Hollywood are you listening!?!?! Make these live action

With the release of the forthcoming live action Speed Racer movie causing much discussion on the Internet and the buzz about how faithful it is to the original, it seems that we could be on the verge of a swarm of Anime adaptations from Hollywood. Yes, after remakes of TV shows, Comic adaptations, remakes of old horror films and adaptations of toy lines from the 80's it is perhaps inevitable that a creatively bankrupt Hollywood will point its peepers east once more.

There is already an adaptation of Gatchaman (aka Battle of the Planets) on the way from the people responsible for the recent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles revival and a live action version of Akira has been rumored for years with Stephen Norrington (Blade, LXG) once attached and now is in the hands of Leonardo Dicaprio and Warner Bros who want to make two films based on the original Manga. A faithful looking version of Blood:The Last Vampire is coming later in 2008 and there is a rather crap looking version of Dragonball Z on the way. Also the Waschowski brothers are producing something that sounds suspiciously like Ninja Scroll. James Cameron has also been talking up a 3D version of Battle Angel Alita for years which he says will be his next project after Avatar.

There have been previous overlooked attempts at adapting Anime/Manga to the big screen and the most successful was probably Crying Freeman (1995) adapted by Christophe Gans (Brotherhood of the Wolf) and starring Mark Dacascos.It was a pretty good adaptation which was heavily influenced by John woo movies. Sadly it went more or less straight to DVD and occasionally shows up on Channel 5 late at night. There have also been two low budget Guyver movies and a semi-decent Fist of the North Star starring British martial artist Gary Daniels, Chris Penn and Malcolm McDowell. It seems that now however Hollywood is willing to put more of a budget and creative pizzazz into these adaptations.

So we may as well just sit back and accept that we are going to see some of our most prized teenage memories (if you are around 30 and a geek like me anyway) ransacked in the name of big budget summer entertainment. Although we can do nothing about this we can instead shout from the sidelines and mock the decisions they make as usual.

Here are some of my ideas for what Anime would make good live action entertainment and how this should be dealt with. I would be interested in hearing from you some your ideas or what you think would make a good live action movie. Especially genuine Otaku (fans) who probably know a lot more about this than me as I have just been a casual fan since my teens and I'm not really up on the more recent stuff like Naruto and Bleach.

DOMINION TANK POLICE

What's it all about?: Adapted from the manga by Masamune Shirow, Tank Police takes place in a city which is overrun with pollution and crime. The tank police are the latest attempt to stop the city from being taken over by criminals by basically going around in fuck-off huge tanks and armed to the teeth led by the near psychotic Lieutenant Britten. Into this steps Leona Ozaki a female cop who transfers to the tank police much to the Lieutenants disapproval. Leona must prove herself whilst trying to thwart the schemes of the inept criminals Buaku and the sexy cat sisters Anipuma and Unipuma. She is aided by a supporting cast that includes Al, Specs and a religious man Chaplain who are all members of the tank police. After destroying the Lieutenants prize tank in her first mission she creates a smaller tank from the wreckage and calls it Bonaparte, she becomes disturbingly close to the small tank. This was initially a four part straight to video anime in 1989 followed by a much more serious toned 8 part series in 1992. This was released by Manga Video during the early 90's anime boom in the UK.

Why Adapt it?: Because its funny,saucy and has tons of destruction in it. The dubbed western version of the anime had a dance soundtrack which has dated this quite badly but its still quite funny . The best way to do it would be a cross between the two anime series with moments of comedy from the 4 parter mixed with the action of the later 8 parter. Would no doubt be a huge hit with teenage boys if they cast an appropriately sexy actress as the twins Anipuma and Unipuma, you could pretty much hinge the whole marketing campaign on that. Get an actress like Jennifer Aniston circa the beginning of friends to play Leona and cast Bruce Campbell as Lieutenant Britten and you have a slice of fried gold.

Just Imagine: A big summer action comedy with a futuristic twist and a hit soundtrack including Daft Punk, The Chemical Brothers and Underworld.

