1

I hope it's equally as fucked up as the original animated feature

Alexander on Feb 20, 2008

2

"I hope it's equally as fucked up as the original animated feature"
Very apt, here is his first short film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoyxuCVJCwI

Ry on Feb 20, 2008

3

This movie is being rushed badly and they are getting someone who has never directed a feature film in his life. This movie is supposedly set in manhattan and hence i declare this will flop miserably.

Jojo on Feb 20, 2008

4

OMG! My dream (was and still is) to be Movie Director. And part of that was so I could do a live action AKIRA.
CURSES!!! *shakes fist* Someone else will get the chance to have a go at it. I just hope the y dont mess it up and do a good job adapting the more intricate manga details.

…*shakes fist some more*

Huck Paletos on Feb 21, 2008

5

Oh… and a live action Mokey Island too.

Huck Paletos on Feb 21, 2008

6

Well this will kick some major ass right here, but what is all this NEW MANHATTAN bull. I want NEO TOKYO, not some crap New York, I want Tokyo. Also DiCaprio better not play Kanaeda I guess I'm ok with Joseph Gordon Levitt as Tetsuo though. I just wish it was being done in Asia and by Asian actors and asian director

Matiss Berger on Feb 21, 2008

7

New Manhattan? NEW FUCKING MANHATTAN!?!? Bullshit! It's NEO-TOKYO DAMMIT! The directors live short seemed really cool, (I almost think he should be attached to the Halo project…) But this will really cause some problems with the purists. ( I had the same initial reaction when Constantine was going to be set in L.A. instead of England like the original comic.)

And if it's set in Manhattan, why the hell would the final battle be in Tokyo? Hell, If the actors/characters aren't going to be asian, why not just anglicize the whole damn thing & call it JIMMY!

You wouldn't remake Shaft with a white boy would you?

Rant over. Sorry. Bad day at work & then I get to come home to this…

jason_md2020 on Feb 21, 2008

8

Man, I'm getting flack for all these little errors recently, eh? Jason, that came from Variety, and I think what they meant was A New Manhattan, not THE New Manhattan. Or… I hope this isn't the case, maybe they mean that this live-action version, which is going to star new American actors, will take place in a New Manhattan instead of Tokyo… Sort of an Americanized, contemporary Akira. Well crap, that sounds terrible!

Alex Billington on Feb 21, 2008

9

Ok. I just pulled this from SciFi.com:

"The new story moves the action to "New Manhattan," a city rebuilt by the Japanese. The studio is eyeing a summer 2009 release for the first movie."

Manhattan. Rebuilt by the Japanese.

What the…that's kinda backwards…Why not just use Tokyo?

I've just shifted gears from pissed to confused.

jason_md2020 on Feb 21, 2008

10

Thinking of a giant CGI Tetsuo-blob makes me want to vomit.

Brad on Feb 21, 2008

11

I guess Hollyweird is running out of ideas.

Samantha on Feb 22, 2008

12

Jason, yea, interesting about New Manhattan… I'm not really sure and now I'm going to try and figure out if they mean that this new movie will take place in New Manhattan or if they just screwed up and really meant Tokyo…

Alex Billington on Feb 22, 2008

13

I heard Laurence Fishburne talking about being in this along time ago.

Will on Feb 22, 2008

14

Wow, never thought I'd see that day that they did this.

First off, they ARE going to ruin this movie. It's a given. The pure, raw feeling of the original Akira movie is not something that can be achieved in a live action. And, if anyone has read the 6 volumes of the original illustrated Akira, one can't possibly adapt the corruption, power, and greed of the original to the big screen. It's just not going to happen.

I hate to be so pessimistic but the utter thought of them trying to make gold a brighter shade of gold sickens me.

Here's to you Warner Bros., don't Americanize an art of outstanding quality.

Tressley on Feb 22, 2008

15

is kanye west going to play tetsuo again?

kanye on Feb 22, 2008

16

Iv been writing a script for this movie based on the 6 novels for over a year now. My one concern if anyone got to it before me was will it be Tokyo? This confirms my fears, it won't be Tokyo. Why the fuck Manhattan? Why does Hollywood always have to adapt movies to America and fuck them over? The movie is based in Neo-Tokyo not MANHATTAN!

