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Rumor: Hot Off "Get Out", Jordan Peele is being courted to direct "Akira"
- Thread starter Ross61
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lightskintwin
Banned
However it's much needed since everything from Tropic Thunder to Speed Racer is "Whitewashing" now.
Unfortunately this is the likely outcome.
There are young Japanese American actors
I know this because none of them can get lead roles
lightskintwin
Banned
Bruh, you really think if this actually happens we're going to get an all Asian cast in what would probably be an over 100 million dollar blockbuster film?
Warner Brothers is only now testing the market out for Asian American films with their modestly budgeted Crazy Rich Asians.
They're certainly aren't going to get their start getting cast as leads in a blockbuster film like an Akira adaptation.
Mushroomer25
Member
There is not a single Japanese-American actor with the pull to lead a $100M film. At least not from the perspective of WB.
Hypothetically, you could get around this by getting a big name director on board (Like Nolan). That would provide audiences with a trusted name, and ensure a profitable turnout regardless of casting. (Even then, I imagine they'd shoehorn in one AAA white actor as a villain - just to be safe)
Peele is already a household name because of Get Out, but I don't know if he has that level of attraction.
Here's the real modern test for Hollywood then: is it now more about hyped directors than "bankable" white people?
Stormhammer
Member
so the main character would be akeyra
Fixed it!
If they're not keeping anything but the most basic elements why even bother with the Akira name and IP? That was my point by bringing up Chronicle. Just make a new film based on the same premise than bother with the Akira name.
lightskintwin
Banned
Because that's how adaptations work and they've already bought the rights? I mean they could change the name of the title like I suggested or like Edge of Tomorrow did with their adaptation of All You Need Is Kill.
I just don't see the point if you change so much. I'd rather Akira as true to the source as realistically possible on the big screen then hear two black guys yelling,"JAMALLL!" and "STAAAN!" at each other in Neo New York. It comes off as a dumb joke.
Secret: two adult men yelling each others' names in live action is going to come off as a joke no matter what
Gordon Shumway
Banned
Jamal..lol.
Or they could adapt the script too? Lol it's got a lot of anime/manga baggage that doesn't translate to Hollywood, there's going to be ALOT of changes regardless of who writes and directs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ck5aDR52rc&t=05m02s
Maybe if Akira was done in the way the link suggests this will be amazing.
Maybe if Akira was done in the way the link suggests this will be amazing.
After they're done stripping out all the things that make it Akira, they would be better off just making something new. Akira is a Japanese as fuck work of art that doesn't need a toothless Hollywood adaptation to validate it. Though, considering how Ghost in the Shell did, I don't know how much anyone will want to finance something like this.
Also not really a fan of getting fresh directors who have made a good low budget film and immediately putting them on colossal projects. "Man, you made a classy gazebo after taking that shop class. Now build me a $500 million mansion". Infusing new talent into the industry is important, but putting somebody inexperienced in charge of something like this just leads to direction by committee because the director is catering to the whims of producers and whoever else because they're too new to throw their weight around. And if they do go for a unique vision, they'll just get taken off and somebody who will acquiesce to studio demands will come in for reshoots and they'll cobble something bland together.
Also not really a fan of getting fresh directors who have made a good low budget film and immediately putting them on colossal projects. "Man, you made a classy gazebo after taking that shop class. Now build me a $500 million mansion". Infusing new talent into the industry is important, but putting somebody inexperienced in charge of something like this just leads to direction by committee because the director is catering to the whims of producers and whoever else because they're too new to throw their weight around. And if they do go for a unique vision, they'll just get taken off and somebody who will acquiesce to studio demands will come in for reshoots and they'll cobble something bland together.
lightskintwin
Banned
But see now you projected your own stereotypes on it. You can be as true to the source while still adapting it culturally to another setting. There's going to be changes anyway from adapting it from different mediums.
Rum Punch is an Elmore Leonard novel that Tarantino adapted and changed the lead character from a White woman named Jackie Burke to a Black woman named Jackie Brown, set it in Los Angeles instead of Florida, and entrenched it in Blaxploitation influences with the tone, characters, dialogue and music to create something that was still faithful to the source material but stylistically his own.
