UPFRONTS 2013: The Overachievers 
‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ On Track For $27M … 
‘Mike & Molly’ Creator Mark Roberts To … 
Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts Set For … 
Hammond On Cannes: Weinstein Brings Out Stars For 2013 … 
Cannes: Fake Gunshots Interrupt Canal Plus Live Broadcast … 
‘The Great Gatsby’ Starts With $5.4M … 
Cannes: Music Box Acquires Competition’s … 
Cannes: Bruno Wu & Pierre-Ange Le Pogam Kick Up Angel … 
UPDATE: Amazon Studios Begins Pilot Pickups; … 
Bruce Rosenblum Bids Classy Goodbye 
RATINGS RAT RACE UPDATE: ‘American Idol’ Hits … 
UPDATE: ‘Iron Man 3′ Box Office Crosses $1B … 
John Lesher’s Le Grisbi Teams With DCM Productions … 
Upfront Market: Will Auto Makers Subsidize TV … 
Cannes: Thief Makes Off With $1M+ In Chopard Jewelry Meant … 
Cannes: Cyrus Nowrasteh To Helm Film On Soviet Dissident … 
‘Scandal’ Finale On Small Screen And Onstage At … 
Cannes: Cassian Elwes, Robert Ogden Barnum Launch e2b … 
SPOILER ALERT! NBC’s ‘The Office’ Finale 
‘Modern Family’ Gets Cable Makeover For Launch … 
EXCLUSIVE: The script for the Warner Bros/Legendary Pictures live action adaptation of anime artist Katsuhiro Otomo’s 6-volume graphic novel Akira has been sent to a short list of actors. The picture is finally taking shape for an August start, following the delivery of a rewrite by Steve Kloves that has director Albert Hughes and the studio brass excited. The story takes place in the rebuilt New Manhattan where a leader of a biker gang saves his friend from a medical experiment. There are two major roles, and I’m told that for Tetsuo, Robert Pattinson, Andrew Garfield and James McAvoy have been given the new script. For the role of Kaneda, the script has been given to Garrett Hedlund, Michael Fassbender, Chris Pine, Justin Timberlake and Joaquin Phoenix. The two leads are expected to come from that group of actors.
Andrew Lazar is producing with Appian Way’s Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran. Akira has been one of Warner Bros’ high priority projects since the studio with Legendary Pictures acquired it for a 7-figure sum 2 years ago from manga publisher Kodansha. The intention has been to make 2 films, each covering 3 books in the series. Akira was first adapted for the screen in 1988.
Loading ...
Not good short list imo. But if I had to pick two. I would say Garfield and Fassbender (or Pine). Or McAvoy and Fassbender. Get the Xmen reunion going
For the love of the world, PLEASE, and I repeat, PLEASE do not give this to Robert Pattinson, he is a TERRIBLE actor…… terrible!
You’re looking at that list and singling out Pattinson? Timberlake is legendarily bad and apparently required Fincher to edit around him, and Hedlund’s work in Tron was pitiful. Pattinson isn’t the worst of this bunch by any stretch, and at least is capable of being decent.
what world are you living on defending robert pattinson, regardless of how bad his acting is face it he would be terrible in this role.
He is not bad, Pattinson has very good movies done and he would done this good.
Hes got dat tetsuo forhead.
Dunno, Rpattz has already proved he can play batshit crazy pretty competently. If I had to pick anyone for Tetsufaux, it would be him.
well said !
haha …Another jealous male comment about Robert Pattinson …seriously …all you males need to get over your pathetic hating on Rob ….he is a fantastic and talented actor … sexy …down to earth ..good natured ..hard working ….very humerous ….plays guitar and piano and sings damn well ….everyone he works with loves him ….mmn just a few positives about him …yep that pretty much makes him the perfect male ….Get over yourselves …you are all idiots who need to get a life and a grip lol
I don’t know much about about him other than the Twilight movies. Which movies would you recommend?
