io9 reports that Steven Spielbergwill direct Ghost in the Shell based on a script by Jamie Moss. io9 seems to think that Spielberg will do a bad job. But we’ve seen that he’s capable of gritty. Just look at Minority Report. And if nothing else, Spielberg is a great director and a great story teller. I have full confidence in him.
Thanks to Ray for the link.
Update: Steven Spielberg is NOT attached to direct. The director was only instrumental in helping Dreamworks acquire the rights to produce the 3D live action movie.
” ‘Ghost in the Shell’ is one of my favorite stories,” Spielberg said. “It’s a genre that has arrived, and we enthusiastically welcome it to DreamWorks.”
… Avi Arad, Ari Arad and Steven Paul of Seaside Entertainment are attached to produce and brought the project to the studio.
This past Sunday, we started brainstorming ideas for an action movie. It’s going to be an adaptation of Dr. Seuss’s “The Butter Battle Book”. We got some great ideas and there’s a really strong vision for it. Last night, I finished an early draft of the overall plot and structure. I need to go over it and make sure everything makes sense, then I can start on the actual script.
It’s going to be like a live action anime, over the top, gritty, but not too serious.
The NY anime festival is going on from December 7–9 at the Jacob Javits Center. You can check out the program listing here. And you can purchase tickets here.
I watched Kanye West’s video for “Stronger” and was struck by how much Akira imagery was in it. Several weeks ago, I had a dream (literally) that Akira was made into a live action movie. When I told Ninja, she scoffed at me, saying that it would be crazy. Of course, if I were to do it, I would write an adaptation based on the manga and not the anime.
If you’re familiar with Akira, you can skip this paragraph. Akira was a seminal work of anime. Even today, the visuals and story hold up, almost 20 years later. It’s about a teenage boy, Tetsuo, who gets telekinetic powers through government experimentation and what happens when he unleashes those powers on the city. The last 20 minutes or so involves Tetsuo losing control of his powers and begins to grow and expand. If you’ve seen the Trapperkeeper episode of South Park, that’s where the reference comes from.
It was this last scene that would be extremely difficult to shoot. CG has come far enough that it would be possible to render it, that’s not the issue. Conceptually, it may be too difficult for American audiences to wrap their heads around. With that said, since South Park did it, one can argue that America is ready.
After watching Kanye’s video, it got me wondering if it was really possible. Sure, some of the CG in his video was a little weak, but the core idea is there. Hey, if they can make Dragonball Z into live action or Evangelion, why not Akira?
Tekkonkinkreet is an anime about two boys, Black and White, who run a small ghetto. They eventually fight yakuza and other stuff.
Part of the draw is that these boys seem to have super powers. They can jump really high or do other crazy things. But they’re not the only ones with these powers.
The animation is a mix of beautifully detailed backdrops and rough sketchy character animation. This contrast works, giving the anime a very distinct style. Some of the best animation occurs in White’s dreams. These dreams are made of watercolor and morph and transform fluidly.
The plot is kind of thin and there aren’t really any heady themes like you would find in most anime. This is not to say it’s bad. But for the most part, you’re just sitting there waiting for something to happen and when it does, you kind of want it to mean something.
