Director Zwick found the Meiji era particularly intriguing. "It was a time of transition. In every culture, that moment of change from the antique to the modern is especially poignant and dramatic. It is also wonderously visual. Each image, each landscape, each room tells the story, the juxtaposition of the old and new."
EDWARD ZWICK (Director/Writer/Producer):
It must have been very intimidating walking into this type of project.
I thought I knew what I was in for, but fortunately I didn’t have any idea. By the time it dawned on me, it was too late to get out.
How do you approach making a movie like this?
Slowly. Patience and redundancy and repetition that I’m not particularly possessed of, but I had to become good at them. I think it’s sort of an interesting challenge for me.
What turned you on about this story that made you want to develop it into a feature film?
I think it’s always important to think about honor and commitment to one’s life. I think it’s a quality in very short supply.
Did you ever have any second thoughts about letting Tom Cruise do his own stunts?
(Laughing) Yes, as he’d be riding full tilt boogie on a horse with explosions going off and I said, “Now if that horse steps in a pothole, what happens to the movie?” Only then.
MARSHALL HERSKOVITZ (Writer/Producer):
What did you find so fascinating about the Japanese culture to entice you to make this movie?
This has been a long-standing passion for me. I think the samurai were a warrior culture and they had a very strong set of values, and that’s what attracted me to them. They were not afraid of death. They were extremely brave. They’re extremely honest and passionate. They had values that we believe in as a culture [but] we don’t always live by in our culture. They were not unlike the Korean Knights, that sort of thing. Like the Jedi in “Star Wars,” those were basically samurai, those samurai values.
Has the movie been screened in Japan yet?
Yes.
What’s been the reaction?
The reaction has been beyond our dreams. It’s been so embraced by the Japanese. They love it. They feel embraced by it. They feel that it’s accurate. We’ve had nothing but the warmest of reactions from them.
You often partner with the director, Ed Zwick. What is the relationship between you two when you’re working? Do you bounce ideas off each other?
We work every which way. Sometimes I direct, sometimes he directs, sometimes we just produce and somebody else directs. It depends on the needs of that particular project. We’ve been best friends for about 28 years, and that’s finally what it’s about. It’s about trusting each other and listening.
When you hear things about how this could be an Academy Award-nominated movie, how does that affect you?
That’s my bad ear, what’d you say (laughing)? I just say, “I hope so.” You just can’t think about that stuff, it puts your attention in the wrong place.
More interviews from the U.S. Premiere of "The Last Samurai:"
Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe and Shin Koyamada, Masato Harada and Timothy Spall, and Tony Goldwyn and Ngila Dickson
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
"The Last Samurai" Premiere Photos
"The Last Samurai" Production Photos
"The Last Samurai" Trailer, Credits, Costumes, and Movie News