Little Ashes…enough said…don’t even think about twilight movies just watch that and then u can slap me or insult me all u want if i’m wrong
These are HORRIBLE qualifications to play Tetsuo.
agreed
So much troll above
Jealous male comment? Coming from someone in the industry, whether or not he’s a good guy is irrelevant. If he doesn’t fit a role, he doesn’t fit it, and honestly he would make a terrible Tetsuo. I wish they’d take us back to the days when the news about Akira included Joseph Gordon-Leavitt in Tetsuo’s shoes.
ok not to bag on patterson but i think he just wouldnt be right for this role because he has an innocent depressed kind of look and tetsuo has a sedistic evil look most of the time, patterson is a good actor but its out of his type casted comfort zone
Get off this board, Twilight troll.
then how will you get a male audience?
i’m warming up to the idea of a Pattinson-Phoenix combo. yeah, i think these two actors will do just fine.
Except neither of them are teenagers…or right for the roles…
Pattinson and Timberlake are the worst choices on this list. Not one of them is a good actor or credible in this type of market.
Pattinson and Fassbender is another good combination.
for the love of god please stop comment that Robert pattersion is the worst actor.He young but still very talented, people love him and can relate to him… most actors are hear today and gone tommorrow … Robert pattersion name will live on… stop hateing…
It’s not about what he is going to be in the future. It’s about what he is now — which is a so-so actor with tween girl and cougar appeal. We Akira-fiends want someone who can emote without lip-gloss. The man’s a bit … foppish for Tetsuo. I don’t hate the bloke, I just don’t think he would suit the role.
And adultifying the kids in Akira is removing all the teen angst, which is tantamount to driving a Porsche with an automatic transmission.
The man’s a bit … foppish for Tetsuo.
^
Implying that Tetsuo is not the prissiest poof that ever ponced past the prancing parlor.
Actually Pattinson and Hedland would be a good mix. I;d rather Pattinson and Phoenix but he is too old now. Infact any of the late 20′s and actors in their thirties would be silly. Pattinson has an Anime look to him
A good mix of wooden posing and eyebrow wiggling.
I second that. He is a terrible actor. Almost funny in his badness. Also, he is not a theatrical lure as far as the male audience is concerned.
I have to disagree with this list of candidates playing the characters Tetsuo and Kaneda. In the Anime version, they were just kids. The candidates listed don’t seem to fall into this category. I’m sorry, but Warner Brothers is definitely playing with fire.
Pattinson has given this news a lot of pr. You only have to look at the websites. Most of the names on the list just dont create any heat. Not even Garfield. Pattinson and Pine would work but Pine’s face always bothers me. He looks like a Thunderbirds puppet. All puffy faced.
So ‘heat’ is more important than getting a talented actor? Besides, Robert Pattinson’s over now anyway. Nobody cares.
Why ?… i mean… why doing a remake of a master piece ?
Thank you! Forget who is acting who, none on the list is qualified in the first place, this entire idea of a live action is an insult to one of the cornerstones of anime. They couldn’t do things like the anime at all? Didn’t want to do Tokyo? Nothing is more idiotic than having this take place in Manhattan, cast some white guys (sorry can’t be PC right now) and give them the original Asian names.
Did the live action DBZ not teach anyone anything?
Did the live action Speed Racer not teach YOU anything?
This movie has the potential to go either way, as all films do. As a long time Akira fan, and Kaneda cosplayer, I’m warming up to this movie.
So they don’t even want to pretend like they’d consider Asian lead actors. James McAvoy sure looks like a guy named Testuo, doesn’t he. This is not going to go well.
Sigh… of course, this crap has to start.
What Asian actor, and if you want to get technical, JAPANESE actor, would you cast that has international star power to topline a $200million franchise?
Wake up idiot.
Dunno about “top-lining”, but John Cho did alright in that Star Trek reboot, and Sung Kang didn’t hurt the Fast and Furious sequels. Plus, Ken Watanabe partly contributed to Inception’s success overseas. And didn’t Jackie Chan help make that Karate Kid remake one of the few hits of ’010? Funny that you bring up the race of the actors as being a deciding factor in a movie’s success, given that Kick-Ass bombed, and even The Princess and the Frog did better than Mars Meets Moms.
i bow to that comment BUT lets give Pattinson a chance ppl…i’ve seen his previous roles to the twilight movies and u can see him playing ANYTHING…if u haven’t seen any of his previous roles u can’t say he is bad…(this last part not for u):)
Pattison will have MANY chances in his career. Why not give a chance to an Asian actor? Asians are severely under-represented in Hollywood and media in general. This film would be an opportunity to show some real talented Asian actors, seeing as they get so few chances to begin with.
