Gatchaman 2013

There have been a few live action Gatchaman projects over the years-- I recall one commercial for a cell phone company that was pretty slick for its time, with extra SMAP.

Below is the trailer for the latest and greatest, it's not quite The Avengers, but it sure tries. Maybe it's trying too hard? But hey, dig those costumes.


(My favorite moment? 1:10... Bump of Chicken)

Game of Thrones is gorgeous

Yes, it's been met with critical acclaim and a steadily growing audience. Yes, it's based on an incredibly popular series of novels and the adaptation has been as good as the source. But what really puts Game of Thrones over the top is its overall production value. The caps below are just from one episode ("Prince of Winterfell"), but believe me the entire series is full of fantastic production design, location shooting, and composition.

When they say it's not TV, it's HBO, they mean it. There's nothing on television in this format that even comes close to the sheer cinematic feel of an average episode of Game of Thrones. The lighting alone is a clue to the care and craft being put into each scene. At times an establishing location shot, on screen for mere seconds, looks as if it was plucked from the BBC's Planet Earth. Earth this is definitely not, but it could hardly be showcased any better.

 

Battleships, Monkeys, & CG--oh my.

The first post of 2010 brings some potentially exciting news.

For anyone who grew up on animations of the late 70s and 80s, one should have memories of a series called Star Blazers, the Americanized version of a Japanese anime series "Uchuu Senkan Yamato (Space Battleship Yamato)." It was one of my first exposures to Japanese anime and I still have clear memories of the impact it had on me because of the grown-up nature of the story. It was far far different from "Tom & Jerry" or "Looney Toons." The series has a strong following to this day, especially among men in the late 30s and early 40s—an important demographic for the film industry.

When word broke that a film adaptation of the anime was in the works, I naturally had my misgivings. The story of the series is long and complex, yet its timely message of Earth at a environmental crisis with a group of people heading out to space in a last ditch effort to save it would make a natural draw to contemporary theater-goers. However, there are reasons why anime adaptations have always been difficult; how do you boil down a 24 episode or more storyline down to 2 to 2.5 hours? It is no easy task. What will the filmmakers keep? What will they cut out? What will they add? Peter Jackson proved that an adaptation can incorporate edited, added, and reorganized elements and still hold true to the original source, but he, Fran Walsh and Philipa Boyens spent countless hours writing and rewriting the script, and refining it during the production. This is a practice not found in Japan where the first draft is what usually goes in to production. If they were planning a trilogy of films, I could feel some sense of comfort, but as of this writing, Space Battleship Yamato is a standalone with sequel possibilities depending on box office. I believe this will ultimately affect the quality of the story.
However, some doubts were alleviated with the choice of director: YAMAZAKI Takashi, the man behind SF cult hits Juvenile & Returner as well as the Always: Sunset on Third Street period family drama series. Yamazaki is an expert at subtle uses of CG as a tool to bring the world of his films to life; he is the antithesis of KAZUAKI Kiriya. At least visually, the focus wouldn't be on the FX, but on how the characters live in a world brought to life by SFX. Over the weekend, the first preview CM (commercial) for the film aired:



The production design seems well done, possibly borrowing from the design philosophy of the "Battlestar Galactica" series in the practical realization of the technology. Then there is the CG. On Youtube, it might look fine, but on a 15 foot screen, there is the potential for this space adventure to look immensely artificial. Japan, despite all its technology, is not adept at CGI effects, mainly due to the lack of investment by production companies in the proper equipment and software or to set a portion of the budget to outsource CGI effects to internationally recognized effects houses. In order to save money, producers usually gather a staff using largely off the shelf equipment and software for the duration of the production. In the case of Yamazaki, his production company is also a CGI effects company so he has a slight advantage, but comparisons to even second-tier Hollywood effects houses are not even possible.

