AKIRA LIVE ACTION MOVIE = Life Support?

[pengbuzz]

7 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

All the usual suspects, I see.

Akira has hopefully been spared the fate of joining that particularly inauspicious brotherhood.

Do you think anyone here in the west has any idea of how to do a successful "live action" version of an anime? I think even One Piece  has its' issues, tbh...

[Big s]

2 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

Do you think anyone here in the west has any idea of how to do a successful "live action" version of an anime? I think even One Piece  has its' issues, tbh...

I still kinda like the Ghost in the Shell movie, although that’s a bit flawed as well, and the Battle Angel Allita movie might be the best I’ve seen. I wouldn’t pick either of those over their anime adaptations though, but those are probably the best examples, although I also don’t think they were super successful at the box office.

[Thom]

1 hour ago, Big s said:

I still kinda like the Ghost in the Shell movie, although that’s a bit flawed as well, and the Battle Angel Allita movie might be the best I’ve seen. I wouldn’t pick either of those over their anime adaptations though, but those are probably the best examples, although I also don’t think they were super successful at the box office.

I haven't watch either anime originals of GitS or ABA, but I really liked both movies on their own merit. Still awaiting that sequel to Alita...

[Big s]

14 minutes ago, Thom said:

I haven't watch either anime originals of GitS or ABA, but I really liked both movies on their own merit. Still awaiting that sequel to Alita...

I’d definitely suggest the anime for alita. It’s kinda quick but unfortunately never gets too far into the story, but it looks great and you could actually do an anime watch and then the movie to get more of the story as a kind of double feature to check out the differences. The manga is great as well, but I’ve got a lot of catching up to do. I’d love a sequel to the movie as well though 

[Seto Kaiba]

7 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

Do you think anyone here in the west has any idea of how to do a successful "live action" version of an anime? I think even One Piece  has its' issues, tbh...

I'd argue that One Piece is proof that it is possible for there to be such thing as a western anime adaptation that respects the source material.

It's very much the exception that tests the rule that western anime adaptations are awful.  Of course, it was always going to have issues because One Piece is so incredibly weird that there were always going to have to be some significant compromises to make it work with living actors.

 

About the best we can reasonably hope for from Hollywood is something like Alita: Battle Angel which plays fast and loose with the original story in order to essentially speedrun the most iconic moments in a single two-hour span.  You only get that if there are superfans involved, though.  The far more likely fate is a western "creative" trying to give their own new interpretation of the work and turning it into a dumpster fire that proves they missed the point completely.  Akira would probably have ended up a generic sci-fi monster movie like what they did to Doom twice.

[TangledThorns]

 

 

[Big s]

1 hour ago, Seto Kaiba said:

Akira would probably have ended up a generic sci-fi monster movie like what they did to Doom twice.

I didn’t know they ruined Doom twice. I saw a live action one a few years back that really sucked and maybe that was enough that when I hear the name Doom, I stay far away unless it’s for a video game 

[pengbuzz]

2 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

I'd argue that One Piece is proof that it is possible for there to be such thing as a western anime adaptation that respects the source material.

It's very much the exception that tests the rule that western anime adaptations are awful.  Of course, it was always going to have issues because One Piece is so incredibly weird that there were always going to have to be some significant compromises to make it work with living actors.

I'll agree; One Piece does a good job at that for the most part. I just cringe anymore when it's announced a studio "has an adaption coming".

I remember reading a supposed version of "the upcoming Voltron movie" (yeah, the original was King of 100 Beasts GoLion) that made me glad it went back to development hell.

 

2 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

About the best we can reasonably hope for from Hollywood is something like Alita: Battle Angel which plays fast and loose with the original story in order to essentially speedrun the most iconic moments in a single two-hour span.  You only get that if there are superfans involved, though.  The far more likely fate is a western "creative" trying to give their own new interpretation of the work and turning it into a dumpster fire that proves they missed the point completely.  Akira would probably have ended up a generic sci-fi monster movie like what they did to Doom twice.

I think I know the answer already, but I'll just ask anyways: why do they ignore the source material when doing this? I know some stuff may not translate well into our culture or may be too weird/ perverted/ violent/ other-reason-I-can't-think-of-right-now. But in much of what I've seen, these things are barely recognizable from their sources and in at least a few cases, are practically unwatchable (imo).

*praying they never try a live action adaption of Macross Plus*

 

[JB0]

2 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

*praying they never try a live action adaption of Macross Plus*

Didn't everyone say that's what Stealth was?

[Big s]

2 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

why do they ignore the source material when doing this? 

It’s the same issue with most comic book movies. I’d imagine that the people in charge really don’t care about the source material and then force things in they think will sell better and remove things they don’t understand 

[moonjet]

They were going to film it in DTLA

[Swann]

Don't be surprise. If its made.