Another example is Tony Scott's Man on Fire which they adapted from a novel where Creasy was a White American and former member of the French Foreign legion and it's completely set in Italy with Italian characters and names, Italian cities and culture, and the Italian Mafia and changed it to a Black American who's an ex-United States Special Operations soldier completely set in Mexico with Mexican characters and names, Mexican cities and culture as well as American culture, and a Mexican Criminal Organization named "La Hermandad". Even the Italian character of Pinta is paid homage to and changed to the Spanish name of Lupita, Pita for short.
My point is anything can be adapted and changed to a different culture and setting and still remain faithful to the spirit of the story. The only difference is how well it's done and it's overall execution.
There's no reason an American adaptation of Akira can't be done well.
DontBeThatGuy
Member
If true, I hope he passes.
Massive Duck. C.M.
Banned
I think he'll have the good sense to pass on this, but it's hilarious how some people are now convinced that Akita needs not only white leads but also a white director
Discotheque
Banned
Lmao
That's crazy to me, the Trevorrow thing. Reminds of me of how old school directors like Lucas and Spielberg got big shots with little experience way back when - only without playing with the new kind of protected IP's we have nowadays.
If Peele gets this and it's also a hit, wow, what a start to a directorial career. Right now he's hot new thing with people watching for what he does next. And to think just a year ago he was known as a sketch comedian.
CalamityPixel
Member
It'd be interesting to see the absolute shitshow of a backlash between people who think asian people are being erased and people who are happy with a black cast.
ForsakenLotus
Member
Can he make it a limited series on HBO or Netflix?
I love Jordan, but I honestly hope that this movie never get made. I never want to see the suits in Hollywood destroy another anime franchise ever again. Since this will inevitably be a movie costing hundreds of millions of dollars, you can bet your money that they'll be the first in line to "influence their picture".
Stick to comics Hollywood, because you simply can't do video game adaptions / anime adaptions. If Hollywood ever changes for the better, I'll be first in line.
Stick to comics Hollywood, because you simply can't do video game adaptions / anime adaptions. If Hollywood ever changes for the better, I'll be first in line.
lightskintwin
Banned
There was a time when it was thought Hollywood couldn't do comic film adaptations consistently right. It's nonsense to believe that a video game franchise or anime/manga can't be successfully adapted. Edge of Tomorrow did a great job. Depending on where you stand Speed Racer was just as good an adaptation.
That was a great film. It's unfortunate that Hollywood's not getting that though, since they continue to miss the mark over and over again with these franchises. It's frustrating as hell seeing franchises that you love getting destroyed by these suits, since they couldn't really care less about the franchise in general.
I'll tell you what though, if they put a dedicated team behind it that actually understands the franchise and aim to deliver a faithful yet an encapsulating experience, I'm all for it. Jordan's a great director, and if the film were to happen, I think he's a great asset. The suits are making me jaded though.
Isaac Otherworld
Member
https://youtu.be/4Ck5aDR52rc
Moviebob, while saying the Akira movie should probably never get made, made a great case for how to Americanize Akira without whitewashing it by taking the core themes of the story; gangs as surrogate families, wealth inequality, police hyper militarization and brutality, vulnerable people being swallowed up by the government to suffer god knows what kind of fate, could be adapted into a film thst is bitingly relevant to todays times. After watching Get Out I think Jordan is about the only person who can pull it ofg.
Moviebob, while saying the Akira movie should probably never get made, made a great case for how to Americanize Akira without whitewashing it by taking the core themes of the story; gangs as surrogate families, wealth inequality, police hyper militarization and brutality, vulnerable people being swallowed up by the government to suffer god knows what kind of fate, could be adapted into a film thst is bitingly relevant to todays times. After watching Get Out I think Jordan is about the only person who can pull it ofg.
lastflowers
Banned
please. He might actually make a movie I'll be happy I watched.
lightskintwin
Banned
Let's keep it real, they don't destroy the franchises though. We just mock and make fun of the abominations like Dragonball Evolution, but the franchises themselves remain unscathed and continue on as if nothing has happened. The reality is Hollywood is going to keep making them like they did comic book movies until they start getting them right and are commercially successful.