Ideal Cast: Keri Russell (Leona) Bruce Campbell (Lt Britten) Simon Pegg (Al) Paul Giamatti (Buaku) Angelina Jolie (Anapuma and Unipuma)

Ideal Director: Michael Bay (who could do the mass destruction) or Sam Raimi (who could do the blend of comedy and action)

 

Perfect Blue

What's it all about?: Mima is a member of girl group Cham, she decides to leave and become an actress. An obsessive Cham fan however will not accept that she is leaving the group and begins to stalk her and murder those around her managing her career. At the same time an online blog known as 'Mima's Room' appears on line detailing her life away from Cham which Mima has nothing to do with. Mima starts to unravel as she fears she is losing her mind and her agent Rumi who is also a former pop idol tries to guide her through. Directed by Satoshi Kon in 1997 and based loosely on the novel by Yoshikazi Takeuchi. This was originally supposed to be done as a live action film but the production studio was damaged in the Kobe Earthquake.

Why adapt it?: Watching this recently I realized that this subject is so relevant to now that its a wonder nobody has done this already. Since the dawn of the new millennium the celebrity craving madness has seeped so firmly into the public consciousness that you cant leave the house without seeing what someone in Big Brother got up to the night before. I mean even Jade Goody has her own perfume and exercise DVD for gods sake! The time is right for someone to satirize this whole sorry state of affairs and this would be the perfect material. In the UK you could do this so well, especially with shows like Hollyoaks keeping our teenagers dumb.  Director Darren Aronofsky (The Fountain) has the rights to direct the live action version apparently.

Just Imagine: A Dark Horror/Satire on the nature of celebrity, acclaimed for its strong performances which becomes a big hit due to strong word of mouth.

Ideal Cast: Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Mima) Imelda Staunton (Rumi) and Tommy Flanagan (him from Sin City and Face/Off with the scar as the obsessive fan)

Ideal Director: Darren Aronofsky (could handle the darkness) David Fincher (Likewise) or David Lynch (has made similar films like Inland Empire and Mullholland Dr)

 

Vampire Hunter D

What's it all about?: Based on a novel series by Hideyuki Kikuchi the first anime version was released in 1985 and later released in the UK by Manga Video. Set far in the future after a devastating nuclear war the world has started again in a kind of Western fashion but is plagued by creatures of the night. A half human/half vampire bounty hunter known only as D wanders the wastelands taking jobs that pit him against the supernatural hordes. A much better anime movie known as Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust was released in 2000 with better animation and storyline. In both movies D is a loner who is pitted against powerful Vampires with whom he both sympathizes and despises. The author Hideyuki Kikuchi has mentioned in the postscript to his novels that a Hollywood adaptation is in development but has so far failed to materialize.

Why adapt it?: Basically the premise and setting are cinematic as hell. It would take a visual genius to do this faithfully but it would be truly something to behold if they get the mix of Western/Gothic iconography, classic monster movie and swordplay correct. Could make a really good hardcore action horror romp with an established action star. Jean Claude Van Damme in his early 90's heyday probably would have been a good choice for D back then as the character rarely talks. Its hard to think of someone now who could fit that role. Even if they don't adapt the two anime's made so far there are 17 D novels with material to adapt. Its a franchise that could run and run.

Just Imagine: An R/18 rated action movie released late summer with action choreography by Yuen Wo Ping.

Ideal Cast: Christian Bale or Guy Pearce (D)

Ideal Director: The Waschowski Brothers ( they know how to do this sort of thing) or Christophe Gans (because Vampire Hunter D is like a cross between Brotherhood of The Wolf and Silent Hill anyway)

 

The Venus Wars

What's it all about?: In 2089 the planet Venus has been colonized by mankind and divided into two continents Ishtar and Aphrodia. Tensions run high between the two nations and there are whispers of war. In Aphrodia a brutal game has become the latest craze which is played on high powered single wheeled motorcycles. Hiro Seno is the leader of the champions The Killer Commando's. When Ishtar's forces invade led by the maniacal General Donner, Hiro and his team are caught up in the war and recruited by the Aphrodian rebellion. Together they learn that real violence and war isn't all that fun.

