April32020

TAKING THE WHEEL: A Word With Filmmaker Kurando Mitsutake

Lee B. Golden IIIInterviewsfilmcombatsyndicate.com, gun woman, karate kill, kurando mitsutake, maniac driver

Japanese cinema is one of the most adoring caveats of sharing film discussions, and director Kurando Mitsutake is a highly welcome subject matter in that regard.

I first read about him back in 2014 or so while reading a piece Twitchfilm (before the site rebranded as Screen Anarchy) promoting his blood-coated sexy assassin thriller, Gun Woman, and… well, I started jonesin’! It was a film that spoke inherently to a lot of my interests in Asian films in the early 2000s – the halcyon days of an otherwise ostracized college dropout then working for his dad, and least had enough money to spoil himself with DVDs at the Manhanttan Mall’s Suncoast outlet.

It’s been maybe six years since then and having eventually seen Gun Woman, and ultimately keeping up with Mitsutake’s craft on my young little niche site during its time on Google’s Blogspot platform. And yep, he’s still at it with another two projects on the way after his 2016 martial arts thriller, Karate Kill, now following with an ambitious trailblazing move toward Japanese Giallo in Maniac Driver.

He’s already unveiled some stills online since filming last year, and ultimately, my goal had always been to share questions with him about his work, even before Karate Kill, to be honest. Welp, I got down to it late last year and contacted him, and he’s been a busy bee since. He explains why in our Q&A below, in addition to sharing a few tidbits and like-minded bullet facts about his work, inspirations and opinions about the current state of the film industry – the latter which should stimulate some thought given the rise of streaming service and the digital age. It’s thought provoking, to say the least, and I think this is something our own Christina Ortega Phillips will take a liking to.

Maniac Driver — Courtesy of Kurando Mitsutake

Thanks for joining this Q&A with me Kurando. I hope your transition into 2020 is going smoothly.

Thank you Lee for this opportunity. You originally asked me to participate on this interview back in late December of 2019. At that time I was swamped with rewrites for my movie, #6, which was slated to be shot in May of 2020, so I asked you to wait a bit for me to be able to sit down with this interview. Then the Coronavirus hit the world. And here we are at the end of March 2020, I finally got some time to do the interview. It all feels so surreal now. So to answer your question, yes, 2020 was going great until February and the shit hit the fan in March.

I definitely want to get into Maniac Driver a bit with you, but just to acquaint with readers, tell us about yourself and your progression into acting and directing.

I’m a film director originally from Tokyo, Japan, currently based in Los Angeles, California. My filmography includes SAMURAI AVENGER: THE BLIND WOLF (’08), GUN WOMAN (’14) and KARATE KILL (’16).

Years ago, my actor friend told me that his agent was looking for someone like me to represent. So I went to see his agent and got signed on. This is very rare thing. Many of my actor friends are struggling to get representations. Then the agent sent me out to a commercial audition for Nokia. I got the part – maybe with the beginner’s luck. The commercial was an union shoot so I had to join Screen Actors Guild. Now again, this is very rare. I know many actors struggle many year to join SAG.

So I started to think I better take this seriously. Then I got a part in UGLY BETTY season one, episode four, and HEROES season two, episode two and six. But after that I wanted to focus on my directing career so I haven’t acted since SAMURAI AVENGER. Maybe after this Coronavirus disaster is over, I might act again though. We will see.

Yours is quite a daring craft in that it pushes envelopes for moviegoers apart from the mainstream. Do you feel that genre films like yours still only have their place among niche audiences? Is there room for greater appeal?

When I was trying to break into the film industry as a director back in early 2000s, the Japanese extreme cinema was on the rise. Takashi Miike lead the movement and Yoshihiro Nishimura, Noboru Iguchi were the front runners. I have a huge passion for genre films too so I thought I should join the movement to put my foot in the door via Japanese extreme cinema movement and that’s how my career started.

But as the Japanese film industry got smaller and smaller due to the country’s never ending recession and young kids’ lack of interest in movies, the Japanese extreme cinema is dead. So I was planning to make a career shift to move into more of mainstream movies. My movie, #6, will still be a genre picture but with bigger budget and major name attach to it. And it will be released from a major Japanese movie studio. Due to the Covid-19 situation however, the production has been postponed. I’m really hoping that it won’t be canceled.

Talk about some of the major hurdles you’ve had to surpass in your career in the last decade and how they’ve helped mold you into the director.

Two of my big projects got canceled at the last minute in last five years for one reason or another. The situation is tough out there for anyone making movies. The bottom line is this: cinema does not have the cultural importance it once had. The movie business is getting smaller and smaller, and on top of that, the traditional distribution route has been destroyed by the streaming services. More people are making movies thanks to the digital revolution, but a majority of them won’t get distribution because the digital revolution killed the home video market. Very ironical.

I know crowdfunding has been one facet for some companies when it comes to funding film projects. Is this method something that you’re keen on?

I’m not a fan of crowdfunding movies at this point. It’s ok to make a backyard amateur movie with it maybe but professionals shouldn’t crowdfund their project, I believe.

