It was very scary to take on a novel that was so loved by so many.

It wasn't just about mastering English. It was about shading, subtext and subtlety - all the things that make a great actor.

Maybe because I come from choreography, I've always felt that there's something about action films that made it very natural for me to go that way. It's story through movement.

I'm very aware of the fact that Broadway musicals being brought to the screen are very few and far between, and it's important to continue that relationship between Broadway and film. It's a privilege and an honor for me to be instrumental in some way in keeping that alive.

We ended up building a little Japan with cobblestone streets, bridges, a river, period buildings and antique props in Ventura, ... For the final scenes, we filmed in Kyoto temples that had never allowed filming before. But all throughout, we have tried to pay great respect to Japanese culture. I found the story very daunting to tell, as an American. I especially wanted to honor the profession because a lot of people in the West still don't know what geishas really are. The challenge for me was to bring a beautiful fable to life, to lift the veil on the beauty, joy and heartbreak of being a geisha.

We need to deepen people's understanding of impacts and that they have to be directly involved in doing something about it.