[Seto Kaiba]

5 hours ago, Big s said:

I didn’t know they ruined Doom twice. I saw a live action one a few years back that really sucked and maybe that was enough that when I hear the name Doom, I stay far away unless it’s for a video game 

Yeah, there are two... Doom (2005) and Doom: Annihilation (2019).

The first one was supposed to be an adaptation of Doom 3, but ultimately deviated from it so much in development that by the time it went into production it was essentially a totally unrelated work that was just borrowing the Doom name.  The second one was a very loose adaptation of Doom 3 on a hilariously tiny budget that was still bordering on in-name-only status.

 

4 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

I'll agree; One Piece does a good job at that for the most part. I just cringe anymore when it's announced a studio "has an adaption coming".

A deep sense of foreboding is the appropriate reaction to the announcement of a Hollywood anime adaptation.

 

4 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

I think I know the answer already, but I'll just ask anyways: why do they ignore the source material when doing this? I know some stuff may not translate well into our culture or may be too weird/ perverted/ violent/ other-reason-I-can't-think-of-right-now. But in much of what I've seen, these things are barely recognizable from their sources and in at least a few cases, are practically unwatchable (imo).

Reasons vary, as you'd expect.

The most commonly given reasons come down to trying to broaden the appeal of the movie.  Anime may be more mainstream now than it was even ten years ago, but it's still not something that's widely accepted.  Premises get made more generic and "accessible", plots are streamlined and simplified, potentially controversial characters and situations wind up removed, and so on.  By the time they're done cutting and streamlining and simplifying they've often removed most of the original work's personality.

Then, of course, they sometimes have to make concessions for casting decisions too.  For instance, Ghost in the Shell cast Scarlett Johansson for her star power and ability to fill out a catsuit... then had to essentially center the entire plot on deflecting accusations of racism and whitewashing for casting a white woman to play a Japanese woman living and working in Japan.

If the studios had their way with Akira, it's likely the only thing left of the original when the dust settled would've been Kaneda's iconic bike.

 

4 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

*praying they never try a live action adaption of Macross Plus*

They kind of already did... like twenty years ago.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stealth_(film)

It's basically Macross Plus with the serial numbers filed off.

[pengbuzz]

3 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

They kind of already did... like twenty years ago.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stealth_(film)

It's basically Macross Plus with the serial numbers filed off.

"Stealth"? 

In my culture, it is expressly forbidden to speak of that... "motion picture". Amongst my people, just

theh mere mention of it is considered a vile criminal offense, with the heaviest of penalties and sentences imposed at the sound of even hinting at it.

Let me read to you an excerpt from The Annals of Pengulus Baratis, The Great Peng:
 

Spoiler

"Lo, between the eras where Q'ithis Kano'pith sank the rich Isle of Vermath N'uur, and the Fall of the Great Gilded Ha'averSlieves, was the age that has been seal'd away from all Preculbians. This age hast brought forth unto us an eldritch abomination the likes of which would cause ye olde Outer gods, Inner gods and gods-to-the-side to blanche in abject horror. The distaff said horror brings with it the proscribed doom of ALL who would dare behold it; indeed, it is from this horror that no Preculbian has visible eyes anymore, the evil that poured forth was so great and terrible.

With the Great Sacrifice of hundreds upon hundreds of Slim Jims©, and thousands of cartons of Breyers Ice Cream© (Fudge Ripple Flavor), this abomination, this unspeakable Harbinger of Despair, Doom and dirty socks, was sealed for all time™ beneath the Vapid Sands of E'vian Barth, locked in a dire tomb made of limestone, Elmer's Glue and Hairballs of Tungsten Fur. Twenty Maidens of considerable youth and beauty (with the exception of Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga) chanted the Sacred Chants of Cho' Mama, while the High Priests of the Holy Hubba Bubba and Kabbaba D'inkh recited The Holiest Sealing Prayers of Sar'a L'iih. The final inokation was made using a Chalupa from Taco Bell and a 5 layer Burrito.

Once sealed, the entire region was then sunk into the ground using explosives made from baked beans and eggs, detonated via matter/antimatter/ doesntmatter charges. The blast sent shockwaves of apocalyptic magnitudes across the lands, causing the Great Rift of You'Buttkracke (that remains to this day). All Preculbians were strictly forbidden within 500 Kelvosos (*Archaeology note: 850 Standard Miles) of the region, with no offense being considered minor in any way. 

I speak this to you as a warning, young one. DO NOT SEEK to uncover this vile thing of darkness. If you do, you will doom us all, and may thy fate be as those sealed with this horror of horrors. We will be haunted to death by the spirits of  Josh Lucas, Jessica Biel and Jamie Foxx, AND LIFE AS YE KNOW IT SHALL END FOR US ALL!!!

Now...can you get me a double Quarter Pounder with Cheese? I'm hungry..."

 

Source: The Annals of Pengulus Baratis, The Great Peng: Vol. 13, Chapter 11.

 

Edited 34 minutes ago by pengbuzz