Every filmmaker dreams about directing a feature film. Few spend more than twenty years preparing for it. In this fascinating conversation, Hiroshi Katagiri shares a career that followed an unconventional path through Hollywood—one built not from directing chairs or screenwriting seminars, but from sculpting monsters, creating creatures, and mastering practical effects for some of the industry’s biggest productions. From Pacific Rim and Cabin in the Woods to Green Lantern and countless other projects, Hiroshi built a reputation as one of Hollywood’s most respected creature and makeup effects artists before eventually turning his attention toward directing.
His journey began in Japan, where a fascination with special makeup effects inspired him to leave home and move to Los Angeles immediately after high school. Armed with little more than determination and a passion for movie monsters, he enrolled in a makeup effects school, built a portfolio, and started looking for opportunities. Like many careers in filmmaking, his began at the bottom. An internship with special effects veteran Screaming Mad George opened the door to the industry, and from there Hiroshi slowly established himself through consistency, craftsmanship, and relationships.
One of the most valuable lessons from the conversation is how simple his advice remains despite decades of success. He repeatedly emphasizes that aspiring artists should stop waiting for permission. Don’t wait for school. Don’t wait for connections. Don’t wait for someone else to teach you. If you’re passionate about something, start creating immediately. Build a portfolio. Learn independently. Prove your commitment through action. That philosophy helped launch his own career and remains his primary advice for anyone hoping to break into filmmaking or visual effects today.
As the conversation shifts toward directing, Hiroshi reveals an interesting creative process. Unlike many filmmakers who discover their movie during production, he prefers to solve every major problem before cameras roll. Storyboards become essential. Visual sequences are mapped out in advance. The finished movie must exist in his mind long before production begins. This approach developed naturally from years working in practical effects, where creature designs, prosthetics, and makeup applications require extensive planning before arriving on set.
That preparation became especially important when he began directing his own short films, including Pulse, Crayon, and Hindsight. Rather than chasing large budgets, Hiroshi embraced limitations. He selected locations first and built stories around them. If he had access to a single house, he wrote a story that took place entirely inside that house. If resources were limited, he simplified the concept rather than compromising the execution. The result was a series of low-budget horror projects produced with small crews and minimal resources, yet driven by strong visual storytelling and clever use of available assets.
What emerges throughout the interview is a filmmaker deeply influenced by classic genre storytelling. Hiroshi cites Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, James Cameron, David Cronenberg, and The Twilight Zone as major influences. Interestingly, his love of horror comes less from graphic violence and more from atmosphere, suspense, and psychological unease. He openly discusses his admiration for Japanese horror traditions, where unsettling ideas often create more fear than explicit gore. This preference heavily informs the direction of his feature project Gehenna.
The story behind Gehenna demonstrates just how much patience independent filmmaking sometimes requires. Hiroshi spent nearly eight years developing the screenplay. Part of the challenge involved writing in a second language, repeatedly translating and refining drafts between Japanese and English. At the same time, he continued working full-time in the effects industry. Rather than rushing the process, he slowly refined the script until it reflected exactly the movie he wanted to make.
The concept itself cleverly combines his personal background and professional expertise. Set on the island of Saipan, a location shaped by intense World War II history, the story follows characters trapped inside a hidden Japanese military facility where supernatural events begin unfolding around them. The contained setting allowed Hiroshi to keep production costs manageable while still creating an ambitious horror experience filled with practical effects, mystery, and creature work.
Another fascinating aspect of the conversation involves relationships within the industry. Hiroshi explains how actor Doug Jones became involved with Gehenna simply because of years spent working together on various productions. The story serves as a reminder that careers in filmmaking are built not only on talent but also on long-term professional relationships. Every collaboration creates future opportunities, often in ways that are impossible to predict at the time.
Ultimately, Hiroshi’s story is about patience, preparation, and persistence. He didn’t rush toward directing. He spent decades mastering a craft, learning visual storytelling from the inside out, and gradually building the skills necessary to lead a feature film. In an industry obsessed with overnight success stories, his journey offers a different blueprint—one where expertise accumulates over time until opportunity finally meets readiness.
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Alex Ferrari 0:00
Enjoy today's episode with guest host Dave Bullis.
