The Kids VS Rain

When The Kidd was offered the chance to sit down for a one-on-one interview with the star of "Ninja Assassin," I absolutely jumped at the opportunity. For awhile, I've been exploring the idea of expanding "The Kidd Vs." into areas beyond just my reviews, and interviews have been something we've been targeting under the right circumstances. Warner Bros. was kind enough to hook us up with some time to sit down with Rain and talk about the new movie, his experiences with James McTeigue and the Wachowski brothers, and more.

To be perfectly honest, I was a little caught off-guard when he approached me and introduced himself, because I totally didn't recognize him at all. I was expecting the long-haired asskicker from the film and was unprepared to meet the short-haired, short-spoken guy shaking my hand.

I was warned ahead of time that, while his English is coming along and he's been getting a crash course while going on this press tour to promote the movie, he still had a bit of a tough time grasping the language. He did have a translator at his disposal at his side, if needed, but he seemed to do a pretty good job working with what he's been learning. However, as a result, you'll notice some answers that don't seem to fit the questions, so it makes for a pretty interesting interview. But there is no question that Rain was a very nice guy, who is very passionate about this movie and you hopefully enjoying it.

With that said, let's get some questions answered...

The Kidd: I know you started out your debut was a small role in Speed Racer, but it's kind of the same exact crew working with James McTeigue, who was the 2nd unit director, and the Wachowski brothers and what not. So, for it to be your first American movie, how did it come about, especially working with the Wachowski brothers and McTeigue, who, when their names are attached to American movies right now, there's a certain expectation. So was it exciting for you to be a part of a major motion picture like this with that team attached to it?

Rain: Well, as you know, the "Ninja Assassin" is Wachoskis producing, James McTeigue directing, stemming from "300" (referring to Legendary Pictures) and "The Matrix." When we were working on the "Speed Racer," and Larry and Andy Wachowski offered me, I said yes. You know, how could I say no then?

The Kidd: Oh, of course...

Rain: And we made it.

The Kidd: At least in terms of the visuals, I don’t know coming from doing Asian cinema, TV, and your music career, were you familiar with their work before you did "Speed Racer," in terms of them doing "The Matrix" movies, "V for Vendetta," and "Speed Racer," or was it new to you... at least when you did "Speed Racer" with them, was it something that you weren’t familiar with their styles, or did you know what you were getting into with them?

(Translator clarifies question)

Rain: When I was young, I wanted to be a... I wanted to be a singer and an actor. So, the moviemaking process is very similar between Asian and Hollywood. And the scale is so different. You know, Hollywood is much bigger. I love... You know, I love my work... You know, I love my job.

The Kidd: What I liked about the movie, because I saw it before I interviewed you earlier today... what I really liked about the movie is that it really sticks to being a hard R action ninja movie. And a lot of the American movies now tend to soften how the movies are made, specifically for a PG-13 rating. Was there any concern when you made the movie that they might soften it or discussion that they might soften it? Because a lot of movies now tend to take stuff out to make the rating to get a bigger audience, and then when the DVDs and Blu-rays came out, they incorporate more. I mean, did you know going in that it was going to be a strictly violent hard R ninja movie, or was there concern that maybe we're not going to go all the way with this and they might try to hedge a little?

Rain: Yeah, this is so unique, because it's bloody...

The Kidd: Which I love...

Rain: I hope they'll like it. I hope I'll have more fans after this film. And, you know, I love bloody.

The Kidd: I mean, I know there are certain American franchises now that have moved that way with the PG-13 like "Die Hard."

Rain: Yes...

The Kidd: And the "Terminator" movie to try and... especially try to soften the violence part, and the ratings you can get a little bit away with things now with PG-13 that you couldn't before. But what I really love about "Ninja Assassin" is the fact that, within the first five minutes, you know how violent the movie is going to be. Was that a selling point for you though of how violent it is?

Rain: You know, whatever you expect, you will see more. Did you see the movie?

The Kidd: Yes.

Rain: We have nine clans. You know, we have ninja two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine are alive. I hope people like the movie.

The Kidd: Has there been discussion of taking it to sequels, or...?

Rain: (laughs) Not yet. I don't know...

The Kidd: Or making this into a franchise, or it's kinda going to be...

Rain: I told you... If people like it.

The Kidd: Okay. Can you tell me a little bit about the training that went into getting you ready for the role? Because I don’t know if you had martial arts training going into this, but I imagine, in terms of getting yourself physically fit for it and the weapons training, can you talk to me a little bit about what you had to go through to get yourself ready for the role?

Rain: Before this film, when I was growing up, I learned Tae Kwon Do. Yeah, it helped, you know, when I was doing stunts. So I had to make my body fit, like Bruce Lee. I trained for eight months, five days a week, eight hours a day. And I ate only chicken breast and vegetables. No sugar. No salt. Not any soda. No chocolate. I really love chocolate. And, second of all is I learned a lot of martial arts - Tae Kwon Do, Tai Chi, Kumdo, kick boxing... you know... I learned a lot. It was horrible.

