Sunday January 4, 2009
What’s getting made
By HOLY COW and KITTY SENSEI
IT isn’t surprising that Hollywood has come calling in anime land for new stories to turn into future blockbusters. After all, as otaku know, anime can teach Hollywood a thing or two about great storytelling.
But how will the stories fare once they make their transition to the United States? Only time will tell, as the majority of the films are currently in production or only proposals.
Here is a list of anime scheduled to get a Tinseltown makeover, compiled from production websites and other Internet sources and presented in chronological order of release.
Dragonball: Evolution
Dragonball Evolution is finally getting a live movie adaptation! It is directed by James Wong (who directed 2000’s Final Destination) and produced by Hong Kong actor Stephen Chow of Kung Fu Hustle (2004) fame.
This is an alternate retelling of the anime, and it chronicles the adventures of 17-year-old Goku (played by Justin Chatwin), who is on a quest to gather seven mystical orbs known as the Dragonballs. These orbs are said to grant any wish if they can be gathered in one place.
Along his journey, Goku is aided by Bulma (Emmy Rossum), who possesses a radar capable of tracking Dragonballs; martial arts trainer Master Roshi (Chow Yun-Fatt); and Yamcha (Joon Park), a desert bandit who decides to help Goku. And Goku needs all the help he can get because he has to face the evil Piccolo (James Marsters), who intends to gather the Dragonballs for himself.
There was much trepidation among fans in the early days of production. Things did not improve when the trailer emerged (traileraddict.com/trailer/dragonball/trailer) with most fans pooh-poohing it, and firstshowing.net describing it as, “a shameful mess that will p**s off every last Dragonball fan.” Alas!
Here’s a quirky fact: There was an unofficial 1989 Cantonese adaptation of the series called Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins, but it was considered to be awful, and has little to do with the source media. Will Dragonball Evolution meet the same fate? Scheduled American release: April.
Astro Boy will make his American big screen debut next year. Astro Boy
Astro Boy (known as Mighty Atom in Japan) is the brainchild of Osamu Tezuka, the “god of manga”. The anime, which aired on TV from 1963 to 1966, was as groundbreaking as the manga (first published in 1952), becoming a pioneer for all anime.
The story centres around Astro, a robot created by Dr Tenma to replace his son, who died in a car accident. Astro is then entrusted with the task of fighting crime, and eventually displays emotions despite being a robot.
The Los Angeles and Hong Kong-based Imagi Animation Studios, which produced 2007’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, is behind the computer-animated 3D adaptation. Freddie Highmore will voice Astro Boy while big-name stars such as Nicholas Cage, Kristen Bell, Nathan Lane, and Donald Sutherland are involved as well. Scheduled American release: Oct 23. Official website: astroboy-themovie.com.
Akira
Akira, the manga (by Katsuhiro Otomo) and anime, is one of the most famous titles in otaku history.
In post-apocalyptic Neo-Tokyo, bike gang leader Kaneda meets a mysteriously wrinkled “old” child named Takashi under dire circumstances: one of his friends, Tetsuo, is injured in a collision with Takashi and has to be rushed to hospital. In the confusion, the child disappears. Determined to avenge his friend, Kaneda sets off to find Takashi, which entangles him in a web of conspiracy, insurrection, and psychokinetic abilities.
Akira gained a lot of publicity when an anime of it was released in 1988, written and directed by none other than the manga’s author, Katsuhiro. It is widely regarded as one of the most influential anime titles of all time, redefining the art in anime, and influencing much of anime as a whole.
Leonardo DiCaprio will be producing Akira for Warner Bros, and the film will be directed by 29-year-old Academy Award nominee (for sci-fi short Fifty Percent Grey) Ruairi Robinson. Akira will be the Irish filmmaker’s feature film debut.
According to firstshowing.net, Warner Bros describes the movie as “Blade Runner meets City of God”, and it will be based more on three of the six volumes of Katsuhiro’s manga rather than the 1988 anime. Rumours say the movie will be set in “New Manhattan”, which makes you wonder how Akira fans are going to react.... Scheduled release: 2010 or 2011.
