Screen Rant » akira

Iron Man Screenwriters Working on Akira Movie

Kofi Outlaw — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:04:12 +0000

Collider has exclusively broken the news that the rumored-dead Akira movie is in fact alive and well over at Warner Bros.

The website’s inside source claims that two screenwriters are currently at work on Akira, Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, who are credited with doing a lot of initial script work for Iron Man (though that script went through several on-set rewrites). The pair also did the pen-work for the excellent Children of Men and are working on the script for the upcoming Cowboys and Aliens, which could re-unite them with Iron Man director Jon Favreau and star Robert Downey Jr.

So what is being planned for the Akira movie and how closely will it resemble Katsuhiro Otomo’s 1988 anime classic? Keep reading to the learn the answer.

The Akira anime was set in “Neo-Tokyo” of 2019, so first order of business for an American live-action remake is to transport the story to the U.S. of A. Welcome to “New Manhattan.” Also important to note: the iconic electro-magnetic cycle ridden by main character Kaneda in the original anime (see header above) will also appear in the live-action version. Beyond that, details of the film are still pretty vague at this early stage.

If you haven’t seen the Akira anime, it tells the tale of a futuristic motorcycle gang whose youngest member, Tetsuo, winds up in a government lab after a bad bike accident. When the g-men’s tests unlock massive psychic energies in Tetsuo, the young boy sets out to wreak vengeance on those who mistreated him, even as his new powers spiral grossly out of control.

According to Collider’s sources, if the current draft of the script gets the necessary stamp of approval, the Akira movie could go into production as soon as next year, aimed for a 2011 release date. The film has long been gestating over at WB, with Leonardo Dicaprio’s Appian Way production company also working to develop the project. We recently reported that Gary Whitta (The Book Of Eli) was rumored to have turned in a draft of Akira, but I guess that didn’t pan out.

What do you think – are you betting that a live-action version of Akira finally makes it into theaters? Or is this a project you don’t want to see come to fruition?

Sources: Collider & Slash Film

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Live-Action ‘Akira’ Movie Is Dead

Ross Miller — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:03:14 +0000

About a year ago the official news broke (it had been rumored for ages before then) that a live-action American adaptation of the classic anime Akira was in the works. It was to be produced by Leonardo DiCaprio’s company Appian Way, along with Warner Bros. Pictures, and directed by newcomer to feature-length filmmaking Ruairi Robinson. Well, those who were excited at the prospect of seeing Akira come to live-action life will be disappointed with the latest news:

The live-action Akira movie is being reported as dead.

Bloody Disgusting reports that the live-action American Akira is, “dead as a doornail,” with Robinson leaving the project as the director only being a small part of the story. Unfortunately, we don’t have any other information as to the reasons why the project may have been canceled.

To be based more on the comic book (oops, I mean graphic novel) than the previous animated film, Akira was going to be split into two films, with Warner Bros. even looking to get the first movie out for the summer of this year. Well, looking at the summer movie release schedule, I don’t see a live-action Akira movie, so they obviously didn’t get going with the project as quickly as was first reported. The project would have seen the Oscar-nominated animated short film director Ruairi Robinson making his live-action, feature-length film debut.

If you’re not familiar, Akira takes place in the future and is about a secret military project that endangers neo-Tokyo when it turns a young biker gang member into a rampaging psionic psychopath that only two kids and a group of others with psionic abilities can stop.

There are probably just as many people who are in favor of a live-action Akira movie as are against it. Just some of the arguments against it (brought up on message boards and the like) are that it should only exist within the world of anime, and that a live-action film would be ridiculous. One of the reasons in favor of it is to see the fantastical storyline brought to real life, hopefully with some amazing CGI special effects to make it look as amazing as possible (there are many other points on each side of the argument of course, but those are just a couple of examples).

What do you think of the live-action Akira movie reportedly being canceled? Were you for or against the idea of a live-action adaptation?

Sources: Bloody Disgusting and First Showing

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Mid-Week Movie News Wrap Up – Nov. 13, 2008

Niall Browne — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:54:13 +0000

It’s that time of the week again – Mid Week Movie News Wrap Up.

This week

It looks like Brett Ratner may have some issues when it comes to directing Conan; Samuel L. Jackson and Jim Caviezel are Blown; DiCaprio talks Akira; we have more news on Simon Pegg’s Paul and Ennio Morricone is a Basterd!

1. Earlier in the week it looked like like Brett Ratner would indeed be helming the Conan, reboot/ remake/ re-imagining/ adaptation for Millennium Films. Seems like someone, somewhere jumped the broadsword.

The LA Times spoke with the films producer Avi Lerner and the potential director and both said that Ratner’s involvement was far from secure.

Lerner said:

“We still have a few obstacles. Brett is only committed if we agree on a budget, on how to do the special effects and exactly where we’d shoot the film.”

Meanwhile Ratner was a little less enthusiastic:

“Let me make this very clear, I am not doing Conan now. This is totally premature. For now, ‘Conan’ is only a development deal. I have a deal at Paramount and I’m doing Beverly Hills Cop first, no matter what. Avi shouldn’t be telling you or anyone else in the press what I’m doing.”

