[CINEMORE ACADEMY Vol.3] Pre-production edition How to make the movie “The Brightest Roof in the Universe”

At an audition, "you can tell the moment you walk into the room."

Q: I think casting is generally decided by either an "offer" or an "audition," but I'm curious how realistic the public image is.

Fujii: In my case, the number of auditions has been gradually decreasing. When it comes to actors in their 30s, you can get a sense of what they're up to by looking at their previous performances, so the overwhelming majority of people who come to auditions are teenagers.

This time, the role of Tsubame's classmate, Kotaro Daigo, and the three girls in her class were chosen through auditions. Kaya Kiyohara from " Day and Night " was also chosen through an audition.

Q: I see! It's amazing how you've won so many roles through auditions, including " Weathering with You " (2019).

Fujii: Daigo-kun's first words at the audition were, "I'm here to get the role, please help me out," and I thought, "I love girls like this!" (laughs). This time, we had a document screening, a first round of auditions, and a final audition, and he was the best after all. He had overwhelming talent.

Q: I imagine auditions involve reading given lines and doing an etude (improvisation), but what exactly does one actually do?

Fujii: In my case, I introduce myself and then move straight to the acting. I have a certain image of what an audition will be like, so I feel like it's decided the moment I enter the room.

Q: Oh! I'd like to hear more about that.

Fujii: In other words, it's the first impression. If the moment I walk in and see a girl dressed like the character I'm imagining, I get excited and try to concentrate even more.

When I'm approached by actors saying, "I can't get any auditions," I tell them, "You don't need a formula." I'm not interested in "Something interesting happened recently." I'm desperate to make a movie.

So, if possible, I think that the chances of passing are overwhelmingly higher for people who come to the venue in that "role" . How much effort do they put into it, including their clothes? Also, I think that people who watch my works know the genre of plays that I like. I pay close attention to how much preparation they have put in, including those things.

The only difficult thing is that when someone says, "I love this movie by Director Fujii!" a shy person like me feels, "That's so obsequious. That's scary..." (bitter smile).

Q: (laughs) Will the auditions be held by advertising to talent agencies?

Fujii: A casting producer or a producer like Hiroko Maeda, who also does her own casting, will first send a fax to the office to solicit applications. They will send out an outline like, "We're holding auditions for this kind of movie. The director is Michihito Fujii, and we're looking for men and women between the ages of 10 and 10. Here are the dates and locations." They then review the documents returned and move on to the practical aspects.

Maeda: I met about 360 people in " All About Lily Chou-Chou " (2001) directed by Shunji Iwai. As Fujii-san said earlier, when you meet that many people, you start to understand them the moment they enter the film.

Q: Mr. Maeda, is there a type of person that you are particularly attracted to?

Maeda: I think people who are a little bit lacking are interesting. When kids who are used to auditions find out that we are the director and producer, it's like a switch has been flipped and they go into sales mode, saying things like, "My name is XX! Nice to meet you!"

Q: How long does it take to make casting decisions, including whether or not auditions are held?

Fujii: As for "The Brightest Roof in the Universe," (Kiyohara) Kaya was decided on six months before filming began. From then on, we continued casting.

Usually, auditions are held about two months before filming begins. Child actors can grow up suddenly and there are a lot of things that can happen, so we hold auditions about a month before.

Handing over the script itself is a presentation to the actors.