Tell us about Maniac Driver, and about casting for this project and sharing your vision with your actors and crew.

MANIAC DRIVER is my fifth movie. I finally got an opportunity to shoot a horror movie. A Japanese Giallo!

My leading man for MANIAC DRIVER is Tomoki Kimura, an up-and-coming tremendous talent in Japanese cinema. I was very lucky to have him on board. When I was a jury member at the Yubari International Film Festival in 2017, we awarded the best picture prize to this movie called JOURNEY OF THE TORTOISE and Tomoki was the star. I fell in love with his performance and really wanted to work with him ever since then.

MANIAC DRIVER being a Giallo and all, we needed stunningly beautiful female victims. We were so lucky to have some of the most poplar and drop dead gorgeous Japanese adult movie actresses on board. Some of my crew members weren’t familiar with Giallo genre. So I had to prepare a list of suggested viewings – like some of Argento and Fulci work. This helped us to be on the same page as far as the esthetics of the film goes.

If you were to assign your fans to see a selection of films that inspired Maniac Driver, so as to employ an idea about what to expect, what would the list include?

TENEBRAE by Dario Argento, MURDER ROCK by Lucio Fulci, and A BAY OF BLOOD by Mario Bava. There are tons more but those three should get you started in loving and appreciating Giallo.

Have there been any talks yet for representation for this year’s market circulation?

Not yet. We were hoping to make our world premiere at Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea this summer but due to the Coronavirus disaster, the post production has been halted. So, I don’t know when we can complete the movie at this point so everything is up in the air for now. But I have no doubt that MANIAC DRIVER will sell like hotcakes around the world. It’s the first-ever full on Japanese Giallo. Who wouldn’t want to see that!?

Gun Woman was the first film that drew my attention toward you when I first began my platform on here. Talk about working with Asami who has had some incredible experiences of her own in cinema. I know she recently wrapped her final action film with Tunguska Butterfly last I checked.

Yes, Asami unfortunately announced that she’s retiring from acting early last year. Her film TUNGUSKA BUTTERFLY is her final act. It is a serious loss for the Japanese film industry. I was introduced to her by our mutual stuntman friend in Tokyo back in 2010 or so. Soon after our first encounter, we were both invited to a fan convention in Germany. At that time, I was living in Tokyo so Asami and I were on the same flights round trip Tokyo – Dusseldorf. We talked a lot on the plane and we became really good friends. Then on our return trip to Tokyo, I talked about my dream project – GUN WOMAN. Asami immediately told me she wants to play the lead. She said she’s the only actress in Japan who can pull off the fight scenes completely nude. Since I was already a fan of her work, like MACHINE GIRL, I was really honored that she wanted to do GUN WOMAN.

Kurando Mitsutake and Asami on the set of KARATE KILL Courtesy

Soon after our trip to German convention, Japan was hit with the earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disaster. All the development talks I was having with different companies and producers disappeared because genre films are not needed in the national emergency time. During this chaotic time, I decided to relocate to Los Angeles and I got busy with my family. Then in 2013, my Japanese distributor of SAMURAI AVENGER contacted me and told me that they want me to make a feature for them. So I pitched GUN WOMAN and they loved it.

As soon as I got the official green light from this Company, I contacted Asami. I said “do you remember the movie idea I told you about on the flight back to Tokyo from Dusseldorf?” Asami didn’t even let me finish my sentence. She said “let’s do this.” That’s how we got to work on GUN WOMAN together.

I understand there is only so much you can do in indie, especially when you wanna thrive on as many ideas as possible. Personally, I would love to see a new Gun Woman, or perhaps a return of the character, Kenji for some more Karate Kill. Would either of these, or something in these spaces be on the table for you?

Well there are talks about GUN WOMAN 2 and KARATE KILL 2. Some get serious but the dies down while others are quietly crawling forward. I would love to do them very soon.

Are there any films you’re looking forward to watching this year?

I was looking forward to seeing WONDER WOMAN 1984 and BLACK WIDOW but their release dates got pushed back due to the Coronavirus outbreak. I just can’t wait to get our normalcy back in our lives so we can go on watching movies in the theaters and get back to making my movies.

Kurando, it’s been amazing the last five years and observing your work, and I honestly look toward another five, and I’m certain folks reading this can relate. Are there any words you want to share as we exit this interview?

In the last four years, there were several moments during my progression where I became trapped with several “hurry up and wait” type of film industry bullshit incidences, and at the end, those projects all fell through. You know nowadays, it actually takes a miracle to materialize a movie project.

For these next five years to come, I am hopeful the coronavirus situation settles as soon as possible and I get to complete MANIAC DRIVER. Then resurrect my next movie, #6. I also look froward to working more with American producers and productions for bigger and better Mitsutake films.

Thank you so much Lee for this opportunity. Stay safe and healthy my friend. Let’s survive this virus war and talk about movies more in the very near future.

I sincerely look forward to it, Mitsutake-san! Ous!