First look at ScarJo as the Major in Ghost in the Shell

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I really wish they'd cast Fiona o'Shaughnessy

jessica-hyde.jpg
 
Not really into the idea of adapting something where the animation is a huge part of it into live action, and the pedigree doesn't exactly inspire confidence either.

This will be trash.
 
There was nothing wrong with the direction in Snow White and the Huntsman. Did Rupert Sanders run over GAF's dog?

Dude did a decent job directing a Disney cash cow film with a mediocre screenplay. Dude has shown panache for working well with vfx.
 
I don't share the obsessive desire of having actors look exactly like the pre-existing characters they portray(look in ANY comic book movie adaption thread), so I like this. She's more than Black Widow. She's a really good actress. That's all I want.
If this movie sucks it won't be because of her.
People are complaining about the fact that Scarlet Johansson is a white actress portraying a Japanese character. It's not a case of looking exactly like them, it's a case of at least having the sense of making them be the same nationality.
 
People are complaining about the fact that Scarlet Johansson is a white actress portraying a Japanese character. It's not a case of looking exactly like them, it's a case of at least having the sense of making them be the same nationality.
It's an American movie. That's what they do. And they'll keep doing it. Probably forever. They probably wouldn't even make the film at all if they had to cast all Asian.
And most importantly, it has never been a factor with the quality of a film. It's an adaption, not a frame for frame retelling. Not everyone wants to be Zack Snyder.
 
Wow I'm super tired of people throwing the "whitewashing" thing at Scarlett for being casted as Motoko, did you guys even saw the movie and the SAC serie?

Motoko Kusanagi doesn't look japanese one bit, except from the Arise prequel maybe..

Not this shit again. She's Japanese. She looks Japanese. Deal with it. I don't know how anyone could possibly believe a Japanese woman would want to have a Caucasian prosthetic body.
 
There was nothing wrong with the direction in Snow White and the Huntsman. Did Rupert Sanders run over GAF's dog?

Dude did a decent job directing a Disney cash cow film with a mediocre screenplay. Dude has shown panache for working well with vfx.

I have a feeling most here never even saw that movie. I didn't either, so I can't say.
 
Imagining ScarJo speaking like Motoko is an odd thing to me. I always associated The Major as someone with a motherly yet stern tone while being insightful. The first impressions are important because it sets the bar for the movie whether it be the first promo image or teaser trailer. Honestly with this first promo shot...the bar for this adaption for me is very very low. (Bias from my love of animation, and the fact that real life tends to be pretty bad when it comes to action scenes)
 
Looks pretty bad. Not enough to judge the entire movie off but I don't have faith. At least her acting skills will help her portray an emotionally disconnected cyborg convincingly I guess.
 
If you want to put aside race, I will. But she is still a bad choice because she is not as intimidating as the Major in terms of build either.

And I don't know why people are calling back to Snow White and the Huntsman as something other than just serviceable, mostly forgettable directing.
 
One thing to remember is that ScarJo has actually shown herself pretty capable of good fight choreography as Black Widow. I am sure I am getting tricked by stunt doubles some of the time, but on the whole she has done a great job.

Not this shit again. She's Japanese. She looks Japanese. Deal with it. I don't know how anyone could possibly believe a Japanese woman would want to have a Caucasian prosthetic body.

She doesn't look Japanese. She looks anime.

I also think you might be surprised by how many Japanese women do idolize Western features. Not everyone obviously, but I can't take my son ANYWHERE without every single person congratulating me on the fact that he looks more like me than my wife. Seriously. Every. Fucking. Time. With my wife right there.
 
Yeah, that's a terrible haircut on Scarjo. Looks like a really poor facsimile of the anime movie version.

I mean... I don't want to jump to conclusions on this one, but I'm just going to turn down my expectation dial. I might be pleasantly surprised...
 
Kinda love the bomber jacket, tbh.

I still think ScarJo is perfect casting because the point of the Major is that she uses a mass-production body to blend in - and a pretty American actress is exactly what most people would use. I think it's one of the incredibly incredibly rare cases in which it makes narrative sense to have a non-Japanese actor play a role in an adaptation of Japanese source material. Unlike Akira, which should be an entirely Japanese cast and therefore with Hollywood as it is currently should never, and probably will never happen.

Looking forward to seeing the first entire costume still.
 
Scarlet is an all right actress. She gets the job done, though without ever really leaving an impact in any of her movies.

Have you only ever seen her in Marvel movies or something?* Lost in Translation, Her, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Match Point... she's a legit good actress.



*I actually quite like her as Black Widow fwiw
 
I don't share the obsessive desire of having actors look exactly like the pre-existing characters they portray(look in ANY comic book movie adaption thread), so I like this. She's more than Black Widow. She's a really good actress. That's all I want.
If this movie sucks it won't be because of her.

My only concern is that much of the GitS arcs from SAC heavily involve Japanese politics, and it feels as much a part of the cast as the characters themselves. It's like in the The girl with the Dragon Tattoo remake where everyone is speaking English despite the location and atmosphere screaming "this is in Sweden".
 
From the people who brought you Snow White And the Huntsman, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 1 & 2, IRON MAN, GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE, PROMETHEUS, TEKKEN, EDGE OF TOMORROW, and 300.

All of those movies make it seem like this will not be the Ghost in the Shell movie I would want. Hopefully it exceeds expectations.

Yeah I don't even care about the casting as much as I do the shitty director/writer pedigree attached.

