First look at ScarJo as the Major in Ghost in the Shell
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DryEyeRelief
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As opposed to what? You have guys in here saying every anime character is caucasian.
SixMachine
Member
If someone showed up and had Tekken on their resume, I hope they double checked if he was working on the game or the anime from the 90s. Harada made a point that he and Namco had nothing to do with that shit.
It doesn't if you look at imdb.
Looking at this bums me out, I would've much rather had someone like Rinko Kikuchi in the main role for this film, but it's not looking too great as a production already anyway.
And to think people were sad when movement on the Cowboy Bebop movie stalled - no doubt that would be a shitshow as well.
SuperStiltzkin
Member
Yeah and people saying it would have been too stereotypical and racist to cast an magical mystical asian. How considerate of you guys. So...where are the asian roles we're getting instead?
unholyrevenger72
Banned
So much hate in this thread. She looks good as far as i'm concerned.
Pilgrimzero
Member
Sunfire and Shang-chi automatically come to mind.
Come on... Gotta love Pacific Rim's influence from mech anime! And the fact that it did pretty well in ratings and at the box office (foreign that is... Think US was around/over 100mill I believe)
radios shipping overview
Member
Ben Kingsley is half Asian tho
SuperStiltzkin
Member
I'm not hating on ScarJo. I like her. And if you're gonna transplant the setting from Japan to America, I think she's a great white adaptation of the Motoko Kusanagi character. Call her Megan Kowalski and say she works for the US Cybercrimes division or whatever. Just don't fucking call her Motoko Kusanagi and say "well white cyborg body on secret mission to America" because you fucking know they aren't gonna move the setting back to Japan and recast an asian actress unless it's some direct to video sequel.
SixMachine
Member
If Victor Wong was still around, he could have been the Ancient One. He owned his role as Egg Shen in Big Trouble in Little China. Which reminds me how meta the movie is about the white action hero leads and asian sidekicks.
Reptars Revenge
Member
Here is the halo trailer the director worked on.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=w5Dc2At5_AE
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=w5Dc2At5_AE
A-Fucking-Men! Rinko would've been so badass.
She's quite badass in Captain America: The Winter Solider.
Cabbagehead
Member
Yeah she's great when she's kicking butt but once her dialogue comes into play. It sounds like she has cotton balls in her mouth half the time.
Anyway this is going to be so bad it's not even funny. Amazing that people are trying to give this a chance with Hollywood's track record so far.
Don't bring up All you need is kill, because at least that had good people behind the helm and a budget. Plus good actors as leads and the source material is not as well known as GITS.
This does not at any level.
littlebigman
Member
You know, I want to be optimistic for this, but between the producer lineup and the casting of yet another white person in a role traditionally played by Asian actresses, this has Dragonball Evolution written all over it.
Yep and just so we don't forget, the Shredder in TMNT was going to be changed into a white character played by William Fichtner until the script leaked forcing the studio to reshoot segments and added in new scenes to show Tohoru Masamune as the Shredder.
I meant the Marvel Cinematic Universe, know Marvel has plenty Asian characters!
Not sure but has it been confirmed if either characters are going to be in the MCU?
Pacific Rim is sadly the exception and not the rule :<
radios shipping overview
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Dammit. I had forgotten that that movie existed.
SuperStiltzkin
Member
Is that the most that American audiences can tolerate before a movie becomes too Asian?
Woah, there's another Japanese actor in the stable? Is he their plan C when Ken Watanabe and Hiroyuki Sanada are unavailable?
What A Time To Be Alive
Member
Just looks....weird I guess.
Still weird in general they want to do a live action version of Ghost In The Shell. Still can't wrap my head around that.
Still weird in general they want to do a live action version of Ghost In The Shell. Still can't wrap my head around that.
BearFlexington
Member
Not feeling this at all. I can't imagine a scenario in which this movie comes out alright.
Aztechnology
Member
Scar-Jo was absolutely the wrong casting choice for this. They're worried without a big name they won't bring in any audience, but without a decent actress for the role nobody will go to see it anyway. Probably going to be horrible though, so they hope she'll bring in enough to at least make a little profit.
It's fucking shameful as the setting is great for a film. But because it's Animu you know producers were probably like "ehhhhh we don't think we can turn this into a proper films, make it so hardcore fans turn up out of duty, and we get a big lead actress to rope in some of those plebeians."
It's fucking shameful as the setting is great for a film. But because it's Animu you know producers were probably like "ehhhhh we don't think we can turn this into a proper films, make it so hardcore fans turn up out of duty, and we get a big lead actress to rope in some of those plebeians."
veloxStrix
Banned
I'm not hyped. But that's probably because the few examples of manga movies that have been produced in America (Dragonball Evolution, Speed Racer, Spike Lee’s Oldboy) have all been enormous flops. For whatever reason, it’s easy for the material’s charm to get lost in translation.
