[CINEMORE ACADEMY Vol.2] Screenplay How to make the movie “The Brightest Roof in the Universe”

The most important thing when writing a script is thorough research.

Q: Once again, I would like to ask Director Fujii how he learned how to write scripts.

Fujii: My major at university was a screenwriting course. At Nihon University College of Art, Department of Film, Screenwriting Course, I learned the basics of how to write a screenplay and what is needed in a screenplay. For example, something like, ``A script for a classic work requires three elements: ``conflict,'' ``shackles,'' and ``foreshadowing.''

My mentor, Kenji Aoki, who wrote scripts such as `` Someday I'll Read a Book '' (2005), taught me to ``write about ordinary people properly.'' Even if it's entertainment, for example a movie where there is a big explosion, you have to draw people within a 5 meter radius. That is still something that is important to me. However, in terms of specifics, it is almost self-taught. The biggest thing for me was cultivating it while actually writing.

I consider the entire 33 years of my life to be a lesson in screenwriting. For example, the reason I can't immediately write a movie with a 65-year-old as the main character is because I haven't experienced it. In many cases, I create a script based on my own experiences, thoughts, and ways of thinking.

Q: I see. You may also conduct interviews to fill in the gaps. I heard that you did a lot of research beforehand for `` The Journalist '' (19). How do you prepare for writing a screenplay?

Fujii: That's right. When I was working on ``The Journalist,'' I completely rewrote the script with only a few months left before I started working on it, and in such cases, interviews are especially important.

For example, if the characters are real people, I would go and meet them in person. Even in the case of original works, it's really a series of interviews, interviews, interviews (lol). Recent examples include interviewing magazine reporters, asking the principal of a famous kindergarten about the ecology of children, and interviewing mothers about the challenges of raising children.

I don't know if it all has meaning, but as I listen to everyone's stories, I often find myself saying, ``I didn't know that!'' If someone notices something even just for a moment during the hour-long interview, it means something to me. Lately, I don't have much time, so I often lock myself up in a hotel, concentrate, and continue writing scripts (bitter smile). I call it the "Room of Spirit and Time" (lol).

Q: “Dragon Ball” (lol). You said the other day, ``I went to a scriptwriting camp,'' but do you often go to training camps or write while isolated from the outside world?

Fujii: I'm also a company employee, so I have a lot of work to do, including advertising and editing... You can't write a screenplay without doing all that.

When I woke up in the morning, I was in a situation where I was not allowed to do anything other than write, so I had to concentrate... Recently, due to the effects of the new coronavirus, we have not been able to film, so for the first half of this year, I have only been writing the script. I've written about five full-length novels. I usually go to places like Atami, stay in a hotel, and write the script.

Q: In the process of completing the screenplay, there is a plot creation process, and in the process of writing the screenplay, is there a ``final meeting (screenplay meeting)''? That's what I thought, but what kind of things do we talk about in the first place?

Fujii: The most orthodox method is to write a plot, discuss the structure in detail, and create details based on the short plot and long plot. After that, we move on to the first draft of the script.

During the first draft, we discuss general ideas such as ``Isn't the character's personality a little strange?'' or ``The drive here in the middle doesn't work well, so why not come up with a different idea?'' As you work on your second and third drafts, you will begin to turn over each page one by one.

Occasionally, the production team will say something like, ``Why don't you try this idea here?'' At times like that, I think, ``Oh, I guess the budget is tight.'' Sometimes it hits home. I know that if I say, ``We're on a tight budget, so please change this,'' I'll get upset, so I don't say that (laughs). At that time, I pretended to be clever and asked, ``Hi, hi,'' but I didn't correct it exactly as I said. There are some conflicts like that.

Then, when I showed the script to the agency and the cast was decided, things suddenly became more concrete. In this case, if it was Kaya (Kiyohara), I would try a little more like this, or if Hidetaka Yoshioka was chosen to play the role of the father, I would try to bring it a little closer to this character, etc., etc., and I kept changing the lines and things like that. I'm going, ok. By the time I started writing, I had been writing for a long time.

Maeda: Creating a script with the actors in mind for the performance is called ``guess-writing,'' and for ``The Brightest Roof in the Universe,'' I felt that the script was honed as we worked on it. The director is the chef, and I gather the best ingredients and hand them over to them and say, ``Please make something delicious with this.'' That's how we divide our roles.

Q: Generally speaking, do you decide on actors after the script is close to completion?

Fujii: Basically, yes. In other cases, for example, there are projects that have already been decided on, such as a film company's 10th anniversary project, where they would like to play the lead role in the original work. Also, I don't meet many actors outside of work, but the only person I talk to is someone who's my age, like Gaku Hamada, and over drinks, I get excited and say, ``Fujii-chan, let's do something like this.'' Sometimes something happens and I decide to write about it.

For `` Day and Night '' (19), Shinnosuke Abe and I decided to do something, and then Takayuki Yamada and various other people came in and created the script.

Q: I believe that ``Day and Night'' was developed through multiple brainstorming sessions by multiple people, but what are the advantages and disadvantages of writing it alone and working with several people? please.

Fujii: For example, I have a co-screenwriter named Kazuhisa Kodera, and although he's not Akira Kurosawa and Shinobu Hashimoto, I think it's better to have a multifaceted perspective on the script. This time, that partner was Hiroko.

When a director also writes a screenplay, I think having a co-screenwriter is extremely important. I can talk to people about things like, ``Honestly, what do you think about this?'' and having someone there helps me realize, ``No, this is what I want to do.'' The scriptwriter, Kazuhisa Kodera, who plays my partner, is extremely talented and I rely on him.