“It was my first time meeting Nicolas, and yet, from that moment on, after just 20 or 30 minutes of talking, I felt like he was a childhood friend, someone I had known from ages ago.”
Kojima said he was a big fan of Nicolas Winding Refn and had always wanted to meet him, so when Drive was released in Japan he contacted the distribution agency to request Refn's contact information, emailed him, and, while on a business trip to Europe, met him in London — Refn had come from Denmark. It was his first time meeting Refn and after just 20 or 30 minutes of talking he felt like a childhood friend, someone he had known from ages ago. Since then they have met around the world (Los Angeles, Denmark, Japan) and, although they do not see each other often, of all the creators close to him Nicolas is the one he feels most connected to: Refn sends him messages all the time — almost never text, mostly pictures, emojis and videos — and Kojima said they are like elementary school kids.
“When Drive was released in Japan, I got in touch with the distribution agency and asked for Nicolas' contact information. So, I emailed him and when I was on a business trip to Europe, we met up in London. […] He sends me messages all the time, too. But it's usually not text-based. It's mostly pictures or emojis or videos. We're like elementary school kids.”