How does the interview with Oshii Mori, the director of "Ghost in the Shell", fight for victory?

<h3>"Fight for Victory"</h3>

<h3>Synopsis</h3>

What is victory for film directors? Why is director Hayao Miyazaki, who has a double harvest at the box office and reputation, an infinitely unfortunate person? Did Director Cameron, who made "Titanic" and "Avatar", fail? What kind of merit and sin has the manga god Osamu Tezuka brought to the Japanese animation industry? Oshii Mori began to do animation by imitating Miyazaki Hayao?

Oshii Mori is known as one of Japan's three major animation directors, and his works such as "Ghost in the Shell" and "Air Killer" are internationally renowned. In this book, he reviews his career as a director, talks about the behind-the-scenes secrets of the Japanese animation industry, humorously comments on the works of fifteen world-famous directors such as Hayao Miyazaki, Cameron, Takeshi Kitano, Hitchcock, Godard, etc., and explains what is the way to victory of directors.

<h3>About the Author</h3>

Mamoru Oshii is a famous Japanese film director. Born in 1951 in Tokyo, Japan, he graduated from Tokyo Gakugei University and began making independent films during his university years. In 1981, he became the general director of the TV animation "Fuxing Kid", and in 1984, he attracted attention with the theatrical animation "Fuxing Kid 2: Qili Dreamer", and became a freelancer in the same year. In 1995, Ghost in the Shell briefly topped Billboard magazine's video sales charts. Major works include theatrical animations such as "Angel's Egg", "Mobile Police Theater Edition", "Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence" and "Air Killer", as well as the live-action film "Avalon". He also launched the novel "Biography of the Standing Chef" and the stage play "Iron Man 28", etc., with a wide range of creative themes.

<h3>Translator Profile</h3>

Peng Lin holds a Master's degree in Asian Cultural Studies from the University of Tokyo and is currently a book editor.

<h3>Book excerpts</h3>

Episode 1: The Tragedy of Director Chang Sheng (Excerpt)

What is victory for film directors?

Mr. Oshii said earlier that "the success or failure of a movie lies in the box office", but he just said that he "won by relying on the box office method". With that said, are there several ways to win a movie?

Oshii: Yes. At the extreme, there are as many directors as there are ways to win. But roughly can be divided into several tendencies. If you take the current director as an example, it is easy to understand.

For example, Godard, which we talked about before, if I want to say, the movie is only before Godard and after Godard. He is the director who refreshed the history of cinema. In short, he is the director who gives cinema a sense of self. If I had to say it, it was like I gave animation self-awareness.

Godard's films, with the exception of his debut film Exhausted, are all deficits. However, since his debut, he has not stopped finding his job. Although the scale of shooting has gradually shrunk, for a while it was shot with a video camera, but recently it has begun to make movies generously. Why is that? In short, the success or failure of a movie is not determined by the box office alone.

On the other hand, is it okay for a blockbuster director to have a job to do all the time? Not really. As I said just now, with a series of victories, the conditions for winning will become more and more demanding. "Please use this trick to win", "Please use this actor", "Please use this original", "Please use this script", etc., and the conditions for winning are getting higher and higher. If it is a winning director, there will be more and more obstacles.

In the world of cinema, failure is sooner or later. This is fate.

Is this true both abroad and in Japan?

Oshii: It's a bit different, but overall it's the same. Even in harsh Hollywood, there is still a measure for a director who does not sell well to make a film. For example, Terrence Malik, the director of "The Thin Red Line", can only make one movie in seven or eight years, but when he wants to make a movie, the famous actors will want to participate in it for free. Hollywood is, of course, a world of business, but also a world of honor. So a film that wins an Academy Award doesn't necessarily have to be the first to gross at the box office. Films that hit Waterloo at the box office can also win Oscars. Hollywood still has the inexplicable director (Tim Burton) who made "Martians Play with Earth" because he will have value. For Hollywood, he did not belong to the "production department" but to the "honor department". There are several such directors.

However, Japan has neither an award comparable to the value of the Oscars, nor an evaluation system that matches the value of honors.

Oshii: But there are alternatives to these things.