Ouch. That does not sound like a good moviemaking partnership to me.

At least Eddie Murphy will be happy.

Source: The LA Times

2. Jim Caviezel and Samuel L. Jackson will star in Blown, a London based action thriller.

According to The Hollywood Reporter:

“The film centers on Will Matlock (Caviezel), a top MI5 operative whose routine investigation of a global corporation leads him to discover an imminent terrorist attack. Jackson will play Julian Lezard, the businessman who engages him in a high-stakes game of wits and deception.”

I’m quite a fan of old Jimbo. He did star as the world’s most famous carpenter after all. The next two are Harrison Ford, and John Carpenter!

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

3. Leonardo Dicpario’s production company Apian Way is developing a film based on Anime classic Akira. It appeared that the Titanic star would be a shoe-in for a role. Not so, says the actor.

DiCaprio said:

“We’re waiting for the final draft of the script. I’m a big fan of Japanese anime – that and another project called Ninja Scroll we’re trying to get developed and made into a movie, and I know there a lot of loyal fans out there of the project and die-hard fans, so we’re going to try to do the best job we possibly can and we’re not going to make the movie until the script is in the right shape.”

Source: Splash Page

4. Star Trek’s Scotty Simon Pegg’s next film - Paul has a few more details courtesy of Variety. Apparently the film (which is to be directed by Superbad’s Greg Mottola) will be about :

“Two British slackers who after visiting Comic-Con go on a road trip to Area 51 where they encounter a small alien named Paul, who enlists them to help him find his way home.”

I don’t know about this, it sounds quite generic, and I feel that I’ve seen it before.

Source: Variety

5. Legendary composer Ennio Morricone will allegedly compose the score for Quentin Tarantino’s forthcoming Inglorious Basterds.

Pretty cool news, but I have to say that I’m more excited about seeing Sylvester Stallone’s The Expendables.

Source: Tarantino Info

That’s it for now. See you at the movies!

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Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: September 14, 2008

Niall Browne — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 15:49:16 +0000

Here we are again with another Weekend Movie News Wrap Up where we look at the weekend box office and furnish you with any film news that may have slipped through the cracks.

This week:

We see who 20th Century Fox lined up to replace Gavin Hood during the shoot of Wolverine; Paul Verhoeven returns to the world of erotic thrillers; it looks like Akira may be a while off; Michael Douglas is Libarace; Ray Winstone is the new Robert DeNiro and there’s more money ahoy for Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp.

Box Office

This weekend it’s a close battle between Tyler Perry’s The Family that Preys and the Clooney-Pitt combo Burn After Reading. Both films grossed around $6 million on Friday and they should be on course for $18-20 million over the weekend. The Al Pacino/Robert DeNiro thriller Righteous Kill should manage around $16 million, while chick-flick The Women should bank around $11 million by Monday morning – not bad for a film that was going to be dumped before Warner Bros. saw dollar signs following the success of Sex and The City.

This weekend saw Tropic Thunder cross the magic $100 million mark and The Dark Knight banked another few million.

Movie News

1. Word came in this week via Variety that X-Men Origins: Wolverine director Gavin Hood was almost given the boot by Fox during the movies troubled shoot. Apparently, Superman and Lethal Weapon director (as well as husband of the film’s producer Lauren Shuler Donner) Richard Donner was flown out to Australia as a replacement.

It sounds like Inglorious Bastards might be a Fox board biopic.

Source: Variety

2.RoboCop and Starship Troopers director Paul Verhoeven is in talks to direct an untitled Wendy Williams scripted erotic thriller about a college intern who has an affair with the wife of his boss. The film is apparently a cross between Risky Business and Fatal Attraction – man, I’d love to have been a fly on the wall during that pitch. When did it take place… 1988?

This can’t be good news for Pierce Brosnan’s The Topkapi Affair.

Source: Variety

3. Those of you holding your breath for a film version of Akira starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Joseph Gordon Levitt better exhale quick. Levitt says that his rumored involvement in the film is pure fiction and as far as he is aware here isn’t even a script yet.

Ruairi Robinson has his name on the director’s chair.

Source: MTV via Joblo

4. I love a good casting choice, but I really love left field casting choices. When news broke this week that Steven Soderbergh was developing a Liberace biopic with Michael Douglas in the frame as the flamboyant entertainer I almost choked on my cornflakes. The film will follow the palimony suit launched by Liberace’s younger lover (rumored to be Matt Damon) for $113 million. Richard LaGravanese is writing the script.

There’s a million and one “pianist” jokes that I could make, but I’ll wait until the film is released before I do that.

Source: Variety

5. When Robert DeNiro departed Edge of Darkness citing “creative differences” I wondered who they would call to replace such a high caliber actor. I didn’t have to wait long – as Ray Winstone is in negotiations to replace DeNiro as a CIA operative in the Mel Gibson film.

Source: Variety

6. Following the billions they made for Disney with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise Johnny Depp and Gore Verbinski are set to reunite for animated film Rango.

Does anybody else remember the time when Hollywood wouldn’t even touch Depp with a barge pole?

Source: Variety

That’s it for this week. See you at the movies!

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