Support NeoGAF

[wesleyshark]

Akira will also bomb.

 

[LosDaddie]

Did anyone expect otherwise? It's a live-action movie adaptation of an anime, it WILL be hated by fans of the original, ignored by people who never heard of the original, and only seen by those who are curious or bored.

Nailed it. Whitewashing or not, this movie would've bombed either way.

I thought the movie was entertaining enough, but nothing that would do gangbusters at the BO.

 

[Jarmel]

Nah. They could probably turn out a One Punch Man movie and have it do pretty well. A smartassed/satirical take on superhero bullshit? Deadpool booted that door open already.

Ehhhhh

It would probably have the same issues the anime had in that it would lose the satirical tones and just become a stereotypical action movie. I also don't think the comedy is good enough to carry an entire film like that.

 

[Hagi]

No, it isn't.

any particular reason?

 

[Manmademan]

That just proved the point even more

Obscurity of source material doesnt matter, if the movie is decent and well received and not sent out to die with a bad release date

Who had heard of Kingsman? All You Need Is Kill? Guardians of the Galaxy?


They should make a good movie.

I had heard of guardians of the Galaxy.

Even the kind with no raccoon in it.

Seriously though that one is a bad example, since it has the marvel branding and Thanos was supposedly "in that" after being teased forever in post credit scenes

 

[Septimus Prime]

Okay you're saying that any visibility is worthwhile, then? I don't have the metrics on hand to argue otherwise, but I will say that I just don't thnk Asian actors have the same luxury that white actors have of being given multiple chances after a high profile bomb.

Multiple chances? How about one chance?

 

[jett]

Don't worry manga/anime fans there is another - Alita: Battle Angel coming 2018

Not a fan of the whitewashing, also doesn't do much for female leads or Scarjo in particular...RIP Black Widow solo movie

I wouldn't be surprised if the latest Robert Rodriguez regurgitation was sold to Netflix or some shit. I bet he did on the cheap, like he always does.

 

[CadetMahoney]

I want a live action Berserk movie starring Chris Evans as Guts

 

[ferr]

I think if the creator says it's not whitewashing then it's not whitewashing.
Also, DB Goku isn't even from Earth so kinda confused there.
Avatar is set somewhere other than Earth as well... Japanese people made the source material so they have to be Asian?
DiCaprio in Akira would be whitewashing. I think Light Yagami being white in Death Note is whitewashing.

I mean someone correct me if I'm wrong and maybe I misunderstand what whitewashing is. I tend to be ignorant in current American social issues.

What about L being played by Keith Stanfield on the netflix Death Note adaptation?

 

[Ushojax]

I doubt the movie would have fared any better at the box office if it had an asian actress in the lead role. As others have stated...the source material, genre and poor reviews killed this.

I doubt it would have fared much better but with an Asian lead there might have been a more positive buildup to the release rather than the relentless whitewashing talk. At the very least this flop shows that the studio line of "but without a white star the movie would fail" is complete nonsense. There have been so many flops with whitewashed leads you'd think they'd try something different at this point.

 

[Loudninja]

I don't care what anyone says, for someone like myself who never watched the original anime, the movie was solid. Pisses me off that people bitched about having a white actress and shitted on this movie for that alone before it even released. Replace Johansen with a unknown asian actress just to please people and even less people would of watched it. It's no wonder Hollywood doesn't want to make live action movies based on anime or games.

Same terrible excuses even after the movie did poorly.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Ehhhhh

It would probably have the same issues the anime had in that it would lose the satirical tones and just become a stereotypical action movie. I also don't think the comedy is good enough to carry an entire film like that.

It could be, though. It's an adaptation. They have the luxury of seeing where the series proper went wrong and avoiding those pitfalls. And also writing better jokes. But the premise itself would be easily adaptable.

If GITS failure can be used as leverage to convince studio heads that this whitewashing/fence-sitting bullshit they're doing is harmful to their bottom line, then I'm all for it, even if the whitewashing wasn't the primary reason for the film's failure.

But trying to steer the narrative away from that and more towards "just don't attempt adapting Anime at all" seems like the wrong direction. Many stories/series could be adaptable. You just have to get out of your own way first, and recognize why the story resonates, and play into that as opposed to diluting it because you just assume your audience is incapable or unwilling to go there.

RE: Battle Angel - isn't that film being transplanted to Southern US/Mexico region?

 

[FairFriend]

Not suprising since the source material was pure garbage to begin with.

So this is your take, eh? I'm genuinely curious about your experience with GiTS? Have you seen the original anime or the series? Have you read the manga?

 

[Theorry]

Shame. Think it was a great movie.

 

[Imperial Bishop]

"Anime was a mistake" - Hollywood

 

[Plum]

All of this is true but that said, GitS was probably the best franchise to make a Western movie out of. All the other IPs I can think of won't translate over as well. It's just uphill from here.

Is it? It's a Cyberpunk film about cyborgs with heavy philosophical undertones set predominantly in a very Japanese Japan.