Dave Bullis 0:00
Hello everyone, welcome to another edition of the Dave Bullis podcast. Joining me today is Hiroshi Katagiri. Hiroshi has worked in the special effects field for over 23 years, and he's worked on films such as Escape from LA, Pacific Rim, Cabin in the Woods, and he's currently working on his first feature film, Gahanna. Hiroshi how are you?
Hiroshi Katagiri 0:00
Yeah, good, fine, thank you.
Dave Bullis 0:00
So, Hiroshi, just to get started, the first question I want to ask you is, how did you get started in the film industry?
Hiroshi Katagiri 0:00
Yeah, after I was like born and raised in Japan, and I just wanted to do special makeup effects and working for like Hollywood movies, so after graduating high school, I just moved to Los Angeles and just went to the, you know, the makeup school, like for 1010 weeks, and which is pretty short. Then I started building my portfolio. Then applied to some studio, and I just started as the intern when I was 19. I met the guy named the Screaming Matt George, you know, he, he has a, he owned a studio, Makeup Perfect Studio, he had to work for, like, Poltergeist Two back then, or Abyss. Then, yeah, then I just started as an intern there. That's my, my beginning.
Dave Bullis 0:00
Oh, cool. And then, you know, I see, then you went on to work on projects that escape from LA and Pacific Rim, so, so how did you get started working on those projects in the beginning?
Hiroshi Katagiri 0:00
Ah, wow, Escape from LA, it's about a horrible film. It's funny you mentioned that title, but it's the basically, you know, it's a, so that's 91 my like I first started, and it's like a golden age of makeup effects industry, you know, it's like a lot of like a direct video, low budget movies, and you know, bunch of big movies, like everything was happening in LA, so like everybody's working, pretty much, so, and also it's kind of small community, so you know, you get the recommendation for, you know, from other place and other studio, and so always get call, so that's the issue, keep doing a good job, you just keep asking for work and getting getting jobs,
Dave Bullis 0:00
So Hiroshi, if you had any advice for, like, a beginner who wanted to do what you do, what would that be?
Hiroshi Katagiri 0:00
It's the basically just don't wait to learn from the school or anywhere you, if you like it, you're gonna start building your own as many ways you can get the instructions, you know, from internet or just you, you gotta, if you like it, that's a proof that if you, without the forcing by anybody, if you, if you can start building your own, you know, something, anything. So that's the, that's the first advice that you have to like it, then you have to prove. So build your portfolio to start,
Dave Bullis 0:00
Yeah, and that's really good advice,
Hiroshi Katagiri 0:00
Yeah,
Dave Bullis 0:00
And I think that that's true too, for you know, even if they want to be like a writer or director, and you know they have to, you know, it's it's a little easier now they say, because obviously with with the way cameras are now, you can, you don't need to shoot on film anymore, you can, you know, shoot on digital, and you could, yeah, and you know, but with special effects like that, you still need to have makeup, you still need to, you know, mold things like you do, I mean, you make those, I mean, amazing, I saw that one you did at Pacific Rim, and you had that mini puddle, and I mean, that was just amazing artwork.
Hiroshi Katagiri 0:00
Oh, thank you.
Dave Bullis 0:00
And I also saw the thing you did for Cabinet in the Woods, you, you made a Merman,
Hiroshi Katagiri 0:00
Yeah.
Dave Bullis 0:00
And I mean, that, that is, you know, that takes a lot of artistic ability to do that, even with the, even with the advent of a digital, but I mean, yeah, I can see what you mean. So, do you recommend that anybody who wants to do this, do you recommend they should be in LA?
Hiroshi Katagiri 0:00
Well, not really, you know. Nowadays, it's LA, it's the.. I would say, like, a worst place for working for the major movie. Yeah, I recommend going to, like, Vancouver or the London. Yeah, they're making more movies now over there.
Dave Bullis 0:00
Yeah, and you know, Georgia was just ranked as the number one place in America right now that's making movies.
Hiroshi Katagiri 0:00
Oh, really? Georgia, wow.
Dave Bullis 0:00
And number two is Louisiana.
Hiroshi Katagiri 0:00
Yeah, I've been there a couple times for several different movies.
Dave Bullis 0:00
Oh, really? Really, Louisiana?
Hiroshi Katagiri 0:00
Yeah, the Green Lantern and the.. no, no, that's the Green Lantern. Yep.
Dave Bullis 0:00
So, what models did you make? What special effects work did you do for the Green Lantern
Hiroshi Katagiri 0:00
During the Avensir character?
