Ash Ketchum

I'm curious, but what would have made AKIRA "right" for you? And what about Otomo's film made it not "right" for you?

toddly6666

The blu-ray is AWESOME!!!

I really don't know how the imagery from the movie or the original manga can be created as a PG-13 rated movie. As I tell my 4-year old son, there are cartoons made for chidren and there are cartoons made for adults. And he then always refers to AKIRA as the one being for adults. He knows of AKIRA only because of the time I first bought the AKIRA blu-ray and I was just skipping around the blu-ray to see the quality.

There is nothing wrong with the Hughes Bros being the directors as long as it's a good adapted screenplay!

toddly6666

Due to THE LAST AIRBENDER movie, all talks to do a live-action AKIRA movie should be canceled.

Solid Snake

funny how you're previous post seemed you were optimistic and now you're dead against.

toddly6666

I'll definitely see it if they make a live-action film, but I hear it's pretty sacreligious what they did to the Airbender film. I give Hollywood the benefit of doubt that they would probably screw up an Akira live-action film, especially if producers are already pushing filmmakers to make it PG-13...

Solid Snake

Yes, I've yet to see M. Night's film but...I mean...but...M. Night fucked it up cuz I dunno why actually. He's condesing a storied TV series to a film, a story that is pretty big. I don't know the property well but based on the episodes I saw of it. It seemed pretty much an average show. The world is interesting but is never brought down to, what I thought it should based on how popular it was, a thematically strong presence. from what I saw...yeah, it was good..but KIDS good. Not Batman: TAS good, which had strong themes and pretty scary imagery at times...and it was pushing that setting for kids. Avatar has cool looking imagery but I don't see that strong soul in it.

For Akira..it's themes are so fucking strong cuz of the story. Cuz of the imagery. I'm not saying it can't be done as a PG-13. I'm pretty sure it can by someone who can do it. Do I want it? Only if it's good. If they're doing Akira...I'm thinking they're going just solely based on the well known animated film. Not saying they won't get something from the comics. But...that condensed story as an adapted element.

RocShemp

At least they're not trying to condense this into one movie. As enjoyable as the animated movie was, it fell appart during the final stretch. They just tried to cram in way too much. And even with all they excluded, it felt bloated.

brayzie

First off, the original manga was a much more epic story, and whole parts were ignored to fit the traditional film length.

Maybe now they can make it a trilogy or something and include all the original story sub-plots.
Plus, it seems as if Japanese anime can never be faithful to the source material. I hardly recognized the Major in Ghost in the Shell.

RichC2

I think that was a mix of runtime and budget restraints mixed with how to conclude individual subplots considering the manga wasn't finished when the movie was completed. The movie was actually completed 2 years before the completion of the manga.

Also, there's no way a live-action, US made movie would be more accurate, unless they went and hired the writer of the first couple Harry Potter movies and hired on David Cronenberg to direct.

devilshalo

Keanu Reeves Circling Warner Bros.' Akira (Exclusive)
Albert Hughes is set to direct the English-language, live-action take on the landmark anime and manga property.
1:23 PM 5/6/2011 by Borys Kit


Akira, the English-language, live-action take on the landmark anime and manga property, is zeroing in on its star, and it just might be Keanu Reeves.

Warner Bros. has been having a tough time finding the two leads of the movie, to be directed by Albert Hughes. In the script, the action moves from Neon-Tokyo to New Manhattan, where a biker gang leader tries to save his best friend from a medical experiment that threatens to unleash destructive powers.

Actors ranging from James Franco and Joseph Gordon-Levitt to Robert Pattinson and Michael Fassbender have circled the project in some form or fashion as the studio sought to find an A-list lead.

Now comes word that Reeves has held talks with the studio, with whom he already made the massively successful Matrix movies, for the part of Kaneda, the gang leader. Reeves doesn't yet have an offer for the role, but we hear the talks with his reps have been going well.

Reeves anchoring the project could serve as a strong lure for another A-lister to take the role of Tetsuo, the best friend.

Andrew Lazar is producing with Appian Way's Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran.

Reeves, repped by CAA and 3 Arts Entertainment, is currently shooting the samauri action pic 47 Ronin for Universal.
---------------------------
BLECH!

BuddyRevell

Ash Ketchum

Blech! indeed. Kaneda was in high school. Reeves is 46!

However, I could see Fassbender in the role of one of those authority figures with the moustache and big forehead.

RocShemp

With the other actors in the running being James Franco, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Robert Pattinson, and Michael Fassbender, they're clearly not looking to have a highschooler as the lead. I guess they want a futuristic Sons Of Anarchy.

devilshalo

Albert Hughes ankles 'Akira'
Director departs live-action remake
By Dave McNary

Albert Hughes has ankled from the director's chair for Warner Bros.' "Akira," the studio's live-action remake of the Japanese anime hit.

Hughes had been attached to "Akira" for more than a year in the wake of co-directing "Book of Eli" with brother Allen Hughes. A WME rep said Thursday that Albert Hughes had departed from project.

Studio recruited Steve Kloves, best known for adapting seven of the eight "Harry Potter" films for Warner Bros., to polish the "Akira" script in February. Warner acquired the "Akira" rights three years ago from publisher Kodansha and set it up with Andrew Lazar's Mad Chance with Appian Way's Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran. Hughes and his brother, Allen Hughes. will also produce.

"Akira" is set in a metropolis that was rebuilt after being destroyed decades earlier by Akira, a child with immense psychic powers. Otomo wrote and directed the popular 1988 Japanese anime film of the same name, and he'll exec produce WB's "Akira."