Why adapt it?: Its all about spectacle. You could make a really cool movie set in space with the thrill of a movie like The Fast and The Furious combined with a war movie. The teenagers in the film are drawn into a war after the invasion and the film also features a scene with a suicide bomber. The parallels with what is going on in the world now are there and it could have be an intelligent movie with a message as well as being a big action sci-fi blockbuster. This was the first anime movie I saw when it was released by Manga Video back in 1992 and honestly I didn't like it. Since then I saw that someone made a music video to 'Africa' by Toto using footage from Venus Wars on YouTube. Honestly it was really well done and worked and I saw the movie in a whole new light. I since watched it on DVD and apart from some of the animation it holds up pretty well and has a very anti-war Starship Troopers/Platoon feel to it.

Just imagine: The thrill of watching this in Imax 3D mostly filmed on green screen like 300. The scenes of Motorbike versus Military Hardware carnage are amazing but then you leave the cinema with a feeling like y'know war is bad.

Ideal Cast: A bunch of unknown teenagers from TV shows as the Killer Commando's and Kevin Spacey as General Donner.

Ideal Director: James Cameron (has the skills with new effects technology to do this justice) Paul Verhoeven (could make it similar to Starship Troopers but the satire would be there).

 

 The Guyver

                     

What's it all about?: If ever there was an anime version of a Marvel style superhero then its The Guyver. The story follows Peter Parker alike high school nerd Sho who comes across a mysterious device in the woods after school that bonds with him and allows Sho to become the ultimate weapon. The Cronos corporation lead by director Makishima Genzo despatch their super powered mutant creations the Zoanoids after Sho to retrieve the Guyver unit. Sho must prevent the Guyver from falling into the wrong hands and protect his friends, Tetsuro and Mizuki as well as figure out what mysterious older student Agito knows about all this. The Guyver is a long running manga by Yoshiki Takaya and was adapted into a 12 part anime series in 1989 and then again into a 26 part series in 2005.

Why Adapt it?: Well its already been made by Hollywood twice in 1991 and 1993 but unfortunately they were low budget productions with little money to do it justice. In these days of superhero and comic adaptations assaulting the multiplex this has got HIT written all over it. Give it $100 million budget and a decent director and you could well produce a classic trilogy of movies slowly introducing Guyver units 1 & 2 and bigger and bigger Zoanoids until all three units team up to defeat a Cloverfield size monstrosity in part 3!

Just Imagine: A large scale monster fest with great special effects as well as a captivating heartfelt storyline that's a huge hit with critics as well as audiences. If nothing else imagine the tie in toyline!

Ideal Cast: Emile Hirsch (Sho), Frank Langella (Makishima Genzo) Joshua Jackson (Agito)

Ideal Director: Sam Raimi (Done acrobatic superheroics with Spider-Man) Guillermo Del Toro (could handle the monster mash up) or Ryuhei Kitamura (Japanese director of the visually stunning and action packed Godzilla:Final Wars).

 

Samurai 7

What's it all about?: A 26 part anime TV series based on Akira Kurosawa's classic Seven Samurai which influenced The Magnificent Seven. This version relocates the action to an alternate future/past where a great war has occurred and evil bandits with giant robotic weaponry have enslaved the village of Kanna and makes them provide rice for their greedy asses whilst the village starves and the people go hungry. Three of the villagers travel to the Capital to recruit Samurai to defend their village, they meet Shimada Kambei, and old and wise samurai and from their they travel and recruit Katshushiro Okamato ( a young wannabe Samurai who becomes Kambei's student),Gorobei Katayama (a clown who was once a samurai and now is a street entertainer),Shichiroji (Kambei's best friend who fought alongside him in war and has now settled down to run an inn), Kikuchiyo (a large and clumsy cyborg with a big heart), Hayashida Heihachi (a mechanic who loves to eat rice) and Kyuzo (the bodyguard of an evil merchant who has skills equal to Kambei). Together they defeat the bandits and then take the battle to the capital and overthrow the evil emperor. Lives are lost, lessons are learnt and the whole thing ends in a massive battle.

