Moviefone Editorial

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  • ‘Operation Taco Gary’s’ Interview: Simon Rex

    Simon Rex as “Danny” in the comedy, 'Operation Taco Gary's', a Chroma release. Photo courtesy of Chroma.
    Simon Rex as “Danny” in the comedy, ‘Operation Taco Gary’s’, a Chroma release. Photo courtesy of Chroma.

    Opening in theaters on February 27th is the new science fiction comedy ‘Operation Taco Gary’s‘, which marks the directorial debut of Michael Kvamme, and stars Simon Rex (‘Red Rocket’), Dustin Milligan (‘Schitt’s Creek’), Brenda Song (‘The Social Network’), Tony Cavalero (‘The Righteous Gemstones’), Arturo Castro (‘Road House’), Jason Biggs (‘American Pie’), and Doug Jones (‘The Shape of Water’).

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    Moviefone recently had an opportunity to attend Smorgasburg LA in downtown Los Angeles, where actor Simon Rex was handing out food at the Tacos 1986 truck in promotion of ‘Operation Taco Gary’s’.

    Simon Rex attends Smorgasburg LA in downtown Los Angeles at the Tacos 1986 truck for 'Operation Taco Gary's'. Photo: Michelle Felix.
    Simon Rex attends Smorgasburg LA in downtown Los Angeles at the Tacos 1986 truck for ‘Operation Taco Gary’s’. Photo: Michelle Felix.

    We had a chance to speak with the actor about his new film, his first reaction to the screenplay, working with Dustin Milligan and Jason Biggs, crazy conspiracy theories, and collaborating with director Michael Kvamme on set, as well as working with Oscar nominee Rose Byrne and director Stephanie Laing on their upcoming film ‘Tow’, which opens in theaters on March 20th.

    Related Article: Jason Biggs and Meaghan Rath Talk ‘Untitled Home Invasion Romance’

    Simon Rex attends Smorgasburg LA in downtown Los Angeles at the Tacos 1986 truck for 'Operation Taco Gary's'. Photo: Courtesy of Jami Philbrick.
    Simon Rex attends Smorgasburg LA in downtown Los Angeles at the Tacos 1986 truck for ‘Operation Taco Gary’s’. Photo: Courtesy of Jami Philbrick.

    Moviefone: To begin with, this is a wild movie, what was your first reaction to the screenplay and why did you want to be part of this project both as an actor and a producer?

    Simon Rex: Well, I laughed out loud every page, which was a good sign. Me and my agent and my manager, after reading it, were like, “This is the funniest script we’ve read in a long time.” There’s not a lot of comedies being made. If they are being made, they’re not that funny lately. I feel like that genre is gone and we need it back. So, when I read this, I knew I had to do it, and my agent and manager were like, “We have to roll the dice and go for it on this one.” Sometimes working with a first-time director, you don’t know what you’re getting into, but I trusted Michael because I knew how smart he was from the script and his background at ‘Funny or Die’ and working with Will Ferrell. He’s just gets it, and I knew he could pull it off. I was happy that he did, obviously.

    (L to R) Simon Rex as “Danny” and Dustin Milligan as “Luke” in the comedy, 'Operation Taco Gary's', a Chroma release. Photo courtesy of Chroma.
    (L to R) Simon Rex as “Danny” and Dustin Milligan as “Luke” in the comedy, ‘Operation Taco Gary’s’, a Chroma release. Photo courtesy of Chroma.

    MF: Can you talk about the brotherly relationship between Danny and Luke and creating that relationship on screen with Dustin Milligan?

    SR: So, in the casting process, which was new for me, I usually am the one who’s coming in for what they call a chemistry read to see if you are of the essence of the other actor’s brother or friend or partner. So, we had it down to like five actors, and Dustin was one of them, and when he came in and read, it was just obvious that it worked. He was very grounded and pragmatic. I’m very over the top, and insane, and that’s the odd couple chemistry that you need for it to work. I’ve seen him in ‘Schitt’s Creek’ and I saw him in another movie, the name escapes me right now, but I was a fan of his. I’m like, this dude’s great, you know? He gets comedy, he nailed it, and that’s how we got him. We just cast him old school, in the room, which doesn’t happen anymore, usually it’s self-tapes.