GOD DAMNIT! GOD DAMNIT!

Volker on Feb 22, 2008

17

I suppose the studio is desperately trying to save money by not having to do ANY location shots/research in Tokyo and pouring the dough on CG-effects instead :p As a NY-er & Manhattanite I'm getting rather tired of having my city destroyed YET again…but what can you do? I hope at least the studio will try to make the city look as authentic as possible (I particularly despise Spidey's Manhattan subway scenes- even Die Hard and the comic books did better)

And the lack of young US-bankable Asian actors should really not stop the studio from at least trying to cast one for the title role, if at least for the sake of worldwide sales. (300 had no big names either…and did v well worldwide)

kirillian on Feb 22, 2008

18

it's going to suck

amerian on Feb 22, 2008

19

Oh god I hope they don't go with a 'New Manhattan". What would be served by using such a sterile American city (Especially if it has nothing to do with the movie or novel). Is it to further the stereotype that Americans are insular, soulless droids who have never even HEARD of Tokyo? You might as well put the thing in Salt Lake City.

'Blade Runner' my ass. They're thinking of Blade Runner all right! Thinking how it was panned by critics at the time for being too cerebral, too… 'sci fi', and what can they do to make the new Akira more 'accessible'. In 30 years we'll get 'Akira: Final Cut' or something.

altgeeky1 on Feb 22, 2008

20

It would be racist to take this story away from a Japanese cast/POV.

Astro Boy on Feb 22, 2008

21

I am smelling the croc-o-crap stewing and bubbling as we speak. There is no way in hell Hollywood is going to make this a true Akira story. They will "americanize" the crap out of it. It WILL be toned down to PG-13 (Yuck!!!!) levels just to make sure everyone can go see it. Just the fact that they are already messing with the country it takes place , it will be a sure fire indication that this movie will be hated by the true fans. The idiots that have never seen Akira anime will probably love this movie because they wont have a reference point. Remember Fist of the Northstar?? That was the vilest crappiest anime to films ever done. My expectations in story are low low low. The special effects will probably be ok. The only way this movie will ever be up to par with the anime is if they gave the original Akira creators an unlimited budget with no say-so whatsoever from the studio execs. Those exec morons are overflowing with cash yet they have no appreciation or the spine to remake a proper product like Akira. My friends I hate to say this, but movies from hollywood are no longer made for the love of the art. They are making them in the hopes a tidal wave of cash hits the pockets of the studio. When greed is a driving factor behind making a movie, dissapointments are guaranteed to happen. I am affraid Hollywood is trying to cash in due to the popularity of the original. They have definetly gone too far this time. What is next Spriggan live action? I am so angry at the notion that they are about to film an average movie and dare to slap a monumental tittle like Akira on it. I am truly sick to my stomach. Pepto any one?

Cisco Pagan on Feb 22, 2008

22

I once read an article saying that Sony estimated back in 1992 that a live action Akira would take $300 million and ditched the project.

Budget problems might reduce gloss.. But i sincerely hope they tell story well and keep that oh to awesome pace and background score style. Oh and if your right and it is in 'New Manhattan' then the movie will lose 2/3rds of its cool.

Adiace on Feb 22, 2008

23

There is absolutelly no way this movie is gonna end up right. They would need to have Katsuhiro Otomo himself pulling the string on this whole thing. Not with all the fortune of WB and all other movie producers "combined" Western directors and producers are totally incapable of delivering such a complex movie as Akira. Not a chance in a trillion. Not in any epoch in history, from now forward. This is going to suck big time. big time I say. Being a Akira fan since the original Manga came out in Japan I dismiss this marketing effort completely as utterly non-sense and a disrespect.