Why adapt it?: Its been a while since we have seen a new version of this classic story and Samurai 7 has everything. Love, Betrayal, Violence, Comedy and Redemption. Its a truly epic and moving tale and presents a world that (Like Vampire Hunter D) that we haven't really seen on film before. This series ignited my interest in Anime again and its hard to see how you could cram the whole saga into one film but if anyone can do it then you Hollywood writers can, just don't lose the heart.

Just Imagine: An epic along the lines of The Last Samurai but with giant robots and characters you really care about. If done right, then as well as making a truckload of cash we could be talking nominations come award season.

Ideal Cast: Dennis Quaid (Kambei) Justin Chatwin (Okamato) Jeff Goldblum (Katayama) Val Kilmer (Shichiroji) Ron Perlman (Kikuchiyo) Seann William Scott (Heihachi) and James Franco (Kyuzo)

Ideal Director: Edward Zwick (Loves his epics), Ridley Scott (could handle the visuals) John Woo (maybe past it, but he knows how to do bad asses with heart)

Ghost in the Shell

 

What's it all about?: Ghost in the shell is a cyberpunk manga first published by Masamune Shirow in 1989 and adapted into an animated movie by Mamoru Oshii in 1995. There has since been a sequel to the movie as well as a TV show and movie based on the TV show. Shirow also sequelised his own manga recently which was published in English by Dark Horse, got all that?!?. The first movie is set in the far future where human beings are augmented with cybernetics in order to do their every day jobs or improve their skills. We follow the exploits of part cyborg agents of Section 9 Motoko Kusanagi, Batou and their mostly human partner Togusa. Section 9 are investigating the puppet master, a cyber terrorist that is hacking into the brains of the populace. Kusanagi uncovers a conspiracy within Section 6 that leads her to discover a shocking secret as to the puppet master's true identity. There is lots of deep philosophy as well as heavy weaponry and Kung fu. Ghost in the Shell was a HUGE influence on The Matrix.

Why adapt it?: As Lord of the Rings and Watchmen have proved, Hollywood loves a challenge. This is perhaps the hardest one to do justice out of all of these titles, harder even than the forthcoming Akira. The Matrix proved though that audiences will turn up to something that can make them think as well as gasp at awesome special effects. Will no doubt have to be dumbed down considerably for mass audiences. It took me three viewing's to fully appreciate the whole story!

Just imagine: A visually stunning definitive cyberpunk masterpiece that stand alongside Blade Runner as a film that finds a huge following over the years. Makes absolutely jack when released in the Summer but sells well on DVD.

Ideal Cast: Angelina Jolie (Major Kusanagi), The Rock (Batou), Matthew Fox (Togusa) and Laurence Fishburne (as the voice of Project 2501).

Ideal Director: James Cameron (Loves his huge weapons and technology), The Waschowski Brothers (stole whole shots from this for Matrix anyway).

PROJECT A-KO

What's it all about?: An animated comedy from 1988, Project A-Ko follows three schoolgirls in the typical sailor suit outfits found in most Anime. Eiko (or A-Ko) is a red haired schoolgirl who considers herself normal but is actually the most powerful girl alive. Her best friend is Shiiko (or C-KO) a cute but dim little blonde girl. The two of them transfer to a new school Graviton High where they attract the attention of spoiled rich girl Biko (or B-ko) and seems able to build large robots (or mecha) at the drop of a hat. Biko develops a crush on Shiiko and is determined to get rid of Eiko at any cost. Biko also realizes that her and Eiko were rivals in nursery school. This results in huge battles after school which destroy a good proportion of the town as well as most of the school. In the meantime Earth is threatened by a race of transsexual aliens who claim Shiiko is their long lost princess.

Why adapt it?: Read the above outline again, yes because its crazy! I mean what's not to love about a touching friendship between schoolgirls involving giant robots, spaceships and huge destruction. This could be a great great kids movie if done right. The kind that kids and adults can enjoy. Just remember to drop the lesbian undertones okay?

Just Imagine: A summer blockbuster for all the family or a future camp classic, you decide?

Ideal Cast: The suits should avoid the pretty teen cast from TV shows like The OC and instead look for some unknown kids who can carry off comedy.

Ideal Director: Tim Burton (has a similar tone to Mars Attacks anyway) or Roland Emmerich (Loves big summer destruction).