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Writing the script for IKIRU.
Kurosawa [thought] visually, and he [spoke] in concrete terms, not theoretically. The best example of that is IKIRU. So he and I started writing the script together. Another writer, [Hideo] Oguni, was late joining us. When he arrived, we had already written 30 pages, so we showed him what we had done. He said, "This isn't right," and he gave his reasons. Kurosawa got very upset. He shouted, "What do you mean, Oguni?" But Oguni stood his ground, so Kurosawa tore up the first 30 pages. We started again from scene one. It broke my heart ... we had worked so hard ... but because we started again from the beginning, the hero dies midway through the film. If he died, the story would be better, Oguni said. Initially, the script ended with his death. Oguni said that wasn't good, he should die mid-film. Oguni was older than Kurosawa. Kurosawa respected him; he was the command post. Oguni did not write one word for IKIRU. Kurosawa and I wrote the script, but we went with Oguni's opinion. That's how we wrote SEVEN SAMURAI, too. Oguni didn't write a word on that either, but his role as a command post was invaluable.
The Kurosawa writing team at work.
This is how the Kurosawa [writing] team worked. Even if there were three or four writers, no one was allocated a section to write. Simultaneously, we all start[ed] writing the same scene, all seated at the same table. Then we [took] the best of the lot. It [was] obvious which script [was] the best, and we use[d] that. So Kurosawa never [said] how he want[ed] things done. It [was] like a race where we all start[ed] writing at once. For a writer, it [was] the hardest way to work. There [were] times when what you [wrote] [didn't] get used for days. Of course for the scenes that were chosen, we did get to correct or add somewhat to it. So did Kurosawa have the last word? I don't necessarily think so. The film itself seemed to decide what was best.
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