Damn. A+.
DZ you are so right. WB is whitewashing Akira! Racism and greed in HWood? Go figure. Stupid WB suits. This movie doesn’t need star power. Akira already is a star! AKIRA is legendary. I would see this movie in a heartbeat. But not with white male leads. That’s just pathetic.
I think John Cho and Sung Kang would fit much better than any others on the list. + Both could pass for teens
I don’t think someone’s an idiot by pointing out the inherent racism and whitewashing found in Hollywood.
Inherent racism? Whitewashing? Yeah, like how they cast Denzel Washington in that Unstoppable movie, when in real life it was a white guy that the movie was based on… he may not be an idiot, but you certainly are.
Well, the difference is there still was a white guy in that movie.
Great example “Yosaiah”. You use THE one example where Hollywood hires a minority in place of a Caucasian and use that as the reason why minorities should not get more prominent roles in a story originally set in Japan, filled with Japanese characters, and made famous by a minority audience.
Just b/c you’re embarrassed of who you are doesn’t mean others should be the same.
Anybody who thinks that Hollywood isn’t inherently racist is an idiot, I’m sorry. Pointing that out is not saying that (all) the people who run Hollywood are necessarily racist, but the way the system functions definitely is. I’m pretty sure even most people in Hollywood know this. It’s a fact, accepted probably at every credible academic institution on the planet. Go learn something.
Excuse you, they could just as well use unknown actors to topline a movie that is based on a classic with a built in fanbase already. It’s been done before. There are no Asian actors with that star power because Hollywood has never given them a chance.
You wake up and do your research.
Amen
match point
thank you for restoring my trust in general public people. Glad to see more people trying to support people of color actors than people calling others idiots for wanting some fucking diversity and representation in Hollywood. But for those calling others idiots, did you notice that at the Oscars this year every single best actor, actress, supporting actor and supporting actress nominated was white American or European? I’m sure you didn’t notice since it is so normal for you and I’m sure you could argue that only white American or European American actors can headline Hollywood right? seems to be supporting the normalizing racism that exist in popular media than excusing it don’t you think?
Word the fuck up!!!
Christmas isn’t for a long time but I’m going to give Warners a gift. Instead of these actors, use these: Jared Leto and Joseph Gordon-Levit (they may not have the market as the other ones, but they will be perfect for the roles, and make this film more unique), Director : David Fincher. Warners is known for doing rewrites, so bring on Andrew Kevin Walker to rewrite the script. For Music, use Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross with Daft Punk.
I completely agree Jared Leto and Joseph Gordon-Levit would be perfect for the roles in this film.
I agree 100% with you what a great combination that would be
I agree, they would be the best choice for Kaneda & Tetsuo. Pattinson could pull off Tetsuo (his hair could) but he is not the best choice.
We get it. You’re in the industry, and your only interest is to make money. You have no idea what makes a great film. You think star power is the only thing that will make a $200 million franchise? Just add explosions and half-naked women and you got it.
Wake up……idiot.
Problem is none of these guys have the star power either, and if they do, they are way to old.
How about the fact that if Will Smith had not been given a chance to star in Men in Black, alongside Tommy Lee Jones, he may not be an A-lister right now.
He is one of the rare non-white actor who can cross racial backgrounds.
APA’s don’t even get the chance.
Dude do your research, he never wanted to do MIB, until Steven Spielberg landed in a chopper by his house to flash him a big fat check in his face to reconsider. do your research
You’re an ignorant, racist moron. They shouldn’t make the movie if they can’t do it without casting actors who can’t play Japanese characters. You have no idea how fucking ridiculous this project is. Akira is iconic to Tokyo biker culture. This is literally the equivalent of Bollywood remaking American Graffiti and keeping the same title.
And honestly, who the fuck was James McAvoy when he was cast for Last King of Scotland? Who was Rob Pattinson before Twilight? Didn’t stop them from landing a lead role in a major pic. They can’t launch someone’s career off this?