What are the alternatives?

Oshii: That's the overseas evaluation. That is what I embody of "high evaluation overseas". In Japan, there are Takeshi Kitano and me, as well as Shinya Tsukamoto and Satoshi Ishii (now known as Takeru Ishii). Making movies in Japan is all deficit, but it is highly evaluated overseas.

Another example is Mr. Kore-eda.

Oshii: Yes, Kore-eda is a typical example of an absurdly high evaluation overseas. Tsukamoto is a regular at overseas film festivals and even a judge. Directors who are popular with overseas film festivals, although they can't shoot films frequently, they can definitely make one after a cycle of two or three years. On the other hand, the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival or the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival had no impact on the box office. Probably even if you get an Oscar.

But Japan also has values similar to those of Hollywood. High evaluation overseas is also a condition for the director's victory to some extent. I didn't particularly pursue overseas reviews, but it just happened to be like this. Movies that are probably difficult to accept in Japan can always find an audience overseas. Awu's films also continue to run deficits, presumably except for the first "Violent Man".

"Humpback Market" seems to be profitable. Because it is also related to the production cost, it is not certain whether it is a deficit or a profit.

Oshii: Even so, I won't make more than I do. I'm break even, I don't lose or earn. There is no work that cannot be returned. Although there are still "Biography of the Li Diner" and "Innocence", the others have been returned to the book and have begun to slowly make profits. "Long Live the Royal Ancestors" is a long return to the original, which is really hard to believe.

Is this true? [Laughs].

Oshii: Originally, the production fee was very cheap. Awu's movies are not cheap, but they are not very expensive. As long as it is a movie within the scope of ability, it can be done after a certain cycle. Such a director exists.

Trembling when you go, and returning...

Oshii: There are countless directors in Japan who are more famous than me, but it is a guy like me who has a high evaluation overseas. If you walked on the red carpet of an international film festival once, you would suddenly understand. Once out of the country, the evaluation in Japan is nothing. Takuya Kimura or no one will become "Who is this person?" " situation. When I went to Cannes, too, it seemed that Takuya Kimura's agent was still angry because "no one came to greet" or something. That's a matter of course. If you want to talk about what happened to the uninvited guys, no one bothered to take care of them.

Well...... That's right.

Oshii: The same is true of that Assou (Matsumoto). He made a movie to go abroad (2007's "Big Japanese"), but no one paid any attention to him. This, too, would have been taken for granted. Neither reporters gathered around nor interviewed. Whether or not there are interviews in Cannes is a complete barometer. Although it was a bit of a thing to say, I couldn't stop from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and I was going to die when I was interviewed. This is the case.

Therefore, the victory or defeat of Japanese directors today only depends on the strategy they find.

If you think about it this way, mr. Miyazaki is a rare director with both box office and reputation so far.

Oshii: But yeah, he lost everything else. (Laughs) If I had to say it, he was not a victor in any case, but an infinitely unfortunate man.

It's not that he wants to be like that.

Oshii: Hmm. Became an infinitely unfortunate person. There was no one more lonely than him. Even Amin was no longer willing to deal with him. That's right, he completely turned into a freak. So in the three years or so, he and I hardly met. There was no need to meet. Although he thinks "how pitiful" from time to time, it is also his own doing. Because he sat on Amin's shoulder. Because Amin will send him off, but he will never send him back. He's that kind of person. "The way back is to prepare yourself," I don't say all the time.

"The way back is to prepare yourself", this is an iron law that determines victory or defeat. Of course, when selling products, they will help you, that is because there are interests involved; in a world where everyone is running for their own lives, no one will help you to achieve success. Everyone can only return if they are prepared in advance. None of the guys who leave without leaving a way out can come back. Mr. Gong is also, until a certain period of time there is still a way to retreat, such as his wife or something. But his wife gradually stopped saying anything. He was banished by madame. Charging forward without leaving a retreat, this is really not me, but Mr. Gong. I was called a "task force" when I was doing Angel's Egg, but I didn't come back well. It's hard to get back to where it was.

At that time, it seemed to feel a bit like a special attack team.