AkitaOnRails on Feb 22, 2008

24

I am so FUCKING TIRED of Manhattan/New York.

fuck new york on Feb 22, 2008

25

Reading through these, a few of the major complaints and ways to fix them:

- Live action can't reproduce the feeling of the original manga
+ Use non-photorealistic techniques not unlike what was seen in Sin-City. Preserves the surrealism and the imagination as well as affording the director full control over how neo-Tokyo is presented (not in a George Lucas let's use crappy Cg instead of actors sort of way) Sin City was a trip and a half. No reason Akira can't be as well.

- Neo Manhatten
+ What the?!…why Manhattan instead of Tokyo? It's rebuilt by the Japanese, no? Why are the Japanese rebuilding Manhattan? Is this to allow the plot to be spun into some real-world paralleled version that reveals the profound opinions of truth held by the producer, who wants to demonstrate how the lessons of Akira would fix the problems of the US?

It's quite an obvious adaptation to the changed mood of the planet. Instead of cyberpunk era Japan on a technological ascendence to world executor head-hancho, we're stuck with US having a stick thrust into it's eye and misbehaving in the face of it. However, this interpretation of the tune of the day begs the question, has the person who made this call actually been to Tokyo!? Go to Shinjuku, Shibuya, Akiba etc etc. Then go hang around in Manhatten. End of discussion.

Unless I'm overlooking a masterful bit of irony. Perhaps the producer is aiming to explore the cultural differences between Ireland, US, and Japan by demonstrating how an Irish guy would depict Japanese people attempting to rebuild a US city for the poeple they imagine United Statesians to be. Isn't that a totally off the wall concept? Let's go smoke a few more joints and see if we can make it stick in Moscow rebuilt by the French!

Enough on that topic. Neo-Tokyo.

I've never seen or read Akira, but it sounds pretty awesome. Lost in translation was a success, no? Babel got really good reviews no? People -can- read subtitles, right? This move can and should be done in Tokyo in a Japanese context with Japanese actors (or at the very least speaking gaijingo). (For the love of God, not like Memoirs of a Geisha.)

Knapp on Feb 22, 2008

26

I AM TIRED OF EVERYTHING I EVER LOVED BEING REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE AND REMADE

Ugh Ugh on Feb 22, 2008

27

Waitaminnit. I just re-read the blurb I posted from SciFi.

"The studio is eyeing a summer 2009 release for the first movie."

Read that again closely:

"The studio is eyeing a summer 2009 release for the FIRST movie."

They're already planning sequels?!?! Or they realized the manga's complexity, and decided to break it into seperate films like LOTR did.

jason_md2020 on Feb 22, 2008

28

Every cent spent on this will be one to many, it's going to suck and blow at the same time.
Leave to original be *ssh*les!

Zerge on Feb 22, 2008

29

Registered just to say..

"Manhattan? Man-fucking-hattan? First time director? Film being rushed? Possibly having a crappy budget? C'mon guys. We all know where this is going to lead to… The bottom of the toilet…"

Hate to be a pessimist but some directors rarely ever seem to appropriately grasp the anime/manga feel.

Thank the robotic overlords that they can't get their hands on the Macross(JP) series. Well most of it. Toby has Robotech…damn you Toby.

Epoch on Feb 22, 2008

30

I don't care if the failling american cinema industry can only survive at the moment by making:
(1) REMAKES (ok some extremely rare guys like Tarantino do make good stuff out of it)
(2) SEQUELS (yes! franchise security, people will see it! profit!)
(3) ADAPTATIONS (the only one not to entirely suck was the LotR trilogy)

I don't care if they are making a dragonball movie, because it was for testosterone filled 12 year olds to start with. Transformers: suckage adapted into… worse suckage.

But butchering Akira, a 2500 page masterpiece, one of the best manga/comics ever written?
Even the adaptation into anime by the author himself was not entirely satisfying, mainly due to the very difficuly task of packing a massive amount of content into a shorter film format (cutting out subplots, themes, characters and locations), making the main characters feel somewhat empty and paper thin.

In new york???? With a first-time screenwriter and director? Oh, I can't wait to hear who is being cast for the main roles…

The only good anime-style film I have seen hollywood produce was the Matrix trilogy (and the 2 sequels were sub-par storywise, although technologically amazing).

sigh….