Both of them were actually acting in Britain – Pattinson was working his way up after having done Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and McAvoy was at LEAST already in a successful British miniseries (State of Play – which was rewritten and adapted for an American audience a couple years ago) and the 2005 movie of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, so they’d had at least some high-profile stuff on their resumes, just not always prominently on the American radar.
A little IMDB and recognizing that America is not the only country where people can get famous or well-known goes a long way.
McAvoy was working in Britain but unknown here. The Last King of Scotland put him on the map in the industry. Pattinson had a bit part in Harry Potter. He was broke and fired from his last job before twilight. Pattinson fangirls need to stop spaming this site. He is a nice guy but mediocre actor.
NO one on that list of actors is a proven box-office hit outside of their franchise. Unknown Asian actors were in Couching tiger hidden dragon. Unknown Asian actors were in Slumdog Millionaire. Akira can be made with all Asian actors. Asians are Americans too. It’s insulting to send the scripts to ONLY White actors. Bad move Warner Brothers.
I completely agree with you they just need to give someone a chance.
We’ve a saying where I live: “If you won’t do it right, don’t even bother doing it wrong”
And this is the case. If studios can’t find the right actors, that’s not my problem, it’s theirs if they spend millions in a movie that flops. Y’know, like The Last Airbender “trilogy”.
Unfortunately, Airbender made money, but movie-goers got pay-back by helping Devil bomb.
Avatar.
@Teddy, what about Rush Hour? An action flick with an Asian and African American leads that went to gross over $140 million dollars… OOH how did that happen???
CAUSED IT STARRED BLACKIE CHAN!!! GOSH
I think they should be Japanese. It’s ridiculous that this is still going on, I thought we were over this years ago. Akira is a hot property because of the anime nerds like me loved the movie and comics and who balk at the idea the we would not watch this movie with Japanese actors. How are they going to get around the fact that they’re playing Japanese characters–change the names so that they’re all American names? How about changing Tetsuo to Edward and Kaneda to John Smith? And Akira to Little Richard. With series like Heroes and movies like Kill Bill, Letters from Iwo Jima, Star Trek, The Green Hornet, Babel, and Inglorious Basterds showing that multilingual and/or multi-racial films can be successful in our current pop culture climate, it is very disappointing to see Hollywood take a step away from racial diversity. On top of that, it shows little faith in the foreign source material. If this becomes another Speed Racer, I’ll be pissed.
Why should Hollywood have “racial diversity” in its movies? I don’t see much racial diversity in Japanese or Korean movies… why is it that people like you only want diversity in white countries’ movies?
“White country?” Funny… I thought the US was more then just a “white country”.
Gee, maybe because Japan doesn’t have a racially diverse population. Seriously, this has to be the dumbest fucking comment I’ve seen here. And this has nothing to do with crying for more diversity. It has to do with taking an iconic Japanese classic and needlessly adapting it to a white American story while trying to have it both ways and capitalizing off familiarity of the Japanese title.
Dude, seriously? Did you just say white country? What ethnicity are you “Yosaiah”? I bet you’re one of those guys who tries to pass themselves off as Anglo-American and hide your true ethnic identity. Take that cowboy hat off and put down that Budweiser, kid. You’re embarrassing yourself.
Wow! I dont comment but i had to break my rule. You my friend take the prize for dumbest comment ever on the interwebs. White countries? Where the hell do you live that would make you comfortable enough to say white country? Besides, Akira is NOT a “white countries” book!. Jesus i swear the ignorance in America continues to astound me!
Just like Twilight was a big hit because when it came out, it was loaded with star power? No, it was a movie full of unknowns and created huge stars.
Wake up, idiot.
Of course it has to be mentioned… it would be mentioned if Asian actors played roles meant for White actors. But it suddenly becomes a problem when people bring up injustices such as this? If a White man was considered for the role of Blade, trust me, the issue would be brought up.
this is an effects heavy film. you don’t need big name actors headlining this movie.
And why do you think there are so few ‘top-billing’ Asian actors? Answer; Hollywood execs don’t believe an Asian lead will bring in the big bucks. So it’s an endless cycle. How are Asian actors supposed to get top billing when it’s not even offered to them in the FIRST place?
