said, the food which I had, such as the chilli crab, Hainanese chicken rice, and something else which I ate in a little stall in Little India… I can’t remember what it was called, that was good too. I went and ate some Singaporean chicken rice when I was back in Japan, but the Singaporean one was definitely better.

iWeekly: Kageyama, whom Sakurai-san portrays in the movie, is very intelligent, cool and knows how to enjoy life. I’m guessing that it doesn’t differ from your real self?

Sho: Haha, now that you put it this way, I can’t very well say no, can I? How should I put it…

Keiko: Just say there’s no difference then. Say that everyone thinks you’re no different from Kageyama, haha.

Sho: No, that’s just weird! I’m actually not as cool as Kageyama, he can solve mysteries based on people’s stories, I don’t have that sort of ability at all.

iWeekly: Kageyama is very sharp-tongued, would you be anything like that in real life? What’s your favorite line?

Sho: No one has ever called me sharp-tongued, but it must be gratifying to be able to casually call people “fools” like Kageyama does. There was this line where he said to Reiko, “My Lady, do you have a shipwreck for brains?” (sees the dazed look on the translator’s face) Hmm, guess this line was a little difficult, yes?

iWeekly: Hosho Reiko is at times a hot blooded cop and at others, a glamorous lady; which one resembles you more?

Keiko: I’m a bit of both. Like Reiko’s detective persona, I feel like I have the drive when it comes to work. And like Reiko’s lady side, I’m sometimes a little willful.

iWeekly: Shiina-san is a chameleon of an actor, but Kazamatsuri is very unlike your previous roles, he’s very quirky and a little crazy. Did you feel any pressure from attempting this new challenge?

Shiina: Hmm, now that you mention it, I really haven’t attempted a character like this before, so it was a challenge for me. In the beginning it was a little awkward, and as time went on I thought, “If I’m going to do it, I might as well go all out.” Which I did. As the drama progressed, it gradually got more interesting. It would be great if people found me funny. I’ve also portrayed a few villains before, no matter what role it is, as long as I find something about the character which resonates with me, I’ll be able to pull it off. Kazamatsuri has a simple side, a naivety that is beautiful in its simplicity. That’s what I like about him. I’d be truly gratified if people could identify with that part of him.

iWeekly: Sakurai-san entered showbiz at age 13, Kitagawa-san welcomes her 10th year in showbiz this year, and Shiina-san even has 20 years of experience in this industry. With your various experiences, could you please share something with us?

Keiko: 10 years doesn’t exactly qualify me to be able to share anything. Of course, I have grown with every new role I’ve taken on, but there’s just so much which I still have to learn.

Sho: When I was 20, I never imagined I’d be doing the things I’m doing now at 30 years old. I didn’t think I’d be able to host a news program, or perform in a venue other than the Dome… It really never crossed my mind.

scans: ammi (snagged the Sho photo from the Television since the shoot was way better. XD)
Chinese to English translation: barbosa

Please do not repost this elsewhere without permission!

BREAKING NEWS
Did you know Arashi has begun recording their new album!?? Nino and Aiba talk about it briefly in one of the TV mags (source over here).

Aiba: We've begun recording our new album!

Nino: It feels pretty theatrical/showy.

Aiba: Yeah, there're lots of showy tunes.

Nino: The tunes feel rather light and flamboyant. The single songs have been somewhat solemn, so it's better to balance things out that way.

Aiba: How about your solo?

Nino: Erm, nothing for me yet. How about Aiba-san?

Aiba: Bit by bit, I guess.

Nino: Wow. I haven't even decided whether I'll be writing my own solo.

Aiba: I've already written mine.

Nino: .... Aiba-san, that's because you have people writing it for you every year.

Aiba: Stop it. (laughs) Okay I lied. Sorry! (laughs)

Comments

[chuline.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing this, I really find it interesting, and those are good news, arigatou