“On the Summer Film” Director: Takeshi Matsumoto x Screenplay: Naoyuki Miura The charming characters were born from Ogiri! [Director's Interview Vol.131]

“Hadashi” created by Marika Ito

Q: How was the casting decided?

Matsumoto: Marika Ito was decided on from the planning stage, and the others were auditioned. As I mentioned before, the characters were decided, so I looked for people who fit them.

Q: The cast is surprisingly good. Personally, I liked Kirara Inori, who played Blue Hawaii. At first, she is a reliable girl in the kendo club, but halfway through, she starts going off the rails little by little, which was great.

Miura: The story is structured so that the main characters are shooting a period drama, and their rivals are shooting a glittering romance movie, but I never wanted to do anything that would belittle the glittering movie. So I came up with the setting that, while shooting a period drama, there is a girl (Blue Hawaii) who absolutely loves shojo manga and romance stories.

Q: I definitely felt a respect for the glittering movies. By the way, how did you decide on the names of the characters, such as Hadashi, Kickboard, and Blue Hawaii?

Miura: In the plays I do, I often give names like this. This time, I chose something that sounds summery and cute.

Matsumoto: We decided from the beginning that we wanted to make a summer movie. Also, when the three of us had nicknames, the characters really came together.

Q: There aren't many nicknames for kickboards, are there? (laughs)

Miura: I really like it too (laughs).

Matsumoto: At film festivals overseas, it's translated as "kickboard." Hadashi is translated as "barefoot." It's so cool.

Miura: That's cool.

Q: Is Blue Hawaii "Blue Hawaii"?

Matsumoto: It was Blue Hawaii (laughs).

Miura: Are they available overseas?

Matsumoto: I guess there is (laughs).

“On the Summer Film” © 2021 “On the Summer Film” Production Committee

Q: Marika Ito's performance of "Hadashi" was also incredibly good. Her repeated expressions of bitterness were truly wonderful. I think that the character of Hadashi, including that facial expression, was one of the factors that led to the success of this movie. How did you discuss and direct the role with Ito?

Matsumoto: It wasn't like we were directing it to be a comedy on set. I think it was mainly because Ito-san really focused on the barefoot feel.

Q: So it was something that came from Mr. Ito himself.

Matsumoto: I think so. Ito had a lot of time to talk with us between the time he read the script and the start of filming, so Ito created it himself based on what we talked about.

Q: Hadashi's hairstyle is also very memorable. Was it cut short for the filming?

Matsumoto: She had her hair cut short for another movie. I think her hair was still long at this planning stage. I think that by cutting it short, she was even more memorable. I'm sure Tomoyo Harada from " The Girl Who Leapt Through Time " also had hair that short.

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