Recently, news on the Chinese film news site MonkeyPeaches.com, brought word of a project entitled Da Nao Tiao Gong (Uproar in Heaven), which will be a new live-action film based on the "Journey to the West" fantasy novels. The most important point in the press release is the decision by production company, Filmko Pictures, to contract Weta Digital to animate the Monkey King and deliver other CGI effects. Unlike their Japanese counterparts, Filmko Pictures recognizes Weta Digital's leadership in the type of CG that would be required to bring their film to reality and have decided to earmark a budget to add Weta's expertise to the team.

I have always been of the opinion that Japan could be a leader in CG effects and visualizations. Their long tradition of visualizing fantastic characters, situations, action and effects from manga would be greatly sought after by filmmakers around the world. Sadly, there is no one in Japan's film industry who has vision and courage to invest in creating the infrastructure, training, and environment for CGI effects services. To this day, there are no specialized effects houses in Japan's film industry. There are companies like Yamazaki's, a film production company with a CG department, but a Weta or ILM type company does not exist. This remains one of the Japanese film industry's wasted opportunities...

The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec

A few months ago, I wrote a post about a new period adventure that Luc Besson would be helming. Now, the first official image for the film as been released.



It may be small, but it is at least a glimpse of the visual adaptation of the French comic. The cast has also been revealed by Europa Corp. Louise Bourgoin (The Girl from Monaco) takes on the titular role of Adele Blanc-Sec. A relative newcomer with only a few films under her belt, she is mostly known for her alluring looks and obvious sex appeal. It will be interesting to see how she takes on a "flapper-esque" liberated woman at the turn of the century. Rounding out the cast are Mathieu Amalric (Quantum of Solace / The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), Gilles Lellouche (Mesrine: L'instinct de mort), and Jean Paul Rouve (La môme). With any luck production stills of the cast in their roles will be released in the near future. Needless to say, my excitement for this project continues to grow.

G.I. Joe

This will be one of the rare occasions when a post will be focused not on the film and its story, but on the the production of a film; in this case production design specifically. It is quite obvious what the intention of the filmmakers (i.e. producers/studio) when one views the trailer for this latest live-action adaptation of a popular property from the 80s. Any attempt at arguing for a much more substantial narrative is essentially a waste of time and energy. The film is designed to maximize opening day ticket sales by exploiting nostalgic memories of a much loved cartoon in people (men particularly) who are now in their 30s and 40s. The lure of blockbuster box-office returns based off a borrowed property is too tempting and as commented on earlier the viewing audience is far too easily "entertained" to demand originality and/or depth in a film of this nature.

What proves to be truly disappointing is the absolute lackluster production design that was approved by the director and all involved. Hollywood is prone to trends and ever since Tim Burton's Batman, black, leather-clad superheroes seem to be the only way Hollywood is able to visualize comic book characters. This was only reinforced more with the success of the Bryan Singer's X-men films in which a much more colorful palette in the comics was muted down to color accented black suits in the film versions. Despite early fan protests, the film adaptations of the costumes were so successful onscreen that they actually influenced the comic book versions post release of the films.
So, it stands to logic that the live-action version of the 80s "G.I. Joe" cartoon would also follow the same route. Take a look at the international poster for the film above. There is a substantial difference here that needs to be pointed out. Superheroes wear costumes as a method of disguise, an alter-ego with which they carry out their activities while living out another life as normal citizens. The members of G.I. Joe are military personnel. They do not wear costumes. Their outfits are a function of their occupation and the specializations within that occupation; they are also a reflection of the branch of the military to which they belong be it Army, Navy, Air Force or Marines. The concept of the original cartoon was an elite unit made of up soldiers from these branches, contributing to a much more effective fighting force that pooled their collective skills.

