{"id":6501,"date":"2021-11-19T16:48:26","date_gmt":"2021-11-19T21:48:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=6501"},"modified":"2021-11-19T16:48:26","modified_gmt":"2021-11-19T21:48:26","slug":"cowboy-bebop-qa-with-actor-john-cho-and-a-musician-dj-steve-aoki","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=6501","title":{"rendered":"COWBOY BEBOP : Q&A with Actor John Cho\u00a0and a Musician\/DJ\u00a0Steve Aoki"},"content":{"rendered":"

Synopsis<\/strong> :COWBOY BEBOP<\/strong> is an action-packed space Western about three bounty hunters, aka \u201ccowboys,\u201d all trying to outrun the past. As different as they are deadly, Spike Spiegel (John Cho), Jet Black (Mustafa Shakir), and Faye Valentine (Daniella Pineda) form a scrappy, snarky crew ready to hunt down the solar system\u2019s most dangerous criminals \u2014 for the right price. But they can only kick and quip their way out of so many scuffles before their pasts finally catch up with them.<\/p>\n

Based on the beloved anime series, COWBOY BEBOP<\/strong> is executive produced by Andr\u00e9 Nemec, Jeff Pinkner, Josh Appelbaum and Scott Rosenberg of Midnight Radio, Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements of Tomorrow Studios, Makoto Asanuma, Shin Sasaki and Masayuki Ozaki of Sunrise Inc., Tim Coddington, Tetsu Fujimura, Michael Katleman, Matthew Weinberg, and Christopher Yost. Nemec serves as showrunner. Original anime series director Shinichir\u014d Watanabe is a consultant on the series, and original composer Yoko Kanno returns for the live-action adaptation. The series also stars Alex Hassell and Elena Satine.<\/p>\n

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COWBOY BEBOP (L to R) JOHN CHO as SPIKE SPIEGEL of COWBOY BEBOP Cr. KIRSTY GRIFFIN\/NETFLIX \u00a9 2021<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Q&A with Actor John Cho\u00a0and a Musician\/DJ\u00a0Steve Aoki<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

JC: What was your relationship with Cowboy Bebop? How did you find it?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SA: I\u2019ve always been into anime culture from growing up. It’s an iconic, classic anime. When I heard about you getting involved, [I thought] that was really cool, \u201cOkay, this is live-action, [it] needs to happen.\u201d And then I got to remix the iconic track, \u201cTank,\u201d which is attached to the IP.<\/p>\n

JC: \u00a0I can\u2019t think of a better opening for a TV show. It\u2019s a really great piece of music.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SA: Yeah. Absolutely.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JC: It\u2019s also \u2014 as I think about it \u2014 I feel like when I was growing up, Asian pop culture wasn\u2019t cool, and to be here in this moment, this larger moment\u2026\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SA: It\u2019s interesting you say that, because I used to go to Anime Club when I was in college, in the \u201890s. And it was a total nerd-fest \u2014 me with a bunch of other geeks.\u00a0 And it wasn\u2019t cool at all. But we were so obsessed with anime. And now it\u2019s like, everywhere. You open up Netflix, it\u2019s probably one of the most watched categories.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JC: The other thing I always thought was interesting about Asian films was that in their culture \u2014 in China, Japan and Korea at least \u2014 adults read manga, right? That to me has always struck me as storyboarding for the films. It\u2019s in the culture, then they go \u2014 because it\u2019s not considered for kids only. It elevates the art form.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SA: In Japan, it\u2019s everywhere you go, you have a character that depicts something you\u2019re supposed to do. Like walking across the street, [there\u2019s] a cute little anime [character] going, \u201cOkay, you can walk now\u201d or \u201cStop now.\u201d It\u2019s part of normal life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here in America, I always wanted to see more of that, and now it\u2019s happening. Now you see it, like it\u2019s constant conversation, you hear about it all the time, wherever you go.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JC: Have you ever heard of WebToons?<\/p>\n

SA: I love WebToons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JC: I haven\u2019t seen them \u00a0\u2014 I don\u2019t get them on my phone or anything. I understand on my last trip to Korea that this is a popular form of entertainment. So how does it work? They send panels\u2026\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SA: Yeah, it\u2019s like a vertical scroll, that\u2019s [how] you see it, you go up\u2026<\/p>\n

JC: It\u2019s daily, right?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SA: Yeah, it\u2019s daily, and there\u2019s tons of content. I think the great thing about WebToons is that there\u2019s a lot of these new indie artists that are able to showcase their stories, their online books.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

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COWBOY BEBOP (L to R) MUSTAFA SHAKIR as JET BLACK and JOHN CHO as SPIKE SPIEGEL of Cowboy Bebop Cr. GEOFFREY SHORT\/NETFLIX \u00a9 2021<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

