Leonardo DiCaprio's production company is backing a Warner Bros. live-action adaptation of Akira which has long been in the making.
In a disappointing move, the adaptation will be set in New Manhattan. *sigh* When are they going to realize you can't just put New in front of something and change a few of the signs, expecting us to accept that it's the future. The world of the original Akira was so rich and unique visually. I hope they stay true to the anime and manga.
No word on cast yet for this two-film epic that will see the first installment in the Summer of 2009.
nime classic "Akira" is getting the live-action big screen treatment courtesy of Leonardo DiCaprio and Warner Bros.
Ruairi Robinson has been hired to direct what would ideally be a two-part epic. Gary Whitta is writing the adaptation, which DiCaprio will produce via his Appian Way shingle. Andrew Lazar is also producing via his Mad Chance shingle. Jennifer Davisson, who heads up Appian, will also be involved in some producorial capacity.
"Akira" originated in 1988 as a manga and then as an animated film co-written and directed by Katsuhiro Otomo. The story was set in a neon-lit futuristic post-nuclear war "New Tokyo" in 2019 where a teen biker gang member is subjected to a government experiment which unleashes his latent powers. The gang's leader must find a way to stop the ensuing swathe of destruction.
With its mature themes and cutting-edge animation, "Akira" was a milestone movie in anime and even animation circles, and led the way for anime making inroads into Western pop culture in the 1990s.
"Akira" has long been in development at the company, with producers Jon Peters and Basil Iwanyk involved at various times, as well as directors Stephen Norrington and Pitof. The rights lapsed but Warner managed to re-scoop them again for Robinson, who came to the studio with a vision of a two-part adaptation.
The new story moves the action to "New Manhattan," a city rebuilt by Japanese money.
The studio is eyeing a summer 2009 release for the first movie.
Greg Silverman is overseeing for Warners. Otomo is executive producing. Legendary Pictures is co-financing.
Whitta, repped by UTA and Circle of Confusion, wrote "The Book of Eli," which the Hughes Brothers are directing for Warners and Silver Pictures.
"Akira" would mark the feature directorial debut for Robinson who was nominated for a best animated short Oscar in 2001 for a sci-fi comedy called "Fifty Percent Grey." He also wrote and directed a sci-fi short titled "The Silent City." Robinson is repped by CAA and 3 Arts Entertainment.
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All the coolest stuff happens in Neo Tokyo.
Neo > New
Tokyo > Manhatten
Meh, bad idea.
DiCaprio is destroying the goodness that is Akira. Anime/Manga live actions should be left to Asia to do plx.
Localization bastardizes good stuff >_>
With anime and game licenses, you can get content edits, crap translations, and renaming everything to 'suit' the country it is localized in >_>
I DON'T see this movie being all that good....But at least it is told in two parts, based on the manga...
But already, you're like 'meh? Different city?'....
I can deal with that [location change], it is an acceptable change (it is also more practical for shooting in)....It doesn't actually affect the overall story all that much, just names of places....
But agan, it doesn't realy bode well for the project as a whole, either....And honestly, who's going to expect this to be great, really?
What is wrong is when North Americans try to make live actions and end up failing. hard. ie: Akira, Speed Racer, Dragonball, Uwe Boll, etc. Why? because they want to reinvent the wheel; don't fix what's not broken. Give me a couple million budget, I'll make any live action better than what these "hot shot" actors/directors could make. In fact, give any fan of a series a couple mil to direct and they'll do a damn good job of it.
I hate the idea of all our great memories being mangled and translated terribly to film just for a quick buck.