Interview with Hiroyuki Kobayashi producer of 'Resident Evil Damnation' aiming for a CG movie that can fight Hollywood movies
The movie '
Resident Evil Damnation
http://www.biohazardcg2.com/
GIGAZINE (hereinafter: G):
When you announced the production of Damnation, you said that the reason for the production was ``because the reaction to Degeneration was great'', but were there any plans to make it into a series?
Hiroyuki Kobayashi (hereinafter referred to as Kobayashi):
I agree. Degeneration was released in 2008, and at the year-end party at the end of the year, I asked Director Kamiya, 'I'm thinking of doing a sequel, but would you be willing to direct?' The project started from I didn't prepare in advance, I started because there was a hit.
G:
'Resident Evil' is a popular series that has already released 6 series, so I wonder if the idea is 'Let's do a series of CG movies'.
Kobayashi:
A game is a game, so I made this work as a movie, and I think that if it doesn't become a hit, it will be tough to continue. Even if people play the game, there may be people who think that the CG movie is not necessary and that the game is enough.
G:
I see, so I didn't know what would happen until the release of 'Degeneration'.
Kobayashi:
At that time, during the stage greeting, the director said, 'With everyone's support, I might be able to stand on stage again.' I wasn't planning on doing anything. The Damnation project started because of the response from all over the world. In January 2009, he said, 'I'm thinking of doing it again at Leon this time. Is it okay, Mr. Kamiya?' I could have made it Chris.
G:
Why did you choose Leon as the main character again this time?
Kobayashi:
I'm also producing the game 'Resident Evil 4', and I wanted to make a continuation of that hit work. So I made 'Degeneration' and drew Leon's activities, and this time I wanted to make a continuation of 'Degeneration', so I drew Leon again in 'Damnation'. Last time there was Claire, but this time Ada has appeared, and although she is not a partner, she is drawing the royal road by helping and treating her as a entanglement, just like in the game. On the other hand, the buddy is a male buddy, a man from an Eastern European anti-government organization that is the setting of the work, and I tried to make it something like
G:
Was it decided at a very early stage to include a buddy movie element?
Kobayashi:
I decided early on that I was going to do a buddy movie. Last time, there were Leon and Claire, and it was supposed to depict their activities like in the game 'Resident Evil 2', but this time Leon is alone, so when I thought about how to make him active, I went to the trouble of making a CG movie. I thought it would be interesting if Leon played an active role while being involved with a man because we were making it so we wanted to do something that couldn't be done in a game.
G:
In the 'Resident Evil' series, five live-action movie series starring Milla Jovovich have already been made, but what was the reason for making a CG movie among them?
Kobayashi:
Resident Evil was originally a game, so if it wasn't for CG, I wondered if it would be possible to make Leon play an active role in the same world as the game. And I thought that by making it with a CG movie instead of a game, the world of Resident Evil would expand again. Degeneration draws between episodes 4 and 5 of the game version, and Damnation likewise draws episodes between 5 and 6, but I've been talking with director Kamiya and screenwriter Suga about making it as a movie as well. . I don't think there are people who don't know anything about Resident Evil when they come this far (laughs). I think there are. When that happens, I want to create a CG movie about Resident Evil, so that even if you casually come to the movie theater and watch the movie, you will say, 'That was an interesting movie,' after watching it. As a movie, there is a cool agent named Leon who does a mission. I didn't want to, so I packed in the contents of a big Hollywood movie, including horror but flashy action parts, and the mystery of who brought in the BOW (organic life weapon). I think so.
G:
At the beginning of the movie, the underground labyrinth where the anti-government forces are hiding had a really 'exploratory horror' atmosphere.
Kobayashi:
The anti-government forces are hiding, and it's about how to get to the destination from there, so I included that kind of depiction. I also wanted to use the setting where Leon gets caught... The shocking point about Damnation that is different from the previous game is that Leon gets killed first.
G:
I thought, 'Oh! Leon!?'
Kobayashi:
Even though I was fighting Licker (lol) This time, there was a point where I said, 'Let's make Leon suffer.' The director often said, ' I want to do Leon's tour of hell .' First of all, there is the part of escaping through various hells, and then as a buddy movie, it depicts two people who have different ways of life and ways of thinking, America and this country, in contrast. The 'gun' for Leon and the 'licker' for Sasha, who belongs to the rebels, are also contrasted in the work.
G:
Ada, who didn't appear in Degeneration, showed a fighting scene this time.
Kobayashi:
It's called Systema in Russian military martial arts. The director wanted to do it, so I asked him to show me the video of the man fighting in Systema, and then I decided to incorporate it.
G:
I see, so it's one of the highlights of the action.
Kobayashi:
I agree. The director saw Systema being used in some movies around 2009, so it seems to be popular these days. From my point of view, it feels like 'I've found something like that', but the director is still paying attention to that kind of thing.
Kobayashi:
This time, the stage is set in Eastern Europe, so both the director and Mr. Suga are creating a fictitious country by skillfully incorporating various elements such as what is happening in the world today. It gives a sense of reality.
G:
The stage this time is a fictitious country called 'East Slavic Republic', but it has a very likely atmosphere.
