In the following interview conducted by GamesIndustry, Shinji
Hashimoto, producer of
Advent Children, talks about the film.
How did the idea of doing a movie set after Final Fantasy VII come
about? Did the team have an idea for it even when they were making the original
game, or is it a new idea?
To be honest, all of the staff was burnt out after we made the original Final
Fantasy VII! But as you know, Final Fantasy has both a game part and a movie
part - and as we made the movie part, we decided to make it longer, because it's
so connected to the game part.
We don't really think of it as a feature film. It's more like a collection of
clips; it's become quite long, but we don't take that too seriously in terms of
having a massive concept behind it or anything like that. It's just naturally
come about.
So it is true that you increased the length of the movie during
production, then?
As I mentioned earlier, we set out to create a collection of clips more than
a feature film. That started out at twenty or thirty minutes, and now, at the
end, it's seventy minutes long.... Because we were not intending to make a film,
that's just how it happened.
How many of the original Final Fantasy VII creative staff are working on
Advent Children?
The staff have drifted around quite a bit, because it was a while ago. But
the main key people, like Mr Kitase (Producer), Mr Nomura (Director), Mr Nojima
(Script Writer) and also Mr Naora (Art Director), the key figures like that
still remain.
How would you compare the quality of the visuals in this film to something
like Final Fantasy: Spirits Within? Has the technology moved on a lot since
then?
Yes, definitely. Because we have the experience of making The Spirits Within,
we've developed from there - piling up on that work, in of way. The quality has
definitely increased.
What sort of specific changes have taken place since The Spirits Within,
in this regard?
The main software program that we use is Maya, and Maya hasn't really changed itself.
However, we're using some systems that we developed internally, and they have
developed since then - since The Spirits Within - so that's the main difference.
Do you think that this film will appeal to people who aren't fans of Final
Fantasy VII, or is it really only for fans of the game?
With the visuals, we've made them to a certain quality so that people who are
not particularly fans of the Final Fantasy series can enjoy it. As far as the
characters and the story, we will explain enough for the people who have never
played Final Fantasy - that's one thing I can confirm.
Are there any plans to re-release the Final Fantasy VII game on a modern
platform to tie in with the release of the movie?
Nothing so far. We have to make Advent Children first!
When will the film be released, and are you intending to release it
simultaneously around the world?
We're preparing for announcements about the release, so please be patient
about this!
Will the film be released in theatres, or is it appearing first on DVD and
UMD?
We do have some ideas about this, but because we're working in conjunction
with other companies to provide the film, we can't talk about it yet. We're
making the film, but we're using others to actually provide it.