Oshii: In the end, it was hard to get back to square one. A lot of methods are used. Play games, shoot real films, although used a lot of methods, the transfer was finally returned again and again. (Laughs) Mr. Gong finally had nowhere to go.

Isn't it a way to make another movie with Mr. Gao (Xun)?

Oshii: No, it doesn't work.

(Laughs).

Oshii: No traffic.

But can't that be a step back?

Oshii: Mr. Miya, the equivalent of the commander of the mobile units, let all the mobile units charge, and as a result, he could not come back. Well, to say what Mr. Takahata is, he is similar to a general in the Army. He has a lot of status, but he can't fight because he's failed in maintaining his army. Even so, he continued to be a general.

In fact, it is not uncommon in Europe for generals who have no army under their command. That is, retired generals. If you want to say who made him retire, it is Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki. They forced him to retire and stocked him up. If war breaks out, there may be some situation that may make him a general. But as long as Mr. Gong is still a victorious general, he will not go to him, so it is no different from retiring. Eternal reserve. It's a pity, but that's exactly what happened (in November 2013, 14 years later, Takahata released the movie "The Story of Hui Ye Hime").

I think that if Mr. Miyazaki wants to pave the way back in his heart, then there is also a way to cooperate with Mr. Takashi.

Oshii: No. Now Mr. Takahata doesn't even have the "e" of "entertainment" in his heart. He became an intellectual entirely, thinking only about culture, and became a man who was infinitely far away from the box office.

I don't know what he's been doing lately.

Oshii: He's a cultural man. Do speeches, write books, and make faces on educational programs.

It seems to be still doing translations of French poetry (written by Jacques Préville, the poet who wrote the script for Children of Paradise).

Oshii: Yes, he can translate. As long as he was a reserve army, Ghibli would take care of his life, and he was not a general who would be attracted by other armies.

For a while it was rumored that he would be a director in a Chinese studio?

Oshii: That's no play. Because China does not have a production management system. He may go, but even if he goes for 10 years, he will not be able to make a work. The man did not know how to compromise, and if he went to a place where there was no production management ability, he would not be able to work. Because he can't manage it himself—he's a general after all. Without a staff officer, he could not fight. It is still because of the presence of Toshio Suzuki that he can fight, and that person's own staff ability is not at all. I don't know where the soldiers stand, not even the most basic organizational structure. In short, he was an infinitely distant from the daily work of the army. It's a war morning that yawns and eats breakfast and says, "What do you eat today?" "The general. I've heard that Egyptian generals are like this. While fighting, he also set aside time for tea at three o'clock and asked, "Why is there no ice cream today?" That's why he was beaten to pieces by the Israeli army. It sounds like fake, but it's real.

Directors who win too much, directors who will not fail

Oshii: Because I usually look around with this kind of eye, so the specific examples of the director's victory are how many. I usually observe everyone as a reference. Mr. Dezaki (Reunification, died in 2011) and Mr. Tomino (Yuji), everyone has their own strategy, and because of this, they sometimes succeed and sometimes fail. Their strategy is also evident in their lifestyles, in their work, and in their winning conditions as directors.

Let me tell you that the animation film directors around me may be more vivid, and the Japanese directors and foreign directors in the past are OK. Cameron, Lynch, Spielberg, everyone is fighting to achieve their own victory. If I were to talk about animation, it would be very vivid. Of course, there is money and women entangled in it. Because there's no one who isn't entangled in it. [Laughs]

It sounds funny, but it doesn't seem to be easy to print in a book.

Oshii: I pursued the victory of "making movies as a director" in a world that had nothing to do with scandals. However, I did do what it was like to be a fraudster.

Fraud? [Laughs].

Oshii: I didn't know I lied to a few producers. And now I'm doing the same. Among them, because of the bargaining with the producer, it is probably a lot of lies and deceptions. But I have not betrayed the staff once, nor have I ever done a thing to the staff about crossing the river and demolishing the bridge. In fact, this is also part of the winning conditions in my mind. If you want to continue to do it, you must not lose the trust of frontline workers. So even if I betray the producer, I will not betray the staff. Sometimes you need to give up something. If a person cannot give up, then he will not succeed. Someone who can't make a cut at the necessary moment will never become a successful director.