Moviebob's take is great, that's why I loved the idea of changing the title and calling it Adam.
Well, I suppose that depends on how you look at it. Since they're genuinely trying to build up these anime franchises up in the west when they adapt them, they're actively destroying their chances to do so by delivering these disastrous adaptions. As a fan of these franchises, you really want them to succeed and do well, and hopefully build up a successful franchise, very much like the marvel films. It's hard to stay positive though, when they continue to prove over and over that they most often than not don't know what they're doing with these types of franchises. They shape their films based on their focus groups,and who they think they'll attract to the cinema, and everything else comes secondary.
What's also irritiating is the fact that they've been very successful with their comic book IP's and done a damn good job to boot, displaying that they're not completely incompetent. That also adds to the frustration since they are having a very hard time duplicating that success with their anime / game adaptions. As a fan, I want to be excited when an adaption is in the works. That's not what's happening now.
I haven't seen Akira yet, but I know enough about it that I find Moviebob's take super compelling and desperately want it to be made.
Tweetstorm version of his point:
https://twitter.com/the_moviebob/status/845394954159603713
I actually disagree with him about GitS. I think a GitS movie set in the U.S. could have been a great exploration of the themes (especially those from Stand Alone Complex) and how they relate to US society and the age of social media. Giant missed opportunity.
Tweetstorm version of his point:
https://twitter.com/the_moviebob/status/845394954159603713
I actually disagree with him about GitS. I think a GitS movie set in the U.S. could have been a great exploration of the themes (especially those from Stand Alone Complex) and how they relate to US society and the age of social media. Giant missed opportunity.
CadetMahoney
Member
I said it would be a great adaptation, not a great movie!
See Gits!
See Gits!
lightskintwin
Banned
Adam is a much better name than Tom as the title of the film. It keeps its alliteration with Akira. Adam has allusions to the first man, life, creation and destruction, ignorance and intelligence, paradise and hell on earth from a religious context, Adam is a homonym to Atom which can work on multiple levels from the Atom Bomb that detonated at the beginning to the Atoms that make up everything including Adams body.
Well it's definitely 4/20
lightskintwin
Banned
old manatee
Banned
I want to get excited about this because I love Akira and Get Out, but I know that as soon as they start announcing the cast I'm going to be pissed.
What did he mean by this?
Member
Changing the name deletes the purpose of making it in the first place. Branding, b!
If you make it Western, the obvious choice is calling the reasearch "The Akira Project" *insert scientist or military guy exposition here about how it all started in japan*
If you make it Western, the obvious choice is calling the reasearch "The Akira Project" *insert scientist or military guy exposition here about how it all started in japan*
Isaac Otherworld
Member
Imagine how much more disturbed audiences would be by the body mutation ending if they don't see it coming.
I love the name Adam for all the reasons outlined aboved.
lightskintwin
Banned
No it doesn't. You can definitely keep the title Akira and do as you suggest, but there's no reason you couldn't call it something else like Adam with the marketing tagline "Based on the Japanese Classic Anime/Manga Akira".
The biggest thing the name change will accomplish is remind people this is the American/Western adaptation of a Japanese story and NOT AKIRA, and minimize the whitewashing controversy/complaints that are going to come anyway.
Just_myles
Member
He should make something similar to Akira but, do a true adaptation. Instead of Japanese people use what he knows. Disenfranchised young black youth. You can adapt to literally anything. I know i'm not the only person to have thought this in this thread.
Well there you go.
And here to. Boom. Do it Peele. Do it.
Well there you go.
And here to. Boom. Do it Peele. Do it.
What did he mean by this?
Member
Would people have ran out to see "Life" if it really was the Venom prequel as rumored? Doubt it...
Isaac Otherworld
Member
I would have.
FinaruDensetsu
Member
Yup. Just do it The Departed and Edge of Tomorrow style. You don't need to do a restrictive shot for shot live action film of the anime (it's actually impossible for them to do this because I know they won't cast Asians), so do an adaptation of the general themes and plot for Americans.
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