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Mr. Beaks Gets His Chance To Chuck The Shuriken With NINJA ASSASSIN Director James McTeigue! (Now With Exclusive Rain Photo!)
SPOILER ALERT !!
With NINJA ASSASSIN, director James McTeigue has attempted to make what may be the first A-level ninja movie. To some, this is an admirable and utterly awesome undertaking; to others, it is madness.
Having seen the film (which opens worldwide Wednesday, November 25th), I can confirm that it's actually a bit of both. One one hand, elves and goblins were the stuff of B-movies until Peter Jackson lent J.R.R. Tolkein's LORD OF THE RINGS a little prestige-picture credibility. Why-the-fuck not ninjas? On the other, this movie seems at times to exist as a test-reel for CG limb-rending. It's like the brown-cardboard scribblings of a pimply junior-high-school outcast come to vibrant, bloody life. Not that there's a damn thing wrong with that.
What isn't up for debate is the technical proficiency of Mr. McTeigue, who proves with NINJA ASSASSIN that he's got the action-directing chops to call the shots on a major studio tentpole. When the swords and garrotes and throwing stars come out, McTeigue stages the mayhem with bloody aplomb. This should come as no surprise after the visually accomplished V FOR VENDETTA, but since a few people still seems to think the Wachowskis were looming over his shoulder that entire film, here's further proof that McTeigue is a skilled professional in his own right.
Aside from bringing the havoc, McTeigue also appears to be a capable world-builder in the mold of a master like Ridley Scott. And while I'm not claiming he's anywhere near that level yet, I'm curious to see what McTeigue does with his next film, a mid-1800s serial killer yarn titled THE RAVEN in which Edgar Allan Poe teams with a Baltimore detective to track down a serial killer. McTeigue has compared the film's tone to Caleb Carr's THE ALIENIST - and since it looks like we're never going to get a proper adaptation of that terrific novel, I'm more than willing to settle for something in the aesthetic ballpark (even if it is down the road from New York City a little).
I sat down with McTeigue last Saturday for a brief interview at Yamashiro Restaurant in Hollywood (just north of Franklin Avenue behind The Magic Castle), and, in a heroic display of restraint, waited close to six minutes before asking my first Shô Kosugi question (as you should know, the star of Cannon's classic NINJA trilogy appears in NINJA ASSASSIN as Rain's nefarious mentor, Ozunu). Aside from Sho, we also get into McTeigue's influences, his surprising lack of conflict with the MPAA, and his plans for THE RAVEN. Enjoy!
Mr. Beaks: It really feels like the fourteen-year-old James McTeigue might've had a hand in directing this film. From the Shaw Brothers to Sho Kosugi, NINJA ASSASSIN often plays like a film from a kid in love with old-school martial arts flicks.
James McTeigue: (Laughs) It was definitely made with that in mind, with my inner-child trying to escape. I grew up watching Japanese TV serials that had ninjas in them, so it was a great homage back to that - and Sho and the Shaw Brothers, of course. It was fun. I really wanted it to be a ninja movie, but I wanted to take it out of the '80s cheese it had gotten enveloped in, and hopefully give it the affectation of an "A" genre picture.
Beaks: Was there a discussion at some point about how "real" you were going to make your ninjas?
McTeigue: The cool thing about ninjas is that they are the cool kind of stealth fighters that appear out of the darkness, attack people, and then disappear back. So I wanted to bring elements of horror into it, with the whispering voices as they come, and then get into using film noir, with that deep shadow/hard light. Also, in anime, there's always some kind of mythic quality, like in NINJA SCROLL or SAMURAI CHAMPLOO. I was interested in blending all of that stuff into it to really play into the mythology of the ninja.
Beaks: In shooting the action, you've employed a good deal of CG, which gives it a manga feel. Did you ever consider doing the action - and, in particular, the violence - more practically? Or would that have been too hard of an R for the studio? Not that this isn't a hard R...
