Hiroshi Kitagari has begun chasing his passion to be a director, starting with his first movie, End of Loyalty. Kitagari is far from a newbie when it comes to the movie industry, having done make-up and VFX artistry for decades. When chatting with him about that we got to learn about his work on the long-awaited Avatar: The Way of Water, as well as his other recent projects including The Mandalorian, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Captain Marvel.
We learned about the process behind a movie that took ten years to make as well as his make-up /VFX hybrid he had to use because of the positioning of actors eyes and why that makes it the hardest part.
We'll be sharing the juicy parts, but this portion of the chat focuses on his Avatar: The Way of Water work. The full interview includes touching on Pacific Rim, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Captain Marvel, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and The Mandalorian.
Now it's Avatar: The Way of Water's turn to shine as we have already brought you the bits about making the skrull race for Captain Marvel, The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan Kenobi. We included a tease for our chat with his comments about the movie, so check out the video below if you want the full experience and aren't looking forward to waiting to hear about Pacific Rim or his other flicks.
Hiroshi Kitagari: I wasn't really nervous going into Avatar: The Way of Water. I knew the studio pretty well. Even though it was in development for ten years with a lot of people involved, it wasn't working on that film the entire time so I would pop in from time to time and the supervisors said 'Okay, next one is Avatar,' and I say okay, what do I do? 'Here's a water scene, can you do that?' I did my part maybe three years ago.
For Avatar, the most difficult part - if there is make-up, there is always a limitation because somebody is inside, and so they'll want to change the proportions. We cannot move the eyes to a different place because it's the actor's eyes. Sometimes that involves combining CGI or just make-up effects but changing the proportions was always the toughest thing to do.
What do you think of Hiroshi's comments on the Avatar: The Way of Water projects? We've also included the trailer for his directorial debut, End of Loyalty. Make sure you check it out and share your thoughts in the comments section!
When the head of a notorious crime family is killed by a rival family, his son Grant promises retribution. But as Grant's grief turns into violence and destruction, his best friend Ray, a federal agent, does everything he can to keep Grant from going off the deep end. Their friendship is tested as both men cling to their conflicting moral codes.
End of Loyalty drops on March 7th on digital and On-Demand. You can check out Avatar: The Way of Water on Disney+.