Note: The following interview was conducted prior to the recent allegations relating to Mr. Sono being made public.
As a cocktail of the Western, samurai, and even post-apocalyptic genres, Sion Sono's Prisoners of the Ghostland is quite the wild ride. Filmed in Japan and marking Sono's debut as director of an English-language movie, Prisoners of the Ghostland is anchored by Nicolas Cage at the hero, known simply as Hero. Suffice it to say, the movie is most definitely tailor-made for Cage's well-known sensibilities as a leading man.
Cage's Hero is coerced into a mission to retrieve Bernice (Sofia Boutella), the daughter of the ruthless ruler of Samurai Town, known as The Governor (Bill Moseley). The catch is Bernice has fled to the desolate wasteland known as the Ghostland, the remnants of Japan after a nuclear disaster befell the country. Hero has five days to accomplish the mission, before the bombs affixed to his neck and limbs go off.
Screen Rant spoke to Sion Sono (with producer Ko Mori serving as interpreter) on the beginnings of Prisoners of the Ghostland as his first English-langue film, working with Nicolas Cage, and the melding of disparate genres the movie brings together.
Screen Rant: Why don't we start off with how Prisoners of the Ghostland came about, how you became involved with it, and the genesis of it?
Sion Sono: Well, it's been a long time since I wanted to shoot an English-language film, and finally, this is the first one, and now it's being released in the States. I feel really, really grateful and happy and also relieved. From now on, I want to make a lot more English-language films, and this is the starting point of it, so I'm super happy.
You've got Nicolas Cage in it. How did he come to be involved with it? Was he your first choice to leads Prisoners of the Ghostland, and what was it like working with Nicolas Cage?
Sion Sono: Actually, it was in fact four years ago [producer Ko Mori brought me the script], but then, at that point, there was no cast for Hero or anybody else attached. Since this was my first English-language project, I wasn't quite sure how things would proceed. So I let the producers take on the casting, and then Nic Cage's name popped up, and of course, Nic Cage is a legend. Then, soon after Nic Cage come aboard, when we first met in Tokyo before the shoot, we had this conversation about "Why did you want to come on board for this project?" Nic said, he'd seen some of my films and he loved my work, and there was trust as a filmmaker that Nic wanted to make that happen with me.
You've also cast a lot of Japanese actors. One in particular who's pretty well-known in Japan is Tak Sakaguchi, of course from Versus and Re:Born and Crazy Samurai Musashi. How did he come to be involved and what was it like working with him. He's playing this very stoic swordsman kind of character, Yasujiro, so how was that kind of crafted for him?
Sion Sono: So when production decided to shoot in Japan, the first thing that came to my mind was to work with Tak Sakaguchi. I wanted to ask him to become the action choreographer because he's such a great choreographer and action director. So, definitely, he was the first choice. And then also at the same time, I wanted him to be in the film, because he's already a pretty rare actor in Japan, as he's capable of action and no one else can pull off such great action. I wanted to bring Tak Sakaguchi's talent to the world internationally more, let's say Hollywood, so there'd be more spotlight on him, as well.
Making the movie, obviously, it's this melding of genres. It's got action, it's got kind of a samurai feel to it, it's got a whole bunch of different elements to it. What was the process like of bringing the whole thing harmoniously together when you're doing something almost like Mad Max: Fury Road in some ways? How was the process of structuring the story of the film?
Sion Sono: So, this East-West mash-up idea with samurai action came to me when we all decided to shoot in Japan. Before that, what I was thinking was more like the traditional spaghetti Western kind of style. But now, we were shooting in Japan, so I decided, let's make a samurai action film since that was the case. And I already knew with Nic Cage, this was going to be anarchy, an over-the-top movie. So, let's just create something crazy with Nic Cage and the samurai action.
With this being your first English-language movie and Nic Cage as the leading man, and you're filming in Japan, what were some of the challenges that you encountered?
Sion Sono: Everything was a challenge this time! Literally, I can't pick one or another, the whole thing was a challenge. For the entire time I was involved with the film, my tension and adrenaline were always high!
What were some of your favorite parts of the movie to film? It's got so many crazy elements in it, but what were some of your favorites to pull off during the production? What were your influences?
Sion Sono: I've watched a lot of American and European films since I was a child. That being said, I think there are so many elements, without being conscious, that were influences. However, if I have to pick one or two, Nic Cage and I discussed basing Hero off of Charles Bronson in a film like Sergio Leone's Once Upon A Time In The West. Also, this is a samurai film, but then you see cars going around, and you see geishas, but they're using cell phones and taking photos. So the mixture of the old and the new I love.
Prisoners of the Ghostland is out now in theaters and on VOD.