McTeigue: (Laughs) I did use some practical effects on set. There were some blood bags that were removed digitally. But I was also interested in it having a definite style to it. I definitely liked the way NINJA SCROLL dealt with blood, but also video games. I wanted it to be a confluence of the two. So when I sat down with Dan Glass, our visual f/x supervisor [Beaks note: Glass is currently working on Terrence Malick's TREE OF LIFE], I said, "Hey, look, I really want it to have this anime quality." He understood that, and we developed that a lot. Because liquids are really hard to do, actually, in visual effects, and it took a lot of R&D to get that right.
Beaks: And very rarely do people get it right. Usually, CG blood looks so fake. It certainly doesn't spurt right, by which I mean it doesn't have the physical qualities real blood should have. (Laughs) Not that I've seen a lot of arterial blood spurting in my life.
McTeigue: It is hard to do, but I think we got an aesthetic that I really liked. You know, I kind of liked how... I set the tone of the movie, I think, at the start, like, in the tattoo parlor. There were two things I wanted to say in that sequence: "This is not real, but this is a cool aesthetic, and I hope you like it."
Beaks: And it's a very particular aesthetic, which is something you and the Wachowskis have managed to establish in each of your films - from THE MATRIX movies on to V FOR VENDETTA and SPEED RACER and this. And it doesn't seem like a progression as much as it is experimenting with different looks and techniques. Are you sort of cycling through a variety of styles? (McTeigue laughs.) I mean that as a compliment, by the way.
McTeigue: I guess it's partially that. But a lot of that stuff is subconscious, I would say. The people you work with, the films you watch, the books you read, the art that you're interested in - I think that all informs you aesthetic. And I think you ultimately want to keep pushing yourself forward; you want to keep doing things to keep you interested. It's a development of a style. And I think, if you look at V FOR VENDETTA, you can see that the same person made this film.
Beaks: I know that you made a conscious effort to stay away from wire work on this film - which is nice, because the fights feel more brutal without it. You're also not afraid to stand back and let us appreciate the fight choreography.
McTeigue: That was a conscious choice. I've been involved in films with a lot of wire work, so it was good to let this film breathe a little more. As you know, wire work makes the fighting feel... well, it gives it a definite style.
Beaks: It's balletic.
McTeigue: Right. But in this, I was interested in taking it to a different place. And I was very lucky to have Rain. On most films, you take it up to a certain point, and then you go, "Okay, now I'm going to insert the stunt guy." But Rain was incredible - and he kept allowing us to leave him in longer and do really incredible, complicated stuff. It's nice to see that it's him [onscreen] most of the time.
Beaks: It sounds like he was game for everything, but was there anything you thought he couldn't pull off?
McTeigue: There was one shot where he's limping over these pipes in the safe house area. They were a good height up, like twenty-five or thirty feet, and all he had on him was safety wire, so if he fell, we would pull him up just short of the ground. (Pause) It helps being twenty-five [years old], by the way. (Laughs) But he was up for anything. And he has natural ability: he's limber and has all of that dance stuff and the muscle memory; I'm sure he's counting off dance steps in his head.
Beaks: Pitting him against Sho... was that special for Rain on any level? I'm going to assume it was special for you. And, you know, how's Sho moving at this point in his career?
McTeigue: Man, Sho is like working with a ninja encyclopedia. He's Ninja-Wiki, right? He is so fit. I remember the first day we put him into training and were going to do some simple choreography, he really kicked the stunt guy's ass. He's, like, sixty-something, but super fit. He's really cut. I guess it's because he practices every day. But in the final battle between those two, Sho was really great. And he was really fun to have on set, even though he's so mean in the movie.
Beaks: Was Rain trying to up his game when he was fighting Sho?
(Spoiler comin'!)
