Ghost In The Shell Live Action movie

[Mr Hat and Clogs]

I searched for this thread to put that news link in but could not find it... Wtf..

I don't deny that she was picked because of money (even if a big part of that money would go to her). It's like Hollywood doesn't trust themselves to make a good movie anymore. If you look at her one way she does seem to have a body that could be taken off a production line. Curious if she will have purple hair or stick with red.

Cyberpunk is one of the few settings Hollywood can actually manage to do, so this movie will probably 'look' and 'sound' great, but story wise we will have to wait and see. If Spielberg has a say in it things might work out Ok, since he is supposedly a fan, but depends how much he wants to stick his nose in. Although the whole refugee/humanitarian thing would probably get pushed to the fore if he was more involved, or at least a bigger showing.

I hope it's still set in Tokyo though, and Togusa better have his mullet. Curious who they'll get for him and Batou. Apparently Batou was partly based off of Doulph Lungdren (although where I heard that I can't remember), and Togusa has always looked like he wasn't racially Japanese to me, so can probably expect them to be a pair of white dudes as well (either immigrants or white heritage). Aramaki is probably the only one I'd say who looks distinctly Japanese out of the core cast. Although of the other three guys, Saito probably looks the most Japanese with Borma followed by Ishkawa (who kinda always made me think lumberjack with that beard of his). So expect 2-3 racially Japanese guys in the main cast at most I'd say with the rest being either immigrants, orphans or having some sort of white heritage.

[aohige]

I assume the setting will be changed from near-future Japan to near-future America, which is fine and all, but I kinda feel the whole Secret covert Ops doing super-classified dirty work for the government doesn't quite have the same impact in US setting.

I mean, it's been done to death in a US setting, and there's already tons of similar agencies, they don't quite have the exotic flavor.

As for Motoko, I don't really care too much who plays her. Assuming they're going the movie/SAC route, and not the original manga, anyone that can play a semi-mechanically calm, mature and collective role can play her. I mean, she's a full cyborg with little human features left anyways.

Bato and Togusa requires a much more human reaction in acting, and I care more about who's going to play them.

[Mr Hat and Clogs]

Interviews said manga based and not movie based. Cause the manga is more 'action' or something. But that was a few years ago and scripts change.

[monster]

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

But if they want to change her character into American white gal, might as well change her name into American-white-gal-name like Monica Kusinski or other names that still has the same initial as a homage to the orginal name instead of giving us convoluted plot just to have her named Motoko Kusanagi.

I think changing the name is fine too, but I don't believe the adoption case would be convoluted at all if they're going for a Japanese name. If they feel the need to explain it, it could be just a one-line explanation said in passing. "I was adopted." Simple and straight to the point.

[Ithekro]

Or just "new body".

[Wild Goose]

You guys do realise that Motoko Kusanagi is basically the Japanese equivalent of Jane Excalibur or Claire Durandal or Rhiannon Danewyn, right?

Look so long as it's something that's true to the themes the series, that captures the spirit of the franchise, I'll watch it, and c'mon, we get to see Scarlett Johanson in more tight bodysuits how is that not a plus in anyone's book?

[Solace]

Originally Posted by Mr Hat and Clogs

It's like Hollywood doesn't trust themselves to make a good movie anymore.

It has nothing to do with quality, and everything to do with profit. She's reportedly being paid 10 million for the role. Even adjusted for inflation, that's more than the entire budget of the original animated movie. Keep in mind that the budget, while not Disney level (heck I think the budget for Akira was actually more than GITS, iirc), produced a film that still holds up amazingly well today, with fluid animation and intricate levels of detail.

But the problem in the twenty years since then, budgets for everything have exploded to ridiculous and often bloated levels. This in turn creates a warped logic loop from companies, where the size of the budget creates pressure to recover that budget and profit, so safer and more "marketable" choices are made, and fewer risks are taken. Budgets are so large now that for many companies, one or two commercial failures can sink them. This is a problem that ravaged the video game industry in the 2000's, and why so many of the genres or even just the sheer variety of games in a particular genre that you used to see frequently are now considered too risky to keep making. This is true for all entertainment now.

The silliest part is that it's also frequently proven that big budgets don't mean high profits, and that lower budgets can often make more money overall, if not in large chunks at once. But because of investor pressures for profit (and return on investment), there's this culture in the entertainment industry that without the immediacy of large profit announcements, the project is a failure no matter what the long term pans out to be.

Basically, everyone wants to be the next Marvel movie, or the next Grand Theft Auto, or the next Taylor Swift, and they relentlessly chase those successes hoping they might strike gold too.....even if it means going out of business. They'd rather make no money than some money, and that means they can't afford to alienate the audiences they are trying to attract from copying what is successful and saying "Look! We're doing it too! Give us money!"

