Akira (2021)

[Wes R]

Zac Efron Offered a Lead Role in Warner Bros' Live-Action 'Akira' « FirstShowing.net

Here is a novel idea. An American studio finance the movie with Japanese cast in Japan and pay for ILM or whoever to do the effects.

 

[Nwerke]

Before the torrent of outrage gets going can I point out there's an update on the link saying the rumour has been denied.

100% agree with your novel idea, though. That would kick all kinds of ass. Why does Hollywood think we have an insatiable appetite for bastardised material? (rhetorical question, no need to answer that.)

 

[Wes R]

lol. Especially as good as the Japanese made live action Yamamoto movie looks. I've seen so many good anime turned into bad movies (Crying Freemen, Fist of the north star). Now they want to do a live action Robotech that'll end up like Glee in space.

 

[GotWookiee]

Read the article. It's been updated. Apparently Zac Efron isn't involved at all. Apparently it's going to be directed by the Hughes Brothers. I liked From Hell and Dead Presidents, and I've heard mixed reviews about the Book of Eli although I still haven't seen it.

At least it hasn't been given to the likes of McG or Roland Emmerich or any of the bone heads involved with AvP 1&2. The Hughes Brothers at least understand story and character and not into the whole CGI wankfest that everyone else seems to go for.

Still, it's hard to imagine Akira working in live action.

 

[Colin Droidmilk]

OK, time for the outrage. I'll start.

Why, those dirty, stinking, lousy,*$%^&@#$%^&^%$#s!!!! Live action is bad enough but don't you dare pollute Akira with Western fizzogs. Get Japanese actors or LEAVE IT ALONE!!!

 

[The Manlet]

Zac Efron Offered a Lead Role in Warner Bros' Live-Action 'Akira' « FirstShowing.net

Here is a novel idea. An American studio finance the movie with Japanese cast in Japan and pay for ILM or whoever to do the effects.

Had me scared for a moment. The westernization of shows and movies from overseas always comes off so poorly. Personally I'm sick of samurai movies where a westerner becomes the hero. I saw a trailer just the other day for Ninja's and cowboys.... :confused Now there is another one with Cowboys and Aliens.... How long before POTC start fighting ninjas and or cowboys.:unsure

 

[Sigma-LS]

TETSUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Couldn't resist.

 

[rollerboi]

Man, Akira is so intrinsically tied into the national Japanese memory of the atomic bombs that I think it would be a grievous mistake to do this film from any other perspective. Especially when you consider who dropped the bomb.

 

[Wes R]

I agree with you rollerboi. If we want to finance it that's one thing but to make an american version would be bad. Next they'll want to make an american version of ghost in the shell (which is funny since in GIS the US is the American Empire).

 

[BR12819]

I agree 100% with using a japanese cast. On the other hand we'll have kaneda's full sized power bike to tear apart piece by piece and remake... oh wait, it'll probably be a cg model. never mind

 

[Riceball]

lol. Especially as good as the Japanese made live action Yamamoto movie looks. I've seen so many good anime turned into bad movies (Crying Freemen, Fist of the north star). Now they want to do a live action Robotech that'll end up like Glee in space.

You mean the Yamato movie, Yamamoto was a Japanese admiral during WW II, Yamato is the name of the WW II battleship used as the spaceship Yamato. At any rate, agreed that the movie looks pretty cool, hopefully it will get a US release; if not then I guess I'll just have to eventually look for the bootleg DVD release. Fortunately, I live around a lot of Asian businesses so finding it shouldn't prove to be too difficult.

As for Akira, I'm not too optimistic about it, from the little that I've read about it it sounds like they're going more for the name than trying to faithfully adapt the manga. The fact that they've changed the setting from Neo Tokyo to the US and an obviously all white/American cast doesn't inspire much confidence that the studio will do it right.

 

[JD]

This is the USA... stereotypes and all. I personally don't see anything wrong with "dumbing down" certain properties to make it a little more acceptable to the mainstream. You still have the original properties, no one is taking that away from you.