And let’s be honest- big names don’t mean what they used to. People are looking for somethign fresh and new, which means fresh and new faces that AREN’T the typical big names you see all the time. Time to give some new people a chance. Preferably people of color.
They wouldnt even need to be Japanese, any korean, japanese, chinese would do, but keep them teenagers please.
Agree completely, Jack. I mean by the time this starts filming any of these actors under consideration are going to be 29, 30, and up right?
That REALLY changes the story more so than the race of the characters. What’s next, you turn them into cops, or army soldiers?
I can see right now, I’m going to be skipping this and stick to the classic 1988 anime.
I am sure this movie will NEVER be as good as the Anime, AKIRA is the best of them. As someone mentioned earlier, I hope they don’t make this movie end up like speed racer did. I’m excited to see what they do with it but fear they will destroy it.
Maybe they’re going to go back to the glory days when they dressed white guys as Asian’s and Indians. Give them enormous overbites and pull their eyes back with tape.
Burn Hollywood. Burn!
I haven’t laughed that hard in days!!! You’ve hit the nail on the head with Hollywood. They all talk a good game about being progressive, but it never pans out in reality. It is a white man’s club in that town and the fact that they’re casting white guys and not Asians, in an Asian classic series, is proof of how out of touch they are.
TRUE THAT!
Leo,you have said publicly that what interests you is putting things on screen that people have not seen before. With this in mind, I encourage you to stick to the source material. Moving everything to New York and using American actors is a mistake. Klove’s script may be good, but the model to follow here is Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Ang stuck closely to Wang DuLu story, and well, the rest is history. The way to proceed is a Post Apocalyptic Tokyo and an all Asian cast. From what I’ve read above, this is not the case. Now, you put Rob Pattinson on a hot bike in Post Apocalyptic New York and you will probably make alot of money, but you’ll be artistically hypocritical. We’ve seen Rob-on-a-bike, and Post-Apocalyptic-New-York before. Please think about what you are doing. Stick to the source material.
Best Wishes.
u have?? oh wow..
Lazar’s last stand at Warner Bros. I hope he does not blow this one like all the other recent ones he has “produced”.
So they’re going with white actors, I guess. Interesting group of actors- probably won’t go to James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, based on the two starring in X-Men: First Class together.
Dear. God.
Hmmm action is moved from Neo-Tokyo to “New Manhattan,” cast with Anglos yet the names stay Japanese.
We’ll see.
my inner child weeps.
Moving the setting and casting (whitewashing) douchebags like Pattinson and Timberlake might actually ruin a flawless epic.
“[F]irst adapted for the screen in 1988.” That is a long fuse on this bomb.
No, what Fleming is not mentioning is that that “adaptation” is in Animation or anime. The 1988 Akira is a f****** classic, on par with the graphic novels from which it is derived.
Do yourself a favor and by it. Not Netflix — it’s completely worth owning.
uhh, no it’s not. It’s a bit overrated honestly. And as previously said, they are playing with fire with this film.
well put…i love Akira but it HAS been blown out of proportion. The animation was ahead of its time, but there were some major plot holes. I love it all the same and ranks up there in my top 10 or 5 just because of when it came out, but not the best.
I prefer keeping the cast asian, but at the same time I don’t see anything wrong with casting white actors. As long as it doesnt suck. It’s been done before and will be done again. Whites playing classically black roles, blacks playing classically white roles, asians, hispanics, middle-easterners, indians, etc. But they WOULD have to change the names of the characters and probably the name of the movie itself.
Great, so we’re potentially looking at Robert Pattinson and Justin Timberlake starring in Akira. Congratulations Hollywood, you’ve done it again!
Whats wrong with Pattinson? Hes a very good actor
For a tree, probably. For non-wooden substances not so much.
I just puked a little.
HIS NOT A GOOD ACTOR!!!! FFS thats why nobody casts him for other movies. Think of him as Toby Mcguire, never really had any other roles besides Spider-Man. You following me??????
Cronenberg did cast him some weeks ago.
He’s a great actor for people who were dropped on their heads when they were young. FAIL.
I know right? It kinda sucks that they won’t or did not consider Asian actors for this. It’s like replacing Zhang Ziyi with Kristen Stuart in Memoirs of a Geisha.
