Dragon Tattoo

Um, what the ever-loving fuck?

clckworang

I would actually be kind of excited about this if it were HBO or Showtime, but I don't see how the CW or any of the major networks could do the source material justice. It needs to be on cable.

OldBoy

DRG

And the majority of viewers will assume it's a Hunger Games ripoff.

resinrats

I saw Battle Royal a few weeks ago. Hunger Games is a better movie with that concept. Just seemed way too little info was given in Battle Royal why the battle was happening. The back of the DVD case gave a much more detailed reason then the movie did. A movie is just a fail if it takes reading the case to know why the plot happens.

Josh-da-man

An HBO adaption of the Battle Royale manga series would be fucking awesome.

Evan Meadow

Oh Hell Yes.

But trying to imagine HBO trying to tell the full Go Go Yibari character's storyline considering what she does in that manga, I don't know if they'd be able to pull all of it off.

The Bus

I actually think Hunger Games would've worked better as a series.

Gunde

The CW might be inquiring about the rights but it was confirmed during the TCA that there's nothing in development and nothing planned. It's just a rumour.

mrhan

Yeah, there's enough background material on each character to really tell the full story.

mrhan

What more info where you looking for? I thought the explanation in the movie was pretty clear.

RichC2

I thought it was pretty straight forward, and sort of besides the point to begin with. The youth are out of control, government takes them to an island and forces them to kill each other off, it's supposed to keep everyone in line but the oversight is the "kids" don't pay attention to begin with so they don't even known it exists. All explained in the first 15 minutes.

In the end, it was just a giant metaphor for Japan's crazy demands for higher education, they used to have an insane suicide rate from students unable to get into the university system. This just visualized that and was a fun reason to make a crazy violent flick. It's something that doesn't really apply in the US (we tend to, as a whole, take our education for granted, and not going to a good university doesn't mean nearly as much)

This would work great as a mini-series, but I agree if they were going to do a CW TV Series, Hunger Games would be the way to go. Give it a decade, I bet it'll get released as such.

Evan Meadow

If you read the manga, and its probably also in the original novel, the kids were actually aware of the contest.

In Japan its televised for the population to watch and keep them under control. And if any kids disobey, their parents or other adults will pay the price.

PhantomStranger

Another great idea to be ruined by the CW in long-form television.

Groucho

mrhan

Yeah, I read the original translation back in 2003 and the manga series later on but what does that have to do with the guy mentioning there isn't enough info in the movie? The movie itself starts off with a televised interview with the last winner of the game. So I am sure the general population knew what was going on and Kitano even mentioned that the kids parents knew what was happening to them in the movie.

Drexl

I think a BR show would be best done as a sort of annual series, like Survivor, where each season has a new group of kids. The game probably would play out over a short length of time like a few weeks (or even days) anyway.

Dragon Tattoo

Best to just do it for real, in that case.

Navinabob

A better comparison is matching one book to the other. Hunger games has thicker pages with big lettering and wide margins and still only 1/3 the size of Battle Royal. If you are judging source material, there is no comparison. Judging just the films? I might give it to Hunger Games too; but a lot of that likely goes toward the higher production values and special effects of the newer movie.

If Hunger Games was made for 4.5 million would it have come off as well?

Josh-da-man

The Battle Royale manga is the best version, hands-down. I seem to recall that it goes into more detail with the characters than either the novel or the movie.

And it's completely batshit crazy and over-the-top.

mrhan

I now think this is the stupidest idea ever. Who wants to watch a watered down version on CW? It's total bullshit. The whole thing should just be done in Japan as an anime using the manga as it's basis and be done with it. I'd gladly wait for the BD if that ever happens.

DJariya

Exactly, tons of projects get thrown into development year after year. It doesn't mean The CW will even greenlight this to Pilot let alone hire a writer to write a script.

resinrats

No, I never read the manga. I shouldn't have to. The movie should stand on its own. In the movie, the teacher says 'the bigwigs got together and passed a law'. he mentions the students are misbehaving but doesn't say it is an epidemic across the country. Could have just been his class. The back of the DVD mentions rampant unemployment. While true the main star's dad was unemployed, it never said tons of others were also unemployed. This info should have been in some text at the beginning of the movie or a voiceover while the opening title plays.

Besides, the law makes no sense. A random class is choosen and sent to the Battle Royal. How would this stop kids from misbehaving? There are so many classes in Japan, the chances your class being choosen is VERY slim. With it being random, a class could be choosen with the most behaved students while the class full of delinquints isn't choosen. A better idea is to kidnap the most unruly kids and make them fight, not a class with mostly good kids and a few bad ones.

Larry C.