JC: There\u2019s a low barrier to entry so [one] doesn\u2019t have to depend on gatekeepers to get in and do your thing. [It\u2019s] most democratic that way.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SA: Right.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JC: Can you discuss the conception of the Cowboy Bebop-Tank remix and how you got involved?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SA: I\u2019m not sure who talked to who on the Netflix side versus our side, but this was a big deal for me when it came to my table that I could remix Tank. I\u2019m already an anime kid at heart. It\u2019s always tough when you have so much pressure on something so iconic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JC: I wouldn\u2019t know what you\u2019re talking about.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[both laugh]\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SA: You\u2019ve got the hair down to a T, so just the pressure of that, that\u2019s a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yeah, but I was like, I want to make it groovy. I mean, the original is very jazzy, and electronic music is not jazz. It\u2019s hard to take those time signatures and put them into something that\u2019s very structured in electronic [music]. But I wanted to make it groovy, I wanted to make people dance. This is something that you could play at a show, or at a club, but you\u2019d definitely play just watching, sitting in your home or whatever.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JC: You\u2019re right. I hadn\u2019t thought about it. The original is aggressive, right? It\u2019s propulsive. And yours is like \u2014 it has all these spaces, actually. It goes [gestures up and down].\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SA: Yeah, right. Right. It\u2019s cool.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JC: Have you met Y\u00f4ko Kanno?<\/p>\n

SA: No, I haven\u2019t. I was hoping to meet her. She\u2019s a legend, and I think it\u2019s really cool that she\u2019s a female in this space, doing something like in jazz and all these art forms. You always hear the legends, like Miles Davis, and John Coltrane, legends in space. But a female jazz composer is incredible to hear about. Her especially.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JC: When I learned about the show and then when I was off the show, one of my first questions was \u201cIs Y\u00f4ko Kanno in?\u201d I don\u2019t think it\u2019s wise to go forward without her. I felt like the treatment of the music completely changes the meaning of the scenes, because she has such power over what the show means, from scene to scene. She makes choices that other music supervisors would never make. She\u2019s going against the grain a lot of the time. You think the scene is about A, but her music makes you think, \u201cOh, it\u2019s about B.\u201d<\/p>\n

What does \u201cCowboy Bebop\u201d mean to you as a Japanese-American?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SA: I love that. I love when Japanese culture is being heralded and showcased. And we can go back to classics like this, and then revisit and bring it back to this new life. Any time any sort of Japanese culture comes out, it\u2019s really exciting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JC: It\u2019s really cool for an Asian composer to take Western genres, \u201clet me take that, do my thing.\u201d It\u2019s its own thing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SA: And it is different. It\u2019s like its own lane. Of course it\u2019s jazz, and it\u2019s rich, and it\u2019s got so many dynamic elements. But you can\u2019t make that unless you\u2019re in a completely different environment and head space.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JC: You can\u2019t do it without mastery of it. She just owns all these genres, and it\u2019s really fascinating.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What are you most excited to see in the live-action series, aside from [yours truly]?<\/p>\n

[they laugh]<\/p>\n

SA: I\u2019m rooting for you, John, I\u2019m here for you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JC: That was the correct answer!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[they laugh]<\/p>\n

SA: Of course Spike is my favorite.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JC: Well, I hope I don\u2019t disappoint you. We\u2019ll see afterwards.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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COWBOY BEBOP (L to R) DANIELLA PINEDA as FAYE VALENTINE of COWBOY BEBOP Cr. GEOFFREY SHORT\/NETFLIX \u00a9 2021<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

JC :\u00a0Now I\u2019m going to go to some press questions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Q : Given the huge significance of the original music played to provide Cowboy Bebop so much crossover appeal internationally, what was your thought process in approaching this project?<\/p>\n

SA: Well, electronic music, just by the pure basis of it, is like the fourth language. It\u2019s the language that breaks the fourth wall. It goes globally: everyone can connect to it. In that regard, as long as you get that feeling and it emotionally tugs you [as] it\u2019s supposed to do \u2014 if that\u2019s what it\u2019s doing to you, then it\u2019s doing its job. I think everyone can relate to this. It doesn\u2019t matter where you are, what walk of life you are, what language you speak. So I hope everyone likes it.<\/p>\n

JC: Okay.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JC : Since jazz encourages improvisation, do you see a connection between that and the notion of a remix?<\/p>\n