Kobayashi:
It's possible, isn't it? I didn't go there, but the director and the staff of Digital Frontier did the location scouting, and they skillfully incorporated the elements that were shot during the interview and arranged it into the original. He seems to have been able to see the silo where the missiles were placed, for example, which has remnants of the former Soviet Union, so I think that the atmosphere has been created.
G:
Damnation's trailer has already been played in movie theaters, but at the beginning, in addition to the telop 'In the East Slavic Republic ...', I entered the battle scene, so at first I thought it was such a live-action action movie.
Kobayashi:
Since the previous work was set in an airport in the United States, I decided to do something different this time.
G:
The atmosphere has changed completely.
Kobayashi:
As the same CG movie, I wanted to make it so that when you look at it, you can see that 'This is degeneration, this is Damnation'. Leon is the same, but if the background is different, you can clearly see that it is a different work. Of course, it's obvious when you look at the characters Claire and Ada, but Leon's turn is overwhelmingly large, so I made a clear difference in the location so that the difference stands out when you look at Leon + the background.
G:
Many weapons and firearms appear in 'Resident Evil'. Various things came out in this work, but ...
Kobayashi:
Director Kamiya's commitment is included. Since the stage is not America, American military weapons basically do not appear. Since the Leon will also be procured locally, it will use the weapons used by the rebel army, which means that it will be in the category of weapons available in Eastern Europe. This area is the director's commitment to what is not amusing even if it comes out.
G:
It's something like 'I have this weapon in this situation'.
Kobayashi:
I think that it is not embarrassing for those who are familiar with military to see it. This is quite important, and 'Resident Evil 4' was unusually set in Europe instead of the United States, but a gun maniac in Capcom said, 'Basically, it's strange that American weapons come out as they are.' He finds weapons that are likely to be in the field and improves them while releasing them. After all, there are weapons that are suitable for the land, so it is important to stick to each one in order to bring out reality.
G:
When I watched Damnation to the end, I was like, 'Oh!? What's next?'
Kobayashi:
It is the image of 'Resident Evil 6' that is flowing during the end roll. On the time axis, the continuation of Damnation corresponds to RE 6, so the trailer shows what Leon will do after this. When you play the game, you can actually experience the content, so there is also a sense of linkage with the movie. If you play the game, Ada will appear again, and if you want to see their continued success, please play the game.
G:
By the way, the live-action movie series 'Resident Evil V Retribution' has just been released, but are you aware of it as the same movie series?
Kobayashi:
I am conscious of not only 'Resident Evil' but also Hollywood movies. There is a consciousness that I want to make something like a big movie with the intention of winning '007' and 'Mission Impossible'. Even though it is Hollywood, there are movies that are not a big deal, and there are things that I think 'Oi oi ...', but I intend to make something that will not be said to be 'return money'.
G:
From the live-action movie version, the laser attack system was introduced into the game, but is there such a thing between Damnation and the game?
Kobayashi:
Not at all, in fact, I didn't give any information. Information about Resident Evil 6 was not given to the Damnation team, while information about Damnation was not given to the Resident Evil 6 team.
G:
completely different?
Kobayashi:
I share the fact that Leon and Ada will appear, but I don't want to worry about 'avoiding that' because I know it badly.
G:
This time, I wondered if there were any movies based on games other than this 'Resident Evil' series, and when I looked into it, there were surprisingly few...
Kobayashi:
After all, failing is a big part of it, isn't it? (laughs) It's difficult. It's not enough to simply put out a game character, and in the case of live-action bio, it was good that Milla Jovovich played the original character Alice. From 2, game characters such as Jill, Carlos, Leon and Ada also appear, but I think that the characters stand out well by appearing like guests. It's difficult after all...
G:
Some of the game movies these days are quite long, and I feel that some of them can be put on the screen as they are.
Kobayashi:
Well ... there is also who it is aimed at. If you make it for game fans and it becomes a maniac, the general public won't be able to keep up with it, and on the other hand, if it's far from the game, game fans will say, ``This is no longer Resident Evil.'' end up The director said, ``I'm a bio fan, so I want game fans to enjoy it. I am making I think that not only game fans but also people who don't know Resident Evil can enjoy it.
G:
Speaking of what game fans can enjoy, the feeling of despair when Tyrant comes out is a bit unusual (laughs).
Kobayashi:
The Tyrant is strong, so how should I fight it? It's important to have a sense of despair that you can't help yourself (laughs).
G:
I see. Last time it was shown in three theaters for two weeks, but this time it will be released in more than 100 theaters, so I'm looking forward to seeing more opportunities to see 3D screenings. Thank you for your story.
Producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi who answered the interview
◆ Work information
'Resident Evil Damnation' [PG12]
Director: Makoto Kamiya
Screenplay: Shotaro Kan
Producer: Hiroyuki Kobayashi
Co-producer: Hidenori Ueki
Executive Producer: Haruhiro Tsujimoto
CG Producers: Yusaku Toyoshima, Nobuhiro Suzuki
CG Director: Jun Doi
CG production: Digital Frontier
Music: T's MUSIC
Sound Director: Takeshi Takadera
Acoustic Design: Koji Kasamatsu
Distributor: Sony Pictures
October 27th (Sat) Shinjuku Piccadilly , Osaka Station City Cinema and other nationwide release
© 2012 カプコン／バイオハザードCG2製作委員会
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