Dave Bullis 0:00
Yeah,
Hiroshi Katagiri 0:00
Yeah, I sculpt the makeup for Avensir and dead body of him.
Dave Bullis 0:00
Oh, cool.
Hiroshi Katagiri 0:00
Yeah, and makeup design for Sinestro. Yeah, so just the first makeup design, just I sculpted on his live cast, and just know for that, for the test
Dave Bullis 0:00
Sinestro was played by Mark Strong, and it was turned out for it, but that was pretty good work.
Hiroshi Katagiri 0:00
Yeah, it's an unfortunately movie was horrible, yeah, in the many digital digital characters, then the abs stands out pretty well because it was makeup,
Dave Bullis 0:00
Yeah, and Sinestro, and the, and you know, some of the villains in that movie, which is some of the most memorable parts.
Hiroshi Katagiri 0:00
Oh, yeah, the Hector, too. Yeah,
Dave Bullis 0:00
Yeah. So, so you know, around 2006
Hiroshi Katagiri 0:00
Yeah,
Dave Bullis 0:00
You've been working for a couple years, you decided to direct your own short film, which was Pulse.
Hiroshi Katagiri 0:46
Yeah,
Dave Bullis 0:46
What experiences did you encounter when you first made that film?
Hiroshi Katagiri 0:46
The biggest issue for me is, you know, I'm not the native English speaker, so the writing is the biggest issue. So, yeah, I just started writing, and I think I started in Japanese, and then just I made the English myself, and there's give it to my friend, the American friend, and he correct or the language mistake, and he bring me back, and then when I see that, and the nuance, and some details, like if I feel different, then I just change it, then just give him back, so just back and forth so many times to get the script, so it took me, like, I was working full time in the makeup effects industry also, so it took me six months before I start filming, so that's the biggest, hardest thing you know for starting the movie, and and also I'm pretty specific about the visual, how to shoot, and so the script has to be done, then I have to be in my mind has to be completed, you know, film has to be finished in my mind before I shoot, so it's harder before shoot, then then once shooting starts, it goes a little bit easier because I have the vision already, so
Dave Bullis 9:22
Yeah, so do you storyboard a lot, or just mainly have it in your head?
Hiroshi Katagiri 9:27
Yeah, I storyboard, yep.
Dave Bullis 9:30
So, you know, I found that to be a very invaluable tool as well. Is that, you know, storyboarding, and even I don't think they're, in my opinion, I don't think you can really storyboard too much, because if you break down it into very most minor details and have it along the wall, or have it, or however in a pamphlet, I think it really helps not only you but everybody else understand what actually is going on in the movie.
Hiroshi Katagiri 9:52
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yep,
Dave Bullis 9:56
And so you know, I had David Hall on the podcast. I don't know if you're familiar with David Hall, he's a script consultant, but he always recommends having horror as your first project, because horror movies are, you know, quote unquote easier to do, because obviously horror is a character of the movie itself, you don't have to depend on actors per se, you don't have to depend on a location per se, but you know horror is sort of, it sort of goes across all boundaries and all cultures and all language barriers, do you feel the same?
Hiroshi Katagiri 10:38
Yeah, yeah, absolutely,
Dave Bullis 10:41
So then you, after as you shot Pulse, you shot two other short films, which are Crayon and Hindsight. Now, did you know with Pulse, Crayon, and Hindsight, did you craft on any of these projects?
Hiroshi Katagiri 10:52
What's the question? Did I,
Dave Bullis 10:54
Yeah, with Pulse, Crayon, and Hindsight, did you crowdfund any of those projects?
Hiroshi Katagiri 11:00
No, it's all my personal money, but the money I spend for all three movies, but maybe like 3000 altogether. And the first of all, you know, it's all the effects pretty much free, because you know I do, and I have friends, and all I need is material. And then, of course all my friends helped everybody, like actors and DP, and I didn't have to rent anything or the pay to anybody, and I was so, so fortunate, you know, I got the all talented people just helping out, so and also just writing is so important, so I just write the story, I decided the location first, then okay, so here I see I gotta use this house, then everything, every drama is gonna happen in just this house. Then what can I make? So that's my start to make the movie, so we say I know I can't spend too much money, so then I just see a location is so important, then I just think of the idea, what can I do, you know, to shoot in like a single location, make it interesting, so
Dave Bullis 12:11
And Hiroshi, that idea has, we've seen that it works very well too in recent years with like your paranormal activity that shot in Oren's house and it made hundreds of millions of dollars, and
Hiroshi Katagiri 12:23
Yeah,
Dave Bullis 12:23
And a $13,000 budget. And when you shot these movies, Hiroshi, did you have a skeleton crew, or did you have a fairly large crew?