Compared to this package design for the DVD of the cartoon series, the failings of the film production design are quite obvious. Though G.I. Joe is a unified team, each member retains their individual identities and trademarks based on the military branch to which they belong as well as the specific skill set they bring to the team. One can not get any sense of this when looking at the film poster; in fact, it's even hard to tell who are the villains and who are the heroes. Obviously, the outfits of the cartoon characters would have to be adapted to film, but it seems so elementary that drawing on real military garment and uniforms from around the world and through various eras would produce much better results than completely black outfits that have no variation whatsoever among the individual characters.
I am sure the production team will have all manner of explanations as to why they took the design route seen in the film. Whatever those justifications may be, this short video produced by a figure manufacturer proves that A) It is possible to reproduce the look of the cartoon in live action; B) even without revealing any faces, anyone familiar with the cartoon can identify the characters just by their trademark costumes and C) the production design of the film was not even close in capturing the spirit of the original source. It's a telling sign when the deep pockets of Hollywood can be outdone by figure manufacturer with its heart in the right place. But I guess that's the point, isn't it?

Kamui

This will be the first period, action film from director SAI Yoichi, known mostly for contemporary dramas including the Kitano Takeshi starring Blood and Bones. It is an adaptation of the comic "Kamui Gaiden" or "Legend of Kamui" (don't ask me why the film title is just 'Kamui') by SHIRATO Sampei. Some of you might be familiar with the anime, Dagger of Kamui produced in the 80s. Though there have been various iterations of Kamui's legend, including a 1960s anime series, so it will be interesting to see how much of the story from the manga will be retained in this live-action version. The main thrust of the story is a ninja being hunted by the members of the clan he abandons, an action punishable by death. Constantly pursued, Kamui refuses to build relations with anyone because of the fleeting nature and inherent danger any such relationship would be subjected to. It is a tale of survival, but ultimately, also one of tragedy as over the course of time, Kamui becomes paranoid that everyone around him is a killer. Perhaps it is this dramatic thread which attracted SAI Yoichi to the project.

source: Nippon Cinema

The above trailer sells the film as "action-entertainment." Naturally, you would expect that from a film about ninjas. For a time in the late 80s, there was a significant boom in Ninja films thanks to films starring Kosugi Sho. That genre has almost been forgotten, but recently, there seems to be renewed interest in "shinobi" stories though westerners might be puzzled as to the lack of black-clad masked men in popular manga/anime "Naruto" and films such as Shinobi: Heart Under Blade or this film for that matter. Then again, no one in the original "Kamui Gaiden" manga wore the signature outfit either. Perhaps this is how ninja truly were.

Also of note is the difference between this film and the previously mentioned Goemon. One can see the what actual sets and scenery contribute to the overall feel of the film and how CG-enhanced action is much preferable to CG-generated action. The actors are there, in the moment, taking in their surroundings and letting it shape their performances and reactions. Extraordinary people and action set in ordinary, familiar surroundings seem much more extraorinary whereas, extraordinary people in extraordinary settings just seem "normal." I think that will be a key difference between Goemon and Kamui...at least to this blogger. The film is slated for a Fall 2009 release.

Point-Counterpoint

The King of Fighters

Synopsis

A stylish, high-octane, live action feature based on the highly successful video game franchise, in which the last surviving descendants of three legendary clans are continuously transported to other dimensions to test their martial arts skills against an evil force that seeks to invade and infect the real world.

EDCO's Point:
It would seem to have a great team and best of intentions behind it... on the surface.

But when I hear things about taking "license" with story and looking to expand appeal to a wider audience, the alarm goes off. I think it's just lazy (and on a small level insulting). What's the point of making a King of Fighter's movie if you aren't going to embrace and exploit the things that found a fanbase in the first place?

Japanese videogames typically have ludicrously deep storylines behind even the most esoteric details. Some may find them thin or non-consequential, but to think that they need to be bypassed to adapt to a film, well you're just not trying hard enough. If they are weird, the goal should be to present them just as weird! Else why wouldn't you just create something of your own? Marketing wants to trade off the name, yet has no reverence for what the name represents.