    Jason Biggs as “self” in the comedy 'Operation Taco Gary's', a Chroma release. Photo courtesy of Chroma.
    Jason Biggs as “self” in the comedy ‘Operation Taco Gary’s’, a Chroma release. Photo courtesy of Chroma.

    MF: Jason Biggs plays a crazy and exaggerated version of himself, was he a good sport about doing that?

    SR: Well, that takes a lot of courage and a lot of self-deprecating, self-awareness, and a lot of actors won’t do that. I love that he would because he’s the perfect chef’s kiss for this role, because he’s sort of a throwback to the era of what this movie feels like. It’s like the ‘American Pie’ era. It’s, ‘Dude, Where’s My Car?’, ‘Harold & Kumar’, and those fun, lighthearted, wholesome comedies that we don’t make any more in this town. He was perfect in that universe to be synonymous with that era. He’s hilarious, and he’s Jason Biggs. Everyone knows him. He’s a familiar name, so it was perfect. We’re very happy with him. There was a lot of people we were exploring, and some actors wouldn’t be willing to laugh at themselves. I’m just glad he did.

    Doug Jones as “Elder” in the comedy, 'Operation Taco Gary's', a Chroma release. Photo courtesy of Chroma.
    Doug Jones as “Elder” in the comedy, ‘Operation Taco Gary’s’, a Chroma release. Photo courtesy of Chroma.

    MF: Your character in the movie is a conspiracy theorist. What is your favorite conspiracy theory, not necessarily one you believe in, but one you think is interesting like Stanley Kubrick shooting the Moon landing?

    SR: That’s a good one. There are some very strange parallels there. It’s that thing where I got friends who are conspiracy theorists and they’re like, “There are no coincidences.” I don’t agree with that, but there are some things lately that have been coming to light that have proved me wrong. But my favorite one to answer your question is the “flat Earth” theory because I love how those guys go so crazy. They’ll fly to Antarctica, and they’ll do the measurements, and they’ll be proven wrong, and they’ll still be like, “No, it’s flat.” They just can’t accept the science. That one’s very entertaining, so that’s my favorite one.

    (L to R) Dustin Milligan and director/writer Mikey K on the set of the comedy, 'Operation Taco Gary's', a Chroma release. Photo courtesy of Chroma.
    (L to R) Dustin Milligan and director/writer Mikey K on the set of the comedy, ‘Operation Taco Gary’s’, a Chroma release. Photo courtesy of Chroma.

    MF: What was it like collaborating with director Michael Kvamme on set to find the right tone for the movie?

    SR: I mean, again, he just gets it. I think people who are that funny are usually very smart in my experience, the funniest people that I’ve worked with are usually intelligent. I think that humor is also a part of being smart and I just knew because of his background, who he’s worked with, and the script that he wrote that his instinct was really on point. That’s a lot of it too, his instinct. It’s just one of those things that you go with your gut. When I met with him and I read the script, it just felt right, and then I’m happy to say that while we were filming, that he knew exactly what he wanted. He showed up prepared, and when you have a director that knows what they want, it makes everything else fall into place. I’ve done jobs where the director is sort of lost. You’re like, “Uh oh, the captain of the ship doesn’t know what’s going on.” This was the opposite. He was extremely on point with everything he wanted and how it would look, and he did all the preparation and he nailed it.

    (L to R) Simon Rex and Rose Byrne in 'Tow.' Photo: Courtesy of Roadside Attractions.
    (L to R) Simon Rex and Rose Byrne in ‘Tow.’ Photo: Courtesy of Roadside Attractions.

    MF: Finally, you also have the movie ‘Tow’ opening in March with Rose Byrne, which is based on a real story. What was it like working with Rose and director Stephanie Laing to bring Amanda Ogle’s story to the big screen?

    SR: It was cool. It’s a great wholesome heartwarming movie. I got to meet Amanda. She was on set with her daughter and working with Rose, she might be the most down to earth, normal, big female actor I’ve ever worked with. She was just extremely sweet and generous and I’m happy for this moment she’s having. I’m rooting for her to win the Oscar. I mean, she won the Golden Globe. She could walk away at this point a winner, but I want her to win it all. Obviously, it helps ‘Tow’ if she does. Working with Stephanie Laing, she’s so calm and I’ve never worked with a director that was this mellow, but in a good way where she was so chill. We shot that movie in 19 days, which is insane and ambitious to shoot a whole movie in 19 days with that cast. We got it, and the movie came out great, and it was a great experience. I want to work with Stephanie more and hopefully I will.

