[Movie] Akira live-action film

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i don't make this shit up, folks...
Comics2Film wrote:Extraordinary Gentlemen Re-Team for Akria
Posted by
Rob M. Worley
On Thursday, October 10, 2002


The director and writer team from now-filming The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen will re-team for the live-action, English-language remake of Akira according to today's Variety.

Stephen Norrington is set to helm the remake of Katsushiro Otomo' classic anime and manga, based on a script by James Robinson. Jon Peters (Batman, Superman) will produce.

The project had been in development with Norrington and Warner executives Lionel Wigram and Dan Lin, although they hadn't found the right take they heard Robinson's pitch.

"I've been a fan of the anime for many years and understood which elements would have to be brought to a live-action translation of it," Robinson told Variety. "I've tried to retain as many iconic elements of the anime as possible."

Robinson's wrote and directed Comic Book Villains, which is in video stores now.

Re: [Movie] Akira live-action film

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io9 wrote:Live Action Akira Film Is Dead

Kiss a live-action look at spectacularly dystopian future goodbye. The live action remake of manga classic Akira is dead. Sad: We so wanted to see The Capsules, or at least the jacket, in real life.

The movie was rumored to take the six-book original series by Katsuhiro Otomo and translate it into two feature films. Ruairi Robinson was attached to direct the project.

Bloody Disgusting is now reporting that the film is dead in the water.
Sad news comes in this weekend as we have learned that not only has Robinson left the project, but Tetsuo and Kaneda's adventure is "dead as a doornail," a report we've confirmed with two separate sources.
You guys speculated that the project sounded rushed, and that such an undertaking probably couldn't be done, in a manner worthy to the series in time, for a 2010 release. So maybe it's all for the best, and maybe this it will have another life in the future — the far future where there are psychics, sex slaves, floating chairs, and we live in a Neo-City.

Re: [Movie] Akira live-action film

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reports of its death were apparently greatly exaggerated....
G4 wrote:Morgan Freeman To Join Akira Now?

With the rumors of Zac Efron's involvement in a lead role for the upcoming live-action Akira film starting to look legit, it seems that the name of yet another has been added to the rumor mills. Investigating the legitimacy of the High School Musical star's viability for the lead role, BloodyDisgusting stumbled onto another casting scoop that even the Espers didn't see coming. He may not be an alumnus of Disney's teen talent farm, but before he played Batman's gadget guy Lucius Fox, Nelson Mandela, Frederick Douglas, and even God, he certainly helped bring an entire generation of kids "the power" with The Electric Company. Yes, the name of none other than Morgan Freeman has been attached to this westernized rendition of Katsuhiro Otomo's manga series and influential anime film. Freeman is expected to fill the role of The Colonel, the tough-as-nails soldier who finds himself on a wild goose chase, hunting for biker rebel Kaneda, ultimately becoming disillusioned with the government experiments on psychics, which may be liable to reap untold destruction.

Should this rumor pan-out, it would actually be a pretty good choice. Sure, the version of The Colonel everyone knows is some mohawk-sporting white dude with a Japanese name (Shikishima) who looks like a dead-ringer for UFC Legend Chuck Liddell. However, this is the role of a man caught directly in the middle of the storyline's two driving forces. A solid mainstay like Morgan Freeman could effectively convey this duality between his tenacious drive to find and hunt Kaneda, and his core motivation for what he believes is right. Also, if indeed this is a film in which Zac Efron receives top billing, it's going to need all the help it can in broadening its audience and maintaining an image of legitimacy. Freeman would undoubtedly bring all of that.

Director Albert Hughes, in collaboration with brother Allen, is currently developing Akira, which, despite adhering to the original Manga's storyline, will take the story from 2019's "Neo Tokyo" into a futuristic version of New York called "New Manhattan." (Needs more Snake Plissken.) Despite what will surely be severe backlash from the anime fan community, it will nevertheless be interesting to see how the Hughes Brothers' ugly, gritty stylistic direction will mesh with the iconic manga/anime story.
sigh.

Re: [Movie] Akira live-action film

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You know, I have never, ever seen Akira. I'm sure I'm probably the only person on the face of the earth who hasn't. Despite even going out with a woman once who was deep into anime I've still never seen it. Am I missing anything?
Just cut them up like regular chickens

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still happening:
Variety wrote:WB puts 'Potter' touch on 'Akira'
Steve Kloves takes on Japanese manga epic

Steve Kloves, best known for adapting seven of the eight "Harry Potter" films for Warner Bros., has been recruited to polish the studio's live-action remake of Japanese manga epic "Akira."

Albert Hughes is directing "Akira," based on Katsuhiro Otomo's graphic novel set in a post-apocalyptic Japan. Warner acquired the "Akira" rights three years ago from publisher Kodansha and set it up with Andrew Lazar's Mad Chance with Appian Way's Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran.

The studio is looking to go into production this summer.

Hughes and his brother, Allen Hughes. will also produce.

