On Dec.20,
American actor, director and producer Nicolas Cage spoke with reporters shortly
after 6 p.m. prior to talk show with Dr.Handa.
When asked how he would like to change the
world, as a person active on the world stage, he said, “I have hope, but I don’t
think I can change the world. I think it takes many people collectively over
time to make a difference.”
He went on to say that the greatest hope is
of course for a peaceful world. He said, “What I believe is that world peace
begins at home.” He explained that efforts to keep peace at home eventually go
through the world, making it a happier place.
He also referred to the importance of the
role of education in attaining world peace. He said, “It is important for young
people to learn and enjoy each other’s culture. I think the world would be a
very boring place if everyone ate the same things, spoke the same language and
listened to exactly the same music.”
He said, that the world will be a better
place if children grow up enjoying what they can learn from various countries
in the world. He said, “To not be afraid of doing so, but to celebrate it------it
is where education can help.”
After the press interview, Cage and Dr.Handa’s
talk show took place in the hall where Handa Watch World’s watches and jewelry,
as well as Handa’s paintings, were displayed. The two were received with
enthusiastic applause.
Dr.Handa introduced Cage as an outstanding
actor who can play an angel in one film and a helpless alchoholic in another.
In the recent movie released in November in Japan, “Mandy”, he acts as a
vengefully manic logger.
Also, in the forthcoming film “Prisoners of
the Ghostland”, Cage is collaborating with Japanese director Sion Sono and will
play the main character in the post-apocalyptic action thriller. Cage said, “Sono
is a highly-regarded filmmaker and it is the wildest story I have ever read.”
Since childhood, thanks to his late father
August Coppola, Cage had been exposed to many works of Japanese film and
literature. Miyamoto Musashi’s “The Book of Five Rings”, a book about Japanese
swordsmanship and martial arts, was one of the most inspiring books he read in
his youth.
Besides, Cage was greatly inspired by films
such as “Rashomon” and “Yojimbo”, directed by Akira Kurosawa who was also
friends with his uncle, director Francis Ford Coppola.
Cage said, “I am also a great fan of ‘Brave
Raideen,’ a Japanese super robot cartoon series, the Godzilla series and Hayao
Miyazaki’s animated films.”
Dr.Handa and Cage also talked about Handa’s
and Cage’s father’s work with the visually impaired. Dr.Handa has been hosting
blind golf events for the last 30 years while Cage’s father built the Tactile Dome
museum where visitors navigate and experience exhibitions in total darkness,
relying on their other senses.
Cage said, “He also blindfolded himself for
three months and wrote a novel based on the experience. It is about a ballerina
and a returned soldier who decided to live together in total darkness.”
Dr.Handa and Cage also discussed their common
interest in supporting individuals through sports and the arts.
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Nicolas Cage talks with Tokyo Art Foundation Chairman Dr.Haruhisa Handa
on stage at The Westin Tokyo on Dec. 20.
TAF
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(source: THE
JAPAN TIMES, December 29, 2018）