Arresting people as scapegoats to consolidate the team is Mr. Gong's best trick. Finding a scapegoat was also done by my teacher (Nagayuki Torikai, who died in 2009), and it was also a good play for Mr. Takahata. Like the people's judgment, it is true. No one can become a director just by saying nice things. It is true that some mild-mannered directors will say", "I will never do that kind of thing", and their personality deserves respect, but in the end it will not succeed, and they can only gradually move away from the movie.

The older directors in the animation industry are too aggressive — and I'm included. The only one struggling to survive was Anno (Hideaki). Anno had considered his own strategy. He chose the option of "let's do EVA for now". It is not yet known whether this choice is correct, because there is no conclusion yet. It was just a victory in the first battle. The initial victory means that the next choice of strategies will increase. For the time being, it can be counted as a victory.

But in this way, EVA's debt will have to be repaid sooner or later. In a sense, it is also the condition that the conditions for failure are created. "Sure enough, I can't sell except EVA" – investors might think so. Indeed it is. 10 years have passed, and the result is still only EVA to win. During this period, all the other films he made failed, "SweetHeart Warrior" is still something, and he has also made a live-action version. The impression that "the man really can't sell except for "EVA" is caused by himself.

If this continues, we will repeat the tragedy of Mr. Tomino.

Oshii: So the question is whether Anno "is going to follow in the footsteps of Mr. Tomino, the director of Gundam?" But in any case, the current situation is that Anno is on his own. Sure enough, after the big sale, he came up with his ambitions and ambitions. So it should work, but the debt must be repaid.

The consequences of an initial victory will always come, like the attack on Pearl Harbor. Although the Japanese Navy won a resounding victory at Pearl Harbor, it came at the cost of a loss of international credibility. If you preemptively carry out a surprise attack, you will become the evil side. Although there are internal information such as the delay in the declaration of war, it does not matter, and the only people who will still chant these things are the Japanese. Whether the declaration of war is late or not, the declaration of war itself has violated the Paris Convention on Non-War, which states that "war cannot be used as a means of settling disputes." Therefore, whether war is declared or not, as long as it is not a war of self-defense, it is a violation of the treaty. That's what evil people do. Deliberately ran far and wide to carry out surprise attacks, so it could not be a self-defense war. It is clear that the person who strikes first is the wicked. From the beginning, the Navy only wanted to raid, thinking that "as long as it wins, it will be fine". So although he won a great victory, he became an evil man in that instant.

What is the debt? In short, no country was willing to mediate for Japan during the armistice, so Japan could only fight until it was broken, and could only hold out until the last round. If there is no sneak attack, it may be possible to reconcile at some appropriate time. In this way, sooner or later, the debt of Anno's initial victory will definitely return to him, which is clear. It can be said that winning with "EVA" has in a sense met the conditions for becoming a successful director, but the road to victory in the future will become infinitely narrow.

If a person wins too much, it will be more and more difficult in the future.

Oshii: 嗯.

Although not a director, so is nishizaki (Yoshiaki, died in 2010), the producer of Space Battleship Yamato.

Oshii: So I always say, "What is the condition for me to win consecutively", that is, it has never been sold. Never broke through. I'm a rare director who hasn't broken through. Other young directors are breaking through everywhere; famous directors except me are all selling well somewhere. It's me who has neither!

Oshii: Still, the film distribution company maintains a certain relationship of trust with me. I haven't made a big mistake once, and the DVD sells well. Coupled with the fact that the delivery time must be delivered on time and never exceeded the budget.

Ohno, the former editor-in-chief of Manga Stream, said that when you made the dvd that came with the inaugural issue, the teacher cheated him out of the budget and spent several times the money that was negotiated at the beginning.

Oshii: You can do anything on a small scale.

ay?! (Hilarious).

Oshii: Because it's just an internal struggle. (Laughs) If you have an internal struggle, just kidding is over. If it were to turn into war, it would not be like this.

The caption is a still from the anime Ghost in the Shell (1995).