Also KOF has one of the longest pedigrees of balls-out fantastic character designs. To not try and translate that costuming verbatim is folly, I hope they just gave a drawing to the costume dept. and said "make this." Maggie Q as Mai? Fail. What is Mai's well known and game-iconic body type? Is Mai the character that should be cast lithe and tone with a petite, dancer's physicality? Ugh, a casting call would have done well, even [after you] take away all the models and fluff. Like there aren't 10 other KOF characters MQ could have played.

BD's Counterpoint:
The fact of the matter is that [EDCO's] eval of the "crimes" against this kind of material has plagued videogame adaptations since their inception. However, I also have to acknowledge that films needs to attract investors to get made and that means building into it features that increases its ability to open wallets, secure distribution deals, and get the folks who will exhibit this excited about it at trade shows like the lovefest going on in Vegas now called ShoWest.
Ultimately, however, producers [have] only [cared] about developing a way to bring the characters together rather than developing a story that makes said encounters a matter of fact. ["Ludicrously deep storylines" are] only esoteric to the uninitiated; it's your job as a producer to find a way to explain it to them. Projects that strip the meat away from the original property only leaves a bare bones idea that alienates the core fanbase, effectively eliminating the word of mouth they can generate. On the other hand, a project that adheres rigidly to all the original's details, stands to please only its niche audience and alienate the general audience, making it difficult for investors to hop on board.

The problem is time. Asian production timelines are extraordinarily fast--1 to 1.5 years from initial idea to premiere. That's not enough time to develop a proper script or find the right cast that will both serve the demands of the original material and the demands of investors. I agree that there could be a better choice for the character of Mai, but MQ is a face and a name you can slap on a poster, a presskit, or PR video. If you find a great gal who fits the physique, can she act? Can she fight? If she lacks either, you need time to train her. But if MQ can attract the investors, then there's nothing a prosthetic appliance couldn't fix to match Mai's game-iconic lines.

Summary:
Jim Jarmusch's rule #3 is absolutely right. However, Jarmusch has the benefit of making small scale films that neither involve complex action set pieces, effects work, nor a large amount of sets to be built. These kinds of genre films involve a large sum of money to get made. Unfortunately, the rule of thumb has been to develop a film that only vaguely resembles its source material and in extreme cases may only share said material's title. On the other hand, films that have tried to adhere to the source's ideas without developing it effectively for the different medium in which it will be exhibited tend to only appear as "inside jokes" to those unfamiliar with it.

Our wish is that filmmakers have the courage to adapt material with an eye on telling the story in as close to the same form that made it popular in its previous medium. Alongside this, we hope for the existence of producers who will believe in the material and the filmmakers' vision of it without resorting to demanding that, in order to have broad appeal, the material be changed and diluted so it becomes a theft of the concept and a robbery of the fan base's money. All we have ever asked is that they do it right; I think films like The Dark Knight, Iron Man, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy prove that fans are willing to accept certain changes as long as the adaptation gets the characters, the story, and a number of details right. And the box-office figures of these films prove it is worth it.

Where The Wild Things Are

The natural fear when you hear of a project like this is whether or not a complete film can be realized from a 48-page children's book. It did not help matters that the production of the film has been low on publicly released information. That time is now at an end with the debut of the official trailer.

I think fears can be put to rest. The trailer effectively indicates that the sense of play and the power of imagination that is the foundation of the book is truly the heart of this film. There is so much to digest in these few minutes, but already one feels comfortable with the familiarity of the imagery, yet intrigued by the new things we have not seen before. Certainly, the anticipation for discovery and adventure will be as high for the audience as it is for the character of Max. I must also commend Spike Jonez and company for the exquisite production design. Thank you for utilizing costumes and puppetry to bring our furry friends to life and not CG. Seeing their form bounce, wrinkle, and get muddied is important for us to feel that Max's imaginary world is as real as ours.

All I can say now is that October seems a very long way off. However, I must echo the warnings I have read on the net. To those of you at the Hollywood studios, leave Spike Jonez alone and allow him to make the movie he wants to make. You will be better off for it.

