manga Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Who Should Play The Major in The Live-Action 'Ghost in The Shell'?
Filed under: Action », Animation », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Casting », Fandom », Scripts », Dreamworks », Steven Spielberg »
There has been talk of a live action Ghost in The Shell for some time now, and while I knew that a US remake was probably inevitable, there was still a small part of me that thought that maybe this time, we would be spared another inferior North American 're-imagining' of a pretty spectacular anime. But I guess I'm not that lucky, because Variety is now reporting that Dreamworks has just hired Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island) to adapt the manga for a live action 3D film, bring the film that much closer to reality.Street Kings writer, Jamie Moss, had originally been hired to write the story of "...the exploits of a member of a covert ops unit of the Japanese National Public Safety Commission that specializes in fighting technology-related crime." But I guess Dreamworks wasn't thrilled with the final result, because now Moss is out and Kalogridis is in.
Details about the film are still pretty scarce, and there are plenty of things to decide on, but maybe the most important detail will be casting. The story of GITS is a strange and complicated one, but it all hinges on The Major. It will be crucial to find the right actress for the role if this film has a hope in hell of succeeding -- so I thought I would have a little fun and make a few suggestions to who I think could rock the Thermoptic Camouflage.
After the jump; Five ladies I think could be Major Motoko Kusanagi...
'Priest' Recruits Stephen Moyer and Lily Collins to the Cloth
Filed under: Action », Horror », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Casting », Sony », Newsstand », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Western »
I have been dutifully keeping track of the Priest roster for a lot of reasons that range from who was once attached to the project, to a weird fascination with Paul Bettany's religious roles, and a longing for a horror western. But now the project has jumped from "I'm curious to see how it'll turn out" to "Ok, it can be horrible and I'll still see it!" thanks to the addition of one Stephen Moyer.According to Variety, Moyer and Lily Collins are the latest to make their Priest vows. I know what you're thinking, because I thought it too: "Oh, Moyer playing another vampire. That's a bad move." (We all thought it when Cam Gigandet climbed aboard.) But Moyer is playing a mortal this time around, and has been cast as Isaacs' brother, and the father to the kidnapped niece. (I'm guessing. Unless there's another Isaacs sibling with offspring?) I wonder if brotherly British actors will be able to keep their native accents, or if they'll be putting on Western drawls?
As Priest starts shooting today in Los Angeles, you can probably guess that Lily Collins isn't playing a vampire or avenging huntress like Maggie Q, but has been cast in the very crucial role of Isaacs' niece, who he is out to rescue come hell and high water. (Probably literally!) But most importantly, she'll be playing Moyer's daughter which means our favorite Southern vampire should get lots of big screen time.
'Priest' Recruits Karl Urban and Maggie Q
Filed under: Action », Horror », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Casting », Sony », DIY/Filmmaking », Newsstand », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Western »
Having said its prayers and a few Hail Marys, Priest is ready to slay some vampires, ToykoPop style. The film is set to begin shooting in Los Angeles next week, but before it does, it's given Paul Bettany's Ivan Isaacs an ally and a villain.According to The Hollywood Reporter, Karl Urban has joined the cast as the vampire villain Black Hat. Once a priest and a vampire hunter, Black Hat is now a member of the bloodthirsty undead. Worse, he fancies himself a god of the vampires. I don't think he's a character found in the original manga, as I understand most of the villains to be fallen angels and demons, but I'm honestly not that familiar with it. Hopefully, it'll be something Urban can really sink his teeth into (pardon the pun) as he did with Star Trek, and not be another clunker to his credit.
To add a little girl power to the order, last week THR reported that Maggie Q had signed on as a warrior priestess, "a vampire hunter as tough as the priests" just in case we doubted her staking ability. Come on! As pop culture goes, we ladies have been a lot more successful in the war against the bloodsuckers. Buffy, Selene, Anna Valerious, Cassandra Hack, Mina Harker, the list just could go on forever. Isaacs should thank his lucky stars he's got a girl helping him and Sheriff Cam Gigandet out in the vampire infested wilderness. Incidentally, if you're looking for this film to give you a vampy fix between Twilight and True Blood, don't hold your breath. It won't hit theaters until August 13, 2010.
