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4 Mar
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Posted by Musashi
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James Cameron still plans to film an adaptation of Charles Pellegrino’s not-quite published Hiroshima tome Last Train from Hiroshima despite allegations that Pellegrino manufactured several of the accounts contained in the narrative. Of course, this brings to mind the wholesale fabrication of James Frey’s ‘memoir’ A Million Little Pieces (and the subsequent duping of Oprah by Margaret B. Jones, with her similarly made-up Love and Consequences).
I’m tempted to get very meta about this whole thing and wonder if a film adaptation by James Cameron – who mostly makes science-fiction movies for a living – even needs to live up to the kind of standard of veracity a historical account does. Almost every film based on historical fact I’ve ever seen has at the very least manipulated facts to fit the story the filmmaker was trying to present. Ridley Scott’s Blackhawk Down is a particularly good example. After reading Mark Bowden’s excellent account, I was stunned to see the liberties that Scott took with the storyline. Various people are combined into composite characters, entire events are time-shifted, moved, or removed entirely, and though Bowden went to great lengths to interview Somalian fighters, Scott disposes of this viewpoint entirely. Even so, Blackhawk Down (the movie) captures the essence of the event. One could argue that the film’s viewpoint presents a particular kind of tunnel-vision with regards to what happened in Mogadishu on that day, but it’s an effective piece of work.
I think Cameron’s proposed film could be viewed in a similar fashion. Consider his own Titanic. The mechanics of the ship’s demise, as Cameron, portrays them, are immaculate. Cameron went to great lengths to ensure that every popped rivet was accounted for and that his vision of the ship’s sinking would be as historically accurate as possible. And yet large portions of the film are dedicated to characters who never lived. It’s both the most and least accurate depiction of the Titanic sinking ever created.
Who knows – maybe we’ll get to see Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet fucking in the hold in of the Enola Gay as the bomb goes off in glorious high-definition 3D. I’d pay fifteen dollars for that…
| Category: News | Tag: adaptations, books, hiroshima, james cameron, japan, last train from hiroshima, making shit up |
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11 Feb
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Posted by Musashi
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Aint-It-Cool-News reports that directing duo the Hughes Brothers have signed on to bring Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira to the silver screen. I can’t say I’m a fan – From Hell was an abomination, but only because they jettisoned all the cool mystical stuff that made the original comic so amazing. In all fairness, I can’t see a major studio letting anyone keep all of Moore’s ramblings intact, so maybe that’s not entirely the Hughes Brothers fault.
Also – The Book of Eli was a well-regarded post-apocalypse film (still haven’t seen it, so I can’t personally vouch for it). I guess that gives them one qualification. Still – many questions remain. Will the live-action version take place in NYC? Probably. Ixnay on the apanesejay eoplepay? Probably. Those are my two biggest reservations about this film right there. Perhaps I’m being a purist, but the original anime and manga are so well-etched in my mind I have a hard time separating the story from its’ background.
Good luck, Hughes Brothers – you’ve got a monster task on your hands…
| Category: Anime, Film | Tag: adaptations, akira, Anime, film, hughes brothers, katsuhiro otomo, manga |
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31 Jul
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Posted by Musashi
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The live action Death Note film L, change the WorLd, is now on DVD – and VIZ are celebrating by hosting a special event at the VIZ Cinema in San Francisco.
VIZ PICTURES RELEASES LIVE-ACTION DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd
Riveting Unwritten Concluding Chapter Of Edgy DEATH NOTE Psychological Crime Drama Available on DVD
San Francisco, CA, July 31, 2009 – VIZ Pictures, an affiliate of VIZ Media, LLC that focuses on Japanese live-action film distribution, has announced the DVD release of DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd live-action film. The DVD will be distributed by VIZ Media, available on August 18th and will carry a MSRP of $24.92 US/$35.99 Canada.