So the net result is mostly stagnation/homogenization, and not much innovation. But at least it's pretty to look at.

[Mr Hat and Clogs]

It's stupid how much they get paid. As far as I'm concerned actors, much like sports players, are not in anyway worth the amount of money they earn, It's obscene.

Also up to like half of that budget can go on promoting their products as well. I can't remember what it was recently I read, but something like 45% of the budget for... Whatever it was, went on promotion. Yeah things are utterly bloated, look at the 'triple A' games industry and what a shit heap that has become. Check box by the number rehashed crap, no innovation at all, no risks, no trust. Yet the indie scene is cracking along with some really interesting stuff (games and movies).

[Solace]

Originally Posted by Mr Hat and Clogs

It's stupid how much they get paid. As far as I'm concerned actors, much like sports players, are not in anyway worth the amount of money they earn, It's obscene.

I don't exactly disagree, on the principle of "how much more money could you possibly need after a certain point", but in the current world we live in, excess is just the name of the game.

Also up to like half of that budget can go on promoting their products as well. I can't remember what it was recently I read, but something like 45% of the budget for... Whatever it was, went on promotion. Yeah things are utterly bloated, look at the 'triple A' games industry and what a shit heap that has become. Check box by the number rehashed crap, no innovation at all, no risks, no trust. Yet the indie scene is cracking along with some really interesting stuff (games and movies).

Advertising is a huge part of budgets, no doubt. I wouldn't say there is zero innovation in big budget productions, but it's usually very timid and mainly used as a selling point to justify more sequels. It's not exactly a bad thing to get more of what you like....but there is a saturation point when it comes to milking success. Indie stuff allows for some interesting creative stuff, but it's not like indies are always full of originality either, and some genres are extremely saturated. And sometimes it runs into the problem of being different for the sake of being different.

So there's pros and cons to bigger/smaller budgets. The problem is that the middle ground is almost completely gone.

That's kind of my fear with this movie, aside from Hollywood having a horrid track record with adaptations of foreign media. While it would be nice to have, GITS doesn't really need a massive budget or big name actors. The strength of the franchise has always been in the characters and question of what makes us human in the face of rapid technological advancement. With the bonus of politics, of course. Sure, there's fancy future tech, but it's mostly just a setting for the rest of the story.

I doubt it can ever sink to Dragonball Evolution's level, but my prediction is the movie will be pretty yet forgettable, barely scratching the surface of the intellectual aspects in favor of explosions and "oooo, shiny future tech!" special effects.

[Kyero Fox]

If Scarlet didn't sue some book writer over something so stupid or stared in Lucy. I woulda been excited for this. But.....Nah, not anymore.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Pilou Asbæk is set to co-star with Scarlett Johansson in DreamWorks’ Ghost in the Shell to play Batou:

Images

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

Source

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Don't know why there is so much focus on the Casting. The way I see it, GitS film will be entirely dependent on the directing and script to "not suck". I barely care who is acting in it because they are not the likely failure point of this film.

[Helius]

Live-Action Ghost in the Shell Film Posts 1st Photo of Scarlett Johansson as the Major



From the wording of the description, it looks like they do realise the problem of naming her "Kusanagi Motoko" and refer to her instead as merely "the Major"... which I'm fine with, I suppose.

Still, it doesn't mean her actual name would be entirely different, so I guess we'll see.

[MrTerrorist]

Looks good. Now to wait for actor who plays Batou to show up.

[sunset]

God, I hate Hollywood SO much.

[GundamFan0083]

Originally Posted by sunset

God, I hate Hollywood SO much.

You and I both.

[aohige]

Originally Posted by MrTerrorist

Looks good. Now to wait for actor who plays Batou to show up.

For pure looks,


I wish Steven Seagal didn't have the acting skill of a sock puppet.

[Helius]

Source: 'Ghost in the Shell' Ran Tests to Make White Actors Look Asian

L.O.L.

[Sheba]

That's pretty sad, imo. Execs could either go with asian actors (like the girl in Pacific Rim) or just keep with the Hollywood big guns and localize the story a little bit. The average movie goer is not going to care either way as long as the end product is good. Them going the "digitally editing actors to make them look like another ethnicity" route is an embarrassment.

[GundamFan0083]

Originally Posted by Sheba

That's pretty sad, imo. Execs could either go with asian actors (like the girl in Pacific Rim) or just keep with the Hollywood big guns and localize the story a little bit. The average movie goer is not going to care either way as long as the end product is good. Them going the "digitally editing actors to make them look like another ethnicity" route is an embarrassment.

Rinko Kikuchi would make a great Motoko Kusenagi.

Spoiler for Too big.:

Here is the original "movie-version" of Motoko for comparison:

Spoiler for large image:

Of course, Meisa Kuroki, would be the best if we're going for drop dead gorgeous.

Spoiler for large image: