In a bid to understand more about the novel ahead of the filming, Ayase went on a short trip for 4 days and 2 nights in order to meet Ishiguro who is based in London. During their discussion, Ishiguro explained that he wanted to explore the theme of life being very short and everyone will face death one day. However, how people deal with death in their faces and what they feel is most important to them was a key motivating factor which spurred him to write the novel. He also explained the relationships between the key characters and how he felt about the lead Kyoko (Kathy H. in the novel in response to questions from Ayase.
Ishiguro who moved to the UK at the age of 5, is a bestselling author who had won the Man Booker Prize which is the highest ranking literature award in the UK. As he didn't know about Ayase prior to their meeting, Ishiguro watched her 2009 drama "JIN" in order to know her better. After watching it, he praised Ayase for using her facial expressions and body language to convey the love which couldn't be put into words and commented that she is a great actress. In response, Ayase thanked him in English. As Ishiguro advised Ayase to play Kyoko in her own way rather than be restricted by the novel, she pledged to do her best to convey the essence of her character to the best of her ability.
Source: Sponichi Annex
Interesting, and I'm glad Ayase did her homework before taking on the role. Also, it's good that Ishiguro watched JIN instead of Ayase's more recent dramas cuz those sucked but she was excellent in JIN. Hopefully Ayase can bring out Kathy well.
ReplyDeleteNow if they'll only get a better actor for Tommy...
Apparently, according to the post on the drama's Facebook page earlier today supposedly written by the producer who was also in London, Ayase could understand most of what Ishiguro said in English and tried to reply in English too at times even though there was an interpreter present. Footage of the discussion is said to be aired during the upcoming New Year holidays.
ReplyDeleteI think the choice of letting Ishiguro watch "JIN" stems from the fact that it was a TBS drama. Although "Nankyoku Tairiku" was a more recent drama compared to "JIN" and also from TBS, Ayase's role in that should be very small, considering that KimuTaku was the lead, the action was mainly on the guys and she was just the younger sister of his late wife. Comparatively, her role in "JIN" was meatier and allowed her to show her acting skills. Her recent dramas in the last two years were from NHK (Yae no Sakura) and NTV (Kyou wa Kaisha Yasumimasu) so it was pretty obvious that TBS wouldn't use those to "promote" Ayase to Ishiguro.
Cool, I didn't know Ayase understands English. Would be interesting to see that footage when it airs. I'm more or less on board with her as Kathy, just hope she manages to pull it off.
ReplyDeleteAnd good point about the station - forgot TBS is broadcasting the drama. You're right, JIN allowed Ayase to showcase her acting, because since then her drama roles haven't been particularly stellar - I read somewhere Yae no Sakura went downhill in the latter bits, though I'm not sure, and Kaisha sucks to the high heavens.