I still hold on to my opinion that a Cowboy Bebop film would work the best; it's got its convoluted side, sure, but if you just scratch out/tone down Ed and ignore the whole Vicious/Space Yakuza storyline the slice-of-life structure means you can do anything with it. Bobby Roberts above also says One Punch Man; again, just remove the more 'unfriendly' elements and you've got an interesting take on the ever-popular superhero genre. On top of that an Attack on Titan film would probably work well as it's incredibly Western in its setting.

 

[pringles]

Imo the explanation for why it bombed isn't so complicated, it's just bad marketing.

 

[Wuthering_Heights]

Mainstream audiences does not give 2 fucks about whitewashing. It's weird to see people try and pin the film's failure on that.

Yep. 99% of people don't care, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the lack of success for the movie.

Good victory for those who will try and claim it as one, tho, I guess.

 

[kswiston]

Ah, I always thought the manga was called 'All You Need Is Kill'. I stand corrected.

I think the manga did have the original title. But it was clearly commissioned/licensed to take advantage of the $180M film being released. It ran from Jan to May 2014 in Japan, and I believe Viz had the English version out in May 2014. Edge of Tomorrow came out at the end of May 2014. The original novel came out at the end of 2004.

 

[Maxim726X]

Video game movies keep bombing, does that mean Americans don't give a shit about video games anymore?

They give a shit about good movies. There have been plenty of examples brought up in this thread, you're just choosing to ignore them.

 

[The Artisan]

No, just no. But please, start up the same bullshit "Anime characters look white" nonsense we get in every thread about it

if anime characters are meant to look white then what would an asian anime character look like?

 

[Haly]

I don't care what anyone says, for someone like myself who never watched the original anime, the movie was solid. Pisses me off that people bitched about having a white actress and shitted on this movie for that alone before it even released. Replace Johansen with a unknown asian actress just to please people and even less people would of watched it. It's no wonder Hollywood doesn't want to make live action movies based on anime or games.

I can't really so I'm just going to lol

 

[Razgriz-Specter]

Okay you're saying that any visibility is worthwhile, then? I don't have the metrics on hand to argue otherwise, but I will say that I just don't thnk Asian actors have the same luxury that white actors have of being given multiple chances after a high profile bomb.

I mean if its absolutely the worst thing ever in every aspect it won't help but Iron Fist for example she legitimately was the best part for many people and now you see stuff like her at the top of many people's picks for the live action Mulan.
Which would be a huge thing for any actor.

 

[- J - D -]

Multiple chances? How about one chance?

Exactly. And the worst one chance you could give a fledgling young AA actor is an oddball mediocre project that's poorly marketed.

 

[NipplesAndToes23]

Is it? It's a Cyberpunk film about cyborgs with heavy philosophical undertones set predominantly in a very Japanese Japan.

I still hold on to my opinion that a Cowboy Bebop film would work the best; it's got its convoluted side, sure, but if you just scratch out/tone down Ed and ignore the whole Vicious/Space Yakuza storyline the slice-of-life structure means you can do anything with it. Bobby Roberts above also says One Punch Man; again, just remove the more 'unfriendly' elements and you've got an interesting take on the ever-popular superhero genre. On top of that an Attack on Titan film would probably work well as it's incredibly Western in its setting.

What's unfriendly about One Punch Man?

 

[formasymphonic]

The question is what lessons others in Hollywood will they take away from this?

— will they blame it on being an anime property and continue to view them as unfavourable for adaptation?
— will they blame it on the negative reaction to the controversies and word of mouth? or will they see value in acknowledging the controversy itself?
— will they scapegoat Sanders and the writers he worked with and write them off? or will they be given more chances to make high budget films in future?
— will they accept that "star power" isn't the be and end all influencer of a films reception and do more to improve future films in other ways?

...or wille they not learn anything because they'll make enough money WW and in home release/streaming that they can just continue to do as they have — but this time with a better handle on their PR & social media messaging?

 

[Kinyou]

People didn't want female charas.

lol I guess that would also be an angle.

Overall a bit hard to tell yet why exactly it bombed and what lessons should be learned

 

[Dark Ninja]

Not surprising a Female in the lead and Japanese Anime/Manga as the source material. DEATH.

Good movie though I liked it. Props to the execs that had the gull to actually greenlight this project after pretty much15 years of trying to get it done. This should kill off any other Anime related movie that isn't into heavy production. Luckily for Scarlett she took a risk while having a backup the next Marvel movie will even her out.

 

[wesleyshark]

Shame. Think it was a great movie.

I quite enjoyed it, also. This BO bomb pretty much assures there won't be a sequel, sadly.

 

[jack_package_200]

Imo the explanation for why it bombed isn't so complicated, it's just bad marketing.

Who was the intended audience?

Why did they spend so much on a niche property?

 

[GK86]

Good. I'm happy it bombed.

