Exclusive Interview with Korean Star Rain

Already a superstar across Asia through music, television, and film, Korean sensation Rain sets his sight next on conquering the rest of the world with the release of "Ninja Assassin." In his second Hollywood film, Rain plays the deadly assassin Raizo. Trained from childhood to be a merciless assassin for hire by the mysterious Ozunu Clan, Raizo turns his back on the Clan after witnessing the death of his true love. Raizo teams with Europol agent Mika Corretti (Naomi Harris) to bring down the clandestine Clan. But the Clan sends its own team of lethal ninjas to silence Raizo and Mika...

Prior to the release of "Ninja Assassin" on November 25th, Rain sat down with Asianfanatics.net for an exclusive English interview in New York City to discuss the role and filming in Hollywood.

Before his roles in "Speed Racer" and "Ninja Assassin," Rain filmed several television dramas and a movie in Korea. When asked to contrast the Korean film industry and the Hollywood one, Rain described, "I think the movie-making process is very similar, but the scale is very different. Hollywood is much bigger."

However, the experience and training from his time in the Korean entertainment industry prepared Rain to tackle on the character of Raizo, in particular the physical aspects of the role. The film features Raizo in numerous tightly choreographed fight scenes. The years spent on developing his dancing skills allowed Rain to perform most his own stunts in "Ninja Assassin." He described, "Yes [dancing] helped. I think that martial arts and dancing are very very similar. In "A Love to Kill" I learned kickboxing. For "Ninja Assassin," I used kickboxing, Tae Kwon Do, Tai Chi, Karate to film the stunts. We also trained to use swords, double swords and chains." As for his weapon of choice, the Korean superstar chose the weapons that suited his character the most. Flexible, stylish, but yet extremely dangerous for both the opponent and the user: the chains (ed. official name of the weapon is Kusarigama, Sickle with a weight attached by a chain.)

In order to train his body for the role, Rain had to adhere to a strict diet during the filming shoot. His main diet at the time consisted mainly of chicken breasts and vegetables. When asked if there was any food he missed in particular during those days, Rain said with a laugh: "I missed kimchi, sushi, shark fin soup, and every Asian food."

As a final word in the interview, Rain hopes that all Asian artists trying to break into Hollywood will be successful.

This interview was conducted by AF-member (and former mod) nanshi. All pictures from the interview are copyrighted by lau1c.

Nanshi shared with us her experience during the interview. Here's her story:

It was windy, chilly, and lau1c and I arrived a bit too early at The London Hotel in NYC Midtown for comfort. Still, we enjoyed watching the Ninja Assassin trailer fifty dozen times and chit-chatting with the other Warner Bros. personnel that were flitting around before we were escorted into a small room (cluttered with cameras, wires, and sound equipment!) for a one-on-one interview with Rain. Most of it we just spent alternating between calming ourselves down, worrying about my wardrobe [okay, that was mostly me], and trying not to be supremely bored or whine overly much about getting there too early.

For full disclosure's sake, I am not a professional journalist and therefore: please make allowances for my supreme awkwardness. The questions were provided for me by AF and the interview was closely watched by Warner Bros. personnel that were in the room. AF was also the last interview of the day, so it was understandable that all the crew and Rain & his entourage (including a very very cute male manager/assistant/translator?) were in a rush to get us out of there as fast as possible. Rain's body language and posture certainly conveyed a certain eagerness to dash out the door as soon as possible. To the point of awkwardness, mind you. I understand that for males, crossing their legs at the knee is the European style of sitting... but it still looks so girly.

(Later, I understood that he had been in the press conference since early in the morning till the afternoon, and had this kind of short interviews for the early evening. No wonder he seemed to have enough. I even wonder if he got anything to eat for this day. Also, directly after our interview, he's to be expected at another promotional gig. )

Before we began, Rain engaged in some small talk. Asked me where I was from. I adamantly refused to let him hear what he wanted to -- I live in Manhattan, was born in Queens, NY, and resided in New Jersey for most of my life. If you want to know what ethnicity I am, ASK! Maybe I should've told him I was from South Africa. Just to mess with his head. Rain certainly does have a larger-than-life appeal and I can see why he's such a great performer and a powerhouse entertainer; I had a bit of a brainless moment where I actually did not recognize him even though he was standing only a few feet away from him. I peered around the room and lau1c was quietly exclaiming that he was right there in front of me and yet... I didn't recognize him. When I finally did, I came to a startling conclusion that he seemed SO TALL (mind you, I was 5'10'' -- roughly 178cm -- at the time. So for me to concede that someone was tall -- he was TALL).

That faded away after awhile though, and once in the room and sized up next to him, it wasn't that dramatic of a height after all. He is the purported 6' that profiles have established him to be. I'm also a monster.

The interview itself was as quick-paced as you could expect it to be. lau1c commented that it was good that I was fast on my feet otherwise we could've stumbled badly and looked really unprofessional in front of some people that were already pretty peeved at us because we were the last interview. Rain wasn't obnoxious. A bit antsy, but not obnoxious. Total record time: 5:07 (yes, that's five minutes and seven seconds). We were "promised" 20 minutes with Rain, but it's understandable. He was able to understand me without the aid of a translator and he answered questions quickly and succinctly. I was able to ask Rain most of the questions that pertained to the film and were provided to me.

All in all, certainly a worthwhile experience. I was never a big fan of Rain's -- but I was a little surprised that I wasn't treated as such (a fan I mean. I expected him to be a bit more gracious). lau1c and I were anticipating autographs and maybe a few small informal exchanges, but what we got was lau1c nearly tackling him (verbally) to take photos with us. We were there as journalists. Not as fans. No doubt he would've been a bit more enthusiastic had we been anticipatory fans complete with signs and CDs and ... tears. Still, not a bad experience. It certainly was interesting.

Don't forget to go out and support Rain on November 25th (or whenever Ninja Assassin releases near you)! Regardless of whether or not it's a bad movie, it deserves some support!

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From: themissingpiece@asianfanatics.net