Cam Gigandet Takes Orders From 'Priest'
Filed under: Action », Horror », Independent », Casting », Newsstand », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Western »
Something must happen to you when you play a vampire in Twilight or Underworld -- you just can't steer clear of the supernatural and fangs. Cam Gigandet (whom the Twilighters know as the evil vampire and Bella-snatcher, James) is now set to stake his former cinematic kin in Priest opposite Paul Bettany, but he isn't straying too far from his bloodsucking roots. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gigandet will be playing a young wasteland sheriff who is part vampire. (I'm never sure how this works. To me, being a vampire is like being dead or pregnant -- there's no in-between.) He partners up with Ivan Isaacs (the titular priest) in order to find Isaacs' niece, who just happens to be the girl he loves. She's been kidnapped by vampires, the latest casualty of a battle between man and vampire that has raged for centuries.
Priest is based on Hyung Min-woo's popular manga series, and will be directed by Scott Stewart. Though Cory Goodman's script has reportedly changed things quite a bit, one thing it is keeping is the Western / horror setting, which intrigues me, even if my girlish curiosity does make me long for its old cast and Sam Raimi as producer. But hey, at least it's set to finally happen. All they need now is the niece, and a few bad vampires to set against Gigandet and Bettany. Say, is Michael Sheen available?
Review: Dragonball: Evolution
Filed under: Action », New Releases », Theatrical Reviews », 20th Century Fox »
Dragonball: Evolution is based on a manga series (that's Japanese for "comic book") that was also turned into an anime series (that's Japanese for "cartoon") and is now a movie that was not screened for critics before it opened (that's Hollywood for "we're not very proud of it"). I doubt it's what fans of the story have been hoping for all these years, as they've endured one delay after another in getting a live-action version to the screen, but it's not aggressively bad. It's more like a dumb, energetic puppy.
It is the story of Goku (Justin Chatwin), a teenager being raised by his grandfather (Randall Duk Kim), who teaches him the ancient ways of martial arts and, from the looks of it, the Force. Goku has supernatural powers that he has not yet learned to harness, including the ability, not unlike a video-game character, to throw colorful balls of energy. Grandfather urges him not to fight unnecessarily, but Goku is always being bullied by his classmates. "They push me so far that I want to explode!" he says. You know how it is -- the handsome, nice, sociable kids always have so much trouble making friends.
For Goku's 18th birthday, Grandfather gives him a cool-looking billiard ball with four stars on it. It is a dragonball -- and you better believe there's an angry dragon looking for it! No, I kid. It's called a dragonball because, I don't know, "dragon" sounds cool, I guess. There are seven such balls scattered throughout the world. If you were to assemble them all, you'd be entitled to have "one perfect wish" granted. Trouble is, a long-imprisoned demon called Piccolo (James Marsters) has been let loose, and he's trying to collect the seven dragonballs himself so he can have his own nefarious wish granted.
Paul Bettany Is Ordained for 'Priest'
Filed under: Action », Foreign Language », Horror », Independent », Casting », Newsstand », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Religious », Western »
Paul Bettany obviously has a thing for the sacrilegious. Fresh off playing the Archangel Michael in Legion, Bettany is reteaming with director Scott Stewart for Priest, ScreenGems' adaptation of Hyung Min-woo's popular manga series. Bettany will play Ivan Isaacs, the warrior priest who turns his back on the Church to rescue his niece from a pack of vampires. The role once belonged to Gerard Butler, until the project fell apart sometime in 2006. ScreenGems revived the project last December with Stewart, keeping Cory Goodman's screenplay.
The casting came about not out of Bettany and Stewart's desire to reunite for religion, but due to ScreenGems president Clint Culpepper, who apparently thought Isaacs needed to be played by a former albino monk: "I knew the moment I saw Stewart's first cut of Legion that Bettany was Priest and so I mentioned it to him immediately."
Whether this Priest will make it any further into production than Andrew Douglas and Gerard Butler's will remain to be seen -- but since everyone wants their own religious pseudo-western, I bet the second time will be the charm. I still wish Butler's version would have taken off, but Bettany is probably a better physical choice for the role. He bears an uncanny resemblance to the art, anyway. I'm not a huge fan of the series, so hopefully some manga experts can weigh in with what they think of the casting.
'Spider-Man' Writers Sign for Live Action 'Robotech'
Filed under: Action », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Deals », Warner Brothers », Scripts », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
Is there room in Hollywood for more than one giant robot franchise? Well, Warner Bros. certainly seems to think so. The long-gestating feature film version of the classic anime Robotech isn't dead in the water yet -- and to prove it, WB has hired two new writers to give the script another polish. The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Alfred Gough and Miles Millar have signed to write the live-action adaption.Robotech originally aired during the '80s in North America (and was compiled from three different series' released in Japan); the film is being described as "A sprawling sci-fi epic" and takes place in a not-too-distant future where humans have developed giant robots from an alien technology. When another invasion looms, mankind hops in their giant robots to fend off the alien hoard, and the fate of the human race is left in the hands of two young pilots. Tobey Maguire will still produce, but it remains to be seen if Maguire will star -- and at the rate this project is moving, Maguire is going to be in his 40's by the time this film hits theaters.