To celebrate this release, VIZ Pictures will have a special event at their brand-new VIZ Cinema in San Francisco. Enjoy the L movie screening and an exclusive L gift-box including the newly released DVD, poster and more. Visit www.vizcinema.com for ticket info and more details.
DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd is inspired by the immensely popular DEATH NOTE feature films, which are based on the best-selling supernatural action manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. This spin-off follows a new original storyline. DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd was directed by Hideo Nakata, who also directed the U.S. #1 hit horror movie The Ring 2, which was remade from his own smash hit Japanese horror trilogy, Ringu.
Inspired by the best-selling manga DEATH NOTE, DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd reveals how L spends the last 23 days of his life. For his final case he takes on a bio-terrorist group and must also save the lives of two children who have no one else to turn to.
“DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd stars Kenichi Matsuyama, an up-and-coming Japanese actor who has also appeared in acclaimed films such as DEATH NOTE, LINDA LINDA LINDA, NANA and DETROIT METAL CITY,” says Seiji Horibuchi, president and CEO of VIZ Pictures. “He reprises his role as the ace detective L and audiences will be riveted to their seats as his character once again works to save society from a monstrous new threat.”
The DEATH NOTE manga (rated ‘T+’ for older teens) and animated series (rated ‘T+’ for older teens) have become extremely popular domestically. The 37-episode animated series is seen by millions each week on cable broadcast and the series is also distributed on DVD by VIZ Media. On the print side, the DEATH NOTE manga series and DEATH NOTE 13: HOW TO READ, a companion volume to the successful manga series, is published domestically by VIZ Media and has been ranked in USA Today’s Top 150 list of America’s best-selling books.
For more information on the DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd live action films and other VIZ Pictures films, please visit www.viz-pictures.com or www.deathnotefilms.com. For more information on the DEATH NOTE manga and animation, please visit deathnote.viz.com.
About VIZ Pictures, Inc.:
Based in San Francisco, California, VIZ Pictures, Inc. licenses and distributes selective Japanese live-action films and DVDs, with focus on Japanese “kawaii (cute) and cool” pop culture. VIZ Pictures strives to offer the most entertaining motion pictures straight from the “Kingdom of Pop” for audiences of all ages, especially the manga and anime generation, in North America. Some titles include DEATH NOTE, 20TH CENTURY BOYS, and TRAIN MAN: DENSHA OTOKO. VIZ Pictures is also the producer of NEW PEOPLE, a part of the J-Pop Center Project, a unique entertainment destination bringing Japanese pop culture through film, art, fashion, and retail products. For more information please visit www.viz-pictures.com or www.newpeopleworld.com Phone: (415) 345-1975 © 2009 VIZ Pictures, Inc.
If you’re in the Bay area and want to check out the DVD release screening, head to www.vizcinema.com
| Category: News | Tag: adaptations, death note, dvd, japan, l: change the world, manga, press release, viz |
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28 Jul
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Posted by Musashi
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Anime News Network reports that Ghost in the Shell director Mamoru Oshii will not be helming one of the shorts directly, but instead will act as ‘Creative Director’ – uhm, which is fine since that’s what he did for Jin-Roh…and that was farking amazing.
Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell) is the creative director of Production I.G’s two episodes in the project, but he will not personally direct either short. Production I.G is one of five Japanese studios that is animating the seven shorts in the project, which is inspired by Microsoft’s Halo game franchise.
I wonder who the other four studios are…
Never mind – checking out Kotaku’s earlier post about recently-released Halo Legends posters, most of them list the studios working on the shorts, namely: Production I.G., Toei Animation, Bones, and Studio 4c. There is a fifth studio involved, but I don’t see which one.
| Category: Anime, News | Tag: adaptations, animation, Anime, ghost in the shell, halo, mamoru oshii, video games |
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27 Jul
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Posted by Musashi
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Wow, the musical chairs casting call for Green Hornet’s sidekick Kato may finally have ended…! So – who did Seth Rogan choose to fill the departed Stephen Chow’s chauffeur shoes?