Yeah, it would probably be fantastic to have a movie or other medium that catered to our own personal tastes. That's just going to happen, we are a community of nitpickers that overanalyze every little thing... that doesn't mean you can't look at something else with a bit more of an open mind.

You're complaining about rumors. You're judging something you haven't seen. Sure, you lose 'geek cred' by looking at things a little more openly... but, do you really expect a US movie to have nothing but a Japanese cast? That's just naive.

 

[Riceball]

This is the USA... stereotypes and all. I personally don't see anything wrong with "dumbing down" certain properties to make it a little more acceptable to the mainstream. You still have the original properties, no one is taking that away from you.

Yeah, it would probably be fantastic to have a movie or other medium that catered to our own personal tastes. That's just going to happen, we are a community of nitpickers that overanalyze every little thing... that doesn't mean you can't look at something else with a bit more of an open mind.

You're complaining about rumors. You're judging something you haven't seen. Sure, you lose 'geek cred' by looking at things a little more openly... but, do you really expect a US movie to have nothing but a Japanese cast? That's just naive.

I personally don't see the need to dumb down anything. If a property seems a bit too high brow for a general audience then maybe another property should be looked at to be made into a movie. Some of the rumors around the supposed casting of Zak Effron mentioned that one of the supposed reasons was that the studio wanted to make the film a little more family friendly thus the purported casting of Zak Effron as Kaneda; this is a prime example of what I'm talking about. Akira is most definitely not meant to be a family film and if the studio really wanted something more family friendly then maybe they should have chosen something that's a little more family friendly to begin with. I'm not saying that this is really what's going to happen with Akira but it wouldn't surprise me at all if that part of the casting rumor was true, it sounds just like the kind of thing that idiot studio execs who like to make movies based on demographic studies, numbers, and bean counters.

 

[Kerr Avon]

Man, Akira is so intrinsically tied into the national Japanese memory of the atomic bombs that I think it would be a grievous mistake to do this film from any other perspective. Especially when you consider who dropped the bomb.

What? It's not like there has been any history of American studios co-opting history or movies to do something like suggesting it was American forces that captured a German sub with the Enigma machine or anything like .. oh .. **** it.

 

[nick daring]

Who wants to bet that they'll make all the characters wear helmets while riding motorcycles.

This cyber punk biker gang says, "Safety First!"



Nick

 

[Wes R]

You mean the Yamato movie, Yamamoto was a Japanese admiral during WW II, Yamato is the name of the WW II battleship used as the spaceship Yamato. At any rate, agreed that the movie looks pretty cool, hopefully it will get a US release; if not then I guess I'll just have to eventually look for the bootleg DVD release. Fortunately, I live around a lot of Asian businesses so finding it shouldn't prove to be too difficult.

As for Akira, I'm not too optimistic about it, from the little that I've read about it it sounds like they're going more for the name than trying to faithfully adapt the manga. The fact that they've changed the setting from Neo Tokyo to the US and an obviously all white/American cast doesn't inspire much confidence that the studio will do it right.

Sorry about getting the names mixed up, I should have known better since I'm a WW2 history buff x.x It's not even the casting I'm really annoyed by since I already know that there is a 95% chance that its going to be horrid even if they have a great cast thanks to either bad writers or the studio messing with a good script.

 

[Colin Droidmilk]

You still have the original properties, no one is taking that away from you.
.

But the problem caused by these poxy remakes is that we can no longer just call the original property 'Akira'. We gotta add these clumsy distinguishers like 'the original Japanese version of' Akira, every time we want to mention the damn thing. Not only is that a pain in the neck, but adding such a distinguisher is an insult to the film, since it implies that the lousy remake is somehow more definitive, that the name attaches to that more than its progenitor.

 

[Nwerke]

Amen, brother!

How long before we have to say things like "no, I meant the Harrison Ford Bladerunner, not the Shia LaBoeuf Bladerunner"?

 

[rollerboi]

Dear god, Nwerke. You've just ruined my whole day with that thought.

 

[C0mmand3rC0dy]

Dear god, Nwerke. You've just ruined my whole day with that thought.

+1 on that thought, bleh