Gough and Millar aren't the first writers to take a stab at the anime classic. Back in June, we reported that Lawrence Kasdan was drafting a script, but the project seemed to stall after that. According to THR, Warners is keen to get the film into production, and the hiring of Millar and Gough could give the film a needed boost of "geek cred" since both worked on Spider Man 2 and The Mummy Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, as well as a stint writing for Smallville.
It looks like it could be some time before Robotech finally makes its way to the big screen, but here's your chance to sound off on whether you would actually want to see it on the big screen ...
Imagi and Summit Announce Cast for 'Astro Boy'
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Casting », Deals », Distribution », Family Films », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
Just when you thought Astro Boy was never going to make it to the big screen, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We have received the official press release from Imagi Studios and Summit Entertainment (who are partnering for the flick) with the full cast for the anime update. Imagi finally found their lead in Freddie Highmore back in February and they have announced that joining Highmore in the cast are Nicolas Cage, Bill Nighy, Nathan Lane, and Eugene Levy. There is no word yet on which characters from the original series will be making an appearance, but I could definitely see Lane doing a respectable job as Hamegg.Astro Boy is the story of a boy robot looking for love and acceptance after being abandoned by his creator. After a Pinocchio-like journey of servitude in a circus, Astro was whisked off to safety by the understanding Professor Ochanomizu. Of course, Astro also spent his time battling mad scientists and out of control robots in between bouts of abandonment issues.
James Marsters Discusses 'Dragonball'
Filed under: Action », 20th Century Fox », Newsstand », Movie Marketing », Comic/Superhero/Geek »
It looks like Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum are popping out of the woodwork today. Empire Online reports that in an interview with TV Guide, James Marsters (better known as Spike) gave them a few tidbits about the upcoming big-screen version of the classic anime, Dragonball Z. (Marsters plays Piccolo, the main baddie in the story.) The actor told TV Guide: "Oh, Dragonball is the coolest television cartoon in the last 50,000 years. It's got a Shakespearean sense of good and evil. The movie has incredible action scenes with characters with unbelievable powers. It's going to be really visually exciting." While I've got nothing against Dragonball Z, 'Shakespearean' is a bit of an overstatement. News of the film adaptation first hit back in October, and the casting notices have been appearing fast and furious ever since. Joining Marsters is Chow-Yun Fat as Master Roshi, Justin Chatwin (War of the Worlds) as Goku, and Emily Rossum as Bulma. James Wong adapted Akira Toriyama's original manga, and his script focuses on a "warrior alien who protects the Earth from an endless stream of rogues bent on dominating the universe and controlling mystical objects known as Dragon Balls." When Wong first signed on to write and direct, it didn't exactly go over all that well with fans. Well, at least Wong has Marsters' vote of confidence; on the official Dragonball site, Marsters said: "I'm not really allowed to talk about any of the movie details, but I can say that (writer/director) James Wong is obviously a gifted and insightful director." Dragonball is currently shooting on location in Mexico, and is set for release on August 15th.
Colin Brady Talks 'Astro Boy'
Filed under: Animation », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Disney », Comic/Superhero/Geek », Images »
While I never really considered myself a huge Astro Boy fan, for some reason I'm really starting to look forward to ImagiAnimation's feature film about the little robot boy fighting danger while struggling to reconcile his circuitry with his burgeoning humanity. First Showing got the chance to speak with animator/director Colin Brady (Toy Story 2) and got an exclusive first look at some of the concept art for the film. So for the fans who were worried that their beloved Astro was going to get a big-budget makeover; don't worry, it looks like it's still the boy-robot you know and love. Although, for fans of the TV version back in the 60's (or its revival back in 2003), I'm afraid Brady has done away with the kitschy 60's vibe -- and instead, he'll be making an "epic Sci Fi fantasy".Brady tells FirstShowing, "AstroBoy is kind of a dark Pinocchio story, but unlike Pinocchio, Astro never can become real flesh and blood. Astro's journey of self discovery and acceptance is directly linked to the hardcore killer robot fights, and to the rejection by his creator, Dr. Tanner". Brady also hinted that the film wasn't going to be strictly for the kids: "We're going for as hard PG as we can. Luckily robot violence is less disturbing than humans fighting each other with guns". Amen to that. So far there is no word on a cast but Brady did say it would likely be a mix of American and Japanese actors, but that "they have to be right for the part". Astro Boy is scheduled for release in 2009.
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