Val on Feb 22, 2008

31

WOW…they are destroying the god of all anime and manga. if it wasnt for akira, anime wont be what it is today. if remaking somthing that is a LEGEND, at least keep it how it is the manga and give it the respect it deserves. cant handle the pressure, time and money…dont even do it at all. please dont be cheap hollywood.

android5664 on Feb 23, 2008

32

I love the animated movie and would not what to see an live action version it will suck!

RNS on Feb 23, 2008

33

Why not a live-action of The Schtroumpfs? or Bug's life?? ….this is really annoying, theses producers or big companies who just want profits and don't care about the film they give to direct bye another YES-MAN….this is a bad new.

Deny on Feb 25, 2008

34

The original Akira is one of my favorite movies of all times. That movie inspired me to get into illustration and adopt a lifestyle that includes sport bikes. You could say it changed my life. Now I fear a remake could make me want to sell my motorbike, take down my Akira posters and give away my Akira collectibles.

A full CG movie faithful to the original story-line might have been nice. A butchered live action remix… damn. I hope they can pull a rabbit out of their hats.

Magic on Feb 25, 2008

35

Man, I hope Katsuhiro Otomo's standing right next to this Ruairi Robinson chap the whole time he's in the director's chair, just to smack him upside the head anytime he does anything stupid.

Not to say that this whole idea sounds a little insane.

And where's this info on "New Manhattan"? THAT is a really DUMB idea. A remake shouldn't be a re-write, not for something like Akira. It might have worked for some people with 2007's 'Transformers', but you STILL made their purists raise an eyebrow… It's like this… People liked Transformers as a toy line, a cartoon, and a 1986 animated movie. Then the 07 Michael Bay film comes out and goes 'oh hey, let's completely turn them into crumpled up aluminum-foil robots and change everything, so anyone who just stumbles onto this franchise for the first time will only remember THIS, and nothing before it". That ain't gonna work with Akira. I really don't think it will.

So if anyone in WARNER BROS. is listening; If you're really thinking of setting this in fucking New York (like EVERYTHING ELSE) with a non-Asian cast… PLEASE DON'T DO THIS.

Fossil on Feb 25, 2008

36

http://www.ruairirobinson.com/contact.htm
someone bug the director

kanye on Feb 25, 2008

37

everyone bug the director =D

Knapp on Feb 25, 2008

38

Oh yeah. Almost forgot…Don't you think it's ironic that a guy who was nominated for an Oscar for an animated short, is given directorship of a live action adaptation of an animation?

Hopefully his animation experience will help it not suck…

jason_md2020 on Feb 25, 2008

39

WHY?!!?! I totally agree with what everybody is saying. This is actually quite sickening. What the frigg is up with Hollywood and pumping out endless remakes and adaptations? I really DO NOT see any benefit what-so-ever in making a live action adaptation of an animated feature. It simply does not convert. Animation offers so much more, its a gateway to imagination, anything is possible, anything can be made in any form. You can break the laws of reality. Converting an animation into live action is just so backwards. I am an animation student, myself and my fellow coursemates will each squeeze a tear out over this.

We all need to campaign against remakes and other such acts of utter dogshite unoriginality.

HNNNNGGGGGHHHHH! on Feb 25, 2008

40

Hollywood you've raped my childhood.

this ruined my day, that and the dragon ball movie which is casted with all asians except for goku who is played by some white kid

bleh on Feb 26, 2008

41

You know, I feel some people are jumping the gun a little here. All we have so far is a press release with possibilities of "New Manhattan."

Look, there have been press releases for all sorts of movies that went down the tubes before, and even during pre-production. Remember Tim Burton's Superman project? They a script, a cast (Nick Cage as Superman, remember?) had posters, a release date, and apparently a prototype costume in the works. WB realized the fans didn't like the idea of an American icon being turned into a goth sci-fi and the project was pulled. You can still find posters on e-bay occasionally.

