Dr. Gonzo said:
do tell!
The matte painter who is interviewed, Yusei Uesugi, also worked on Oliver Stone's, "The Doors" movie. (It's been a long time since I've seen that film and am wondering what matte paintings it had.
)
russds said:
I know Spielberg likes to keep a very closed door on his making of stuff, so the fact that this Japanese crew had cameras on set during the making of LC seems like kind of a big deal.
This actually isn't too surprising because, as you may already know, it is common for major celebrities to do Japanese media gigs that they would never, ever do at home. For doing very little, a whack of cash can be made far away from the North American eyes that may criticize them for "selling out".
Harrison Ford did 5 Japanese TV commercials for Kirin beer in 1994 (and was seemingly embarassed when one was shown on a talk show in 2008). Lucas has done *at least* 6 Japanese TV commercials for Panasonic, starting in c.1987 and into the '90s.
Granted, this documentary is a different animal to TV commercials but Lucas' Japanese exclusives were already happening when this was shot. Maybe it was his association that eventually led to the crew being allowed firsthand coverage? Who knows?
(Incidentally, that toy robot that Spielberg is showing is a Japanese toy from the '50s. In the West, it was called Smoking Spaceman and replicas of it are still made today. It's quite likely that Spielberg had one when he was a kid and brought it out to cater to the Japanese audience.)