    'Operation Taco Gary's' opens in theaters February 27th.
    ‘Operation Taco Gary’s’ opens in theaters February 27th.

    What is the plot of ‘Operation Taco Gary’s’?

    Two brothers uncover an alien invasion hidden inside a fast-food chain and must save Earth.

    Who is in the cast of ‘Operation Taco Gary’s’?

    • Simon Rex as Danny
    • Dustin Milligan as Luke
    • Brenda Song as Allison
    • Tony Cavalero as Kyle
    • Jason Biggs as himself
    • Doug Jones as Elder
    • Arturo Castro as Tiago
    Simon Rex attends Smorgasburg LA in downtown Los Angeles at the Tacos 1986 truck for 'Operation Taco Gary's'. Photo: Michelle Felix.
    Simon Rex attends Smorgasburg LA in downtown Los Angeles at the Tacos 1986 truck for ‘Operation Taco Gary’s’. Photo: Michelle Felix.

    List of Simon Rex Movies and TV Shows:

    Buy Tickets: ‘Operation Taco Gary’s’ Movie Showtimes

    Buy Simon Rex Movies on Amazon

  • Movie Review: ‘The Last Showgirl’

    Pamela Anderson in 'The Last Showgirl'. Photo: Roadside Attractions.
    Pamela Anderson in ‘The Last Showgirl’. Photo: Roadside Attractions.

    Opening in theaters January 10th is ‘The Last Showgirl,’ directed by Gia Coppola and starring Pamela Anderson, Dave Bautista, Jamie Lee Curtis, Billie Lourd, Kiernan Shipka, Brenda Song, and Jason Schwartzman.

    Related Article: Pamela Anderson and Jamie Lee Curtis Talk Drama ‘The Last Showgirl’

    Initial Thoughts

    Pamela Anderson in 'The Last Showgirl'. Photo: Roadside Attractions.
    Pamela Anderson in ‘The Last Showgirl’. Photo: Roadside Attractions.

    It’s lately been a thing that a number of our best-known actresses have delivered performances that were especially raw physically, emotionally, or both, with many of them involving a change in appearance about as far from red carpet movie star glamour as one could imagine. Amy Adams in ‘Nightbitch.’ Demi Moore in ‘The Substance.’ Jamie Lee Curtis in ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once.’ And now you can add one-time ‘Baywatch’ star and all-around TV sexpot Pamela Anderson to that list with her achingly poignant work in ‘The Last Showgirl.’

    The movie itself, directed by Gia Coppola (yes, a third-generation Coppola filmmaker), isn’t going to change the world, and it may not even change much about the current status of Anderson’s career. But it shows that underneath the pneumatic figure and red bathing suit that defined much of her tenure, Anderson is capable of pulling a fine piece of acting out of her heart and soul. Shelley Gardner, the last showgirl of the title, is far from perfect, but she’s endearing and human and worth your time, even if the movie itself is merely okay.

    Story and Direction

    'The Last Showgirl' director Gia Coppola.
    ‘The Last Showgirl’ director Gia Coppola.

    As ‘The Last Showgirl’ opens – after a prologue in which we see Shelley nervously about to embark on an audition – we learn that the Las Vegas show she’s been part of for 30 years, “Le Razzle Dazzle,” has been given its last rites and will close in two weeks. Shelley and some of her friends in the ensemble – younger dancers like Jodie (Kiernan Shipka) and Mary-Anne (Brenda Song) who treat her like a reluctant mother figure – are informed of this by Eddie (Dave Bautista), their quiet stage manager with whom it’s hinted that Shelley has a history. But the more immediate concern for all is where they go from here.

    For Shelley, it’s an especially tough blow: she sees “Le Razzle Dazzle” as “the last true showgirl show in Vegas,” with its peekaboo nudity and old-school raunchiness giving way to either more explicit sexcapades or family-friendly spectacles like the circus that’s taking over their stage. “They used to treat us like movie stars,” Shelley says mournfully at one point. “Ambassadors for style and grace.” She’s even in the 1980s press shots for the show – which means it’s going to be even harder for her to find work in something new, as a casting director (Jason Schwartzman) viciously points out in the scene that we eventually circle back to from the prologue.

