Kitano often says he’s no cinephile, that he didn’t know much about the ‘world of cinema’ before directing his first film, Violent Cop (1989). During the Cannes press conference for Outrage, he was asked about his influences;
When I was young I liked Kinji Fukasaku’s yakuza movies but his style differs a lot from mine – the camera movements, the feeling with the characters, the visual composition… This cinematical style is not really my cup of tea. As for Takashi Miike, he’s a very prolific director but he’s made too many movies, it’s hard for me to say which one is good or not. And because Kinji Fukasaku is one of my main influence here, I wanted to de-influence anything I learned from his films.
Talking about Outrage, you should know Kitano is still working on the sequel. The project has been delayed due to the March 11 Earthquake, but now, Outrage 2 is set to start shooting in April 2012, the film should be released in Japan late 2012, early 2013. No word on the story yet, but Kitano’s character, Otomo, is back. The cast also includes Toshiyuki Nishida & Akira Nakao.
