Taking Action Against Live-Action adaptations
Before I go on hiatus, I want one last rant before I go…
Now I don’t mind the odd adaptation of a manga into live action, and the new Dororo samurai movie looks awesome, but when live action versions of ANIME masterpieces are in the works? I got word that they’re making a live action Akira from an Anime Update magazine inside the Disgaea DVD case, and I was outraged as anime | otaku was when he read Finnegan’s Wake, then found out about the Akira adaptation, causing him to RAGE on Gmail chat.
With all the hoopla over the same guy who made the movie 300 set to bring another graphic novel to the screen, Watchmen, I think it’s valid to discuss both mediums of Anime/Manga being adapted as compared to the adaptation of a graphic novel.
Alan Moore has frequently been upset with adaptations of his work and now accepts no money in royalties for any film adaptations of his graphic novels like Watchmen, because they usually do a bad job at it. V for Vendetta was a pleasant change in this sad state of affairs when the Wachowski Brothers adapted it, but then the Matrix Magicians decided that turning Speed Racer into live action would be a good idea. (what a segue back to Anime!)
I have not seen the Speed Racer movie and I doubt I’ll get a chance to for a while, but from the trailers I could see that I liked the original Anime better. Warholian pop art style beats CGI any day of the week.
Which reminds me of another irritation: they’re making a CGI Astro Boy. Not content with making Osamu Tezuka roll in his grave, and after an unsuccessful re-launch of a new Astro Boy series, the studios think it’s a good idea. When it’s not.
End these bad Live Action adaptations now!
Go postal.
Live action adaptations do not exist.
They are planning a Cowboy Bebop live-action film which will most likely fail. Especially since they are probably going to hire b grade directors and actors.
Yitzas last blog post..I’m not dead… yet
Aw, don’t be so negative. There have been good adaptations: Spider-Man series, The Dark Knight, Speed Racer (because I liked it, OK?), 300, Sin City, and… and… yeah. =P
As far as anime adaptations go, we’ll still have to see. Maybe Hollywood will surprise us.
IcyStorms last blog post..[Dinner Discussion] Manga aisle freeloaders
@IcyStorm:
Yeah, but Spider-Man 3 was an abomination. Tobey Maguire trying to be funky creeped me out he was such a skinny white boy with no jive talking…
newgeekphilosophers last blog post..Taking Action Against Live-Action adaptations
Doesn’t really matter to fans; they’ll just ignore them if necessary. But more adaptations is good for the original copyright holders, so I consider LA adaptations a Good Thing.
Mihas last blog post..「Kuro Shitsuji」 trailer
the Akira adaption is just fucked up. It’s one of the most Japanese things out there.
21st Century Digital Boys last blog post..SHUT UP AND EXPLODE, MOTHAFUCKA
I suppose there’s no cast-iron rule saying all live-action adaptions of anime are terrible. We probably ought to distinguish, or at least justify not distingiushing between, live action anime adaptions being produced in Japan and being made in Hollywood. As Miha says, it’s hopefully extra cash and there’s always the chance that some normal person might become interested in the anime concerned.
I’d be really interested to see more cross-cultural, cross-media adaptions like the adaptions of Bootleg and (more famously) Howl’s Moving Castle. Wouldn’t it be fascinating to see Hollywood adapting a manga, for example?
IKnights last blog post..Snapshots: Fall of the Free Planets
Well, after seeing the live-action adaptation of Death Note, I thought a lot of the acting was terrible. Live-action adaptations can turn out good or bad, regardless of where they are produced; it’s the same as saying “End Bad Comic Book Movies”, it pretty much depends on who’s directing it, writing it, what the source material is. There’ll always be bad adaptations and good adaptations, and there’s nothing that can change that.
Omisyths last blog post..Ryoko’s Case Files 3: What Is With All These Blond Transvestites?
I thought Death Note was OK, excepting the CG shinigami, but that was Japanese, and I have far less hope for its Hollywood counterpart, or Cowboy Bebop.
Alan Moore is a pretty bad example because he hates literally everything that has his name attached to it, and forcibly removes that name at some point. That includes V For Vendetta, but I’m with him on that — entertaining, but missed the point entirely.
I’m still holding out hope for Watchmen, though.
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