The Last Samurai

[mark schilling]

The actor playing Katsumoto in "The Last Samurai" is Watanabe Ken, not
Matsudaira Ken.
Omura is an Imperial-advisor-cum-businessman who runs a budding zaibatsu and
is viciously anti-samurai. When Tom Cruise is captured he is taught the way
of the samurai by Katsumoto and his men, not Omura.

How do I know this? I'm working for Ed Zwick as a script consultant and I've
been impressed with his interest in getting the details right., including
the nuances of the Japanese dialogue, even if the film's early Meiji history
is more fantasy than fact.

Mark Schilling
schill at gol.com



----- Original Message -----
From: "Aaron Gerow" <gerow at ynu.ac.jp>
To: "KineJapan" <KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Sent: Thursday, September 05, 2002 12:30 PM
Subject: Re: TV coverage, content & treatment / red army incident


> >By the way, through various contacts who are in touch with former
> >Sekigun types, I've heard that Adachi, Matsuda, and others fully
> >supported the attack on 9/11.
>
> I was at a "welcome back" party for Adachi last year in October, I think,
> and one of the toasters detailed how thrilled he was when he saw the
> planes crash into the building. Adachi himself didn't say anything, but
> I'm sure he has to be careful since he's on parole.
>
> >PS: Speaking of Harada, it was just announced in the Japanese media that
> >he will be appearing AS AN ACTOR  in a Hollywood film called "The Last
> >Samurai." It's to be directed by Edward Zwick, and he'll play across
> >from Tom Cruise. Plot is a Civil War vet, presumably Cruise, who goes to
> >Meiji Japan to train the new army and kick any remaining samurai ass.
> >He's captured and learns the way of the samurai, presumably from Harada
> >Masato, and then has to decide which way to choose. You can imagine the
> >rest.
>
> Actually, the Japanese star of the film will be Matsudaira Ken (he's the
> truck driver's sidekick in Tampopo, in case you don't know him), so
> Harada will probably not be doing the teaching. He will be playing the
> official close to the emperor who hires Cruise. Among the other Japanese
> cast is Sanada Hiroyuki and the kabuki actor Nakamura Shichinosuke
> (Kankuro's son) playing the emperor. Interestingly, Japanese casting for
> the film was done by Narahashi Yoko, with whom I did a talk session in
> February at the American Center WITH Harada. Maybe that was one impetus
> behind the decision?
>
> Aaron Gerow
> Associate Professor
> International Student Center
> Yokohama National University
> 79-1 Tokiwadai
> Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501
> JAPAN
> E-mail: gerow at ynu.ac.jp
> Phone: 81-45-339-3170
> Fax: 81-45-339-3171
>
>