What is director Yuka Eda's approach to guiding the two lead actors with their strong personalities? ``Shoujo Encounter'' [Director's Interview Vol.15]

“It was different when I entered” the audition

Q: The two people who were chosen to star are already quite famous and belong to an agency, but did they come to audition for an independent film?

Branch: That's right. Both of them came to receive it normally. I think it was also due to the fact that MOOSIC LAB was already well-known at that time. If this had happened three or four years ago, I might not have come. At that time, more and more people were taking the stance that even if the project and production were good, even if they were independently produced, actors affiliated with their agencies would appear in them. So more actors came than I expected. Nearly 200 actresses gathered for the event.

Q: During that time, you met Houshi and Mottola. What was the deciding factor in choosing them as the lead roles?

Ed: As I often say, I felt like ``I was already different when I joined.''

Q: Is that both of you?

Branch: Yes. Both of us. The audition was held for five or six people at a time, and in the case of Yasushi, you could tell from the moment she entered the room that she was desperate to get the role. What's more, I had prepared my own cutter (a prop needed for the script).

Q: Do you read the script and adapt it to the role?

Branch: That's right. In the audition, I did the scene written in the script where they were fighting over a cutter. We had prepared things like ballpoint pens and disposable chopsticks in place of cutters, but only Houshi had brought them. He didn't even make eye contact the whole time, and seemed to have completely taken on the role. There was only one person who had a different spirit when he entered the room, and he never lost his spirit and performed brilliantly.

Yasushi-san's role is that of a child who seems pitiful if you just read the script, but Yasushi-san doesn't feel sorry for the character; instead, she plays the character as if she has some kind of murderous intent towards the world. Ta. Perhaps it was because her interpretation of the role was different from that of the other actresses, but I had the impression that Houshi stood out even if she was set aside. After I performed my play at the audition, I kept crying in the background while other people were performing, and of course I was crying quietly, but all the staff were more worried about that than the person who was currently performing. It turns out to be. Yasushi-san is overwhelmingly interesting, and for some reason I find myself watching it.

On the other hand, Mr. Mottola doesn't smile or be friendly, doesn't make eye contact, and is very motivated! I don't feel like that at all, and I feel like I'm going to be sleepy for a long time. The staff was worried and jokingly asked, ``Are you sleepy?'' ``Are you okay?'' He was silent for about 2 seconds, and then said, ``I'm not sleepy.'' When I asked him later, he said he was nervous at the time.

But when it came time to perform, I said, ``Can I have a minute?'' and took out the script from my bag, which was almost torn to pieces after reading it. My legs started shaking, and my hand holding the script was shaking really bad. At that time, I thought, Wow, it's easy for people to misunderstand what this girl shows to others, but what she has inside is completely different. On the outside, she may be languid and have a charm that everyone would envy, but on the inside she might be extremely weak or sensitive, which is exactly what I was looking for in the role. .

Completely different approaches to the two lead actors