Or how about Green Lantern, Aquaman, Captain America. All scrapped in pre-production (aquaman was scrapped after a pilot episode was filmed).

Of course, there's always the possibility of production hell happening. It's already happened once with this movie. And it happened with Iron Man, X-Men, Spider-Man, I Am Legend, The Simpsons Movie, Transformers, etc. When something is being created off of a popular franchise, eventually someone takes notice.

Look at Batman. Batman & Robin got made even though the fans didn't care for Batman Forever and were loudly opposed to George Clooney as Bruce Wayne. But the movie was made, it sucked, and it has kind of been forgotten. The only Batman movies anyone remembers pre-Batman Begins are the ones with Michael Keaton. It took a while before they found a director who could handle the material, but look at how good Batman Begins turned out. And the studios wanted a continuation of the first four, but not every hollywood director is evil.

I'm sure if nothing else, this movie will come out, it will be mildly good for people who have never seen Akira (98% of America), and a fan following will happen, resulting in new fans of the original, who will get pissed off, and some studio will buy the rights and do it again, but correctly.

A good movie is made because someone cares enough about the material to do the right thing with it. I'm sure someone will do it right eventually.

Personally, I think they should just remaster the original cartoon and release that. It would be cheaper and better. If they're adamant about spending money, they can get a crack team of skilled artists to re-synch the mouths to the english dialogue. The technology is there.

But that's just me.

-Matt

Matt on Feb 26, 2008

42

Yeah great, I allready found the official Movie Poster aka ~_°

http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/7413/akirafightformahattanqm1.jpg

Sheeshor on Feb 27, 2008

43

I will rip my ears off and sting my eyes out to not get any thing related to that movie into my brain.

I fear the truth!

http://flickr.com/photos/ichbinadrian/2297455593/

adrian on Feb 28, 2008

44

If they're going to change the setting to New Manhattan, they might as well change the title character's name to "John".

Fucking shit. Katsuhiro Otomo provided everything you need- well developed characters, accurately designed future Tokyo, drugged out street hooligans and government experimented psychics.

Do you really expect ANYBODY on Earth to believe that the American Government would put money into researching telekinetics and/or esp?

That is SO Japanese it's not even FUNNY!

I swear these Hollywood script dealers are just like the Bonds tradesmen in "Wall Street": they come in and buy up some natural resource (Otomo's creative Vision), under the guise that they'll do something with it, then they profit from selling it to someone who will do nothing with it but turn it to shit.

FUCK HOLLYWOOD!

Djoser on Mar 2, 2008

45

I think Jack Nicholson's Joker said it best…

"This town needs an enema!"

TCox on Mar 4, 2008

46

A little massage to Gary Whitta and Ruairi Robinson…

DON'T FUCK THIS UP.

Manga fan on Mar 6, 2008

47

This will rule, the original sucked

Awesome! on Mar 8, 2008

48

Wow. This would be awesome. I first picked up on the manga in a magazine and ended up buying the whole 6-volume graphic novel before I ever saw the film… the film was nice and all, but like a lot of anime adaptions cut a bit short and mangled the story (which was the particular driving force - it would be gripping even as a written novel), and was pushing the boundaries of the animated medium / limited by it at the time (any by cash), despite the nice eye candy.

With the current state of the art, this should be epic, particularly as they seem to intend to give it the full Lord of the Rings rather than a hack job.

One point though - if it IS set in the states (give me a break, if you're going to change it, make it interesting, not New York YET AGAIN - how about New Berlin, Delhi, Brisbane, or even Chicago or something? or here's an idea, keep it as Tokyo!), they HAVE TO CHANGE THE CHARACTER NAMES. They seem quite exotic to english speaking ears, but in japanese they're everyday, normal names - including the title, which was chosen as such. In baby naming terms, it pretty much translates as "John" or "Stephen"… Maybe they should even retitle the film

Mark P on Mar 13, 2008

49

Whoops, that's what I get for not reading the ENTIRE thread (its a bit long, hehe) before posting. Looks like someone made much the same post as me a little ways up —- where's the edit/delete button?