Gatchaman
Yet another project by Imagi Studios, this 3D animation movie will bring to life the five winged heroes of Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, who were originally the main characters of several anime. The anime, which began in the 1970s, was later adapted into several English versions, the first being the 1972 Battle of the Planets, aka G-Force, and another in 1980 called G-Force: Guardians of Space.
According to the Imagi Studios website (imagi.com.hk/web/main.php), Gatchaman is set in a world struggling with environmental and techn problems. When Earth is invaded by aliens, only five people with a “remarkable genetic code” can stop the invasion.
Kevin Munroe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ director, will direct.
But Gatchaman may not just be for kiddies. Said producer Tom Gray in an interview with comingsoon.net: “This is one we’re going PG-13, definitely, even maybe pushing R.” Hmm, intriguing. Scheduled release: 2010.
Robotech
Seeing how popular giant robots are after the success of 2007’s Transformers (it grossed RM18mil in Malaysia, making it the top grossing movie in our cinematic history), it isn’t surprising that Hollywood began eyeing other giant robots.
Robotech was one of the earliest attempts at adapting anime for the West. It combined three separate (and unrelated) mecha anime: Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross, and Genesis Climber Mospeada.
The 1980s Robotech series received mixed reactions, with some viewing it as a mega-series that surpassed its originals, and others treating it as an abomination of all three original series. (Since the original three anime had nothing to do with each other, the producers had to alter much of the storyline, character roles, and dialogue.)
That said, it is still seen as one of the anime titles that helped pave the way for anime to grow in the West, and it has a pretty strong fanbase worldwide.
Spider-Man’s Tobey Maguire will be producing (and probably starring in) the movie, with Alfred Gough, and Miles Millar, who co-wrote Spider-Man 2, writing the script (though Lawrence Kasdan wrote the first draft of Spidey).
The film will feature updated mecha and character designs, and is set several years into the future. Scheduled release: 2010.
Ninja Scroll
DiCaprio must love anime, as his production company, Appian Way, will also be turning this 1993 anime into a Hollywood feature film for Warner Bros.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Alex Tse, co-writer of Zach Snyder’s much-anticipated Watchmen, will be writing the script.
When Ninja Scroll made its way to the United States in 1996, it became one of the most popular anime there. The tale of Jubei Kibagami, a ninja-for-hire who must battle superhuman foes, has a lot of gore, violence, and nudity, so the question is, will Hollywood make a tamer version or go full throttle with the adaptation? Scheduled release: 2011.
Cowboy Bebop
What do you think of Keanu Reeves as bounty hunter Spike Siegal? Rumour has it that Reeves is very “keen” on being Spike, and that he is all but confirmed for the role.
Although 20th Century Fox is still keeping the project very much under wraps, Reeves, in an interview with MTV’s Movie Blog, expressed his great admiration for the 1998, 26-episode anime about bounty hunters who bust evil doers in a lawless world set in 2071.
“It’s got a Western quality, a Western film noir aspect to it,” said Reeves. “It’s got so much style to it, and that’s part of its appeal. That kind of Old West, bordertown, low-tech science fiction aspect.” Scheduled release: 2011.
Ghost in the Shell
It was a three-way fight between behemoths Universal, DreamWorks, and Sony to obtain the rights to this legendary anime. In the end, it was Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks that emerged the winner.
The plan is to make Ghost in the Shell into a “3D live action movie”. It would be interesting to see how the cyborgs of this cyberpunk anime and manga will fare in the master’s hands. Spielberg, after all, has been very reliable when it comes to churning out blockbusters.
The story, which is based on Masamune Shirow’s manga, first published in 1989, spawned two anime films, an anime series, and several video games. The protagonist is cyborg Motoko Kusanagi, a member of a covert ops unit of the Japanese National Public Safety Commission, which fights technology-related crime.
“Ghost in the Shell is one of my favorite stories,” Spielberg said in an interview with Variety in April. “It’s a genre that has arrived, and we enthusiastically welcome it to DreamWorks.” Scheduled release: 2011.
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