Asian news outlets are reporting that Korean actor Kwon Sang-woo is currently in talks to play the Green Hornet’s hyper-competent sidekick, alongside a bumbling Seth Rogen. Kwon is known largely as a heartthrob in Korea, having starred in many a romantic soap opera, but he’s also has a modest bit of on-screen martial arts experience, thanks to roles in the fantastical Volcano High and gangster-themed Once Upon a Time in High School.
You’d be forgiven for not knowing who the hell Kwon Sang-woo is – I’ve never heard of him either (hey, my knowledge of Korean beefcake actors is limted!).
But – here he is, demonstrating his vocal talents courtesy of YouTube…make of it what you will.
| Category: News | Tag: adaptations, film, green hornet, kato, korea, Live-Action, martial arts |
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23 Jul
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Posted by Musashi
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Master Chief Unmasked by Jaekyu
GameSpy says that Microsoft’s flagship videogame franchise Halo will soon be given an anime makeover, headed by Appleseed director Shinji Aramaki. The series of animated shorts will be called Halo Legends. I’m not a huge fan, but this makes me happy.
Microsoft is financing and overseeing production through 343 Industries, its new internal division that’s in charge of everything Halo. It’s planning to preview them on the online gaming service Xbox Live this fall and has then enlisted Warner Bros. — the game companies still need a little help from Hollywood — to release them on DVD, Blu-ray and other digital platforms in early 2010.
Aramaki is directing his own short that tell the history of the Spartans, a warrior class in the game’s fictional universe that main character Master Chief is part of. Though Halo isn’t particularly popular in Japan — most of its 27 million units sold have been in North American and Europe — Aramaki said he’s a player and was immediately interested in the possibility.
“I liked that this would be an anthology of human stories told from different characters’ perspectives,” he explained.
Frank O’Connor, creative director of 343, gave a peek at some of the other Halo Legend shorts. Studio4 C’s project, tentatively called “Origins,” is a two-parter that’s about 30 minutes long in total and tells the entire 100,000 year history of the Halo universe. Another, from Toei, is the only one outside of the official canon and pokes fun at some of the game’s characters.
Within the general anime style, the visual look of the projects differs widely.
“It’s a wildly varied genre, but anime creators do things with weapons and vehicle and technology nobody else does and that marries very well with Halo,” he explained. “It’s amazing to see some of the new stuff they’re introducing and how neatly it maps to the visual aesthetics in the Halo universe.”
| Category: Anime, News | Tag: adaptations, Anime, appleseed, halo, shinji aramaki, video games |
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20 Jul
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Posted by Musashi
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By all rights, I should love Voltron. It’s a giant robot cartoon that debuted when I was in my early teens…surely it must at least have nostalgic value. Hell, I can’t even get my 5-year-old son to watch it. Is it truly crap, or am I on crazy pills?
My loathing for Voltron aside, Hollywood – not content to have ass-raped only one giant robot series from the 80′s – seems to think a big-screen adaptation is worth dumping millions of dollars into.
Atlas Entertainment’s Charles Roven, Richard Suckle and Steve Alexander are ready to form “Voltron.”
The producers behind “Get Smart” and “The International” (and Roven of course also produced “The Dark Knight) have acquired the rights to make a live-action feature based on the robot-lion property, pushing the project forward after several years in development with the Mark Gordon Company.
Roven and his partners acquired rights to the Japanese title from World Events Prods., a St. Louis-based company that has held those rights for more than two decades. “Wanted” producer Jason Netter of Kickstart Entertainment and World Events’ Ted Koplar are joining the Atlas trio in producing.
“Voltron,” a television hit in the 1980’s that has retained a loyal fan following, features a “Transformers”-like conceit, in which a band of five robot-lions combine to form one super lion. A group of five pilots control the lions, which are charged with defending the planet Arus from villain King Zarkon, who dispatches evil creatures called Robobeats to fight the Voltron robots.