Warners hasn't cast or set a release date for "Akira," which is set in a metropolis that was rebuilt after being destroyed decades earlier by Akira, a child with immense psychic powers. Otomo wrote and directed the popular 1988 Japanese anime film of the same name, and he'll exec produce WB's "Akira."

The latest version of the script was penned by Albert Torres, with earlier drafts by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby and Gary Whitta.

Kloves penned all the adaptations for the "Potter" pics except for the fifth, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," which was written by Michael Goldenberg. He took a break from the series to work on "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time." His other credits include "Wonder Boys" and "The Fabulous Baker Boys."

Kloves is repped by CAA.

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guess the director finally said "fuck all that" and bolted. WB is still determined to hire too-old white guys for this, however:
Deadline wrote:Albert Hughes Exiting 'Akira' At Warner Bros

The twists and turns on the Warner Bros adaptation of anime artist Katsuhiro Otomo’s graphic novel Akira continue. Director Albert Hughes is exiting the movie, I’m told. Insiders say that it is an amicable creative differences parting of the ways. Warner Bros will try to put him on another movie right away (Hughes and his brother Allen directed the hit The Book of Eli, and WB topper Jeff Robinov is their former agent and is very close with them). Hughes is coming to Hollywood next week to take meetings with his WME reps and look at scripts, hoping to find his next movie at Warner Bros.

As for Akira, the intention of the studio is to keep the picture on a fast track, which means they will find a director quickly. The studio has been wrestling with the approach on the film for the past year. Last March, Warner Bros put together a short list of up-and-coming actors after getting a strong rewrite by Steve Kloves that set the film in a rebuilt New Manhattan, where a leader of a biker gang saves his friend from a medical experiment. At the time, Robert Pattinson, Andrew Garfield and James McAvoy were given the script for the role of Tetsuo, and Garrett Hedlund, Michael Fassbender, Chris Pine, Justin Timberlake and Joaquin Phoenix were courted for Kaneda. The two leads were expected to come from that group of actors. Then, the studio had a change of heart and, given the budget, wanted to have an established box office star in the movie. That led to a flirtation with Keanu Reeves that ended recently.

Warner Bros is back to the other plan, and will likely go back to that list of actors in hopes of making the picture later this year or early next.

Andrew Lazar is producing with Appian Way’s Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran. Akira has been one of Warner Bros' high-priority projects since the studio with Legendary Pictures acquired it for a seven-figure sum two years ago from manga publisher Kodansha. The intention has been to make two films, each covering three books in the series. Akira was first adapted for the screen in 1988.

Re: [Movie] Akira live-action film

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dunzo:
io9 wrote:One Reason to be Glad the Live-Action Akira Movie is Dead

It's apparently official: The live-action Akira film is dead. Director Albert Hughes walked away from it a while back, and by all accounts nobody else is stepping up.

But there's at least one reason to be glad that we may never get our live-action Akira movie. Designer Chris Weston posted a blog post about the year he spent working on this project, which began with a blasphemy:
Well, I can tell you that on my first day on the job I was asked to "redesign the bike"! Yes, that's right: THE bike.

I was as horrified as you are; probably more, 'cos I was the one the fanboys were going to come for when they inevitably declared it a travesty.

In my defence, I would say at least I brought a love of Katsuhoro Otomo's art and an admiration of his design aesthetic to the table. I didn't want to stray too far away from the classic design. However, one has to admit that faithful real-life reproductions of Kaneda's bike do look a little bit "kitsch" ...

So the version I created was a bit meatier and nastier: the tyres were bigger, the engine was bigger, some of the casing was stripped off to expose the workings beneath. Kaneda was in a motorcycle gang that used these vehicles as weapons, so we gave it a more beaten-up look, dirtier, a few dents and scratches here and there.
Actually, this could have been horrible, or okay. It's hard to tell from his description. It doesn't sound that promising, though — Kaneda's bike is one of the iconic images from the original. In any case, it sounds like everybody involved with Akira is now comfortably talking about the project in the past tense.
that is fucking ridiculous. so happy this isn't happening. really shitty that people spent a year of their lives working on a project that is just gone now. here's the blog posting in question - it's long but good reading: http://chrisweston.blogspot.com/2011/06 ... grave.html

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sigh, just like a soap opera or jason voorhees, rumors of this thing's death were greatly exaggerated....
Variety wrote:Warner Bros. taps 'Unknown' director for 'Akira'
Live-action tentpole moves forward with Jaume Collett-Serra

Warner Bros. is moving ahead with its remake of "Akira" in a fiscally sensible way, tapping reliable Spanish helmer Jaume Collet-Serra ("Orphan," "Unknown") to direct a live-action version of the anime cult hit at a lower revised budget of $90 million.

WB acquired the potential tentpole project for a seven-figure sum from Japanese manga publisher Kodansha in 2008. Ruairi Robinson and Albert Hughes were previously attached to direct the adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo's graphic novel, but Hughes exited amicably in May over creative differences.

