Akira — live action (???)
#1
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Akira — live action (???)
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The anime classic "Akira" is getting the live-action big screen treatment courtesy of Leonardo DiCaprio and a first-time feature filmmaker.
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"Akira" originated in 1988 as a manga and then as an animated film co-written and directed by Katsuhiro Otomo. The story was set in a neon-lit postapocalyptic "New Tokyo" in 2019 where a teen biker gang member is subjected to a government experiment that unleashes his latent powers. The gang's leader must find a way to stop the ensuing swathe of destruction.
With its mature themes and cutting-edge animation, "Akira" was a milestone movie in anime and mainstream animation circles, leading the way for anime to make inroads into Western pop culture in the 1990s.
The new story, which DiCaprio will produce for Warner Bros., ideally would be a two-part epic, with the first movie coming out next summer. The action will move to "New Manhattan," a city rebuilt by Japanese money.
It will mark the feature directorial debut of commercials veteran Ruairi Robinson, who sold the studio on his vision. The Irish native, who was nominated for a best animated short Oscar in 2001 for the sci-fi comedy "Fifty Percent Grey," also wrote and directed a sci-fi short titled "The Silent City."
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"Akira" originated in 1988 as a manga and then as an animated film co-written and directed by Katsuhiro Otomo. The story was set in a neon-lit postapocalyptic "New Tokyo" in 2019 where a teen biker gang member is subjected to a government experiment that unleashes his latent powers. The gang's leader must find a way to stop the ensuing swathe of destruction.
With its mature themes and cutting-edge animation, "Akira" was a milestone movie in anime and mainstream animation circles, leading the way for anime to make inroads into Western pop culture in the 1990s.
The new story, which DiCaprio will produce for Warner Bros., ideally would be a two-part epic, with the first movie coming out next summer. The action will move to "New Manhattan," a city rebuilt by Japanese money.
It will mark the feature directorial debut of commercials veteran Ruairi Robinson, who sold the studio on his vision. The Irish native, who was nominated for a best animated short Oscar in 2001 for the sci-fi comedy "Fifty Percent Grey," also wrote and directed a sci-fi short titled "The Silent City."
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I'd see it on principle alone. What's really making me itch with anticipation is J. Cameron's live action Alita: Battle Angel (Gunm) ...in 3D I believe.
Ha! I just checked imdb and they want you to pay for info on this production (of which there is probably none). Weirdly I could accept and even like DiCaprio as Kaneda.
Thoughts please on who you think would be good as Tetsuo.
Ha! I just checked imdb and they want you to pay for info on this production (of which there is probably none). Weirdly I could accept and even like DiCaprio as Kaneda.
Thoughts please on who you think would be good as Tetsuo.
#5
Heh, yeah I saw this news over at KFC yesterday. Someone brought up a great point to which I agree ... how are they going to duplicate the ending?
I'd also add Tetsuo's transformation. Will we get a creatively dark and brooding Shinya Tsukamoto version or a glossy Hollywood version where the resulting CGI ends up looking like something similar to the Hulk?
I don't know ... a friggin classic piece of anime being handed over to a unproven director.
Love the original Akira and I'd be very interested to see what "could" be done to a live action version but I see a lot of challenges to overcome.
I'd also add Tetsuo's transformation. Will we get a creatively dark and brooding Shinya Tsukamoto version or a glossy Hollywood version where the resulting CGI ends up looking like something similar to the Hulk?
I don't know ... a friggin classic piece of anime being handed over to a unproven director.
Love the original Akira and I'd be very interested to see what "could" be done to a live action version but I see a lot of challenges to overcome.
#6
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Being a huge fan of the original Manga (or at least the flipped and colorized Epic version of same) I'm not sure how I feel about this. Otomo's work and character design is instantly recognizable (I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw the little icon for the HD review of Freedom yesterday and knew instantly from the cover that it was an Otomo creation) and divorcing the story from that look will be difficult.
The original movie wasn't great, but it was pretty good considering the story wasn't even completed at the time. I'd be interested in a live action version, but I don't like the Americanization of it. The Japanese can make great live action movies too, so why not let them do it.
Tetsuo and Kaneda becoming Thomas and Ken is going to suck.
The original movie wasn't great, but it was pretty good considering the story wasn't even completed at the time. I'd be interested in a live action version, but I don't like the Americanization of it. The Japanese can make great live action movies too, so why not let them do it.
Tetsuo and Kaneda becoming Thomas and Ken is going to suck.
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Originally Posted by visitor Q
Heh, yeah I saw this news over at KFC yesterday. Someone brought up a great point to which I agree ... how are they going to duplicate the ending?
I've really gotten over re-makes just recently as I've recognized that, regardless of their quality, they only reinforce my love of the source material. Besides, the anime was only a remake of the first half of the manga with ending tacked on.
#9
DVD Talk Hero
If anyone cares, here is a 6 minute short from Ruairi Robinson. I view shorts as 'utilities'. Nobody likes to make them. Not a lot of people like to watch them (myself included). But I didn't feel like I wasted 6 minutes of my life watching it (or posting this message about it).