    Jamie Lee Curtis in 'The Last Showgirl'. Photo: Roadside Attractions.
    Jamie Lee Curtis in ‘The Last Showgirl’. Photo: Roadside Attractions.

    She could become a cocktail waitress like her friend Annette (Jamie Lee Curtis), a former dancer who can barely fit into her work uniform and can’t make ends meet when she’s around slot machines all the time. But Shelley has always aspired to be onstage – an ambition in life that once almost led her to the Rockettes (“I found all that kicking very redundant”) but that also led her, on a more serious note, to all but abandon her daughter Hannah (Billie Lourd), now about to graduate college, who Shelley wants to reconnect with.

    The tension between Hannah and Shelly forms the main spine of ‘The Last Showgirl,’ in addition to the impending end of the show, but it turns out that those are barely enough to sustain the film’s 90-minute runtime. It’s not an expensive movie, to be sure, with much of it taking place either in Shelley’s cramped little house or the equally small backstage area of the show. But despite its meaningful themes, it’s also not as fleshed-out as it could be. Bewildering montages of Shelley and/or Hannah wandering the avenues of Vegas among its monstrous edifices of vice make it painfully obvious that Coppola is stretching the film to feature length.

    Which is a shame because there’s room for more here. Shelley is no angel: “Mothers aren’t saints or saviors,” she says, “Just regular people doing the best they can with the tools they have.” Yet the movie kind of papers over the fact that she left her child behind to pursue her dreams – dreams which led her to spend most of her life in what Hannah calls “a stupid nudie show” when she finally sees what she lost her mom to. There’s something subversive about the idea of Shelley sacrificing a normal relationship with her child and not exactly regretting it, but the movie doesn’t examine this – or much else – in too much depth, relying instead on Anderson to carry it forward.

    The Cast

    (L to R) Jamie Lee Curtis and Pamela Anderson star in 'The Last Showgirl'.
    (L to R) Jamie Lee Curtis and Pamela Anderson star in ‘The Last Showgirl’.

    Make no mistake, this is the Pamela Anderson show. She still cuts an impressive figure even though she’s a long way from her TV lifeguard days, and there’s no doubt that in her work here she is channeling her own journey from ‘Baywatch’ breakout to failed movie star to sex tape joke to righteous animal activist. But while we don’t imagine this will jumpstart her acting career, this is still surprisingly resonant work from the actor. Anderson brings both a vulnerability and a steely dignity to the role of Shelley, and certainly stretches herself for this role in a way that her previous onscreen work never hinted at.

    Also impressive is Jamie Lee Curtis disappearing again into an almost unrecognizable, deglammed role as Annette, while Dave Bautista adds to his own catalog of sensitive, empathetic performances that belie his physical bulk. Less memorable are Billie Lourd as Shelley’s daughter and both Brenda Song and Kiernan Shipka as her friends from the show, all of whom are fine but don’t get quite the character depth as the three leads. Lourd’s Hannah in particular has a reactive turn halfway through the movie that doesn’t seem believable, although the emotions between Hannah and Shelley feel real. Meanwhile, Jason Schwartzman cameos as that callous casting director in what must be his 118th film appearance of the past year.

    Final Thoughts

    Pamela Anderson in 'The Last Showgirl'. Photo: Roadside Attractions.
    Pamela Anderson in ‘The Last Showgirl’. Photo: Roadside Attractions.

    ‘The Last Showgirl’ touches on a lot of genuine issues: aging, identity, responsibility, and the fear of irrelevance, all filtered through the perspective of women who almost always have it way tougher when it comes to these challenges. Yet “touches” is the right word, because ‘The Last Showgirl’ doesn’t spend a lot of time on any of them and as a film is rather evanescent and lightly developed.

    As a vehicle for a woman who has no doubt grappled with these issues herself, ‘The Last Showgirl’ is fascinating. It will change your perspective on Pamela Anderson, who appears here – to trot out a well-worn phrase – like you’ve never seen her before, and it will make you think about the way women are carelessly tossed to the side in show business – and other businesses – like clothes that are no longer in fashion. “I just have to disappear,” Shelley says bitterly near the end, before asserting that she has “no regrets, none.” Despite its flaws, Anderson should have no regrets about starring in ‘The Last Showgirl,’ and in the end you should have none about watching her in it.

