Oguri Shun interview - "SURELY SOMEDAY"

Oricon Style recently interviewed Shun Oguri about his directorial debut movie, Surely Someday.

— I head you started planning about Surely Someday at the age of 19

[Oguri] Yes, back when I was young, I had a thought that at the age of 20, everything will dramatically change. Being able to smoke and drink legally was a big thing for me. And just before I was turning 20, I had a thought that it would be interesting, if people could change their genders when they turn 20. That was when I started thinking about making a movie, a movie about three boys buying a cheap gender-changing machine manufactured by the government. But because I didn’t think enough about the ending and the story, the plot for the movie was a mess at first…

— When did you decide to seek help from Shougo Mutou, a famous playwright, for help?
[Oguri] I got to know Mutou-san through a drama that I was in. He wrote the script for CX Division1-STAGE4『ハングリーキッド』(Hungry Kid) (2004, Fuji TV). I asked him to write a story about friendships, and when I read the story that he wrote for me, I realized how talented Mutou-san is. I felt the passion while reading it. That was when I asked him to write a script for Surely-Someday. He is a very talented man. He made Surely Someday more exciting and better!

— How did you develop the character Misa?
[Oguri] Haha, because I don’t really know how girls feel, Misa was mainly developed while filming. We slowly figured out Misa’s feelings through observing Manami Konishi (actress) acting as Misa.

— Through the fast-moving pace of the movie, I was impressed by some of the overwhelming violence scenes.
[Oguri] It is not surprising to see cool action scenes in action movies such as Crows Zero in which I was in. However, I realized that when you are walking on a street, it is very painful to see other people hurting others. This is why I wanted to portray the violence scenes as realistic as possible. I think the scene with Kyohei and the yakuza went really well.

— What about the car racing and shooting scenes?
[Oguri] Well, since they rarely happen in our real life, I thought it was unnecessary to portray them realistically. So I tried making these scenes as cool as possible and almost like scenes from Rupan Sansei and COWBOY BEBOP.

— With fancy casts and a unique script, how was your experience as a first time director?
[Oguri] Because we did not have enough preparation time, the filming period was like hell! But after the editing started, I had a fun time relaxing and waiting for Youko Kanno’s music to be done. I’ve always wanted to direct a movie, but I was surprised that I would given a chance this early in my life. I’m very grateful that I was given a chance to direct this movie now, because otherwise, I might not have had the speed and the unique concepts. Even though making the movie was tough, I had a very fun time making it. I hope people will realize how wonderful life is through watching Surely Someday.
— Lastly, if you were given a chance to change your gender, which gender would you choose?
[Oguri] So the gender-changing machine in which I was thinking of had a restriction that once you change your gender, you will not be able to go back to your previousa one. And if this was the case, I would definitely stay as a male. I would love to become a girl for maybe a month, but I would not want to be a woman forever. I think living as a man is easier. Men are less complicated than women. I really like the last scene of Surely Someday. Ryou Katsuzi’s expression was great. (OMGJPOP!)