<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_MfNyfwwfV4&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_MfNyfwwfV4&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>
<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_MfNyfwwfV4&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_MfNyfwwfV4&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>
#10
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I think my big thing is it wasn't a named mediocre director like Paul WS Anderson or Uwe Boll. Plus DiCaprio's involvement is just kind of odd and for one reason or another, makes me interested in the entire thing.
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re: Akira — live action (D: Waititi)
From New York Magazine, the Hughes brothers may be helming the Akira remake:
Vulture has learned that Warner Bros. is negotiating to reteam with The Book of Eli's Hughes brothers to have them direct a live-action remake of the cult favorite Akira, from a script by Iron Man scribes Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby. (Akira is being produced by Leonardo DiCaprio's company, Appian Way, along with Andrew Lazar, who’s also currently producing an adaptation of DC Comics’ Jonah Hex for Warners.)
Even if you had read all of Katsuhiro Otomo’s epic 1982 manga and/or seen his own 1988 anime adaptation, summarizing the plot to Akira would still prove a bit of a challenge. As near as we can figure, Akira is about the leader of a biker gang who tries to save his kidnapped pal from a powerful supernatural experiment. (It might also be a psycho-philosophical exploration of corruption, the will to power, and the maturation of man and mankind, but we were actually pretty high when we first saw it in college, so please don’t hold us to that.)
Respecting the source's complexity (or perhaps acquiescing to it), Warners won’t proceed with a single, live-action remake of the film, which trimmed away the last half of the 2,182-page graphic novel in order to weigh in at just over two hours. Instead, we hear that the studio is planning to make Akira in two parts, with the first three volumes of the six-volume manga making up the first film, due out next year.
An official release from the studio is expected later this week.
Even if you had read all of Katsuhiro Otomo’s epic 1982 manga and/or seen his own 1988 anime adaptation, summarizing the plot to Akira would still prove a bit of a challenge. As near as we can figure, Akira is about the leader of a biker gang who tries to save his kidnapped pal from a powerful supernatural experiment. (It might also be a psycho-philosophical exploration of corruption, the will to power, and the maturation of man and mankind, but we were actually pretty high when we first saw it in college, so please don’t hold us to that.)
Respecting the source's complexity (or perhaps acquiescing to it), Warners won’t proceed with a single, live-action remake of the film, which trimmed away the last half of the 2,182-page graphic novel in order to weigh in at just over two hours. Instead, we hear that the studio is planning to make Akira in two parts, with the first three volumes of the six-volume manga making up the first film, due out next year.
An official release from the studio is expected later this week.
#13
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re: Akira — live action (D: Waititi)
From New York Magazine, the Hughes brothers may be helming the Akira remake:
#14
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re: Akira — live action (D: Waititi)
As long as it is faithful to the Manga, I will see this. Neo Tokyo over Neo Manhattan though. Keep the name Kaneda too.
#15
re: Akira — live action (D: Waititi)
I've seen AKIRA many times, including three times on the big screen. It's a great movie and gets better each time. I think it was about the fifth time I saw it when I finally "got" it, i.e. understood what the Akira project was, why everyone reacted to it the way they did and why it had the effects it did. I can't think of any other anime, let alone live-action film from Japan, that showed such a vivid portrayal of social unrest in Japan. Plus, it's great sci-fi. And a great action movie, to boot.
Why remake it? There's no point.
No American remake of a Japanese animated film has ever worked for me.
Why remake it? There's no point.
No American remake of a Japanese animated film has ever worked for me.
#17
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re: Akira — live action (D: Waititi)
Apparently they want to make this a two parter and have it be PG-13.
http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/new...ess-sequel.php
The main reason I was looking forward to a live action rendition was for the creative violence and gore that could go with it (bodies exploding, etc; ) ... there goes that.
http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/new...ess-sequel.php
Albert Hughes talked about this on The Kevin and Josh Movie Show on 106.7 HD2 (CBS RADIO – Washington D.C.) quite recently and discussed the idea behind a PG-13 Akira. “The first thing they said to me was it had to be PG-13,” Hughes said and then followed up with labeling it as either being “a challenge” or a “hind-ridge.” The best thing Hughes said he could do was make it feel like The Dark Knight. That’s something every filmmaker name drops nowadays and there’s some truth there that it did push the PG-13 pretty hard, but you could easily also argue it was a bit held back by being PG-13. That’s a whole different topic altogether, but again, it’s a comparison nearly every director makes now.
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re: Akira — live action (D: Waititi)
^ Not too surprised about the studio requirement for a PG-13 rating. With the money that will be sunk into this project, it makes financial sense to get the widest possible audience. Creative sense is a whole other topic. Maybe some studio heads automatically think that since it is a live-action version of a "cartoon" it should have this rating.
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re: Akira — live action (D: Waititi)
Wha? oh sorry...it was just me reflecting outward. I know it's R...I was thinking about it's possibility as a live action film w/ an R rating. PG-13 really tones down the power of it's themes and it's visual grandeur exploring those themes as a physical presence.
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re: Akira — live action (D: Waititi)
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Forgot how cool that damn movie was.
Forgot how cool that damn movie was.