Last Samurai — Scott Filipski Productions

on location : The last samurai 2002-2003

An introduction to award winning producer, director, and writer Yoko Narahashi in Tokyo led to an opportunity to work on Edward Zwick's 2003 film, The Last Samurai, starring Tom Cruise and Japanese super stars Ken Watanabe and Hiroyuki Sanada. The film was looking for bilingual production staff, and my academic background in Japanese military history from Columbia University made it a perfect fit, so I jumped at the chance.

With Ken Watanabe at a Japan Academy Awards ceremony New Zealand simulcast

With Hiroyuki Sanada on the "Battle in the Fog" set

I joined the production in the summer of 2002, to prepare for filming on location at historic temples in Himeji and Kyoto, before going on to New Zealand where the bulk of the film was to be shot between January and June 2003.

As an Assistant Directors department production assistant, my duties included on-set Japanese-English interpretation, as well as setting background scenes with Japanese extras portraying villagers going about daily life in the meticulously recreated 19th century Japanese village in the shadow of Mt. Taranaki near New Plymouth, New Zealand. However, the bulk of my time was spent with the Samurai Ensemble, a group of 15 supporting actors who portrayed the principal vassals and command staff to Katsumoto, the rebelling feudal lord played by Ken Watanabe.

The ensemble consisted of experienced stage thespians, film and TV period drama actors, and action/stunt performers who brought guts and flair as well as a cultivated and refined authenticity to both dramatic and battle action scenes throughout the film. It was my job to get them through hair, makeup and wardrobe each morning, manage their schedules and escort members to their designated sets, where I also served as their interpreter and overall liaison to the director and assistant directors throughout the production day.

My neck was on the line as I posed for this group shot with the Ensemble in Feb 2003.

Standing by, ready for action with Ensemble members in April 2003

With Ensemble member and master archer Koji Fujii in May 2003

In the spring of 2003, it was a surreal experience being half way around the world, immersed in the environment and costumes of bakumatsu era Japan for 16+ hours, to then at the end of the day be shaken back to reality by news updates describing the Bush administration's progression towards, and then the eventual start of the Iraq War.