I just received word today from our actress Yukiko Ito, who played Hitomi in Rock Paper Scissors. She’s very involved in stage work, and recently played in an historical drama. Here’s a picture of her in full costume:

p=. !/images/67.jpg (Yukiko Ito in period costume)!

We loved having Yukiko on the set. We couldn’t have asked for a better actress and person. One of the challenges of filming a movie in Japan is overcoming the language barrier. Yukiko’s english is extremely limited, yet she worked hard to understand and learn her lines to deliver them convincingly. She basically needed no direction. I don’t know how or where she figured it out, but she got the nuances of her lines, facial expressions, body language, etc, even more naturally than many English-speaking thespians I’ve worked with.

p=. !/images/63.jpg (Hitomi with Jason scene)! … !/images/64.jpg (Hitomi looks pensive)!

And we really asked a lot of her. Attached with only a rope and in an uncomfortable (and scary) position, she flung herself “over” a waterfall again and again, mocking hitting her head on a rock, until we got the take right. And, although we took the utmost safety precautions, it was still a bit scary filming on the edge of a very dangerous waterfall in the middle of the woods, with all the physical activity that was required. But she tackled it enthusiastically, never complaining or showing concern, except that she give the best performance possible.

p=. !/images/65.jpg (Behind the scenes 1)! … !/images/66.jpg (behind the scenes 2)!

One of the last scenes we shot was the opening of the movie, where she swam out in the middle of a very dirty lake in the middle of a busy public park, fully clothed, and floated for about 10 minutes while we got the shots we needed. The water was extremely cold, but again she showed no hesitation.

Thank you so much, Yukiko. Mark my words — this woman is going to go far in her acting career.