When Shimizu was brought in to direct the remake of JU-ON, producer Raimi also decided that he wanted the film to be produced in Japan. “It would have been easy to reconfigure the story and set it in the U.S., but it might have lost its impact,” he offers. “Since we were using the original director and the movie would be in the same style, it made sense to shoot it in Japan.”
Ichise echoes those sentiments. “Part of the horror of JU-ON relies on Japanese buildings and special configurations. It would have been a very different movie in an American setting.” The director also saw The Grudge as an excellent opportunity to showcase the expertise of Japanese film crews. “Such recent movies as Lost In Translation and The Last Samurai were filmed here mostly with U.S. crews,” Ichise points out. “This time around, the talent behind the camera is almost entirely Japanese, a great showcase to demonstrate the sophistication of our local film crews.”
Working in Japan required adherence to the customs of local filmmaking, which included a traditional blessing prior to the start of principal photography. “In Japan, there is always a purification ceremony to ensure safety of the filming and the crew,” says Ichise. “We also pray for the success of the film. It is all part of the process of making movies here.”
The filmmakers observed the Japanese custom of having everyone remove their shoes when working on the set, including the grips and electricians. “There’s something wonderful about everyone paying their respects on the set by taking their shoes off when they enter,” observes Gellar.
Job responsibilities differed as well. The props department was in charge of shoes, while stylists Miyuki Taniguchi and Shawn Holly Cookson purchased and fitted clothes for the American actors under the guidance of Shimizu.
“Also, there’s no food allowed on the set,” adds Gellar. “One morning I walked on set and I was eating. I looked up and everyone was staring at me. I quickly rushed off and dumped my breakfast into the nearest garbage bin. Since I was on a Japanese set, I wanted to respect their ways.”
Gellar also discovered other pronounced differences during production. One of the film’s opening scenes required Gellar to walk through the crowded Tokyo streets during rush hour. She was surprised to find that she did just that. “You see, in the U.S. when you’re filming in an urban area, the traffic is blocked off and the crowd is made up of extras,” she says. “In Japan, you just walk out on the street with the city’s population and they start filming. There I was in rush-hour traffic. It was an amazing experience. I had to make my way through the crowd just like everyone else. It was different from anything I’d ever done before professionally because you can’t really ask the person next to you to walk a little slower or tell them that they’re blocking your light. You just have to keep going. If you don’t get the shot, suddenly rush hour is over. That makes for a very brisk pace of filming.”
Movie Database
In Theaters
