Wizard recently did a special edition of "Catsing Call" for the N.G. EVA film for their sister publication (Anime Insider) and had him down on their wishlist for actor they would like to see play Shinji. Have you seen Haley Joel Osment lately? I wish I had a recent image of him. If they're still showing it, check out the rebroadcasts of the GLOW Awards on G4TV and watch the live via satellite snippet of him after Kingdom Hearts won the award for Best Screenplay. Puberty has not been kind to Little Lord Osment.
As far as the filming locations for the film, it has already been stated that the film wil be partially shot in New Zealand, as that is where Weta is based. The cast will also be a melting pot of actors and extras from many ethnic backgrounds. Let's hope Chris Tucker doesn't catch wind of this, as the last thing we need is a NERV officer screaming "DAMN, SHINJI! I TOLD YOU NOT TO LET EVA UNIT 01 EAT THAT S^2 ENGINE! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!"
Seriously though, with the film's budget reportedly hitting on or near the $100 million mark, this live action retelling of the entire story had better not be disappointing. As far as length, four hours may seem like a long time for a movie, but the Director's Cuts of "The Fellowship of the Ring" and "The Two Towers" are 10-20 minutes shy of this mark each AND they will be shown back-to-back along with "The Return of the King" on its opening day in select cities. Twelve hours of Middle Earth. I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
Thanks for getting the name right.
So it's the same guys who made the Lord of the Rings Trilogy who is going to make this movie?