HIDEO KOJIMA presents Brain Structure #21 — Hideo Kojima x Shioli Kutsuna in LA

“For instance, real-life Matt smokes, but Cliff's character at that time wasn't a smoker. But after meeting Matt in person, we went through the process of solidifying his character together.”

“I need to check whether I can love this person or not, whether or not I can work together with them.”

“We didn't use an actual cardboard box. We made one out of poles.”

“We do it once like an air hug, where you hug from a distance. And then we do it again without the helmet.”

“And actors can't do exactly the same thing every time, every take. Their expression may change slightly and that little nuance makes me really happy.”

“Um, on another note, with the current technology, we can't shoot hair. So all we can do is take reference shots, and we later punch in one hair at a time.”

“But I really wanted to put in an Asian character, and if I'm going to use an Asian actor, I wanted them to be Japanese because, well, um, I'm Japanese.”

“But it's meaningless if you lose your own colour in the process, so you have to find a place for yourself among the symphony but bring out the Japanese part of yourself too. Like, you can hear a Japanese flute from within the symphony.”

“In my case, I think about the world setting, then create the story. The character settings are pretty vague at first. The details aren't refined yet.”

“Well, compared to like Clint Eastwood, I might be more stubborn. There are some people who will do 30 takes. James Cameron does over 30. […] Well, I think the first two or three takes are the best ones.”

“At the end, when we wrap up all the shooting, we'll do the usual celebrations with bouquet and stuff and everyone is all happy. But then it's hell from there. It'll take another two more years after that.”

“And you put all your thoughts into it, but there's a limit to what you can create on your own. The characters start lacking features. I think I only know about 20 to 30 different personalities.”

“You can also see the background and where the enemy is located. It doesn't exist in the studio, but it appears on the screen.”