Ugh this will most likely suck
 
It's an American movie. That's what they do. And they'll keep doing it. Probably forever. They probably wouldn't even make the film at all if they had to cast all Asian.
And most importantly, it has never been a factor with the quality of a film. It's an adaption, not a frame for frame retelling. Not everyone wants to be Zack Snyder.
I wonder how long african-americans had to listen to this kind of crap until they at least got something.
Not to say that black people are not still facing this kind of racism, but I think we can say that they got it better than asian actors at the moment.
 
It's an American movie. That's what they do. And they'll keep doing it. Probably forever. They probably wouldn't even make the film at all if they had to cast all Asian at all.
And most importantly, it has never been a factor with the quality of a film. It's an adaption, not a frame for frame retelling. Not everyone wants to be Zack Snyder.
There's a difference between an adaptation and outright changing the race of the main character. It remains to be seen if Johansson is playing the Major properly or instead portraying an original character. If the latter, then fair enough to some degree, but there's a high chance that this white woman is going to be playing a character called Motoko Kusanagi and given no justification for why she would have such a name which is a major Hollywood issue that needs to be fixed.
 
The one that is disliked in Japan, whose English isn't that impressive and who would be completely unfit for the role? I liked her in Pacific Rim, but she isn't the right pick for this movie.
It wouln't matter, Japan did not give a fuck about Speed Racer, 47 Ronin, The Wolverine, Pacific Rim or Godzilla. They would ignore this like every other Hollywood adaptation.
 
Have you only ever seen her in Marvel movies or something?* Lost in Translation, Her, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Match Point... she's a legit good actress.



*I actually quite like her as Black Widow fwiw

It seems like most people that like comic book and anime movies/tv shows don't watch those kinds of movies.
At most they've probably seen Ghost World.
But I could be wrong.
 
Yeah I mean every other detail surrounding this project is absolute gold

Oh...

I fully understand. but I think we all judge too soon (including myself). having an argument like what you posted is fully understandable. but saying the movie is going to suck because of how someone looks is not really a strong argument in my opinion.
 
There's a difference between an adaptation and outright changing the race of the main character. It remains to be seen if Johansson is playing the Major properly or instead portraying an original character. If the latter, then fair enough to some degree, but there's a high chance that this white woman is going to be playing a character called Motoko Kusanagi and given no justification for why she would have such a name which is a major Hollywood issue that needs to be fixed.
Isn't she using a different body than her original? That could be used to explain it.
and even if that's not the reason, I still don't care. It has nothing to do with the actual quality of the movie, which is the most important thing.
I guess agree to disagree is the case here.
 
From the people who brought you Snow White And the Huntsman, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 1 & 2, IRON MAN, GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE, PROMETHEUS, TEKKEN, EDGE OF TOMORROW, and 300.

All of those movies make it seem like this will not be the Ghost in the Shell movie I would want. Hopefully it exceeds expectations.
I mean, edge of tomorrow and iron man are fucking awesome... So....maybe....
 
Wow I'm super tired of people throwing the "whitewashing" thing at Scarlett for being casted as Motoko, did you guys even saw the movie and the SAC serie?

Motoko Kusanagi doesn't look japanese one bit, except from the Arise prequel maybe.

The Major is about extremely thick charisma, and that's what Scarlet provides, it's actually a really smart cast whether it was intentional or not.
Please stop vainly repeating what you saw someone else write without thinking about it, there's only one image from this movie, calling it trash right now doesn't make any sense.

And about the director, if you guys actually watched his shorts and his Snow White movie, his editing pace and esthetic choices could actually be a really good fit for an adaptation of Ghost in the Shell. Only thing that worries me is that I hope he gets better writers this time.

It's an art style. Hardly anyone 'looks' Japanese in Manga or anime, or in other mediums for that matter. That doesn't mean that getting fucking Henry Cavill to play Ryu in a new Hollywood Street Fighter movie wouldn't be white washing.

I'd also say that 'thick charisma' is about as far from what Scarlet Johanson provides on a theatrical level as it's possible to get. Disinterested detachment, possibly.
 
I always thought of her as just "the Major," because that's all she's ever referred to in SAC. Actually, in the second to last ep, when
her head is blown off by a sniper while trying to board the plane
and Batou yells out "MOTOKO!!!" I had no idea what he was saying. :lol
 
Pacific Rim might not have blown up the world in terms of popularity, but it sure as hell got back its production budget and then some. It wasn't a flop.

Scarlet is an all right actress. She gets the job done, though without ever really leaving an impact in any of her movies.
The Chinese box office saved Pacific Rim's ass, and even that wasn't enough for the sequel to get an instant greenlight. My point stands.
 
What are peoples expectations of what a live action Major should look like in relation to the animations (film/series) and manga? I'm not talking about race, things such as hair style/colour, physical build, etc.

Because in all the installations of the Major they look drastically different, what is the general consensus? For example, 1995 film, or anime series? The later anime films? The manga? The thread itself shows some different ideas of what Major should look like.

My favourite GitS is the 1995 film, so that's my expectation. I like ScarJo but not really feeling the look here. Even though there is no indication of the race of Major (particularly 1995 film) I still feel that a Japanese actress should be given the opportunity, so it's still odd for the casting choice even though acting wise I think ScarJo could pull it off. In this shot they kind of seem to be giving off the characteristics of the Major especially in the 1995 film of showing no emotion, I think it seems to be leaning a lot towards that film.
 
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