Wait – ‘Robobeats’? I thought they were called ‘Robeasts’ – still lame, but not as lame as ‘Robobeats’…which sounds like some horrible hip-hop Transformers spinoff.
| Category: News | Tag: adaptations, Anime, film, japan, robots, transformers, voltron |
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10 Jul
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Posted by Musashi
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Sorry, io9 – Schumacher still has the distinction of having made the worst Batman movie ever. You can’t honestly tell me that the 1993 Filipino production Alyas Batman En Robin is less entertaining than Batman & Robin.
I mean, really…check out the $20 patio furniture Batman offers his guests. That’s straight gangsta.
| Category: Uncategorized | Tag: adaptations, batman, comics, film, Philippines, super heroes |
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9 Jul
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Posted by Musashi
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I dug the animated Blood: The Last Vampire. Great animation, nice action, and Japanese schoolgirls with swords is always a plus. Never read the manga, so I can’t offer an opinion on that account. I did read Mamoru Oshii’s novelization, which was a lot better than it had any right to be.
So how’s the movie? Again, haven’t seen it. But lots of other people have, so let’s have a little faith in the Wisdom of Crowds and see if we can’t form some sort of aggregate opinion, ‘kay?
Stephen Witty of the New Jersey Star Ledger assigns a generous three stars, saying:
But how can you not enjoy a film that has its heroine taking on her school’s mean girls with a razor-sharp samurai sword? Or slaughtering 50 demons at a time? Or a ninja who races toward his prey from underground, his sword sticking up through the leaves like a shark’s fin?
It’s not for everybody. Neither, for that matter, is warm sake, grilled ox tongue or Chinese opera. But for vampire fans who have been finding the whole “Twilight”/”True Blood” bloodsucker-as-Romeo genre a little anemic, well, “Blood: The Last Vampire” is a fast and welcome transfusion of thrills.
Sounds like Stephen and I are on the same wavelength, sot that’s promising. Moving along…
| Category: News | Tag: adaptations, Anime, blood: the last vampire, film, japan, korea, Live-Action, mamoru oshii, manga, Movie |
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9 Jul
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Posted by Musashi
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Oh, HELL yes.
Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir’s pulpy action hero The Destroyer (aka Remo Williams) will reportedly make a long-awaited return to the silver screen – so sayeth Aint It Cool News. The first Destroyer film, 1985′s Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (directed by Goldfinger helmer Guy Hamilton), was savaged by critics and filmgoers alike – undeservedly, in my opinion.
The Destroyer novels feature cop-turned-martial-arts-badass Remo Williams and his Korean mentor Chiun, master of the fictional martial art Sinanju as they take on a horde of nutty supervillains. The new flick will undoubtedly be Fred Ward-less, but I’m enthused to see what will emerge.
“The Dark Knight” producer Charles Roven and “Transporter” producer Steve Chasman are teaming up to produce “The Destroyer,” a franchise vehicle that brings back ’80s action hero Remo Williams. The pair have set up the project at Columbia.
Charley and Vlas Parlapanides, who are penning the action epic “War of Gods” for Relativity, are on board to write the screenplay.
Now…if someone would get off their ass and make a decent Mack Bolan movie, my inner 14-year-old would be eternally grateful.
| Category: News | Tag: adaptations, books, hollywood, korea, martial arts, Movie |
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26 Jun
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Posted by Musashi
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I am really curious to see what emerges from the Stephen Spielberg / Will Smith adapation of Oldboy. Park Chan-Wook’s 2003 film was so remarkable, I have serious doubts that another adaptation can do anything with the source material that Chan-Wook didn’t already achieve. Plus – Spielberg? Smith? Incest? Not a likely combo.
But I’ll stop bitching. Chan -Wook’s film is a fucking masterpiece. Untouchable. But Spielberg’s not exactly a hack, and Smith can act his ass off when handed the right role. So who knows.
Even so – the legality of Spielberg’s film is murky to say the least. Not Watchmen murky – I have no doubts Spielberg will make this film – but one does wonder how much money will change hands, and whose hands it will end up in, before we see Spielberg’s Oldboy on the silver screen.
