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DiCaprio, Warner Bros. in for live-action 'Akira'
PostPosted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 8:38 pm
by Roy Mustang
Reported from the hollywoodreporter.com
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i1afdf3970176b31535ab928b875958d1
Anime classic "Akira" is getting the live-action big screen treatment courtesy of Leonardo DiCaprio and Warner Bros.
Ruairi Robinson has been hired to direct what would ideally be a two-part epic. Gary Whitta is writing the adaptation, which DiCaprio will produce via his Appian Way shingle. Andrew Lazar is also producing via his Mad Chance shingle. Jennifer Davisson, who heads up Appian, will also be involved in some producorial capacity.
"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 futuristic post-nuclear war "New Tokyo" in 2019 where a teen biker gang member is subjected to a government experiment which 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 even animation circles, and led the way for anime making inroads into Western pop culture in the 1990s.
"Akira" has long been in development at the company, with producers Jon Peters and Basil Iwanyk involved at various times, as well as directors Stephen Norrington and Pitof. The rights lapsed but Warner managed to re-scoop them again for Robinson, who came to the studio with a vision of a two-part adaptation.
The new story moves the action to "New Manhattan," a city rebuilt by Japanese money.
The studio is eyeing a summer 2009 release for the first movie.
Greg Silverman is overseeing for Warners.
[color="Red"][font="Book Antiqua"]Col. Roy Mustang[/font][/color]
PostPosted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 9:19 pm
by jon_jinn
woah...WOAH!!! now THIS is some pretty crazy news. i'm not sure whether to be excited or horrified about it...nonetheless, it should be interesting to see how this movie turns out.
PostPosted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 10:24 pm
by ShiroiHikari
Well...
At least they're not doing this to something that's actually good. *rimshot*
PostPosted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 10:33 pm
by Raiden no Kishi
Arrgh! No! NO LIVE-ACTION VERSIONS OF ANIME! : : twitch : : Don't they get the differences between the artistic styles that make the translation immensely awkward at best if not impossible? Oi!
[disclaimer]YMMV, of course[/disclaimer]
.rai//
PostPosted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 10:39 pm
by GrubbTheFragger
Oh boy........ I loved Akira, not sure why just did. So please don't ruin it Wb !
PostPosted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 6:29 am
by ChristianKitsune
I personally think this is a GREAT Idea....
I support Live Action Anime movies made by hollywood...and i gotta say, "ITS ABOUT TIME!"
Seriously, aren't you guys TIRED of the played out Hollywood movies that have been done, over and over again?
Frankly, if they can pull these stories off in films, then i think it will be a great new world to explore.
This makes... 3 Anime movies to look forward too?
DB
SpeedRacer
and Now, Akira (although I need to see the anime XD to know whether or not I even WANT to see this movie.
)
PostPosted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 6:37 am
by R. Zion
so instead of animated giant balls of flesh we get lifelike (albeit CG) balls of flesh?
No....THANK YOU.
PostPosted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 7:07 am
by EricTheFred
We need to bear in mind that they are adapting the manga, not the anime. I've never seen the manga, so I don't know how closely the anime followed it. There was enough difference for them to subsequently release an 'ani-manga' derived from the movie.
Has anyone here read the original manga?
PostPosted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 8:08 am
by Gypsy
Wow ... I'm not sure the idea of a live action Akira is sitting well with me. Kinda feeling a little weirded out about it. o.O
PostPosted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 3:27 pm
by rocklobster
So who's Leonardo going to play? If you ask me, they should have Johnny Yong Bosch play Kaneda for real this time instead of just doing the voice.
PostPosted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 3:33 pm
by creed4
I worry what story line they will use, I'd like to see something new, but keep the spirit of the old
PostPosted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 6:46 pm
by jon_jinn
EricTheFred (post: 1201361) wrote:Has anyone here read the original manga?
i've read the manga, and i must say that the anime movie took out a LOT of important parts from the manga. it's good to know that the live-action movie is going to be released in parts so that they don't try to cram 6 volumes worth of manga (around 350+ pages per volume, dare i say) into one single movie. if they pull this off right, the movie could turn out brilliantly. but if they screw up the story, then the movie's gonna be screwed...
PostPosted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 7:13 pm
by Danderson
jon_jinn (post: 1201497) wrote:if they pull this off right, the movie could turn out brilliantly. but if they screw up the story, then the movie's gonna be screwed...
And there lies the risk these filmakers take when making a movie, even if it's not based on someone elses works......Though, I've never seen Akira, it sounds rather interesting and ever since the Matrix films I've always been big on films that have anime like angles, actions, and storys, so, I hope to be in for a treat.....
PostPosted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 2:00 pm
by ilikegir33
Sounds perfect. Akira was a great film. I just wonder how they could pull off the bloody scenes. I mean, the blood literally sprays out.
PostPosted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 2:03 pm
by ChristianKitsune
ilikegir33 (post: 1203463) wrote:Sounds perfect. Akira was a great film. I just wonder how they could pull off the bloody scenes. I mean, the blood literally sprays out.
blood sprinkler system mebbe?
PostPosted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 4:24 pm
by jon_jinn
ilikegir33 (post: 1203463) wrote:Sounds perfect. Akira was a great film. I just wonder how they could pull off the bloody scenes. I mean, the blood literally sprays out.
ha ha. now a days, it isn't hard to pull off a "bloody scene". what i'm thinking about is how the graphics and special effects will utilized. hopefully the movie won't be stuffed so full of crazy graphics and mind blowing special effects, that it fails to succeed, plot-wise.