It's been out for a bit. I thought there's already some post on it, but can't find it with a manual search in the #movies tag, and the search function seemingly on the fritz. All I get is "You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door. There is a small mailbox here. "
Anywho, going to re-watch the original before seeing, but I don't recognize some scenes from the trailer. A bit fuzzy on the minute plot details. Regardless, I'm sure it'll be phenomenal vfx-wise, if not plot-wise. I've been hyped for Scarlett to play this role for a while. Conversely, a little disappointed the Bebop live-action with Reeves is looking shaky. Makes sense that'll a younger lad may fit the bill better, but I digress.
Here's the promised trailer:
Here's a "Shelling Sequence Clip" where the MC is made that I found on IGN:
Anime should not be remade for white people. Full stop. Not Akira, Not Cowboy Bepop, not Ghost in the Shell, not Avatar, not Speed Racer, not Robotech. You don't recognize a lot of the scenes because the whole plot has changed - Ghost in the Shell was about a rogue AI and the work/life balance. This is self-discovery with bullet time.
That's what I remember it as, which is why I had thought the end clip was throwing the train of its tracks. That's why I remember it as such an interesting movie... well, how it was meant to be remembered. Seeing as I get the Avatar call out as a point of reference, I think I see the your point. This is totally out there, but I'm assuming white people is in reference to mainstream culture? Not a part of the topic at hand so it's fine if you don't respond, just interesting diction. Edit: RIP Attack on Titan live action.
Akira was being developed by Stephen Spielberg, to be directed by Ruari Robinson. Cowboy Bebop was supposed to star Keanu Reeves. Ghost in the Shell... well, here we are. Avatar. Robotech was a Tobey Maguire project, script by Lawrence Kasdan. Yep. The guy who wrote Raiders penned a fuckin' SDF-1 Ming Mae Zentraedi screenplay. That's off the top of my head. I'm sure there's more. "White people" is in reference to the fact that Japanese culture is its own thing with its own mores, its own conventions, its own standards, its own tropes and its own shorthand. Those components are a vital part of the makeup of anime and truly make it what it is. I mean - have you ever seen a Japanese overdub of The Simpsons? It's a trip. Homer's a total sarariman and Marge has this super high-pitched voice and the jokes are different and that's just the overdub. Now imagine that Japanese. For the record, I experienced a violent hatred for AoT that only got deeper with repeated watching.
Appreciate the explanation. In some way, the variation in the plot will be an exposé of the difference in tropes and conventions, which is a shame given the reason why it's even popular enough to get a live action. On another note, I wouldn't surprised if its added to examples of white-washing.
I hate to say it, but the trailer really does not give me hope. I was worried from the start that they were going to make this just another sci-fi action movie, and I haven't seen much to suggest otherwise. The way they have Scarlett Johansson playing the Major is wildly different from the source, and the special effects shots of her look surprisingly bad. That they turned a scene from the first episode of SAC into some crazy firefight was just, ugh. This is one of the most cerebral (heh) franchises out there. Can't they at least pretend they're going to keep some of that? Granted it's early to judge, and I'll wait and see how it's reviewed. But again, skeptical. I am glad to see Michael Wincott (Top Dollar from The Crow) and Takeshi Kitano getting work, at least. Right you are, Ken.
Visually I imagine this will be stunning, I don't see it capturing the message of Ghost in the Shell. People say that they didn't think that scarlett was the right actress for the job, but I doubt any actress would be "right" for the job to play Motoko. That's one of the many problems with live-action films anime, cartoons, etc. are drawn irrespective of our own reality. Question. When does a movie have enough CGI that it may be more apt to call it an animation or something? Does that happen?
I'm straight up never going to see this movie. As KB said, anime should not be remade for white people. I would extend that to say that foreign movies generally should not be remade for the american public. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo? Awesome original movie, totally watchable with subtitles. English remake featuring Daniel Craig? Fucking AWFUL. The biggest problem, in my opinion, is that remade movies always, always play to the lowest audience denominator. They remove context, storyline and subtext in an effort to make the movie appealing to the most people as possible. It's a cash grab. edit: I mean straight up there are tons of asian actors who could do this role incredibly well, especially if you include korean and chinese actors and not just Japanese. I mean, Doona Bae from Sense8 would KILL this role.
Didn't even know there was an American remake. Guess that's one I won't be watching based off the collective thesis on remade foreign films anyways. I'd like to think the twisted version of plot lines to an "American" audience follows suit that an American actor(ress) would be the type fit for the job. In an ideal situation with a well-made reproduction of the movie in live action, then the actor or actress fitting of the original film's background would be the star. At least, that's the hope for the hypothetical expectation... Sidenote: Did you finish Sense8 and would you recommend it?
I did finish Sense8. I liked it - It's good as long as you're not expecting shakespeare. Just remember it's sci fi from the people who made the Matrix, so it tries to be more profound than it really is.
I can think of better people for the role, other than Johanson. But, I guess it looks ok.