Timberlake is the absolute worst choice out there. Pattinson only has Tetsuo’s hair & would suck azz playing the role.
Both characters have a very Caucasian look to them but I fear the casting could really make or break this movie.
This is going to make me so sad
Wow – some of those actors are WAY too old for their respective roles. James McAvoy? Michael Fassbender (loved him in Hex and Inglorious, but he’s in his 30′s and looks like he’s in his 40′s). Justin Timberlake? That’s really going to piss off the fanboys. This doesn’t sound very good.
Justin Timberlake and Robert Pattinson!
I wouldn’t mind seeing Pattinson in this actually. It’d be a nice step for him out of fangirl territory. And I think he’s strange and eccentric enough to pull off Tetsuo.
I agree…I would love to see Pattinson as Tetsuo actually…
finally someone non-hater..come on if haven’t seen this guys in Little Ashes or previous movies don’t bash ppl!!
Yes. He’d be stepping out of Rabid Fangirl Territory, and fall straight into the neighboring country of Raging Fanboy.
He very well COULD do a good job as Tetsuo. It’ll be interesting.
The vampire guy as Tetsuo? Dear God, hasn’t Japan suffered enough?!
I’m pretty disappointed that an Asian actor is not playing any of the leading roles in a legendary Japanese anime series entitled, “AKIRA.”
Oh wait, I’m sure they’ll cast an Asian FEMALE for the lead role.
Screw Hollywood.
Great idea. Change Kaneda to Kandi and cast Grace Park!
Please, no.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!Its Dragonball Evolution ALL OVER AGAIN!!!!!!!!!
Robert Pattinson and Justin Timberlake were added in as a joke.
you are a joke…
Freaking fangirl. Dont compare how this dude is in Twilight to what AKIRA is about. Emo guys arent in bike gangs. PEROID!
Emo is Edward not Rob Pattinson. You really should see difference between actor and his role.
WB topic only kind comments please
A shortlist without Shia Lebouf? This has to be a first. I guess Chris Pine is the guy that will be in the running for every role now.
It’s interesting that they can cast some unheard-of nobody for the lead in Star Trek and subsequently push him out as the next great star and give him a role opposite Denzel – but God forbid you launch an Asian actor’s career with a major movie.
Precisely. Star Trek had a $150 million budget and they cast a virtual unknown as the lead.
“Star power” isn’t a consideration when it comes to launching white upstarts’ careers, apparently.
Star Trek also is a huge brand with a lot of recognition. Akira doesn’t have the similar draw in the US.
Well, then don’t make a Hollywood film for it then. Let the film makers over in Japan make the movie.
Then why are they making it?
But this isn’t being made only for the U.S. They don’t make movies with $200 million budgets that will require close to $100 million in marketing for just the U.S. This movie is being made for an international audience, as it will require a strong foreign box office to have any chance of breaking even. AKIRA might be just a cult favorite in the U.S., but it is very well known in Asia and parts of Europe.
No doubt they are hoping for huge box office in Japan, which is not where the native AKIRA is a cultural phenomenon, but also the #1 foreign market for Hollywood films. Well, Sony hoped for the same thing with MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA, as did Fox with DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION. And both tanked miserably over there because they did the same thing that Warner Bros. is now doing with AKIRA. Also, look for the rest of Asia to have a lukewarm response to this.
“AKIRA might be just a cult favorite in the U.S., but it is very well known in Asia and parts of Europe.”
That’s actually not true, as I do know non-Japanese Asian fans of Akira, as well as those hailing from Europe. And the last time they tried to sell this kind of thing to an international audience, Dragonball: Evolution bombed.
America is not Asia. Why should Hollywood, which is in America, “launch an Asian actor’s career” Again, this is not Asia.
So Asians can’t be Americans?
Close to the stupidest thing said so far.
I’m Asian and American. I’m sure that confuses you but yes… it happens.
LOL, don’t mind the idiot you were replying to. Probably one of those Ms Wallace types who think all asians are foreigners.
Seriously, have you never heard of Harold and Kumar, Yosaiah?
pretty much done with this movie.
Can they please work on that Death Note script? Thanks
Ugh no. No more Death Note fanboyism thanks. I’d take Showtime’s Dexter over DN’s cowardly magic book killings anyday thank you!