 

[The Kree]

Just once I'd like to read about a Hollywood executive admitting that they made a bad movie when they have a big budget flop. I dunno why they think because they're checking off all the four quadrant boxes that they're entitled to success and acclaim.

 

[Zen Aku]

Doctor Strange did fine with it white-washing.

But I guess it's because the movie was actually good and The Ancient One was great in it.

 

[MotionBlue]

Damn, I stand corrected.

Were there any major changes between the book and the manga?

Huge differences. Ending completely re-written, they skim over most of the politics and battlefield storyline. The movie ending is nonsensical.

 

[The Artisan]

Dragonball Evolution
The Last Airbender
Exodus
Stonewall
Gods of Egypt
Ghost in the Shell

When has whitewashing actually benefited a movie?

ra's al ghul in the batman trilogy was portrayed as white, and no one seemed to complain about that

 

[Ridley327]

All of this is true but that said, GitS was probably the best franchise to make a Western movie out of. All the other IPs I can think of won't translate over as well. It's just uphill from here.

I honestly feel like a Gundam universe based on the Universal Century story would be really easy to pull off, plus it already has a super diverse cast built into it to avoid controversies like this movie had.

 

[Einchy]

Sad to see all the people that are happy to see the movie fail, as an anime fan, this is pretty shitty news.

 

[aeolist]

will this failure be the end of scarjo as a massive box office pull???

nah, that will still be trotted out as an excuse to not hire lesser-known actors

 

[Loudninja]

Sad to see all the people that are happy to see the movie fail, as an anime fan, this is pretty shitty news.

Who fault is this? they continue to make poor decisions with this movie.

 

[Frozenprince]

This will make Hollywood only try even harder to make a profit with Akira: The Movie, starring Chris Pratt as Tetsuo.

Fucked up thing is you're right.

 

[Arjayes]

What about L being played by Keith Stanfield on the netflix Death Note adaptation?

Blackwashing? I don't know. Honestly, L should be white and Light should be Asian.

 

[- J - D -]

I mean if its absolutely the worst thing ever in every aspect it won't help but Iron Fist for example she legitimately was the best part for many people and now you see stuff like her at the top of many people's picks for the live action Mulan.
Which would be a huge thing for any actor.

I haven't delved into Iron Fist yet but hey if things pan out well for Jessica Henwick I'd be glad, but Mulan was already set on finding an Asian lead actress to begin with.

 

[bonesmccoy]

Lol that's probably my favourite Conan interview of all time.

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

Yes, but let's start with actually decently produced movies first. All the Ghost in the Shells, Warrior's Ways, and Ninja Assassins of the world aren't helping anybody.

Or how about we extend the failing upwards system to minorities instead of white people. I don't care about the movies, I care about the system.

Sure, except the best stories in anime/manga are pretty much the antithesis of what Hollywood usually makes. You'll never get a live action Mushishi from them and I know they'd butcher it anyway.

Some of the best books and comics are also antithesis and yet they get good movies. Arrival is based on a short story that involves understanding aliens and Hollywood managed to make a movie out of that without turning it into Independence Day.

 

[A Link to the Past]

Clearly, it was because it was set in Japan. Gotta set it in Los Angeles next time, with a whiter cast

 

[UnemployedVillain]

Is it? It's a Cyberpunk film about cyborgs with heavy philosophical undertones set predominantly in a very Japanese Japan.

I still hold on to my opinion that a Cowboy Bebop film would work the best; it's got its convoluted side, sure, but if you just scratch out/tone down Ed and ignore the whole Vicious/Space Yakuza storyline the slice-of-life structure means you can do anything with it. Bobby Roberts above also says One Punch Man; again, just remove the more 'unfriendly' elements and you've got an interesting take on the ever-popular superhero genre. On top of that an Attack on Titan film would probably work well as it's incredibly Western in its setting.

Why make it then? Just make some generic Western space western. This is the problem. They need to STOP adapting anime if they're going to scrap the elements that make it what it is and just banking on name recognition to trick fans into watching it

 

[Septimus Prime]

Exactly. And the worst one chance you could give a fledgling young AA actor is an oddball mediocre project that's poorly marketed.

No, I meant the opposite. Asian—especially Asian-American—actors are not even given a single chance to headline a major motion picture like this.

What you're saying is that if they gave this to an Asian lead, and it bombed, then that actor's career would be over. That's not wrong, per se, but that actor's career never began because she was never given a chance at a role like this anyway.

So, yes, even a one-time starring role that fails would be miles better than just never being given the opportunity.

 

[Plum]

What's unfriendly about One Punch Man?

Puri-Puri Prisoner is the most blatant example, but there are definitely some other characters that aren't exactly too fit for Western audiences.

 

[wesleyshark]

Sad to see all the people that are happy to see the movie fail, as an anime fan, this is pretty shitty news.

At least this means the bluray will be a cheap as hell addition to my movie collection 🙃

 

[Sai-kun]

I guess white people just can't be in movies :/ this really proves it :/ :/ :/ :/ :/