    ‘The Last Showgirl’ receives 6.5 out of 10 stars.

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    What is the plot of ‘The Last Showgirl’?

    After a successful thirty-year run, a seasoned showgirl (Pamela Anderson) must plan her future after the show closes abruptly.

    Who is in the cast of ‘The Last Showgirl’?

    • Pamela Anderson as Shelly
    • Jamie Lee Curtis as Annette
    • Dave Bautista as Eddie
    • Brenda Song as Mary-Anne
    • Kiernan Shipka as Jodie
    • Billie Lourd as Hannah
    • Jason Schwartzman as a director
    Pamela Anderson in 'The Last Showgirl'. Photo: Roadside Attractions.
    Pamela Anderson in ‘The Last Showgirl’. Photo: Roadside Attractions.

    Movies Directed By Gia Coppola:

    Buy Tickets: ‘The Last Showgirl’ Movie Showtimes

    Buy Pamela Anderson Movies on Amazon

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  • ‘The Last Showgirl’s Pamela Anderson and Jamie Lee Curtis

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    Opening in theaters in wide release on January 10th is the new film from director Gia Coppola (‘Palo Alto’) entitled ‘The Last Showgirl’, which stars Golden Globe nominee Pamela Anderson (‘Baywatch’), Dave Bautista (‘Guardians of the Galaxy’), Brenda Song (‘The Social Network’), Kiernan Shipka (‘Red One’), Billie Lourd (‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’), and Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis (‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’).

    Related Article: 20 Best Jamie Lee Curtis Movies

    (L to R) Jamie Lee Curtis and Pamela Anderson star in 'The Last Showgirl'.
    (L to R) Jamie Lee Curtis and Pamela Anderson star in ‘The Last Showgirl’.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Pamela Anderson and Jamie Lee Curtis about their work on ‘The Last Showgirl’, Anderson’s first reaction to the screenplay, how she related to her character, why Curtis wanted to work with Anderson and their characters’ friendship, and working with director Gia Coppola.

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Anderson, Curtis, Brenda Song, Kiernan Shipka and director Gia Coppola.

    Pamela Anderson in 'The Last Showgirl'. Photo: Roadside Attractions.
    Pamela Anderson in ‘The Last Showgirl’. Photo: Roadside Attractions.

    Moviefone: To begin with, Pamela, can you talk about your first reaction to the screenplay and your approach to playing Shelly? Did you relate to the character right away?

    Pamela Anderson: Well, once the script finally found me through a few obstacles, I just fell in love with it. When I read it, I could hear the voice already, I could see it so clearly, I just couldn’t wait to get started. I had happy feet. I was just like; I must get started. I got to get that first scene done, what do you call it, “in the can”. Once it was there, we hit the ground running and everyone jumped in headfirst. But I was so appreciative because I’ve always dreamt of, I always wanted to do something good. I want my legacy to be something I’m proud of and I’ve always wanted to make my family and my kids proud. I remember seeing my kid’s front row when I played Roxie in ‘Chicago’ on Broadway on the opening night and when the lights came up and they were there, it was so amazing to see them proud of me. So same thing with this movie.

    Jamie Lee Curtis in 'The Last Showgirl'. Photo: Roadside Attractions.
    Jamie Lee Curtis in ‘The Last Showgirl’. Photo: Roadside Attractions.

    MF: Jamie Lee, can you talk about the friendship between Annette and Shelly, and what it was like for you creating that relationship with Pamela on screen?

    Jamie Lee Curtis: Instantaneous. I signed up to do the movie because Pamela was going to be in it. We’ve never met, we don’t know each other, but I knew who she was. My female friendships are incredibly important to me, and so this is just a beautiful extension of a female friendship. This is that ride-or-die bestie that have been through everything together and we don’t need to have known each other because we know each other because women know each other because we’ve all been there, we’ve all done it. So, I’m just thrilled to have been able to meet her and fall in love with her the way that we have done so on film.