McTeigue: He was. Sho was so iconic in the ninja genre. He sort of was the ninja genre. So it was nice to have him there. It was like a changing of the guard: the old guy versus the young guy. That's why we gave Sho such a visceral death, I guess. (Laughs)
(Spoiler all gone now!)
Beaks: That's only fair and appropriate. I mean, it's what we expect from these types of films.
McTeigue: It's nice to hear you say that. You don't want to make a ninja movie that doesn't serve what the ninja movies of yore accomplished. I remember we did a test screening out in Long Beach, and we had one of those focus groups after it. It was almost exactly how the film is at the moment, and they all said, "Please don't water this down! Please don't!" And I said, "Look, I'm going to not water it down."
Beaks: But was there any pressure from above to do just that? To maybe go for a PG-13?
McTeigue: No, there wasn't. To tell you the truth, I was worried that I might get an NC-17. But I think the MPAA really understood that it was stylized. They gave us a rating that was R for "stylized blood and violence." I guess they understood the movie, that it was a cross between games and other films.
Beaks: Your next film, THE RAVEN, is going to be something of a departure from this. I was really happy to hear you compare it to THE ALIENIST in an earlier interview. That was a book that was never made into a film because the cost of realizing that world onscreen was always deemed prohibitive. So my question to you is... (Laughs) how are you going to create the world of 1850s Baltimore without going wildly over-budget? It is 1850s, right?
McTeigue: Yeah. People get sticky about that 1850s thing because [Edgar Allan] Poe died in 1849. The thing that I like to do, whether it's V FOR VENDETTA or NINJA ASSASSIN, is create the world. Ultimately, what I'm trying to do with THE RAVEN is create Poe's 1850s Baltimore. I'm not trying to make a biopic; I'm not trying to say this is historically correct. I'm just trying to say, "Look, here's a really cool version of 1850s Baltimore with Poe in it." The story is completely fictionalized. I just want to take you for a ride in the cinema.
Beaks: The idea of Poe running around looking for clues is odd. I've always imagined Poe being a weak, consumptive fellow. I never thought he'd be up for a good deal of sleuthing. How are you going to portray him?
McTeigue: Well, there is a co-lead in the film who is the actual detective. His name is "Fields". And they sort of team up. The script is really cool. It has a methodology to it. It'll be fun - like SE7EN crossed with a Poe horror story.
Sounds great. And if this puts pressure on Paramount to cough up $200 million for a Scott Rudin-produced THE ALIENIST (directed by Philip Kaufman), all the better.
Until then, enjoy the gratuitous visceral pleasures of NINJA ASSASSIN - which is, to its credit, everything you expect from a film titled NINJA ASSASSIN.
Faithfully submitted,
Mr. Beaks
McTeigue: He was. Sho was so iconic in the ninja genre. He sort of was the ninja genre. So it was nice to have him there. It was like a changing of the guard: the old guy versus the young guy. That's why we gave Sho such a visceral death, I guess. (Laughs)
(Spoiler all gone now!)
Beaks: That's only fair and appropriate. I mean, it's what we expect from these types of films.
McTeigue: It's nice to hear you say that. You don't want to make a ninja movie that doesn't serve what the ninja movies of yore accomplished. I remember we did a test screening out in Long Beach, and we had one of those focus groups after it. It was almost exactly how the film is at the moment, and they all said, "Please don't water this down! Please don't!" And I said, "Look, I'm going to not water it down."
Beaks: But was there any pressure from above to do just that? To maybe go for a PG-13?
McTeigue: No, there wasn't. To tell you the truth, I was worried that I might get an NC-17. But I think the MPAA really understood that it was stylized. They gave us a rating that was R for "stylized blood and violence." I guess they understood the movie, that it was a cross between games and other films.
Beaks: Your next film, THE RAVEN, is going to be something of a departure from this. I was really happy to hear you compare it to THE ALIENIST in an earlier interview. That was a book that was never made into a film because the cost of realizing that world onscreen was always deemed prohibitive. So my question to you is... (Laughs) how are you going to create the world of 1850s Baltimore without going wildly over-budget? It is 1850s, right?
