Appleseed Alpha

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The origin of this film goes back...

...to when we were shooting

Starship Troopers: Invasion.

That film we were shooting

with director Aramaki...

...who's also the director of this film...

...and producer Joseph Chou,

who's our friend.

We thought, ''Okay,

why don't we do another project...

...you know, together,

and have some fun with it.''

We decided to brainstorm,

look into different titles...

...and we came back to the idea

of Appleseed.

I thought this was a great idea...

...because the former titles worked well

all over the world.

It's very well-known.

And the franchise is something

that we probably should continue...

...because it works well in CGl films.

So that is why, you know, I thought,

"it's a great idea, we should go for it.''

When I went independent

as a producer...

...Appleseed was the first title

that I got to work on.

And that's when I met Aramaki.

And then it led to the following film,

Appleseed Ex Machina...

...that we worked on together.

And that led to several other films

that we created.

But after Appleseed, however...

...a lot of the films that we've done

were ideas or franchises...

...that were not from Japan.

So it was actually very much

a Western-driven project.

But, you know,

when we were discussing what to do...

...for our next project,

we kind of hit upon the idea of:

"Well, what about

tackling Appleseed again?''

Before working on Appleseed...

...we established a studio called Sola...

...and worked on Starship Troopers.

In discussing our next

project with Joseph...

...we had a new studio

and new staff members.

Of course, they were the same staff

from Appleseed Ex Machina.

But that group was at

the core of our new studio.

So we knew certain things.

We made great technological leaps.

We wanted a new challenge.

So we focused on doing Appleseed...

...but in a new way.

That's how we decided.

Personally, it was

the first film I worked on...

...so it has a special significance

for me.

I wanted to give it new life.

That was my main

motivation behind this project.

Well, at that point, I thought...

...it would also be important

to call on my other friend in Japan.

His name is Eiichi Kamagata...

...and he's head of a company

called Lucent Pictures.

And I wanted to bring him on board,

just because, you know, we're...

Sola Studio

is a CG animation production.

But in order to really provide

production companies service...

Because we're dealing with

a Japanese property.

We're dealing with

a Japanese licensor.

So we really needed someone

on the ground...

...who would oversee these issues and

Japanese distribution and whatnot...

...who specialises in that market.

And Tony brought in, obviously,

the international distribution...

...and Sony expertise...

...in trying to craft this film's

distribution or marketing strategy.

I thought we were all a natural fit.

Mr. lshizuka contacted us...

...with the idea of

doing another film.

Mr. lshizuka is based

in Los Angeles, so...

...it was tricky to coordinate.

From 2009 onwards...

...we have been in constant contact...

...regarding this new project.

We acted as producers

based in Japan...

...to get this project off the ground.

So we formed this great team with...

Co-production team with everyone.

Now, the only thing left...

...was to go back to the creators

about making this.

And we went to see,

in Osaka, the creators...

...so that we can discuss

and do something.

It took quite a while

to really make this happen.

But then finally they agreed,

since Aramaki was directing it...

...and it was gonna be a great sort of

rendition of a new franchise.

When Aramaki and I were first

discussing the idea for the new film...

I mean, we obviously wanted this

to be a reboot.

A fresh start for the franchise.

So when thinking about that,

we were wondering:

What kind of story

do we want to tell?

Do we want to go back

to the first film...

...where we kind of retread

the story of Deunan and Briareos...

...and their experience

in this city called Olympus?

When we looked at the manga, when we

revisited the manga together again...

...we realised that both of us

shared a love...

...for the first volume of the manga,

how it started.

Meaning how Deunan and Briareos

ended up in this city called Olympus.

What were they doing before then?

How did they get there?

And I thought there was room...

...to explore that

in a much bigger sense.

And Aramaki had this brilliant idea...

...of trying to set this

in a post-apocalyptic world.

And they're on a journey

to find this city called Olympus...

...which might just be a mirage.

So to restart the franchise,

we called it Appleseed Alpha...

...which is, of course,

the starting point.

This time around, we had

a new team and a new look.

It was a reboot of Appleseed.

That was one of our goals.

So what do we need to do?

We re-examined the source material.

Appleseed is a story that...

...takes place in the United States.

So in doing a prequel...

...we wanted to focus on the setting.

In developing the scenario...

...it was only natural to tell

the story in English.

That was one of our big focus points.

So we approached Mary Anne...

...who's the writer of several very

successful video game franchises.

When talking to her, we realised...

...that she really did have the right

passion and sensibilities for this project.

This time, we really wanted to explore

the story of Deunan.

We really wanted to have her

on board...

...and bring us that sensibility and

understanding of the female psyche...

...and the relationship, you know,

that we couldn't think of.

So she not only, you know,

crafted a brilliant script...

...based on the plot

that was created by Aramaki...

...but I think the film was really helped

by that aspect as well...

...and her being on board.

Our story for this project...

...is a prequel to the original.

The protagonists have not

yet reached Olympus.

Olympus is a utopian society...

...that was built during

and after the war.

Once the war has ended...

...they are just surviving without

really understanding their situation.

So we see their day-to-day lives.

It's a limited point of view.

They are just getting by.

However, the war has stabilised

so there isn't much fighting.

But there is still lawlessness.

Information regarding other countries

is scant.

There are communication barriers.

That's where we start our story.

At its core, Appleseed...

...is about our two protagonists.

The plot always becomes inflated...

...once you start

examining the city itself.

Other characters and

conspiracies come into play.

Politics come to the forefront.

When you look at the source material...

...the things like bioroids...

...really exemplify the detail

that Mr. Shiro put into the story.

However, when you adapt it to film...

...it's very easy for the narrative

to become...

...a bit dull and expository.

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