Hiroshi Katagiri 12:32
Oh, skeleton crew, there's the very minimum, maybe 12 people altogether, and sometimes like a four people in some someday in as four people, everybody including an actor, yeah, it's interesting. One DP, me, one actor, and 180 that's all.
Dave Bullis 12:55
So you put those three shorts together at DVD, where can people find the horror theater for that's the name of all three movies combined? Where can people buy that hard theater DVD?
Hiroshi Katagiri 13:07
Oh, just check on Amazon, then search by the Hora Theater, then you can find it.
Dave Bullis 13:13
Okay,
Hiroshi Katagiri 13:13
Yeah.
Dave Bullis 13:14
And I'll put a link to that too, up on the show notes.
Hiroshi Katagiri 13:16
Yeah, thank you. Well, also, you can just watch it free on my YouTube channel.
Dave Bullis 13:21
I'll put a note, I'll put a link to that too.
Hiroshi Katagiri 13:23
Yeah,
Dave Bullis 13:24
So, so when you were making these movies, Hiroshi, you know, and as you make films today, you know who are your filmmaking inspirations.
Hiroshi Katagiri 13:32
It's a, yeah, it's a tough question. There's so many, and when I was younger, my favorite director was the robot Jamaica, so loved the like Back to the Future series, especially in soul entertainment, and it's the horror too, and I take the horrors not as a scary movie, but you know, still entertainment movie, and have to entertain audience, and Jamaica was, and Spielberg, you know, of course, and those, those guys are incredible for amusing people, I mean, later period, and they changed, but the earlier days, especially, and of course, Cameron, James Cameron, and yeah, huge influence, and especially the effect. I was like 15 years old, and there's a double feature in Japan: aliens and the fly, and shocking day, shocking day. Yeah, this was the aliens, and it blows my mind. So amazing, and I was expected. Okay, no way, no way. Next, gonna be next movie will be as big as this one, and then they watch the fly as amazing too. So much in one day, and as there's a huge influence for me, like. James Cameron and the Cronenberg, yeah, and as many, many directors, many movies, you know, it's like I can't speak forever, but horror movie, yeah, as I mentioned on my project, is the Twilight Zone got a huge influence, you know, it's the, it's really low budget, and depending on the actor's performance and idea of the story, and always, you know, there's endings that it's really shocking and surprising ending, and that's the model of my story, always was the I was so interesting to just keep watching, and then at the end, just surprising, yeah, just the, yeah, the whole setup is, it's just amazing, so probably you know the biggest influence me is the Zohos, you know, Twilight Zone, especially for my movie. Yeah,
Dave Bullis 16:08
So you know, I'm a big fan of J-Harr. You know, I just heard that the remaking audition, which is by Takashi Meke.
Hiroshi Katagiri 16:16
Oh, really?
Dave Bullis 16:18
Yeah, they were making an American-made audition now.
Hiroshi Katagiri 16:20
Okay, so
Dave Bullis 16:22
Have you seen audition?
Hiroshi Katagiri 16:23
Yeah, of course. Yeah,
Dave Bullis 16:24
You know, I, and you know that reminds me of the same model, where it's almost like there was another feature, like Pulse, and like a one missed call, and there's a whole with J Har, it's more of an unsettling, I guess I would say,
Hiroshi Katagiri 16:40
Yeah,
Dave Bullis 16:41
The actual scare or heart, you know, if I know what meme, but, but it does it very well, and I was just wondering, you know, how good the audition, because the Japanese audition was, was pretty gory,
Hiroshi Katagiri 16:52
Yeah,
Dave Bullis 16:53
So the end thing, I don't think they'd be able to do a Samaritan version,
Hiroshi Katagiri 16:58
Yeah, my scaredness taste is more, yeah, J Hora. It's the Japanese, like a creepy style. And audition is an excellent movie. I love it too, but I, I'm not good at the, like, a torture or the painful scene or movie. Yeah, it's the Evil Dead. I love the evil. Dead, no, the first one, original one, Sam Raimi's.