Blood: The Last Vampire *Updated*

Things are finally moving on this live-action adaptation of the Production I.G. OVA. It seems I've been following the production of this film forever, and after a long drought of images or official news, the film is set to be released in several markets this summer.

Directed by Chris Nahon (Kiss of the Dragon), I think Blood will make a rather successful transfer from the anime thanks to the original's setting in the modern world; no hyper-fantastic characters or world to deal with (ahem--another post to be sure). The European trailer really shows off the stylized action and visuals, though I could do without the poorly written and overacted voice-over.

This is also the first time we've heard lead actress Gianna Jun (aka Jeon Ji-Hyeon) speak and I think any concerns about her English should be put away; anyone who complains now were probably pre-disposed against the film or her and would be better off seeing something else.

Naturally, the film will probably be taking some detours from the anime, as it should, delving into backstory to set up the heroine and her plight. I only hope the chill pathos she displays in the animation will be aptly captured.I also hope it will stray away from the "Ooohhh I'm sooo Evil" villain. Considering this role is being played by The Last Samurai's Koyuki, there should be more dimension to her character than the drawings from which the animation was created.


Here is the link to the Official Japanese Site. It streams a briefer teaser, but should be uploaded with goodies as the release date approaches.

**Update**
The official full Japanese trailer is now online over at Yahoo Japan.

Speed Racer has blown my fragile, little mind

Really, nothing I write here could explain what it is like to see this movie. I believe most will either hate it or love it, I don't see alot of grey area. Personally, I loved it. I am a big Speed Racer fan and this movie has Speed Racer all over it, and in all the best ways. I told one of my friends it was like a love letter. And not like a touchy-feely Superman Returns Hallmark Channel jerk-off letter, but more of a baby you're the hottest thing on the planet so ditch your boyfriend and lets get it on kind of letter.

I have seen some crazy ass shit, but man, this movie is some crazy ass shit. Yup, story good (really good). Cast, great (really great). Music, sweet (really, really sweet). But the visuals are out of freakin' control and it truly has to be seen to be believed. It doesn't matter if this movie was live action or animated, because within the first five minutes it's clear that they are one in the same and it doesn't stop. Cause, see, first they throw you some crazy ass shit. Then you're thinking, man, that was some crazy ass shit but then some even CRAZIER ass shit starts going on. And you're like whoa, that was some seriously crazy ass shit, etc., etc., for the next two hours. So you are either going to totally dig this or pass out in an epileptic seizure.


The Wachowskis, there's some heated debates about those guys and what they do. I've been in many of them on both sides. But what they did here took huge balls. Giant, monster balls. I don't know that they have "pulled off" anything to a greater renown than a wild-looking popcorn flic, but in Speed Racer I fell hook, line, and sinker.

Speed Racer Movie Site

Speed Racer: Balls = Tripped

I dig Speed Racer. My left brain already knows what this movie will probably be, but my right brain dreams of that very special place just within reach. Part videogame, part live-action cartoon, part total fucking acid trip... I gotta say the Speed Racer trailer that recently dropped its load on the interwebs leaves me wanting more. I will have to check my brain at the door and see this post haste.



Do yourself a favor and download an HD Quicktime version to pace through frame-by-frame. Lots of little easter eggs* in that (always infuriating) rapid-fire editing 'da kidz likey so much. Unfortunately one can almost guarantee the whole movie is that way.

SPOILER!! (rollover to see)

Autobots: Droll Out

So I had to see Transformers. It's like they dared me to. Hollywood has become very enamored with the idea that if you throw enough money at it, anything is possible on film. Transformers has all the oohs and aahs of CG masturbation, but it lacks one other minor detail. A good story.

The raping of childhood nostalgia aside, Transformers tries to be too many things in its goal to be everything. It's a hardcore war movie. It's a tech thriller. It's a touching, coming-of-age drama about a boy and his car. It's a wacky teen comedy about a boy and his car. It's a summer blockbuster with giant robots beating the living fuck out of each other for 40 minutes straight.