Futabasha, publisher of the manga by Nobuaki Minegishi and Garon Tsuchiya, has filed a case against Show East in Seoul, alleging the Korean company never had the right to negotiate a remake.
The issue is further complicated by the fact that Show East has shut down and its CEO, Kim Dong-Ju, has disappeared. Big Egg, a co-producer of the ultra-violent revenge flick, has also closed up shop, and its former staffers are unreachable.
“We haven’t been able to confirm that Show East is bankrupt, and at this stage we’re not sure what effect this will have on the legal case,” said a spokesperson from Futabasha in Tokyo, who noted that legal proceedings had begun last week.
| Category: News | Tag: adaptations, film, korea, manga, oldboy, park chan-wook, stephen spielberg, will smith |
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25 Jun
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Posted by Musashi
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I finally got around to checking out the teaser trailer for M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender. Yeah, I know it was posted like Monday or something, which is about three decades ago in internet time – but frankly I’m pretty neutral on the whole thing. So it was mere curiosity that drew me to it. Plus I wanted to see just how awful the film looks.
Honestly? It doesn’t look too bad. I know, I’m supposed to be toeing the line for Asian-Americans who want more of our peeps in the film. I’ve gone on record as to why I refuse to jump on that bandwagon, and won’t reiterate my feelings here (okay, I’ll sum it up: get over it). In truth, I’m actually vaguely sorta kinda maybe looking forward to this. Granted, there’s almost zero actual footage here – just some fancy martial arts magic stuff and a money shot with lots of baddies shooting fireballs – but damn…looks kinda fun.
And while I’m defending the film, here’s a cute Pakistani girl who’s mad at Shayamalan.
You go girl! I’m certain that Shyamalan watches each and every one of these rants, and will take your complaints under advisement.
| Category: News, Uncategorized, Video | Tag: adaptations, animation, avatar the last airbender, film, m. night shyamalan, the last airbender |
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24 Jun
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Posted by Musashi
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AICN Anime reproduced a snippet of information about the in-production Cowboy Bebop flick, which I’m sure many purists wish would go the way of the Akria film. I’m cautiously optimistic, and from what screenwriter Peter Craig has to say I think that optimism is justified.
I met with all of them in Tokyo in December – at a long meeting with Keanu in the room. I thought there was an immediate rapport between all of us, particularly Shinchiro Watanabe and Keanu. I asked questions, presented scenarios, and they were very specific about their vision for the series, and how it might convert to a live-action film. They’ve continued to be in touch since then; and last month I received a very detailed letter, which I’ve consulted regularly. I’m close to finishing an early draft, and I believe they’ll be very happy with it. Not only does the script stay extremely true to the show — I also know that Erwin and Fox are already discussing production designers that can reproduce the “look” of Cowboy Bebop as closely as possible.
I’ll go on record again with my support for Mr. Reeves. He’s not the best actor of our generation, but I think he’s a good choice to play Spike Spiegel. He’s had plenty of kung fu training (thanks Wachowskis!) and has an aloof demeanor that echoes Spike Spiegel pretty well.
As for the rest of the cast, who knows. Anyone want to offer suggestions?
| Category: News | Tag: adaptations, Anime, cowbooy bebop, film, Keanu Reeves |
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26 Feb
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Posted by Musashi
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Chun-Li is dirty...oh so dirty...I need a bath.
Videogame blog Kotaku took a spin with the new Street Fighter movie (not the one with JCVD’s ass, the one with Kristen Kreuk’s ass). I have to admit I’m still having trouble seeing Kristen Kreuk as Chun-Li, but she is teh hotness so it’ll at least be worth checking out on a mildly puerile level.
As for Kotaku’s assesment? I’ll let that speak for itself…
12:33 – ANGRY BABY FACE.
12:35 – Chun-Li does research on Bison at an internet cafe. “Research” is looking at two articles online. Sounds like Chun-Li is ready to write PhD thesis.