Dave Bullis 17:24
Yes,
Hiroshi Katagiri 17:25
And there's a scene of the stabbing with the ankle with the pencil. That scene I couldn't watch, you know. I watched the countless time of, you know, that movie, and only that scene I couldn't watch. As always, close my eyes,
Dave Bullis 17:43
So you have a new project called Johanna. It's your first film project, so.. so why don't you tell us about you, this Gehana industry? I know this is, you know, your first feature film, and I know it's.. it's very important to you. So, why don't you tell us about it?
Hiroshi Katagiri 17:59
Yeah, so I. so the next big step is to make feature film. I made the three shots already, and then, so the feature film, I just needed the great idea, and also I'm gonna take advantage of my background, which is, yeah, I was born and grown up in Japan, and then I mean I'm in the industry for like over 20 years in the American makeup effects industry, so then I was thinking, what can I do, you know, to take those advantages. So then I, I found the good location, which is takes place in Saipan. So Saipan is the huge battlefield between Japan and America during the World War Two, and then also the location. I know it's my, it's going to be first feature movie, so I cannot spend too much money. So I just, the thinking of the story that's the takes place in isolated place, which is the Japanese secret military base from World War Two. Then I got the great idea for that, and so it started. Maybe just got this idea, start writing maybe eight years ago, and took so long as the may you know complete the script and show my friend has correct everything as they change it many times and I try to apply for like a Japanese movie, I just rewrite everything in Japanese also and trying to pitch to the direct producer of the ring, and when he told me he's looking for English script, so then just rewrite that, so it's the crazy story. So it took me like seven eight years to complete the one script. Now, of course, because you know I'm working full time in the makeup defects industry.
Hiroshi Katagiri 20:08
So, but anyway, so, so this movie is so important, you know. So, my desire, long time desire, is this in it, and I'm just spending all my effort to make it really, really interesting movie in a scary movie, so yeah, anything more I should speak about,
Dave Bullis 20:34
The just the synopsis of so far of Gahanna is, you know, an American real estate agent finds, you know, looking for a real estate project in Saipan, and you know, she ends up finding, you know, this World War Two bunker in this place, and then obviously that's where, you know, all hell breaks loose,
Hiroshi Katagiri 20:56
Yeah, and they encounter the creepy, super creepy old man, which you can see in the, like, Kickstarter campaign, Doug Jones playing it, and then accidentally they killed the old man. Then some explosion happening, so you don't know the cause of explosion. Then everybody knocked knocked down to the floor and lose conscious. Then when they wake up, then old man's gone, and before that they find the dried-up corpse from somewhere, looks like a Caucasian in a Japanese military base. Then all those corpses gone too. Then also the exit is closed, so they are trapped inside, and then just try on the way to, you know, the looking for the exit from there, then they encounter the like a mysterious series of mysterious events, and each one has the fear for something, then then they have hallucination, or the they experience the those fear each one then yeah then then at the end you know there's the all the answer you know who was old man or the where the dead body gone and if they can get out or not know every answer is you know there's surprise ending at the end,
Dave Bullis 22:22
Awesome, And it does sound really cool. I've actually, I've actually pledged you Kickstarter, and you know, I watched the video twice. It actually is very well done.
Hiroshi Katagiri 22:32
Oh, thank you.
Dave Bullis 22:32
And so, and also, How did you end up getting Doug Jones on the project? And for those who don't know, who Doug Jones is, he's done a volume, a lot of work with Del Toro,
Hiroshi Katagiri 22:48
Yeah,
Pan's Labyrinths, yeah, Hellboy, Abby Sapien, and Angel of Death, many car, yeah, any, any skinny creatures in, oh, Fording Sky TV right now. Yeah, he's an idiom. Yeah,
Dave Bullis 23:06
Yeah. Thanks for helping me out there. I forgot his movie Pan's Labyrinth. But how did you get Doug on board the project?
Hiroshi Katagiri 23:15
Okay, um, Doug Turner is, of course, you know, famous among us. No, I, I worked with him for many, many different films, like a Time Machine or The Doom, and The Hair Boy, Hair Boy Two, Buffet, The Vampire Slayer. There's so many, as the every time when we make something skinny character, it's always him. Yes, he knows me, and I know him, and I just emailed him that if he could support my Kickstarter project, and he, yeah, and he's just totally cool, such a nice guy,
Dave Bullis 24:01
And that's amazing, and no, it just goes to show you, you know, you have to make relationships in this business.
