The Japanese rock star Miyavi was picked by Angelina Jolie to play a WWII prison commandant for his first acting role; what makes Stephen Colbert geek-out, and what did an appearance on "The Colbert Report" do for author Gregory Rodriguez?; artist Ben Noam looks for inspiration — and materials — in a park.
Why Angelina Jolie chose Japanese rock star Miyavi for 'Unbroken'
When Angelina Jolie was casting the role of the Japanese WWII prison commander Mutsuhiro Watanabe for "Unbroken," she wanted an actor who could walk into a huge crowd — like a World War II POW camp — and own the place. Somebody, Jolie told her casting director, like a rock star.
Watanabe, also known as "The Bird," was a vicious tormentor of Lou Zamperini — a former USC athlete and Olympic runner — while he was imprisoned for more than two years.
Japanese rocker Takamasa Ishihara, better known as Miyavi, had only spoken English for eight months and had never acted in an American film when he auditioned for the role. The only other acting credit to Miyavi's name is a 2004 biopic called "Oresama," in which the musician played himself.
Miyavi spoke with The Frame about the challenges of acting in his first major film, isolating himself from the rest of the cast during the filming and how he thinks people will react to him playing a controversial Japanese figure.
INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS
Did you know anything about this story when you first had contact with Angelina Jolie?:
Actually, I didn't know about this book before. At first, when I got some details of the script, I was not sure if I was capable to do this because it's really risky to tackle this role as a Japanese [person], because it's really a sensitive issue talking about the war. And I didn't want to represent any negative side of Japanese culture, being a villain who tortures the main American hero, Louis Zamperini.
What perspective does the nation teach its children about its role in WWII?:
It's pretty controversial. It's pretty hard to discuss the war in Japan. Even visiting the temple is not allowed. [Japan has] hard relationships with other countries in Asia — China, Korea. I'm half-Korean, so I have my fans in Korea, China. I go to those countries to do music and we just share that moment together ... it's not political. But talking about war is really sensitive in Japan, even at school.
You had reservations about the character of Watanabe. Did you have reservations about acting?:
When I went to Australia for the rehearsal, we had no actual rehearsal. So that's why I was really surprised. And then I asked [Angelina] what I should do on set, 'cause I have no experience as an actor. She said, "It's okay. Just be yourself." But I didn't know what to do. I really tried to keep putting reality into the performance 'cause that's [the only thing] I could do. "The Bird" is an actual person, so I wanted to put humanity into the character. And I don't say what he's done to Louis Zamperini or other prisoners is right, but I also wanted to show the respect toward an actual person.
How do you get to a place where you can play somebody as cruel as Watanabe?:
It's really, really hard to play that role as a Japanese and especially the other actors — the co-stars in this film — it [was] pretty hard to keep the distance from them. I really wanted to hang out with them on set. But I couldn't do it 'cause I needed to put reality and humanity in that character. Even on set, I didn't talk to them much. It was torture to me to be alone on set without any experience, but it was fine.
How do you hope the film is received in Japan?:
What I strongly feel is that Louis Zamperini is not only an American hero, but also an international hero. Even Japanese people can respect him. In the end, he forgave Japanese people and he came back to Japan even after the hard time he had. So, I think Japanese people can receive the message of Louis Zamperini. I really want Japanese people to watch this film. The book is pretty controversial. It's not too friendly to Japanese people, but this film is quite different and it's really more human.
While Miyavi was in our studio, we asked him to play a little bit on his guitar for us. Here is Miyavi, unplugged.
"Unbroken" is released nationwide on Christmas day.
Colbert Countdown: Stephen Colbert — 'Lord of the Rings' geek
In the second day of our Colbert Countdown, we talk about Stephen Colbert's inner geek. As Vulture.com's multi-media editor Abraham Riesman says:
We have in Stephen Colbert a late night host who is a true, dyed-in-the-wool, not-making-it-up geek. Throughout his near decade on the air with "The Colbert Report," we've seen this guy outclass virtually everyone who has ever read anything by J.R.R. Tolkien. And it's been fascinating to watch. As somebody who appreciates geek passion, watching this guy — who's handsome, who's slick, who's successful — shows that you can have that kind of passion and not be ashamed of it.
See in the below video Colbert face-off with James Franco over who is the bigger Tolkien expert.
Riesman posits that the very geek passion that Colbert displays around Tolkien is also evident in his passion for Christianity.
I would argue, much like Tolkien himself, he is a geek about Christianity. This is a guy who is liberal, progressive — I mean the character isn't, but Colbert himself is — but he's also a guy who teaches Sunday school. And he has [an] intellectual's approach to his faith.
In the below video Stephen Colbert takes Stanford professor and author Philip Zimbardo ("The Lucifer Effect") to Sunday school.
And while the Tolkien oeuvre is Colbert's forte, he's no stranger to the "Star Wars" canon. Here he reacts to the latest trailer for the upcoming film.
You can follow our Colbert coverage on Twitter: #ColbertCountdown @TheFrame
Creative Spaces: artist Ben Noam feels a sense of freedom in Elysian Park
As the sun sets over Elysian Park, Ben Wolf Noam is hard at work, lugging his wheelbarrow and collecting fallen leaves, tree bark and twigs. "Even though it looks like we're just collecting tree bark," Noam says, "eventually this will become a painting."
Noam is a Los Angeles-based artist and uses plant matter in his paintings. He arranges the plants flat on a canvas, covers it with boards and drives a truck over the canvas so it gets flat. The finished product is a collage of finely detailed plant shapes and colors.
Before moving to Los Angeles, Noam lived in New York, where he tried to find nature in urban environments. He was fascinated by how ivy grew on buildings and made a series of related paintings in 2012. His fascination with art and nature began at an early age growing up in New England where he started making art on the beach. "When I was 5 or 6," Noam says, "I would collect different kinds of driftwood and crabs and shells and I would arrange them in different compositions."
Noam began taking art classes and his parents encouraged his passion. "Now my process is obviously a lot more involved than just collecting beachwood, but it's the same kind of route." Noam says. In one installation, for example, Noam made a 12-panel painting on canvas stretched over a geodesic dome, with each panel representing a month in a year.
The amount of space in Los Angeles is what sticks out for Noam. "In New York it's very rare that you could even see the moon or the sky," says Noam, "and here I feel like I'm always blown away by another kind of beautiful sunset." Which is why working outside is so appealing to him.
"You have to make a lot of sacrifices to be an artist, but what you gain is a sense of freedom and being outside I feel that sense of freedom much more intensely."
Ben Wolf Noam's artwork is currently on display at Hooper Projects in Los Angeles.