A Taste:

Nick Cave, MC Rock Star

James McTeigue knows what it takes to be a good ninja.

About maintaining the kinetic energy on the set of his phenomenal new action flick Ninja Assassin, the director explains, “Obviously doing complicated martial arts takes a lot of time and a lot of energy. I think if the people at the core are really into it and want to do great martial arts, they keep the energy up. It was great in this case!”

Ninja Assassin is everything that a ninja movie should be—artful, nonstop and brilliantly bloody. There’s also an underlying sense of perpetual rhythm that fuels each and every action sequence. The film flows more like a record than a movie with each choptastic moment screeching like a guitar.

McTeigue laughs, “If Ninja Assassin were an album it would be some sort of rap crossed with Nevermind the Bollocks by The Sex Pistols—that kind of crazy energy [Laughs].”

In order to go deeper into the musical nature of the film, McTeigue sat down with ARTISTdirect.com editor and Dolor author Rick Florino for this exclusive interview about the music in Ninja Assassin and what he’s listening to.

Check out the playlist below and don’t miss Ninja Assassin in theaters this Wednesday November 25!

Ninja Assassin Director James McTeigue’s Playlist:

1. MC Rockstar

We were listening to a bit of Asian rap that starts the film. There’s a cool thing by MC Rockstar at the beginning.

2. Raekwon, Murs & Xzibit — “Legacy”

There’s a good viral out there of Raekwon, Murs and Xzibit that gets the feel of the film.

3. Nick Cave & Warren Ellis — The Assassination of Jesse James Soundtrack

I’ve been listening to a bit of soundtrack stuff lately—The Assassination of Jesse James is a pretty cool one. Nick Cave’s great.

—Rick Florino
11.23.09

Check out Rick Florino’s new novel Dolor available now for FREE here…