Hiroshi Katagiri 24:07
Yeah, yeah, it's so fortunate. Yep,
Dave Bullis 24:11
So, so Hiroshi, what are your plans for the release for Gahanna?
Hiroshi Katagiri 24:16
Oh, the plan for
Dave Bullis 24:18
The release, are you hoping to get this in the theaters, or just like VOD,
Hiroshi Katagiri 24:22
Yeah, yeah, so my ideally love to release in theater. Then, so there's a way that's the reason I'm using the Kickstarter, is you know, there's a several way to get funded for movies, so I could approach to a distribution company to get funded, and if they like it, of course, but what comes with it, with the money, is their control for the movie, so it's a lot of things, news, the my plan is before looking for distribute distributor. I make just great, great film, then then I just look for the other distribution, so that's the, that's this idea,
Dave Bullis 25:12
Very cool.
Hiroshi Katagiri 25:13
Yeah,
Dave Bullis 25:15
So you're currently, you know, crowdfunding on your Kickstarter for Gahanna.
Hiroshi Katagiri 25:19
Yeah,
Dave Bullis 25:20
I'm going to link to the Kickstarter in the show notes, so I mean, honestly, I, if anyone's listening, I really recommend you check out Hiroshi, video for it. I check out, you know, the project page, because it's actually a very cool, well done video. It looks like it's going to be a great project.
Hiroshi Katagiri 25:37
Thank you,
Dave Bullis 25:39
And Hiroshi. So, you know, in closing, what were any projects you have in mind for the future? I know you probably don't want to answer that question, because you're so busy with Gahanna, but yeah,
Hiroshi Katagiri 25:50
I do, I do, yeah. So I have another script called the Bushido, no, it's the, it's a job I practiced aikido for like 23 years, you know, same as my career, 23 years. So, with my instructor, I just wrote a script to show the value of the bachelorettes. So, American Guy is a main character, and it takes place in Japan. It's like last summer I meet Karate Kid, and, but you know, that's a bigger, bigger movie, so then I need to, you know, I, of course, I want to direct. Then, in order to direct that, then I have to make smaller movie to start the master. I need experience to direct the feature film, so then, which, you know, Gehenna is my first film. It's a low budget and takes advantage of my career, so the second one I'm looking for the making the action, but I want to make create a bunch of characters, creatures, and the characters with the cool makeup effects, so something you know I can get the experts, of course, and all my friends gotta support me for that still, the cool practical effects creation movie with action. Yeah, you know, a ninja scroll,
Dave Bullis 27:14
Yeah,
Hiroshi Katagiri 27:15
Yeah, it's something like that, but again, you're trying to make it cheap too, like it takes place in one mountain, so you know, guy wakes up, and he here, he has no memory, and he's wondering of who he is, and then some, some like the characters are attacking him, and he has a bandage wrapped in his hand is wrapped in a bandage, and then he like his instinct, he avoiding this using his hand, then the bandage fall off, and that's a creature hand, then yeah, once his hand exposed, and he kills everybody, like, like a crazy power he has, then then struggling his discovery in who he is and who his enemy is, and he's trying to find out, you know, just his identity, so you know, bunch of characters, you know, like a ninja scroll with, you know, special power characters, and visually it's cool, but you know, first of all, I have to focus on Gehenna to complete fund it, first of course, and complete, yeah. but yeah, I have more ideas in the future.
Dave Bullis 28:26
Awesome, with aikido, it's interesting, you know, a keto really, you know, was big in the 90s when Steven Seagal was, you know, doing his movies, and now it's sort of,
Hiroshi Katagiri 28:36
Yeah,
Dave Bullis 28:36
You know, they say that every decade has its martial arts, the 90s was a keto. Now it's like mixed martial arts. In the 80s it was kickboxing, and the 70s it was kung fu, and the 60s. So they always say that every in the 80s also is ninjutsu, but they always say that every decade, but it'd be cool to see a keto come back, yeah, especially the guys, because when they can actually, you know, use the throws and, and stuff like that, it's, you know, it's pretty interesting, you know, and you know, because now it's, it's more of like a Brazilian jiu jitsu thing, but I've actually practiced a kilo, I've practiced Brazilian jitsu, and really, yeah, yeah, I actually practiced at a place called Max Exercise in Philadelphia, and it was actually the oldest judo club on the East Coast, and it's been there for years upon years, and they practice judo, keto, and Brazilian jiu jitsu.