HAHAHA! A deathnote script? That’s exactly what should be white-washed. Half the names are romanized already, and (sorry, but very racist) a white person pretending to be God and writing in a book to kill people is PERFECT for white-washing.
What the hell does Dexter have to do with Deathnote??? -face palm-
It’s the same premise of a “good” serial killer. They both took their homicidal tendencies and aimed it at the criminal element as a last ditch effort to view themselves as a good person.
The only difference is DN went with the supernatural lean, and Dexter kept it more grounded in reality.
Robert Pattinson? Are they serious? You’ve got to be kidding me. This sounds horrendous. He and Timberlake would be perfect for this if they are trying to illustrate how to make a lousy movie with two awful actors.
So one of the directors of “The Book of Eli” is going to deliver an incredible live-action Akira set in a futuristic New York and possibly starring Justin Timberlake and Robert Pattinson? Oh yeah. I can see it…
Appian Way is completely out of touch with what is cool & hip.
What the hell? They are changing the story to be able to cast white actors, that is fucked up.
Why are you all so pissed? It sure wouldn’t cast Asian leads. hello? It’s gonna be a big budget movie and you got to cast someone with box office power, right? Not saying anyone from the short list is a BO draw, but at least they’re all recognizable!
And I’m sure they won’t use the Japanese names in the movie! They’ll probably go with Ken and Ted. Out of the short-listed actors, I nominate Andrew Garfield and Chris Pine.
Instead of using name actors with so-called box office appeal, you could just try making a really good movie.
The people calling for Asian actors are misguided. Anime has always been a heavily symbolic medium. While nominally Japanese, the characters in Akira tend to embody very common and universally understood archetypes. There is a difference, however, between adapting a property into typical Hollywood boilerplate and staying true to the work’s original appeal–what won it all those “fanboys” in the first place. Sadly, this is looking more like the former.
The issue isn’t about Anime’s universal message. It’s about a F’d up studio system that makes no bones about excluding non whites whenever they get a chance! Hollywood continues to perpetuate it’s own false beliefs that non white stars and subject matter can’t draw a significant audience. It’s wrong headed, short sighted, cowardly, and, hell, I think it’s evil.
You are an idiot. Hollywood hires black actors to play in roles that were supposed to have white leads all the time. Walking Tall, Unstoppable, and even Men In Black (the comic Men In Black was based on had a white main character, that was played by Will Smith in the movie) were all movies that were based on source material with white leads.
You named three movies out of tens of thousands that have been made since the invention of the movie camera. Three! If that’s not an example of the most extreme case of myopia the world has ever seen, then it has to be stump dumb, drooling, mouth breathing idiocy.
Why yes, I mean we even have Samuel L. Jackson who’s always screaming about those goddamn snakes on those goddamn planes.
but there were still white people in those movies.
BRAVO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, there are plenty of “universal” anime titles which *don’t* require white-washing the actors to make profitable movie. Why not make those instead?
@April… uh… the movie is called AKIRA. Hello!
@April… Oh and since when does Andrew Garfield have “Box Office Power?”
As soon as he was in the Social Network and now is going to be in the Spider-man reboot. y’know, just that.
Um, TSN made money because of Facebook, and because Eisenberg had some good will left over from Zombieland. No one knows who Garfield is, and being in a reboot does not automatically make him a star.
God I swear some of these girls dont know what the hell their talking about. They wanna see Bob because he is such a dreamer in twilight, and wanna see Timberlake because he can do the robot.. Goddamn fangirls
Really bigot? Really?
One more thing, if they cast Robert Pattinson there will be a huge fanboy revolt. The people who watched and loved the anime won’t go see this pile of shit.
Oh please. There’s always going to be a “fanboy revolt”. And in the end, they either come around or they’re inconsequential. If fanboys could make a movie successful, Scott Pilgrim and Kick Ass would’ve been huge hits.
Actually I’m hoping that they cast Robert Pattinson and Justin Timberlake… so it will bomb. That’ll teach WB to whitewash wonderful Asian creations.
Hey..that’s what all the twitards said when he got cast in Twilight. Give the guy a chance, I didn’t like him till I saw his other movies.