SA: Yeah. Remixing is \u2014 you are essentially improvising on the spot. I\u2019m taking all those \u2014 the Midi, the melody, the bass that you\u2019re hearing, and improvising on top of what samples I\u2019m deciding to choose. I took the iconic hits that are heard on actual tracks, I wanted those to resonate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But then I wanted to be like, well, \u201cI\u2019ve got to Aoki-fy this thing. I\u2019ve got to make it dancey, I\u2019ve got to make it fun.\u201d And then meld that with vocal samples, with less jam. You\u2019ve got to put less jam in there. It\u2019s a bit more difficult on the spot, but there is an improvised element, of course, in the actual production of the track.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JC: That is also so much like the process of us making the show. I guess talking in musical terms, you want people to recognize the melody — that\u2019s the song — but also do your own thing and stretch it as much as you can and put your own spin into it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SA: Right, right. Absolutely.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JC: It\u2019s comforting that you had the same thing going on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Q : What memories does a series like Cowboy Bebop invoke in you?<\/p>\n

SA: It\u2019s just that little kid in me, being excited to see [it]. I remember when I first saw the film, \u201cGhosts in the Shell,\u201d and all the Studio Ghibli stuff, and the Toy Animation stuff. I followed them. It\u2019s like when you like one IP or one project or one storyline, you just want to follow the maker.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It never goes away, you know? It\u2019s like what you were saying about in Asia, it doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re 10, 20, or 40 or 50 or 60. People are still reading it as part of their culture. I see that happening more and more now. It doesn\u2019t matter what age.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JC: Does it take you back to your youth, too, because, like some of the technology in the show, it is of its time? The show is set in the future but it was made at a particular moment, so there\u2019s like VCRs and stuff like that.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SA: Yeah. I\u2019m a collector, too, so I have some of the Dragon Ball cels. I like to collect some of the things I remembered seeing when I was younger. Like, \u201cOh, this is the one scene right here and it\u2019s painted in the back\u201d and stuff like that. Nostalgia actually was a big deal during Covid. Just going back in time because I had time on my hands. So going back to all those things I used to love when I was a kid. And now that I’m older, I have time\u2026<\/p>\n

JC: How long did you take off from live shows because of Covid?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SA: Definitely a year \u2013\u2014 plus five months. What about you?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JC: We were shooting the show in New Zealand, which happened to not have Covid. Because they closed their borders. So that was really a relief for us. Just on a personal level, like not having to fear it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s nuts, having that cut out of your life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SA: Yeah. But you know what? I realized how adaptable I am as a human being. I actually really, really enjoyed it. I toured for 15 years, like 200 to 300 shows a year. And it never stops. Some bands do an album, then they tour off the album, and then they take a break.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JC: You\u2019re doing it Bob Dylan style. He never could get off the road.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SA: Yeah.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JC: Wow. That\u2019s nuts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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COWBOY BEBOP (L to R) MUSTAFA SHAKIR as JET BLACK, JOHN CHO as SPIKE SPIEGEL, and DANIELLA PINEDA as FAYE VALENTINE in COWBOY BEBOP Cr. GEOFFREY SHORT\/NETFLIX \u00a9 2021<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Q : \u201cThere\u2019s a chance in remixing Tank, which originally incorporates Latin elements in its composition. How did you balance adding in your signature EDM sound as well as paying respect to your Japanese American roots?<\/p>\n

SA: My sound is definitely global. I [incorporate] a lot of Latin elements into my music already. People don\u2019t even realize how many Latin elements are actually in other tracks that you wouldn\u2019t think of as Latin. It\u2019s like that everywhere I go. Lucky for me, I travel the world, so I\u2019m constantly influenced and informed by all the sounds that I hear. It could be anywhere. A taxicab in South Africa, I could be hearing music that the taxi driver\u2019s playing and I\u2019m taking my notes: \u201cWho\u2019s this? Where is this from?\u201d I try to book studio time wherever I am, whether I\u2019m in Europe or Morocco or Australia.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JC: You mean you try to book studio time when you\u2019re traveling because you\u2019re like, \u201cI\u2019m absorbing something, I want to see how it comes out\u201d?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SA: Yeah. And also, I want to book studio time to meet up with artists in those regions. So that way, when they come in \u2014 and a lot of the time they bring in their arsenal \u2014 I have to have my arsenal, my hard drive of stuff, and I\u2019m like, \u201cI want to hear your signature, your sound, your rhythms.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[For example], being in the Middle East, there are different rhythms, there are different time signatures and I\u2019m like, \u201cWow, this is so different from what I would think of.\u201d To get in the studio, to mesh minds with the best of that region, is always exciting stuff.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JC: Wow. Dude, you may be the most self-actualized person I\u2019ve ever met.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SA: Well, look at you. I think about what you have to do. You have to change roles constantly, and then you\u2019re at peak performance of what you do. Which is why you\u2019re John Cho. You\u2019re John Cho for a reason because every time you take on a role, you own the role. You become that, [so] everyone goes, \u201cOkay, he\u2019s this person, everyone thinks he\u2019s this person,\u201d then, boom, you switch it up. You constantly switch it up, And that\u2019s extraordinary.<\/p>\n