Hiroshi Katagiri 29:34
Oh, that's cool, that's great.
Dave Bullis 29:37
Yeah, it's pretty cool, but yeah, I've done practice, I know exactly where you're coming from.
Hiroshi Katagiri 29:43
Yeah, and there's many like old old techniques in a year, something you have never seen in the movie yet. Then I'm just researching, and you know those, and my instructor has got lots of ideas, and it's pretty interesting. So I'm just making test action action cuts. and you want to show something unique, and it's not the typical, like a Steven Seagal Aikido, or the, you know, some some other movies. Don't want to make something new, new action. Yeah,
Dave Bullis 30:23
I'm waiting for Sistema to make us debut.
Hiroshi Katagiri 30:27
Yeah, I met the Mikhail.
Dave Bullis 30:32
Oh, Mikhail Rio Boco.
Hiroshi Katagiri 30:34
Yeah, yeah, he, he hit me pretty light, but it was heavy. Yeah, incredible.
Dave Bullis 30:43
Where did you meet him at?
Hiroshi Katagiri 30:44
In Japan, actually.
Dave Bullis 30:45
Oh
Hiroshi Katagiri 30:46
Yeah, I had the scouting seminar in Japan, and when I was there, that's happened. The he has a seminar over there in the same, same area. Yeah, it's just attended, and it's a great experience.
Dave Bullis 30:59
Yeah, it's a pretty interesting martial art. I, I actually didn't learn from him, but one of his disciples, disciples, Vladimir Vasily, in Canada, one of his guys actually started training with him.
Hiroshi Katagiri 31:12
Oh, cool.
Dave Bullis 31:12
So that's that's what I've been doing now. So it's a small world, right?
Hiroshi Katagiri 31:17
Yeah, I love the training method. Yeah, it's great. It's very similar to philosophy, is really similar to aikido.
Dave Bullis 31:25
Yes, and I, you know, the similar to also I've noticed the Tai Chi Chuan.
Hiroshi Katagiri 31:31
Yeah,
Dave Bullis 31:32
Yes, yeah, it's powerful relaxation, but yeah, it's pretty cool. And so, so you know, Hiroshi, I know you're a busy guy, I know you're busy with the movie, everything, so I won't, I won't keep you anymore. But is there anything else you'd like to talk about that we haven't touched upon?
Hiroshi Katagiri 31:49
Um, yeah, I just want to just say about the Gehenna, you know, it's the, this is really, really great original story, you know, I don't, I don't know anything similar to this, it's pretty original, and the visual, of course, you know, it's the I'm working with the top effects guys in the world, so yeah, it's gonna be a great movie, and I'm not gonna turn it down, turn you guys down, it's gonna be great movie, so please, please support my movie, and please pledge, so that's my message.
Dave Bullis 32:24
And again, I repeat Hiroshi's message. I would advise you guys to check it out, link to the show notes, but I think it's gonna be a cool, really cool project, and, and you know, hope you guys check it out and donate. Hiroshi, thank you very much for coming on.
Hiroshi Katagiri 32:39
Yeah, thank you, thank you
Dave Bullis 32:40
Anytime, and all right. And make sure you check out Hiroshi, it's called Gehanna, which is G E H A N N A. It's the Facebook page. Oh
Hiroshi Katagiri 32:49
No, G E H E N N A.
Dave Bullis 32:55
Oh, I'm sorry, I.. that's bad on my G E H E N N A
Hiroshi Katagiri 33:03
N A,
Dave Bullis 33:03
Yeah, and, and also, you could, is there a website anybody can view your work at?
Hiroshi Katagiri 33:09
Yeah, gehennafilm.com yeah. Then you can look for the Facebook Gehenna
Dave Bullis 33:39
And Hiroshi thank you, very much for coming on again.
Hiroshi Katagiri 33:42
Yeah, thanks so much.
Dave Bullis 33:43
Anytime, buddy. Take care.
Hiroshi Katagiri 33:48
Yeah, take care.
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