Gary Whitta was the first writer attached, while Albert Torres and the team of Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby also contributed drafts. Steve Kloves, WB's go-to scribe for its lucrative "Harry Potter" franchise, most recently polished Torres' draft.

Set in New Manhattan, the cyberpunk sci-fi epic follows the leader of a biker gang who must save his friend, discovered with potentially destructive psychokinetic abilities, from government medical experimentats.

Appian Way's Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran are producing with Mad Chance's Andrew Lazar. Otomo, who wrote and directed the 1988 Japanese anime pic of the same name, will exec produce "Akira."

Collet-Serra has earned a reputation for delivering pics on time and on budget, and his box office performance has been rising with each effort: His feature directorial debut "House of Wax" took in $68 million worldwide in 2005, while 2009's "Orphan" grossed more than $76 million worldwide. Earlier this year, Liam Neeson starrer "Unknown" opened in the top spot and has grossed more than $130 million worldwide on a reported production budget of $30 million.

Helmer is also attached to direct WB's vampire pic "Harker," another Appian Way production.

Collet-Serra is repped by CAA and Circle of Confusion.
otomo being attached is our only hope....

Re: [Movie] Akira live-action film

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Dead again!
This is a case of what seems completely obvious to the fanbase may not be so obvious to the studio - Warner Brothers is shutting down production of AKIRA at this time, according to the Hollywood Reporter. With Jaume Collet-Serra at the helm, it looks like he just couldn't make the movie at $90 million. Sources say it's budgetary concerns, with the studio trying to bring it down to $70 million, and at least one source says it's the script, by Steve Kloves, that just isn't ready.

This shouldn't come as a shock to anyone who's ever seen the anime - AKIRA is huge spectacle and the last half-hour practically goes to the edge of the universe and back. If they were sticking close to the cartoon, they would have to contend with a vast city being destroyed, a giant amoeba-like god in the middle of a stadium, satellites shooting lasers from the sky, and that's just the tip of the tentacle. According to insiders, if they can't get these issues squared away the project could be shut down entirely.

I really did want to see an American take on the subject matter, but if they can't do it right, there's no point in doing it at all. AKIRA is beloved by anime fans the world over, and a live-action film from America might not have held up to the incredible scrutiny that would have been plaed upon it. Add to that a director who just did not seem right for a project of this scale, and I think this could very well have been a recipe for disaster.
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/52505
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

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spoke too soon...
/film wrote:‘Akira’ Comes Back to Life at Warner Bros. With Jaume Collet-Serra Directing

Warner Bros. can no longer rely on the big summer projects developed by Legendary, so what’s the studio to do? How about the revival of a dead project? For years WB was working on a live-action adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo‘s manga and movie Akira, but the last effort was put to bed over a year ago. Now it’s back on, and the guy who was last in the director’s chair, Jaume Collet-Serra, is in talks to return.

In early 2012 WB shut down development so that the script could be reworked as a cheaper version of the story of a couple of teen bikers who get involved with a group of powerful telekinetics, government experiments, and the violent past of the city of Tokyo. Well, the setting is Tokyo in the original story; in WB’s version it will be Neo-Manhattan.

In fact, the studio tried to go even cheaper, looking at director alternatives like Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman (Catfish) to turn in an even more affordable take on the story. But Variety says that Collet-Serra’s take is the one WB really likes, so they’re getting him back on board, and he’s reportedly got a method in mind to do his version of the story for the budget figure WB wants. No word on whether Garret Hedlund, once attached to star, will be back.

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nope, next!
/film wrote:Taika Waititi’s ‘Akira’ Film Rides Into Theaters in 2021

Warner Bros. has been trying to make a live-action Akira movie for years, and so many talented filmmakers have cycled through its development that I honestly never thought we’d see it happen. But it looks like director Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok, The Hunt for the Wilderpeople) is going to be the one to finally crack it, because the film now has an official release date.
Akira Release Date Announcement

The studio says Waititi’s version of Akira will hit theaters on May 21, 2021. That’s currently the same day as John Wick: Chapter 4, but we’re guessing one of these movies will end up flinching and moving to a different date.

“I always felt like it was something that could do with a unique take,” Waititi said about the project a couple of years ago. “But, I don’t believe the world needs a remake of the anime, I think for me it would be, if there’s any real possibility for doing it, I would really just want to look at an adaptation of the books in a new way.”

Here’s the synopsis of the original manga:
Welcome to Neo-Tokyo, built on the ashes of a Tokyo annihilated by a blast of unknown origin that triggered World War III. The lives of two streetwise teenage friends, Tetsuo and Kaneda, change forever when paranormal abilities begin to waken in Tetsuo, making him a target for a shadowy agency that will stop at nothing to prevent another catastrophe like the one that leveled Tokyo. At the core of the agency’s motivation is a raw, all-consuming fear of an unthinkable, monstrous power known only as Akira.
Will Waititi be able to capture even half of the weirdness from the original story? I’m incredibly curious to see what he does here – and how a major Hollywood studio is going to release something so gnarly.