    Pamela Anderson in 'The Last Showgirl'. Photo: Roadside Attractions.
    Pamela Anderson in ‘The Last Showgirl’. Photo: Roadside Attractions.

    MF: Jamie Lee, has the friendship between you and Pamela that you created for this movie continued after filming was completed?

    JLC: Oh, absolutely. Are you kidding? That’s not fake. We may not see each other a lot. Pamela lives in Vancouver. I live in Los Angeles. We’re both working all the time now. Chances are we aren’t going to be having sleepovers, but we will now forever be in each other’s hearts for sure.

    'The Last Showgirl' director Gia Coppola.
    ‘The Last Showgirl’ director Gia Coppola.

    MF: Pamela, what was it like collaborating with director Gia Coppola on set?

    PA: Oh, she’s a wonderful director. She’s very soft-spoken, but very decisive. You feel completely safe with her. Like I said, this is a new world for me, these are all new feelings that I’m savoring, and she’s such a big part of that. But she’s sneaky because she’s very kind and sweet but then when she’s on set, she has her own video monitor, and she doesn’t have everybody chiming in.

    Pamela Anderson in 'The Last Showgirl'. Photo: Roadside Attractions.
    Pamela Anderson in ‘The Last Showgirl’. Photo: Roadside Attractions.

    MF: Finally, Pamela, can you talk about the challenges of shooting this movie in only 18 days in Las Vegas?

    PA: It was challenging, fun and exciting, and that’s how you want it. You want it to break you down and find things that you never knew existed, and it takes a challenge like that. The whole thing was just 18 days, I know movies take longer than that, but I don’t really have that experience, so I just shot eight or nine scenes a day. I needed to be ready when I got there.

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    What is the plot of ‘The Last Showgirl’?

    After a successful thirty-year run, a seasoned showgirl (Pamela Anderson) must plan her future after the show closes abruptly.

    Who is in the cast of ‘The Last Showgirl’?

    • Pamela Anderson as Shelly
    • Jamie Lee Curtis as Annette
    • Dave Bautista as Eddie
    • Brenda Song as Mary-Anne
    • Kiernan Shipka as Jodie
    • Billie Lourd as Hannah
    • Jason Schwartzman as a director
    Pamela Anderson in 'The Last Showgirl'. Photo: Roadside Attractions.
    Pamela Anderson in ‘The Last Showgirl’. Photo: Roadside Attractions.

    Movies Directed By Gia Coppola:

    Buy Tickets: ‘The Last Showgirl’ Movie Showtimes

    Buy Pamela Anderson Movies on Amazon

     

  • ‘Blue Eye Samurai’ Interview: Amber Noizumi and Michael Green

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    Netflix’s latest adult animation series ‘Blue Eye Samurai’ arrives on the streaming service beginning November 3 and was created by Amber Noizumi and Michael Green (‘Logan’, ‘Blade Runner 2049’).

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with showrunners Amber Noizumi and Michael Green about the inspiration behind the upcoming animated series, casting Maya Erskine as the lead character Mizu, the influences from various samurai films and shows, and how the process of approaching their first animated project.

    'Blue Eye Samurai's Amber Noizumi and Michael Green.
    (L to R) ‘Blue Eye Samurai’s Amber Noizumi and Michael Green.

    You can read our full interview below or click on the video player above to watch the interview. 

    Moviefone: To begin with, how did this story come together, and what was it about the Eddo period that made you want to focus on it specifically?

    Amber Noizumi: So the Eddo period is heralded as Japan’s golden age. I mean, to this day, they call it the golden age of Japan. That was when their borders were closed, completely closed off to the outside world, where it was its most homogenous. The idea to have somebody who’s mixed race, as I am, and we have a daughter who was born with blue eyes, and we called her our Blue Eye Samurai, which was the start of our conversations about it. What would it have been like to be different, to look different, to be a different race during that time? So ultimately, that was the beginning of it, and it just, with our research, our ideas got richer from there.

    Maya Erskine as Mizu in 'Blue Eye Samurai.'
    Maya Erskine as Mizu in ‘Blue Eye Samurai.’ Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2023.

    MF: Speaking of the blue eyes, the main character’s name is Mizu, which means water in Japanese. Was that the inspiration for naming the character,  based on the color and the meaning of water?

