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(Im simplifying.)
Is it any wonder that Sion Sono callsPrisoners of the Ghostlandhis Disney film?
Tell me about casting Nicolas Cage.
He has Hollywood vibes all over his face and his body and everything that comes out of him.
But hes very humble.
He never acts like he has this whole career and an Oscar.
You know how young actors whove just started their careers are very nice?
He never acted like he was a star.
That was great about him.
Theres a really wonderful line reading that Cage gives during a rousing speech.
He says, Had I known that today Id be standing before you with one arm and one testicle …
But he isolates the word testicle and yells it out with such pain and anger TESTICLEEE!
Its hilarious and shocking, but also quite sad.
How does a line reading like that happen?
Is it in the script?
Do you direct him to read the line like that?
Id say one thing and Nic would understand and give me another thing.
It was a great communication.
And this was one of those lines.
He never gave me any indication ahead of time.
I was quite surprised, but it worked out.
I love poems, and also short stories.
Those are rather fast-paced theyre created quickly, whereas filmmaking seems to take more time.
But for me, creating poems and creating short stories is the same as filmmaking.
All filmmakers should be like that.
Thats why I only take a short amount of time.
Im not afraid of making mistakes.
When Im making a movie, Im not trying to make something that is 100 percent convincing.
I cant really tell.
Its other people the audience that will tell me if its great or not great.
Since I cant judge it that way, Id rather just keep filming.
Even now, I look back and think about it, and there are so many.
But if I think too much of it, that doesnt help.
That doesnt give me any motivation.
And all Ill do is suffer with all those thoughts of mistakes.
So I try not to think about it.
Just watched Sion Sonos Prisoners of the Ghostland, and what a treat!
Proud to be a part of this wild ride!!!
Because I was thinking maybe this is going to be brought to a wider audience internationally.
I tried not to make this too art house.
I focused on entertainment.
For me, this is what I would call a family movie.
So this is for grandma, grandpa, little kids.
For me, its more like a Disney film.
Maybe for my next project, Ill give a shot to have a little bit more of myself.
Youve wanted to make an English-language film for some time.
Tell me about how this came together.Ive been trying for 15 years.
Ive had a number of projects.
I grew up on American movies.
So its come true, finally.
I couldnt even count.
Maybe lets start with John Ford and his Western movies.
Then all the way to the recent ones.
He came from Holland and did all these great works in Hollywood.
Thats somebody I look up to.
So the biggest challenge was to create something on a large scale.
Its interesting that you were thinking this would be your big audience film.
I grew up on watching all these films on a big screen.
On the flip side, streaming and VOD, those are not quite the films that I have known.
For me, films should always be seen on a big screen.
If that goes away, then I will be less motivated at least, thats what Im afraid of.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