The Kidd: And for how long did you, even still, did you feel that you were ready to take on the physical... what was deemed necessary physically in order to perform to the level you wanted to be at and that James McTeigue wanted you to be at for the film?

Rain: Eight months.

The Kidd: Really?

Rain: Just eight months. I always know [it was] hard work.

The Kidd: There's been a lot of crossover from Asian cinema to American cinema.

Rain: Mmm-hmm...

The Kidd: And do you have any worry with "Ninja Assassin" being your first big role that sometimes American audiences want to see the same thing over and over. So, is there any worry that you're only going to be seen as a martial arts actor... for example, the way Jet Li is seen now or Jackie Chan is seen now, where they want to see Jackie Chan do the same thing or they want to see Jet Li do the same thing... Or do you, do you have... I mean, is that your goal? Or do you want to do other things in American cinema? Because I know in Korea, you worked in drama. You did a lot of TV work as well. So, is that something that you're looking to do in American cinema as well, or do you have that concern that they're only going to see you as a martial artist?

The Kidd: I'm not worried, because it's a new style. You know... I know... I love... I love the Bruce Lee movies, Jackie Chan movies, Jet Li movies, but I'm so powerful. I'm so faster. I'm so young, you know, than them. No... I'm just kidding. (laughs) Yeah, um... it's going to be huge.

The Kidd: I hope so.

Rain: Yeah.

The Kidd: I do hope so. As far as the... I mean, a lot of it goes into the financing and the special effects, a lot of that is what sells right now... and the fighting part, I think, is also a real selling point of this. Did you have trouble going from a lot of dramatic work that you did...

Rain: Accidents?

The Kidd: Well, going into the action world? I mean, did you... going from strictly, mostly drama work going into a very heavily action-oriented film, was it a trouble adapting...

Rain: Ah, during stunts?

The Kidd: Yes.

Rain: Yeah, I have lots of cuts, even though everybody took care of me. But I still got hurt. sometimes, one day, I pretended I broke my legs. I said, "Oh, I can’t feel my legs." Everyone's, you know, "Are you all right? Are you okay, Rain?" I said, "I'm just kidding." (laughs) Yeah, it was fun.

The Kidd: Another thing I really liked about "Ninja Assassin" was that it's not so much about redemption for the character, but it's almost set up to be revenge versus revenge, where the clan is looking for revenge for being shamed by your character, and you're looking for revenge because the girl that you...

Rain: You know, it's a... it's a popcorn movie. It is a kickass movie, you know. Yeah, there's the Ozunu ninja clan. I was one of them. I... uh... they... one day, they killed my first love, and then I decided revenge to the Ozunu clan. And I love my character. He's very sexy.

The Kidd: (laughs) He is very smooth in the film. I mean, there are times where you see him... he almost has a "I know I'm bad ass..."

Rain: (laughs)

The Kidd: ...aura to him. Especially when he's captured, and he's being held by Europol, and you're asking to be freed in a certain amount of time, because you know that ninjas are coming to kill everyone, but he seems so calm and so relaxed that...

Rain: Just enjoy. (laughs) Just enjoy.

The Kidd: It's not a big deal, because I know who I am, and there's nothing to worry about. So, like I said, I think the redemption part... not the redemption, but the revenge versus revenge with the clan versus your character, I thought, was a very interesting take, because there’s reason for them to come after you and there's reason for you to come after them, and then it butts heads, as opposed to just... well, you're just looking out for revenge. So I thought that was pretty interesting. I do have to ask you a question for my readers, because I want to touch on a story that came out this summer, which I also thought was pretty interesting, which was the... ummm... I have to ask you about the Megan Fox story, which I'm sure you're familiar with to this point. Over the summer, when Megan Fox was promoting "Transformers," she specifically singled you out that she wanted to meet you when she was touring Korea. Now I don't know how true the story is, so that's why I wanted to at least ask, so you could set the record straight and what not. And you basically said "I'm not interested."

Rain: Uh huh...

The Kidd: So, I had to ask, on behalf of the entire male gender, why you said, "I'm not interested" in meeting...

Rain: No, no... I love her. I love her. You know, this question is... (laughs)... so hard. I want to focus on just "Ninja Assassin" for now.

The Kidd: Okay.

Rain: Sorry about that.

The Kidd: No, it's... it's okay. I just thought that... I wanted to at least give you a chance, because, you know, there's a lot of rumors that get thrown around, so I wanted to see, or at least give you a chance to say "Yes, I said it" or "No, I didn't" or "I didn't want any part of it."

(translator clarifies question)

Rain: I haven't... you know...

Translator: So it's not true. He didn't... he never heard of it.

The Kidd: Okay. All right. Thank you very much.

There you have it. It did feel like he was ducking the Megan Fox question, which is fair if he doesn't want to get caught up with that or have it be a distraction as he tries to sell his new movie, but I had to ask.

You can check out The Kidd Vs. Ninja Assassin later this week, but definitely know that I wasn't kissing his ass when I told him I liked the movie. I enjoyed seeing it, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good action flick.

"Ninja Assassin" opens this Wednesday, November 25

Source: www.infamouskidd.com