Geek Syndicate
Ozuna the clan name means? Ozuna is the one who started the mountain priests in Japan. Mountain priests and the Ninjas are very related. That’s why the clan is called Ozuna. GS: Did it feel good to be back in front of the camera again after all these years? SK: Yes it feels very good. James [McTeigue] is a very good director. Only problem with this movie is that my face is on show all the way through! From beginning to end. So I don’t wear my Ninja uniform! Ha! Whilst I am not choreographing the fights I will make sure the fight choreographer knows my style so as long as you can see the action that’s good. And we have BIG action fighting with Rain! I liked the Matrix. Larry and Andy had some great ideas in that film. The bullet time… with bullets coming towards you. Wow, amazing! So maybe they’ll use this here with the Shuriken coming towards you in bullet time, maybe. But shhh! I didn’t say that! It’s fair to say that Kosugi’s generation of action movie was very different from those we exist in currently. Back then it was wire work, real explosions and old hand drawn matte paintings, a lifetime away from the advent of CGI that proliferates today’s action films. GS: Your early films were, technologically speaking, a lot more basic than the action movie of today. What are your thoughts on the use of CGI in movies today, especially action films. SK: I think CGI in films is good… to a point. But overdoing it is no good. I have trained since five years old, so I have skill. But CGI makes regular people look like they can do it. I think people are tired of watching CGI movies… People want to see real martial arts again so with Ninja Assassin we used SOME CGI but I have been watching the fighting and mostly they are doing it for real. Very little CGI. But it’s hard to find a good action film these days… even Kill Bill. I didn’t like it. It was okay for the action, but I didn’t like the sword fighting. I saw it and thought “No you wouldn’t do it like that”. For me it’s a different way of holding the sword. But the story itself was not bad at all… GS: So what is your favourite Martial arts film? SK: Seven Samurai. The Concept is very, very good and the characters are very interesting. Besides that… Bruce Lee in Enter The Dragon. He was different. Jackie Chan and Jet Li are great but to me Bruce Lee has a different presence. He just stands there and his charisma is amazing. With Ninja Assassin out and Return Of The Ninja going into production I wanted to know whether Kosugi had any other film plans? SK: Well after Ninja Assassin I do have another project, which is even bigger, a $100 million dollar budget. But I can’t talk too much about that. I am still working on Return Of The Ninja as well so we will see… In the background I can see the diligent Warner’s PR person tapping her watch (to say we have overrun our slot is a minor understatement) but just as Kosugi is being hurried out, no doubt to another room full of fact hungry journalists, I wanted to find out the answer to one last question… GS: What is the best Ninja Film ever made? The answer (said with a massive smile)… SK: Of course… Ninja Assassin!!!! Kosugi is a genuine hundredpercent legend and it’s great to see him returning to the genre that he popularised all those years ago. With Ninja Assassin, Isaac Florentine’s Scott Adkins starring Ninja and Kosugi’s own Return Of The Ninja all available now, and Ninja 2 currently filming, we could once again be seeing the start of the domination of the Ninja! For more on Sho Kosugi check out his official website at: www.shokosugi.net
Selected Filmography:
• Enter the Ninja (1981) • Revenge of the Ninja (1982) • Ninja 3: (1983) The Domination
• Black Eagle (1987) • Ninja Assassin (2009)
Phil Hobden
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