    AN: Yes, but also the idea of water, the idea of its various forms of steam, and ice, and sublimation, and then fire, when she’s sword making, and the fire that’s within her. We just used a lot of that element. Those elemental things to describe what’s going on in her and around her.

    MF: With a show focused on a samurai, were there any samurai films or shows that inspired certain scenes or fighting styles?

    Michael Green: We work with so many wonderful people, all of whom have encyclopedic knowledge. So it was so much fun, everyone bringing their favorite clips, and we would watch them. I’m going to say where I’m going to get to, is we ended up working with Sunny Sun, a fight choreographer who’s one of the greatest stunt choreographers in the world. So it’s really his movies that I want to talk about. He came at this with so much character focus. Jane Wu, our supervising director, also comes from with martial arts background. I mean, we talked about everything from ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ with the tension of scenes, or ‘Once Upon Time in the West,’ same thing. But in Eastern Films, we talked about the way Zatoichi moves and how he always moves differently from everyone around him. Of course, we looked at Kurosawa‘s compositions.

    AN: And then we have a song lifted directly from ‘Kill Bill’. There’s so much greatness to steal from.

    MG: We wear our homages on our sleeve and hope the originators notice and go, “Oh yeah.”

    Masi Oka as Ringo and Maya Erskine as Mizu in 'Blue Eye Samurai.'
    (L to R) Masi Oka as Ringo and Maya Erskine as Mizu in ‘Blue Eye Samurai.’ Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2023.

    MF:  Mizu is voiced by Maya Erskine, who audiences know from ‘PEN15’. What has it been like to watch her bring the character of Mizu to life, and how did you know that you found the right actor in Maya?

    AN: Maya is such a talented, versatile actor, and you could see in ‘PEN15,’ even though it is a hilarious show, you could see how she brought that kind of raw pain of growing up mixed race and just growing up in general. I actually think that that’s how the character of Maya might envision herself. She might envision herself like Mizu. This might be who she aspires to be. But Maya really was able to bring a lot of that pain into the character of Mizu. I mean, she just did it beyond our expectations.

    Related Article: Director Marc Jobst Talks ‘One Piece’ and His Work On Netflix’s Marvel Projects

    Maya Erskine as Mizu in 'Blue Eye Samurai.'
    (L to R) Maya Erskine as Mizu in ‘Blue Eye Samurai.’ Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2023.

    MF: Finally, the series is the first major animated project you’ve worked on as showrunners, what was the process like? Has it been different than your past projects, and did you approach it differently?

    MG: We approached it the same, which might’ve been naive, but that’s good because it ended up working out.

    AN: We would’ve been scared away otherwise.

    MG: If we knew exactly how hard it was going to be. Some of the ways were very similar. We wrote the script as if it was a live-action piece. We ran our meetings, and mixed it and scored it, and worked with the type of people, with casting directors and costume designers from live action. Suttirat Larlarb did our costumes, worked with her on ‘American Gods’. She’s done everything from Star Wars to Bond, and on and on. Our casting directors work on ‘Star Trek’ and ‘Avatar’. We really just worked with as many live-action people, including Jane Wu, our supervising director and executive producer. But then we met the reality of animation, where we knew we had to learn a lot, where we had to work with people who knew it much better than we ever could, and could teach us and be patient with us, and also just lead us through it. So it was very different. The main difference is how slow animation is. It is for the patient. It’s just the dough needs to rise and you can’t rush it. But you can have anything you want if you’re patient. So it made the show everything we wanted and more.

    Maya Erskine as Mizu in 'Blue Eye Samurai.'
    (L to R) Maya Erskine as Mizu in ‘Blue Eye Samurai.’ Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2023.

    What Is The Plot Of ‘Blue Eye Samurai?

    Set in 17th-century Edo-period Japan, Blue Eye Samurai follows Mizu (Maya Erskine), a mixed-race master of the sword who lives a life in disguise seeking to deliver revenge. In her search for vengeance, she meets Ringo, a soba maker born who longs to be a samurai, Taigen, a pompous samurai, and Princess Akemi, the daughter of Lord Daichi of the Tokunobu clan.

    Who Is In the Cast of ‘Blue Eye Samurai’?

    A scene from 'Blue Eye Samurai.'
    A scene from ‘Blue Eye Samurai.’ Photo: Courtesy of Netflix © 2023.

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