12:40 – Something about Bison being an unscrupulous land developer.
12:41 – More Gen and Chun-Li training. He blindfolds her and throws metal balls at her, while muttering some new age mumbo jumbo about harnessing energy. Her face almost hits a buzz saw.
12:43 – Chun-Li in blue moomoo with bun hairdo.
12;45 – Lesbian dance scene between Chun-Li and some evil lady in heels. M’kay.
Don’t remember that in any of the games.
Yeah…I’ll have to put this in my Netflix queue…
| Category: Cool Links, Uncategorized | Tag: adaptations, film, kristen kreuk, street fighter, video games |
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23 Jan
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Posted by Musashi
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As you might have heard, Nickolodeon’s popular cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender is being converted for the silver screen – and as in true Hollywood fashion, all of the main characters have been re-cast as white-folk. Equally predictably, Asians and other concerned individuals across the internet are screaming mad, demanding satisfaction from director M. Night Shyamalan. Angry Asian Man even reports that a protest is being organized around the Philly open casting call for extras.
Being an Asian-American myself, I can understand the ire and dissatisfaction – but for some reason I can’t bring myself to be legitimately upset…at least not upset enough to demand action from the studio or director.
At the risk of being labeled the Asian equivalent of an Uncle Tom, here are a few reasons why:
1.) Dude – it’s Avatar: The Last Airbender
Seriously. With all the issues facing Asian Americans right now, this is where we want to direct our energies? I doubt it. Some will claim we can’t give them an inch – but really, I don’t think this is where we want to make our stand.
2.) Dude – it’s M. Night Shyamalan
‘Director’ M. Night Shyamalan hasn’t made a movie worth watching since Unbreakable, nearly ten years ago. The Lady in the Water was an unmitigated financial disaster which lost Warner Brothers nearly $70 million. The Happening fared better at the box office, but was itself a critical mess. Shyamalan is a fucking hack who needs a commercial success, and I’m sure he thinks he can get it with a proven property like Airbender. Given that critera, an all-white cast was assured. The real question is if he can find some way to fuck up Airbender – which I’m inclined to believe he can.
3.) What do the protesters hope to achieve?
The film’s headliners are cast. Done. To un-cast any of them, particularly at the beck and call of an ethnically-motivated protest, would probably cause more problems than it would solve. To the public at large, it would look as if some poor white kid lost a role in a prominent Hollywood film because a bunch of uppity yellow folk got their panties in a bunch. But – maybe Shyamalan will be nice. Maybe he’ll throw us a bone by casting an Asian as one of the supporting cast – or better yet…the villain! So a bunch of white teenagers beat the shit out of a mischevious Asian. Yeah, that’ll be great.
4.) The director isn’t even white
I could have folded this in with #2, above, but Shyamalan’s ethnicity and his suckitude are two separate issues in my book. While Shyamalan’s ethnicity doesn’t preclude him from discrimiating against Asians, I don’t think he has any particular motivation to do so either – except commercially. I will concede that commerical motivations can be just as racist as outright discrimination, but I think this is just Shyamalan and the studio looking at the bottom line. I don’t like it, but I can understand it.
5.) Does Hollywood need more Asians beating the shit out of each other – really?
As far as I’m concerned I’m totally fine with Asians not being cast in yet another martial arts film. Here’s an idea – the next time Hollywood commissions a promising drama or comedy, let’s lobby for them to cast an Asian. Let’s really push Hollywood towards color-blind casting. Let’s see Asians as leads in romantic comedies, or family dramas – roles that treat them as people and not Asians. Complaining because Asians aren’t being cast in yet another Hollywood, off-the-shelf kung-fu flick is about as useful as complaining that Hollywood won’t cast black people in blaxploitation films any more. Bitching about Airbender won’t help our people out of the casting ghetto. It only makes it worse.
| Category: News | Tag: adaptations, avatar the last airbender, film, protest, racism, rant |
