It doesn't matter where you make movies or what the size of the movie you make is. It's a very hard job - especially director.
Ryuhei KitamuraUltimately I'm making movies because of the producers and I don't want to disappoint my producer. It's always a tough balance to figure out how far I listen to them though.
Ryuhei KitamuraWherever I make a movie, no matter what size it is, it's always about a straightforward communication with the producer.
Ryuhei KitamuraProducers don't like the director who ignores their opinion - but I always try not to be the nicest person when making a movie. It's easy to do that. Just say 'Yes sir', "Alright', 'Okay' - but they're not seeing the movie because if they can, they should be directing the movie.
Ryuhei KitamuraProducers say things that they would like to see in the movie but they don't see the full picture. In the end if you ignore everything the producers say, of course, you get fired; but then if you listen to a producer on everything then it's like 'Hey - why don't you direct your own movie?'
Ryuhei KitamuraI believe Korea is making the best movies. Only in Korea - you can do whatever you want to without any rating system or whatever. They can make world-class karate movies and make lots of money, which is very important.
Ryuhei KitamuraI brought in two genius guys from Korea. Guys who did my favorite movies like Oldboy and The Man from Nowhere. It was fun working with them. Even though they don't speak Japanese and I don't speak Korean, I knew from day one we were speaking the same language because they love my work and I love theirs. We instantly connected. There was zero frustration.
Ryuhei KitamuraHollywood industry people are very spoiled. I don't think they can adjust to the insane, no-money, super-hard working tradition of Japanese filmmaking. I don't think any American can go through that. They don't want to work more than twelve hours and they want Saturday and Sunday off.
Ryuhei Kitamura