Earlier versions of the "Akira" script were penned by Albert Torres, with earlier drafts by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby and Gary Whitta.
---------------------------

All this Keanu talk would make me leave the project, too.

devilshalo

Warner Bros. taps 'Unknown' director for 'Akira'
Live-action tentpole moves forward with Jaume Collett-Serra
By Jeff Sneider

EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros. is turning to a familiar face to get its long-gestating "Akira" remake off the ground, as Spanish helmer Jaume Collet-Serra ("Orphan," "Unknown") is set to direct the live-action version of the anime cult classic.

WB acquired the project for a seven-figure sum from Japanese manga publisher Kodansha in 2008. Ruairi Robinson and Albert Hughes were previously attached to direct the adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo's graphic novel, with Hughes exiting the project amicably in May as a result of creative differences.

Gary Whitta was the first writer attached, while Albert Torres and the team of Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby also contributed drafts. Steve Kloves wrote the latest draft, having been WB's go-to scribe for its lucrative "Harry Potter" franchise.

Set in New Manhattan, story follows the leader of a biker gang who saves his friend from a medical experiment.

Insiders tell Variety that the pic is being reenvisioned as a $90 million tentpole.

Appian Way's Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran are producing with Mad Chance's Andrew Lazar. Otomo, who wrote and directed the popular 1988 Japanese anime pic of the same name, will exec produce "Akira."

Collet-Serra has a reputation for delivering successful films on time and on budget, and his track record at the box office has been improving with each pic. His feature directorial debut "House of Wax" took in $68 million worldwide in 2005, while 2009's surprise hit "Orphan" grossed more than $76 million worldwide. Earlier this year, Liam Neeson-starrer "Unknown" opened in the top spot and has grossed over $130 million worldwide on a reported production budget of only $30 million.

Helmer recently directed ABC's pilot "The River," and he's also attached to direct WB's vampire pic "Harker," another Appian Way production.

Troy Stiffler

I just hope that we get something creatively strong and risky. Akira is a pretty big deal to me and I don't want to see it turned into some cookie cutter live action picture.

Solid Snake

....

Creatively strong and risky is what one would hope cuz well..that makes it exciting. But what Akira means to someone besides those that have some kind of input in it..isn't a big deal in the big picture. I want a good movie. Good luck to the filmmakers in doing it. Keep me updated internet.

devilshalo

Just because he rode a lightcycle in Tron does not make him the lead. Not a step in any direction from the original Keanu casting.

Ash Ketchum

What's with "New Manhattan"? Manhattan Giuliani/Bloomberg-style vs. Manhattan in the Lindsay/Beame/Koch/Dinkins era? Or are we talking a remake of ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK?

This has "misfire" written all over it. I'm predicting this goes the way of SPEED RACER, DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION, and STREET FIGHTER: THE LEGEND OF CHUN-LI.

RocShemp

Of those three movie you listed, Ash Ketchum, Speed Racer was genuinely good.

Ash Ketchum

I don't know about "genuinely." But then, as a fan of the original anime, I would argue that the "live-action" version was "genuinely" bad. The truth is probably somewhere in between.

Dan

Not to derail the thread too much, but is the original manga still readily available for a decent price? I'd love to catch up on it before this film hits theatres.

Solid Snake

depends on what you think is a good price

Ash Ketchum

Those prices are okay, but they need to be cheaper for me to spring for 'em. I believe $24.99 is the list price for each volume, which is what they're charging at local comic book stores in Manhattan. Granted, they're big volumes, compared to most manga, but still...$25 a volume?! I'd buy the whole series if each volume was $12 or so.

devilshalo

'Akira' Production Offices Shut Down As Warner Bros. Scrutinizes Budget (Exclusive)
UPDATED: The production offices in Vancouver are being closed, with below-the-line talent and crew told to stop working. “Everybody is being sent home,” according to an insider.
11:17 AM PST 1/5/2012 by Borys Kit

The project, which has been through several incarnations, is being shut down in the face of casting, script and budget issues. The production offices in Vancouver are being closed, with below-the-line talent and crew told to stop working. “Everybody is being sent home,” according to an insider.

Producers, who include Appian Way’s Jennifer Kiloran Davisson and Mad Chance’s Andrew Lazar, will hunker down with director Jaume Collet-Serra for the next two weeks to iron out the script. It is unclear if Harry Potter scribe Steve Kloves, who did a pricey rewrite on the project a year ago, will be brought in to help out.

If the issues cannot be resolved, the project could end up being shelved entirely, say insiders.

Collet-Serra already had halved the budget from the incarnation that Albert Hughes was going to direct. He now is working on a budget in the $90 million range. But with only Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy) signed on to star, and Kristen Stewart, Ken Watanabe and Helena Bonham Carter in various stages of dealmaking, the studio feels that the price tag is still too high for a sci-fi project with that level of star wattage. The goal, says an insider, is to bring the budget down to between $60 million and $70 million. However, another source close to the production says the script, rather than the budget, has skidded the production. The project, this person says, will remain in the $90 million range.

An adaptation of the classic Japanese manga, Akira is an Americanized story set in a postapocalyptic New Manhattan, where a motorcycle gang leader (Hedlund) must stop his brother and fellow gang member from abusing his newly acquired telekinetic powers.

Akira already has “died” three times only to rise phoenix-like from the ashes. Ruairi Robinson and Hughes were previously deep into the project as directors before dropping off. Collet-Serra got the project green-lighted and has come the closest to going before cameras.

This isn't the only Warner Bros. project whose budget is being scrutinized. Arthur and Lancelot, the period fantasy being directed by David Dobkin, also has come under increased budget pressure.

Sources close to the project say Akira isn't dead yet. “It’s a very resilient movie,” says one insider. “Warner Bros. just won’t let it die.”

Warner Bros. declined comment.