Mark P on Mar 13, 2008

50

> 41 (matt)
> [Fans will get pissed, a better remake will be made]

Kind of like the two versions of The Hulk, with a second and supposedly better one in the works that's completely unrelated to the dross that was released a couple years ago?

> [Remaster, re dub & re release original anime]
Already happened, I'm afraid. Mixed reviews.

> Transformers
Enough said, though I disagree on the "take trash, make it trashier" comment. The reason a lot of people were hot for the live action version, and were disappointed by the Bay interpretation, is that the original movie was actually quite good, particularly given it was a cheaply hacked-together 90-minute advert for a cash-in toy line Decent characterisation (including the fairly sympathetic ones of Prime and Megatron - the big fall down of the live action one was what a complete non-event their climactic battle turned out to be) and scripting, plot twists, collaborations and betrayals, nice pace, fun and engaging action in equal measures, nice and arguably quite realistic robot designs (within the fanciful transformer concept, anyway), didn't spoil it by focussing on some idiot love story subplot amongst the otherwise fairly ineffectual humans…. (indeed the human characters only did one or two significant things through the whole film, and the female characters were limited to robot personas.. in fact.. only one of them well it was the 80s). And enjoyable cheesy music that integrated well without reaching disney levels of cringe!

Yeah it was ultimately a cheap cartoon, but some of the people involved seem to have done a Pixar and tried to sneak a bit of soul, art and adult interest into it by the back door.

Now, having finally read the rest of this thread, excuse me while I go cower behind the sofa at the self-imagined idea of someone picking up on and attempting to make a live-action My Neighbour Totoro remake *shudder*
(Though I'd support a Laputa one - it was about as live-action a film as its possible to get whilst still making a cartoony animation, none of it would have been beyond film-makers from the time of Star Wars. Nowadays it should be possible to make an awesome one)

Mark P on Mar 13, 2008

51

Live-Actrion Akira? In "New Manhattan" ?
It´ll sux !!!

golan_trevize on Mar 15, 2008

52

"Action" without "R"

golan_trevize on Mar 15, 2008

53

I really couldn't care what the Americans are doing to Akira. I am fan of the original stuff (manga and anime) so they can destroy it all they like, make it as western as they like and pervert the story to the best of their abilities, makes no difference to me. Only way WB could ruin my experience as an Akira fan is if they came round to my house burnt all the Akira stuff and then proceeded to do this to everyone and everywhere that may stock Akira goodies. Film makers, script writers and directors have been doing it forever, re-making and re-telling old stories, this is no different.

Best advice is to let it pass you by. Its happened before, this is happening and it wil happen again. Just like they ruined Resident Evil. Does it make the game bad…nope just makes them look like idiots for not being able to tell a story thats already been written for them. The more they mess up legendary stories, the more they look like tossers. Just sit back let it disapear in the two months it lives and then watch as everyone forgets about it and only remembers the original any way. Try buying the dvd crossing out the title and put 'Manhattan: The Silent City' and see if you enjoy it for what it is a film that is not Akira.

Dean on Mar 18, 2008

54

AMEN DEAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lOL esp love manhattan: The silent city, very clever lol. Shame really cos when you actually see how hes directed the silent city could of been a good director…but this is most likely going to butt rape his carrer wildly

Emily Miles on Mar 18, 2008

55

if you go to his site and scroll down, he talks about his ego engulfing tokyo.. and shows a picture of the nuke goin off in akira. not once, but twice http://www.ruairirobinson.com/main.htm ..looks like he was hinting at something.

