At some point, Zac Efron became the go-to star for live-action anime remakes in America, didn’t he? First, there was the (honestly quite fitting) talks about him playing Light in a DEATH NOTE movie, then rumors about FULL METAL PANIC! and now…
Brace yourselves…
Indie Wire says he’s in talks to play Keneda (or whatever he’s going to be renamed as) in the latest iteration of the oft-delayed AKIRA remake. This is the couplet of films that the Hughes Bros. - - the duo who just helmed the totally-badass BOOK OF ELI - - want to direct at least half of. They've said it's going to be set in "New Manhatten" and rated PG-13, so I don’t think that the usual drinking game - - which requires sips for every time “TETSUUUOOOOOO!!!” is screamed and every time somebody blows up into a hideous, bloody mess of twitching flesh - - will work anymore
Morgan Freeman's reportedly also in talks to play Colonel Shikishima. The notion immediately draws to mind the "slightly-unhinged high-ranking hardass" he played in DREAMCATCHER and, also, the American liaison from that "stink bomb" episode of MEMORIES, so maybe there's something to it.
AKIRA's signature might as well be exploding heads and that's appropriate, as I know this news is going to make many of you lunatics' skulls burst. The tracks seemed to be getting laid down to make this remake an inevitability, so I suppose the question now is... if you put the fantasy producer's hat on and you had to make this movie, what would you do? If not Efron and Freeman, than who would you cast?
What would you do?!
Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of HYBRID BASTARDS! & UNIMAGINABLE . Order them on Amazon here & here .
This isn't an uncommon practice. Hollywood and rumor mills love taking the hottest current name and trying to attach them to pretty much everything. That doesn't mean they are right for the role. These are the same people who always want to link supermodels to play the role of comic heroines. One example is how some were saying Kim Kardashian for the role of Wonder Woman. That is just blasphemy.
What would I prefer to do? Well, I would stop remaking classics in a morbid attempt to leach off their success. Past that. I wrote an entire blog entry about what I would like to see happen with anime movies. It could also be extended to comic movies. Stop the Live Action Madness!(written before the Cowboy Bebop movie was scrapped)
It could be bad or terrible but Morgan Freeman and the Hughes brothers are enough to make me think this could be decent.
I used to think the same thing, but after watching Me and Orson Welles I have to say the kid is a proper actor. He got completely out classed by the Guy playing Orson Welles but never the less he is still good.
Ture Kim Kardashian as WW would fill out the suit nicely. WW has a hard enough time getting respect as it is and I know if the did do an WW movie or show it would be somebody no has ever heard of. And if Zac efron was ever in an anime adoption I like to see him in something like school rumble, clannad, or even cromartie high.
I think Morgan Freeman would work as his harsh-toned voice feels fitting as the Colonel. I am also in the group of severe non-Efron fandom. I prefer the old rumor of Dicaprio being Kaneda. I don't know of any other possible replacements to look and act like a troubled teen who can kick some ass though as, well, I don't care for movies about angsty teenagers (obvious excpetions however).
When will peoples understand !
ANIME LIVE-ACTION FILMS DON'T FUCKING WORK!!!!!!
*starts sobbing*
I haven't seen that movie, yet.
Zac Efron?
Storyline changed to suit a younger audience?
FUCK NO.
I second that. He has potential to be a fine actor and in that movie he really shows it. And this is coming from a guy that can't stand anything related to High School Musical.
Although, I was also 100% percent against the Evangelion remake movies until I actually saw them, so what do I know.
I won't say they can't work. However, thus far Hollywood has failed at making them work. Either the producers don't pick properties that audiences will recognize, or if they do, then they don't want to spend the money to make it work.
Speed Racer was kind of an exception here. The Watchowskis (sp) got the money to make it work and, in my opinion, did a decent job with the movie. I didn't hate it, and I actually liked it more then the source material. I think the problem is that it wasn't marketed right - all the marketing material I saw was "Movie for the Wachowski's! Action! Thrills! Bring The Teens!" when it was very much meant as a film for kids and parents, and at my local IMAX theater, there were moderately substantial lines for the film, almost entirely made up of kids and parents. However, the marketing stuff I saw was very much "It's like The Matrix!" which it really wasn't. However, I digress.
My point is, Live Action Anime will work if you get any two factors:
1) Anime With Name recognition, possibly outside of hardcore fandom (Akira, Robotech, Star Blazers, Speed Racer, Fist of the North Star)
2) Anime with a concept people outside of hardcore fandom will emphasize with (Gunsmith Cats & Cowboy Bebop - Buddy Action Comedy, heavy on action; Hajime No Ippo/Fighting Spirit - Boxing movie; Fist of the North Star - Post-Apocalyptic Movie/Martial Arts movie, etc.)
3) A good writer, a director with good name recognition (the Hughes Brothers in this case) who is passionate about the project and wants to see the movie succeed, and bankable actors who are also good actors. Also, if it's "genre" (Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror/Combination Thereof) then the effects need to be excellent - the film will need to look fantastic. This will take money.
The average Joe on the street doesn't know what the Gunsmith Cats are, or what Fighting Spirit is, but they know a boxing movie if they see it & they know a buddy action movie when they see it, and they know they liked Rocky and the Lethal Weapon movies (or Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, or whatever). They know they like Ridley Scott or Zack Snyder's movies. They think Robert Downey Jr., or Morgan Freeman, or George Clooney put in good performances.
However, part of this also means that we, as fans, do need to cut films a little slack until they're at least in the test screening/trailer phase. Currently, we're the only real buzz the Akira film is getting right now. Which means that if Entertainment Tonight or TMZ decides to report on the buzz the Akira film is getting with the rumors or announcements that Zach Efron and Morgan Freeman are being cast in the film - they'll be saying that the buzz is negative, which means that - even if the film does turn out well, what Joe Not A Anime Fan hears is "People are negative about this movie", never-mind that the part they're omitting from the end is "On The Internet," which puts points against the movie.
So, I'm being somewhat optimistic, at least until we get stills, teasers and footage as, thus far, nothing's really that crappy.
I felt it wasn't until the movie came out where they added an excess of gruesome, bodies cut in half, bodies squished up, rapey scenes.