“I can't just be like, whoops, sorry about last year. That's the scariest part of it all.”
Kojima said he thought that once he became independent he would finally be able to make a movie, and that at first his ideal was Oshii’s model: being freelance and working only with a lawyer and an accountant. He then calculated that to make top‑level CG he would need to assemble about a hundred people, and because he cannot simply point to an already built team (as Pixar does) he had to set up his own company with an office and staff. He now receives film proposals but in reality cannot take them: he has his employees’ livelihoods in his hands, cannot just apologize and walk away, and must cover payroll; that is what happens, he says, when you become an executive.
“I thought that once I became independent, I'll be able to make a movie. At first, everyone wants to be like Mr. Oshii, being a freelancer and really only working with a lawyer and accountant. I wanted to do that, but I realized I needed to get together about 100 people if I wanted to make a great CG. […] people come to me with plans about movies, but in reality I can't do it. […] I need to pay my employees, you know. That's what happens when you become an executive.”