McTeigue: Yeah. People get sticky about that 1850s thing because [Edgar Allan] Poe died in 1849. The thing that I like to do, whether it's V FOR VENDETTA or NINJA ASSASSIN, is create the world. Ultimately, what I'm trying to do with THE RAVEN is create Poe's 1850s Baltimore. I'm not trying to make a biopic; I'm not trying to say this is historically correct. I'm just trying to say, "Look, here's a really cool version of 1850s Baltimore with Poe in it." The story is completely fictionalized. I just want to take you for a ride in the cinema.
Beaks: The idea of Poe running around looking for clues is odd. I've always imagined Poe being a weak, consumptive fellow. I never thought he'd be up for a good deal of sleuthing. How are you going to portray him?
McTeigue: Well, there is a co-lead in the film who is the actual detective. His name is "Fields". And they sort of team up. The script is really cool. It has a methodology to it. It'll be fun - like SE7EN crossed with a Poe horror story.
Sounds great. And if this puts pressure on Paramount to cough up $200 million for a Scott Rudin-produced THE ALIENIST (directed by Philip Kaufman), all the better.
Until then, enjoy the gratuitous visceral pleasures of NINJA ASSASSIN - which is, to its credit, everything you expect from a film titled NINJA ASSASSIN.
Faithfully submitted,
Mr. Beaks
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Nov 25, 2009 12:06:34 AM CST
BIG LOB's Pac-Man is trapped between two ghosts...
by gibsonusa returns
Fast forward two seconds, and the Pac-Man is chomping freely as the ghosts give chase.
Big Lob just made his move.
Put BIG LOB in GI Joe 2! -
God, that would make a great film. Or even HBO mini series
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and i hope kathy bates soaps her fat sexy rosehole. i'm ready for dinner. misery and titanic back to back bitches. avatar!
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But I do care about Ninjas, too.:-D
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Nov 25, 2009 1:15:37 AM CST
Ninja tries to escape BIG LOB by throwing down a smoke bomb.
by gibsonusa returns
Fast forward two seconds.
BIG LOB is now holding the smoke bomb in one hand, and the ninja's neck in the other.
BIG LOB: Whatchu doiinnn??
BIG LOB makes his move. -
Fuck Ninja Assassin. I FUCKING LOVE V for Vendetta but everything I've seen of NA looks terribe. Anyway, getting back to buisness... Jake - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Qyl2Vt9seM Neytiri - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY_RTaKbSiE Dr. Augustine - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4mJUkGVKlI Selfridge - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2kUOrr7zZM Chacon - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyeTXZ6NcKk Thanator - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2FAVxbXWRI AMP Suit - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzyC_66id_I The Scorpion - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cM-DR8itsCw
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Nov 25, 2009 1:21:16 AM CST
cesareo, CHRISTOPHER NOLAN SHOULD MAKE THE ALIENIST!!!FACT!!!
by tehcreepythinman
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Nov 25, 2009 1:23:47 AM CST
What's all this Avatar stuff doing in this BIG LOB talkback?
by gibsonusa returns
(just kidding of course)
But what AICN needs to do is to replace one of their two main banner ads with a permanent picture of Big Lob.
C'mon. Be a team player.
You can pick your number. Just not 14... -
Guarantees that they will get my money. To have him directed by the guy who made V for Vendetta, which I really liked, even better. I'm not expecting Shakespeare, just a kick ass ninja fighting bloody good time. If they deliver that, I'll be happy.
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Nov 25, 2009 2:41:26 AM CST
BIG LOB HAS MY FAVORITE MOMENT IN G.I. JOE THE MOVIE......
by tehcreepythinman
It’s after Falcon, the Renegades and the new recruits have snuck into CobraLa and start attacking Cobra with those water-helicopters. Big Lob takes a hit, puts a grenade in the side of the machine and dives off before it crashes into the plants that have trapped the other Joe and frees them to lay an epic fucking beatdown on Cobra. That movie, along with the animated Transformers flick, are soo fucking epic that the live-action movies pale in comparison.