JC: Thanks, man.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SA: A lot of people get stuck in a certain role, right? Especially Asians. I was listening to an interesting conversation. When the power [is] seeing \u201cWell, you\u2019re this look to the world, so you have to represent what people expect of you.\u201d But you keep breaking the mold and doing different things.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JC: Well thanks, man. I always thought that people were like, \u201cWere you afraid of being stereotyped in comedy if you do \u2018Harold and Kumar\u2019 or something. I was like, \u201cWell, I\u2019m Asian. I\u2019m familiar with that. I\u2019ll take on that stereotype.\u201d So you learn to resist and move on.<\/p>\n

Q : There\u2019s a chance that this remix will be someone\u2019s first introduction to Tank and Cowboy Bebop. How does that make you feel?<\/p>\n

SA: That\u2019s actually very cool. You don\u2019t think about it, because we know about the original, we know about the original song and how important it is to Cowboy Bebop as a brand. I never thought about it like that. There\u2019s these young kids that weren\u2019t familiar with, didn\u2019t grow up with that. So \u2014 Wow! That\u2019s actually pretty cool.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JC: I\u2019m also thinking the same thing. That\u2019s really cool. Because it\u2019s special. It\u2019s a special experience.<\/p>\n

Q: As an Asian-American who has had a successful career in entertainment, how do you feel the industry has changed from when you were first starting out to now?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SA: Unfortunately, for DJs, there\u2019s not that many known Asian DJs. I mean, they\u2019re coming out of the woodwork, but it\u2019s few too far between to find other prominent Asian DJs. Even Asian worldwide musicians.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JC: Really?<\/p>\n

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COWBOY BEBOP (L to R) JOHN CHO as SPIKE SPIEGEL of COWBOY BEBOP Cr. KIRSTY GRIFFIN\/NETFLIX \u00a9 2021<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SA: Yeah, if you really think about it. Of course, you have the K-Pop world that\u2019s just bursting at the seams, with BTS \u2014 everyone knows BTS. But if you think about Asian-American musicians and artists, there\u2019s not that many that are well known. Like Mike Shinoda, I always looked up to him \u00a0because Linkin Park is one of my favorite bands of all time. He was a front man and was the writer, and was a musician, he did everything in the group.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And I love Chad Hugo from the Neptunes. They actually inspired me to become a producer. He\u2019s the Filipino dude right next to one of the coolest guys on the planet, Pharrell [Williams], making music for them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019d love to see more Asian representation in music, period. I always tell kids that come up to me that are aspiring musicians, \u201cJust keep making them hits.\u201d Keep putting it out there. There\u2019s enough platforms to be heard.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JC: That surprises me, with the availability of technology, what you can do at home on a computer nowadays, and what you can do solo or with other people. Collaboration is so much easier than it used to be before the computer, right?<\/p>\n

SA: Yeah, exactly. Oh, yeah. I do more collaborations not in-person than I do in person. It\u2019s a lot of sending files back and forth.<\/p>\n

JC: So you work on it, and then you send it back, back and forth\u2026<\/p>\n

SA: Right. I can deliver an entire song \u2014 the vocals, melody, actual record and they just sing it and send it right back. So as much as I love in-person, and I used to do writing caps in my studio \u2014 obviously Covid really limited that. But as you get used to sending files back and forth, it doesn\u2019t seem so foreign anymore to do that.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JC: Well, from my perspective on the film and TV side, it\u2019s been very cool to see it blossom. And the other thing that\u2019s been really cool is how, growing up Asian-American, I always felt like \u201cWe\u2019re not American, according to\u2026\u201c and, \u201cWe\u2019re not Asian, according to\u2026\u201c so we\u2019re always in the middle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s cool is all the Asian entertainment that\u2019s come over here and how the rising tide has lifted all boats.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SA: Yes, exactly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

JC: So this collective idea \u2014 and the idea that there was \u201cthe one\u201d has gone away. Who\u2019s the one that\u2019s going to [raise up], who\u2019s the one star, the one show, the one movie that\u2019s going to break the [barriers]? All of us. So that feels like the kind of philosophy in the air, and I love it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m making an effort, too, on a personal level. I don\u2019t think I know enough Asian-American writers, directors, actors \u2014 and I shouldn\u2019t wait for that to happen. I\u2019ve got to be active in doing that, and making connections, and we\u2019ll see what happens.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[the following can be cut]<\/p>\n

All right, that feels like a good place to end. That\u2019s all the time we have. It was really great chatting with you, man.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SA: Yeah. And my remix drops at 9 pm today on my YouTube channel.<\/p>\n

Here’s the trailer of the film.<\/strong><\/p>\n