Makoto Shinkai Is Alive and Still In London
It’s only been two months since Makoto Shinkai wrote about how he was doing on his website but apparently, fans have been worried and have been writing emails asking him along the lines of, “Are you alive?” In response, he has literally written on his site that he is alive and well and thanks all concerned.
On the other hand, ever since revealing that he has started planning his fourth movie a further few months back, he has yet to decide when he will be returning to Japan to start to production. He does however, feel that he can’t stay in London for much longer and should be making preparations to travel back soon.
So what at else has he been up to? Well he writes…
Thanks to the high exchange rate of the Yen, it feels as if the living costs in England have become a lot cheaper than it was a few months ago. At the end of the year I bought an SSD model of the MacBook Air on impulse. It’s a lot better than I imagined. It’s thinner than a book so I can just slip it into my bag when going on a few days trip or into town and, performance isn’t bad too – suprisingly fast in fact. I’ve already scratched it a little because I’ve been so careless but out of all the computers I’ve used, it is probably the best machine I’ve had.
And…
The other day I went to see Cirque du Soleil’s Quidam. “Skipping Ropes” artist, Norihisa Taguchi just happened to be in London at the same time as me so I called him. The performance was magnificent. It’s the first time I watched Cirque du Soleil but I was amazed. It looked as if gravity had fallen to a fraction of what it was on stage.
I’ve been to the British Museum many times but only last week did I bring my camera with me for the first time. Just gazing at the various representations of God in Christianity and Judaism from the past mysteriously gives me a nostalgic feeling as if I was remembering my childhood.
It sounded like he was lacking the inspiration he was seeking by moving out of his comfort zone in Japan from what he wrote towards the end of the year but, it looks like the gears for his new title are starting to churn a little better now.
It will be interesting to see the “making of” part of his next movie and see if any familiar locations from London appears in it. From all his movies so far, I’m sort of expecting yet another improvement in this fourth movie.
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Comments
The Cirque du Soleil… that’s the inspiration for Kaleidostar, if I remember correctly.
I wonder if Shinkai would feature something related to the performing arts in his next work?
I suddenly find myself wishing that Shinkai’s next film will be a period piece.
Not Victorian England, and certainly nothing from earlier than that. Perhaps something with a war theme, set in London during the Blitz (with parallel scenes set in Tokyo of the same era).
In any case, it’s entirely in the master’s hands. I look forward to his next project with great anticipation.
@Owen
That would be quite hilarious! Somehow I doubt he’ll be going for another Neko no Shuukai kind of mood for a full feature movie, though. I’m guessing the setting this time just might not have a Japanese touch to it but, perhaps some kind of fictional Western world that reflects his experience living in London instead.
I guess this means he experienced the full force of the snow we’ve had in recent weeks…I watched the news and weather thinking “I’m so glad I don’t live in London!” because the traffic disruption and whatnot was horrendous.
Still, I can’t wait to see if some familiar-looking places turn up in his next film…not to mention seeing how he incorporates more sci-fi themes into it if the BFI interview was any indication. Maybe the different environ will break him out of the Distance Trilogy themes and into new territory.
*giggles*
*still alive*~! I hope he had delicious cake too. =D Maybe he’ll have references to cirque du soleil in his new movie =D!
uhm…. i love Makoto Shinkai’s works especially 5 Centimeters Per Second….it made me cry…i hope he’ll do more…i’m looking forward for his next project
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I can only wonder if he’s going to make London look all sunbeams and rainbows and butterflies as per his usual style, should he manage to depict it in his next movie.