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1. Beachhead's obstacle course.
2. Telling Falcon how it is.
3. Saving the entire G.I. Joe team at Cobra-La. I contend that the Joes would NOT have won without Big Lob's move.
Notes:
- The new recruit's helicopter going down during Cobra's attack does not count as a loss, as Big Lob was merely sitting in the passenger seat as an observer. It was Chuckles and the other fools that lost. Big Lob merely observed their lack of moves.
-Right before Serpentor speared Duke, Big Lob was about to kick Serpentor's ass before being blocked off. Lucky for Serpentor. -
Is the best neinja movie so far. I remember seeing this back in 1985 and it rocked (and still does). American Ninja is also very good with Tadashi Yamashita playing the bad guy(Black Star Ninja). Sho Kusugi is the ultimate ninja master though. We should all bow down to the master. Ninja Assassin should be good.
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McTeigue's style is all wrong for Superman. WIth Superman, it's about standing back and admiring, about witnessing the awe-inspiring spectacle of a simple thing like flying over the city or a big thing like fighting Zod over the skies of Metropolis.
Close up shaky cam would be all wrong for SUperman and McTeigue's style just doesn't suit. I say this because he's clearly been lobbying for the job.
I personally would give Superman to Cauron (didn't he direct Prisoner of Azkaban?) with a writing team of Timm, Dini and McQuarrie.
But then I don't work for Warner Brothers. -
ceed if its proven to be well made.i want NINJAS to return in the action genre of the cinemas,so i do wish the best for the W bro.
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my childhood hero, but will always be the poor man's Sonny Chiba! regardless, I'll be in the theater this saturday, M&Ms in one hand, cock in the other. haven't had a solid, R-rated ninja-based theatrical release since 1995.
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it's not as horrible as massawyrm makes it sound. it's violent as hell, and pulls no punches on the gore. Not since 300, have I heard an audience whoop and holler at onscreen killings and decapitations. I don't know if that's actually a good thing for us as a society, but this was definitely an entertaining crowd-pleaser.
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Nov 25, 2009 8:11:20 AM CST
THE NEW FREDDY KRUEGER LOOKS FUCKING TERRIBLE!!!FACT!!!
by tehcreepythinman
http://shocktillyoudrop.com/nextraimages/freddy-full-look.jpg
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Is he still making movies? He was like a mini-ninja in his dads flicks.
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That calls for hari-kari in my book.
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Thanks for that link. I agree it looks really stupid. I can't believe THAT'S their idea for Freddy. Hopefully it's just weird lighting or an odd angle. Maybe in the film it will work better staying mostly in shadow.
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"What isn't up for debate is the technical proficiency of Mr. McTeigue, who proves with NINJA ASSASSIN that he's got the action-directing chops to call the shots on a major studio tentpole."Don't know what the hell movie Beaks watched. What I saw was a mentally retarded shitfest with unwatchable, shaky-cam, one million edits per second, CGI-encrusted action scenes. Uwe Boll's IN THE NAME OF THE KING is a more satisfying ninja movie - dead fucking serious. At least that had a seasoned ninja movie veteran Ching Siu-Tung directing the second unit action stuff. You want to see ninjas done right? You want Ching's 1981 DUEL TO THE DEATH.
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I feel bad for Rain being stuck in this piece of shit. He gave it his best shot and hopefully this doesn't end his acting career, as there's some real potential there.
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they couldnt find roles for Yasuaki Kurata and Hiroyuki Sanada in it.. Kurata was all kinds of awesome in HEROES OF THE EAST.. Sanada was great in NINJA IN THE DRAGONS DEN.
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