It's exhausting. And the individual parts aren't all bad. The future war stuff was great, until it shifted gears into the tech thriller. The funny parts are funny, then the car chase starts and shit blows up. In typical Michael Bay fashion no shot lasts more than three seconds, and that quickly leads to a headache. Then the cycle repeats, and two hours in I'm begging for this thing to be over because I can't take another pop culture dig that sets up a jet crashing into a building.

The Transformers themselves... -sigh-. I mean, I'm all for giant robots running amok and causing copious amounts of property damage. This is present in spades, and the action sequences are certifiably insane. But man, I just want Optimus Prime to look like Optimus Fucking Prime. Eh, at least he sounded like Optimus. Every other "cast" robot is unrecognizable, and all the publicity tripe about these designs needing to look like they function in real life is thrown out the window as soon as one of them transforms. The toys are more believable-- I mean, the toys work, yeah? The CG robots are cool, yeah, transforming is cool. But the personality was not there for me. Jazz, Ratchet, Bumblebee, Starscream, considering the source material was so broad I'm baffled at how they failed to bring any of it into a mega-million dollar blockbuster that hinges on the believability of sentient, talking robots.

Speed Racer

On one hand you have the Wachowski's and Joel Silver... The Matrix was what it was tho I felt V for Vendetta was disappointing (to put it nicely). Speed Racer, presumably a solo effort as opposed to a "trilogy franchise," would hold more of a production similarity to V in that respect, so I am wary.

On the other hand, you have that cast:

The film stars Emile Hirsch (Alpha Dog) as Speed, Christina Ricci (Black Snake Moan) as Trixie, Matthew Fox (TV's Lost) as Racer X, and Oscar winner Susan Sarandon (Dead Man Walking) and John Goodman (Evan Almighty) as Mom and Pops Racer. Rounding out the main cast are Australian actor Kick Gurry (Spartan) as Sparky; Paulie Litt (TV's Hope & Faith) as Sprittle; Roger Allam (The Queen, V For Vendetta) as Royalton; and Asian music star Ji Hoon Jung (popularly known as Rain), making his major feature film debut as a rival driver.

Hirsch channels a young Tom Cruise ala Risky Business in The Girl Next Door (a surprisingly good movie) and I'm sure he'll pull off a good Speed should he be allowed to (or be written as). And Fox as Racer X, well, that's pretty sweet. Rain, however you want to see it, was an incredibly smart casting move by the producers.

Then of course the car-- while the press release would have you believe that is a real car, I assure you it is for now a nice rendering of how the car may eventually be fabricated. Though I can hope and dream that the movie's cars and races will be as cool as we all want them to be.

Speed Racer as a big movie is an odd choice, it was never a major force in America, and recollections to the old cartoon are skewed towards a rather old audience. The fears of this new adaptation center around what will surely be an incessant need to "appeal to a younger and new generation" thereby discarding everything that its real audience knew to love. The adaptation of V was weak when compared to the original story, yet it too had to be modeled into something "current and appealing to today's audience." Ugh. I would love for Speed Racer to be a good movie. I know it can be, every element for a good movie is there in the original content. If only they can remember that.

I've a strong attachment to Speed Racer, both the TV series and the original comics, as well as the newer comics which I played a role in bringing to market. Published by WildStorm in late 99/2000, the Speed Racer 3-issue series was written and drawn spectacularly by Tommy Yune, in my opinion you are unlikely to ever find a better adaptation. Yune's story is proof that the series and characters can be updated and expanded upon without subverting history, and is the strongest argument for the potential quality of a new movie. The Speed Racer mini was followed by a Racer X series also written by Yune, but with art by the amazing Jo Chen. WildStorm also published a collection of the original manga which they sadly did not follow with additional volumes. Despite pleas of support, the view of manga and the trade market at the time was woefully short sighted.(originally posted by EDCO)