Wasn't Margot Robbie the original choice for Motoko in this? Scarlet Johannson is probably the best actor for the part though. Aside from her work in more mainstream films like The Avengers and Lucy, she did some PHENOMENAL acting in Under the Skin and Her.
On another note, people downplaying Sanders as the director are really, really silly. Snow White and the Huntsman lived and died by its god awful script and over-abundance of battle scenes over real substance. Sanders' forte is the visual complexity he brings to his films. From his shorts to his.. one.. real film, he has done extremely well in bringing fantastic looking films to the big screen. Along with this, Sanders has no ability to fix a scripting whatsoever. So in the end, whatever ends up on our plates is directly from the writers.
Wasn't Margot Robbie the original choice for Motoko in this? Scarlet Johannson is probably the best actor for the part though. Aside from her work in more mainstream films like The Avengers and Lucy, she did some PHENOMENAL acting in Under the Skin and Her.
On another note, people downplaying Sanders as the director are really, really silly. Snow White and the Huntsman lived and died by its god awful script and over-abundance of battle scenes over real substance. Sanders' forte is the visual complexity he brings to his films. From his shorts to his.. one.. real film, he has done extremely well in bringing fantastic looking films to the big screen. Along with this, Sanders has no ability to fix a scripting whatsoever. So in the end, whatever ends up on our plates is directly from the writers.
Motoko's easy enough to whitewash, as the internet argument's been made countless times that she's an obvious pseudonym and a woman who's gotten lost in her own cyberization, she could well be white by now.
Trying to translate the hair as literally as they did doesn't really work, though.
Trying to translate the hair as literally as they did doesn't really work, though.
What A Time To Be Alive
Member
Eh don't think it's gonna be that bad but I'm not that excited for this movie either.
n00bsauce87
Member
She looks fine doesn't always equal right casting choice.
Just because you can place an A-lister in a spot, doesn't mean you should.
Could have gotten an up and coming asian american actress and surround her with A-list co-stars willing to take a pay cut. All this reads to me is she got main star money, Takeshi got the Veteran deal, and the rest B and C-list money.
I also cringe at the choice for Batou.
EDIT: You know, Japan is gonna have to do their own adaptation now just solely on pride.
unholyrevenger72
Banned
Sorry, but in a world where people went a saw Lucy you're wrong
UnemployedVillain
Member
Is there really a problem with whitewashing here? If it would be some chinese or korean property or had asian-american in it, then sure. But I somehow doubt japanese people mind that americans are starring in their roles, considering they themselves yellowash on regular basis.
I mean, does anyone really think that a nation that made damn Thermae Romae will mind?
Is this a tongue in cheek post or did you actually make such a ridiculous post in earnest? The non-Asian population in Japan is .6%, a small subset of those being actors and an even smaller subset of those being white/Mediterranean. This is not the same thing AT ALL
Pilgrimzero
Member
Jubilee and Psylock in the X universe movies. But yea the main MCU characters much like the comic universe are mostly straight up American.
MHWilliams
Member
I'm fine with ScarJo, but it probably wasn't the best choice to try and aim for the hair and direct look with this adaptation. It just reminds a bunch of people that it could've been an Asian actress getting a shot at a lead role.
ffejeromdiks
Banned
You say that as if there are many to choose from. Its very simple, Johansson puts people in the seats that wouldn't give a shit about GITS otherwise, it's as simple as that.
GuitarAtomik
Member
Was just about to post this lol.
Lucy Box Office:
Domestic: $126,663,600
+ Foreign: $336,696,463
= Worldwide: $463,360,063
veloxStrix
Banned
Go watch Under the Skin or Lost in Translation and then tell me your are completely certain ScarJo is just a name drop. She's hardly a bad actress, but perhaps more inconsistent than I'd like. Although starring in any of the shitty superhero movies that have came out in the last decade will do wonders towards making you look like an incompetent robot. Unless it was Guardians of the Galaxy.
SuperStiltzkin
Member
Nah, fuck that. If you're gonna whitewash, then whitewash. Change setting, names, everything. Doesn't have to be a faithful 100% adaptation. Worked well for Edge of Tomorrow and I have no issue with that. But I take issue with trying to craft some in-universe explanation of how this is a natural evolution of the Motoko character to become white. Not that the explanation isn't good enough, but the fact that we HAVE to go this far for an explanation to justify why a person named Motoko Kusanagi would be cast as a white person.
If they call it Matrix.
NullPointer
Member
She's the only part of this I don't doubt.
Not feeling her particular look here, and I do find the whitewashing criticisms justified, but she has the chops to pull this off.
Jawmuncher
Member
What if her name really was Scarjo. That'd be badass.
MHWilliams
Member
This is the actress from the stage play, for comparison.
And the version of the Major she was playing.
And the version of the Major she was playing.
vainglorious
Member
Yeah. I wonder if people know that the Washowski Sisters literally screened Ghost in the Shell in front of a bunch of studio execs and said, "We want to do that". And that's how we got the Matrix.
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