mike on Mar 19, 2008

56

I'm perfectly prepared to give him a fair chance to make it good … and it won't ruin the original for me directly, as you correctly state it's impossible. But if it WAS stuffed up, it could further spoil it in a lot of peoples minds - it would be nice if the original, even-bigger-than-the-anime vision could gain a bit of credibility (yes, ok, it doesn't impinge on my life directly, but neither does Darfur or the other things that charities I meagrely support deal with - I still have a part of my brain that's concerned with them). Wouldn't it be great if the film adaptions of Tomb Raider, Resident Evil and Final Fantasy had actually been fuckin' awesome and done even a little bit of justice to the original to stop those particular canons, and by exension anyone interested in them, from becoming figures of fun? Plus it may spoil the chances of any such thing being attempted again by someone who knows what the bloody hell they're doing, or the cause of getting neat eastern stuff imported in a professional manner. It took a hell of a fanbase fight to get the Ghibli back catalogue beyond the status of a lacklustre first edition of Princess Mononoke, a couple carelessly produced VHSes of Totoro and Kiki, and no recourse but expensive untranslated imports or legally questionable fansubs/dubs and bootlegs of old deleted hack-job english versions for all the other titles. Don't need it getting a kick in the teeth just when it's gained a small shred of credibility (which Naruto, Yu gi oh and the endless shelves of saccharine, dinnerplate-eyes pulp manga may themselves destroy).

(that observation came from me ending up in a Borders bookshop last week for the first time ever, looking for birthday gifts - they have an unexpectedly HUGE manga section … most of it's dreadful generic badly drawn/scripted/translated pulp on the theme of mindless violence/brainless slushy romance/merchandisable object collection, as is the way, but there was a "Remembering Akira" art book that was a sheer joy to flick through; I'd forgotten the unique *artistry* that had gone into the covers, and to see the concept work and the creators' own thoughts annotating them was pretty cool - may end up buying it)

Mark P on Mar 25, 2008

57

also re - foreshadowing … that WAS jan '07, so maybe he was hinting at something he'd just been in discussion about, or maybe he's just an Akira fan anyway and needed something suitably epic and easy to Google to show his enormous ego that wasn't the same old tired hiroshima / atom bomb test photograph.

let's hope the massive ego steers in the direction of "I'm going to be as faithful to the source as is practical whilst still making it work" instead of "hey, let's completely and utterly remake it in my own image!" when he starts exercising his egotistical director's I'm Right, You're Wrong, Deal With It muscles.

btw, the entire of Silent City is apparently uploaded on that site if anyone wants to watch it. no need to bother with DVD unless you're on one of those evil 1Gb/month max transfer broadband plans.
(lol @ those - I used to be able to get thru 2gb/week on unmetered dialup with napster back in the day)

Mark P on Mar 25, 2008

58

i only hope they keep the names motorcycles hair and story the same because i hate when they change everything except for the characters personality i didnt pay to see a renamed fan fic god i hate fan fics

patrick on Apr 3, 2008

59

It's in the US because of location convinence…perhaps some 9/11 references in there as well due to all the explosions and war..

Akira on Apr 14, 2008

60

Oh god I hope not. That would be lazy and extra cheesy/sucktacular/infuriatingly US-centric. Would you like an extra helping of militaristic patriotism on your fries? Fuck that shit. It was originally written to be so far into the future, and following such a cataclysmic event, that any of the petty conflicts that we're currently experiencing anywhere in the world (which, do not kid yourself, are far larger and nastier than anything that's happened on American soil / in US airspace since WW2 (if you count the pacific islands conflict) / the civil war (if you don't))

With any luck the fact that there's an irishman at the helm may help ameliorate that nonsense a bit.

You get a couple little planes going into a couple buildings and everyone can't stop whining on about it and using it as a catch-all excuse for all manner of crap for years later. I'm sick & tired of it, and particularly it will be sad if it's used as a lazy excuse to wreck what could, with the proper care and respect, be an absolutely ass-kicking film.

MP on Apr 18, 2008

61

ahem, that's what i get for retrospective editing and nested parentheses…..

* "that any of the petty conflicts we're currently experiencing anywhere in the world […] look like pointless backyard squabbles in comparison and are largely forgotten in the face of it, like the Boer war vs the great conflicts of 1914-18 and 1939-45"

and also "STILL far nastier"

my kingdom for an edit button, etc.

MP on Apr 18, 2008

62

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/clt/659953903.html

Check out the pics of Kanye West on the Akira Kaneda motorcycle.

BMH on Apr 29, 2008