Anime Live Action Evangelion (and other adaptations)

[BrandedWolf]

Otay, quick trip then get to the org. question.

Just heard the other day that they were giving Hillary Duffa part ?(sorry can't remember name; typical blonde LOL)

Anime made into LAF/M : I agree it would be interesting to see Cowboy Bebop.
Otay how about NOIR or Witch Hunter Robin ?

:eek:

[OtakuSennen]

[QUOTE=BrandedWolf]Otay, quick trip then get to the org. question.

Just heard the other day that they were giving Hillary Duffa part ?(sorry can't remember name; typical blonde LOL)

Anime made into LAF/M : I agree it would be interesting to see Cowboy Bebop.
Otay how about NOIR or Witch Hunter Robin ?

:eek:[/QUOTE]
[color=navy]Oh, boy, this little factoid again.

The idea that Hilary Duff the role of Asuka was spawned from an article in Anime Insider from a month or two back. They had a big spread regarding the Live Action Evangelion Project being announced, and made up a couple pages of who they think should play each Eva character's role.

Hilary Duff was pointed out for Asuka, mostly because of her age and general "energetic" roles on camera.. Their choices were barely justified, in my opinion. They said Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter from the movies) should play Shinji, and Rei should be played by the woman who played Go Go Yubari in Kill Bill. For the most part, one could consider their choices a "What real-life actors look like Eva characters?" article, and I seriously doubt that they will get Hugo Weaving to be cast as Gendo.

I personally think that unknown actors will probably be cast in the Live Action Eva movie. As others have said before me in previous threads, the film's budget should be spent on special effects and script, not a team of A-list actors. People like Hugo Weaving and Danielle Radcliffe are, I'm sure, rather costly to cast and are most likely selective about which roles they choose. A movie based on "One of those Japanese cartoons, like Pokemon" may not appeal to most famous actors.[/color]

[Omar Harris]

Little thing about Anime Insider. It is a spin-off of "Wizard: The Comic Magazine". A running article Wizard did before almost completely overhauling their magazine, was the "Casting Call" in which they took a comic book series, and asked the question "Hypothetically, if a live movie was based on it, who would play the characters?" Their decisions are based on "Who looks the most like this character?" and "Who would bring what?" Don't take the article seriously, EVER. It is one of the mainstays that Anime Insider inherited. A joke not a legitimate fact. Afterall, in Wizard they cast

Bruce Campbell as "Superman" for a Justice League movie (which doesn't fit at all) and even had Stone Cold Steve Austin cast as "Captain America" for a movie based on the post-apocalyptic Marvel series "Earth X" simply because he was bald, just like Cap is in the story.

Anyways, referring back to the original post, I say, I'n really not all too concerned about the changes made because

1.) I've been dealing with them for YEARS. As I stated in my first post, there will be changes, just as there are in all movie adaptations, to attract a bigger audience than what the anime, or more precisely, the NGE fanbase can provide. As long as the movie(s) are even decent, (i.e. worth my eight bucks), then I'll deal.

2.) I'm not a big NGE fan to begin with. I've researched the series almost completely in-depth, and have seen a few episodes, but I'll be going to this movie like most other people (i.e. knowing the bare minimum of the series beforehand). That is, unless some money starts flowing into my pockets soon, then I'll probably buy the boxset.

[outlawstar69]

To Omar: I believe that the DBZ movie officially has been scrapped, according to [url]www.toonamiinfolink.com[/url].

I too have my own comments on the idea of a NGE movie, but seeing as I have yet to see the series myself, and no one knows exactly what the movie will be like (too early to tell), I shall keep them to myself for now. As to other anime adaptations (which I think is an aspect of this thread)... Does anyone think that there any other possible candidates for a live action remake? Trigun doesn't have the enthusiatic following that NGE does, nor the depth of said anime, but I think that it's workable. It's an example of a good anime in my opinion, and most of the characters look like people (aside from some of the Gung Ho Guns, of course). What do you all think about that idea, or any other good candiates?

[Omar Harris]

If the Flinstones could be pulled off as a live action film, just about any property could. I don't think there is an anime yet, (or at least very, VERY few) that has FX too complex to be accomplished in live action, or for that matter, too complex as to have never been accomplished in live action. I also think that it really doesn't matter what the characters look like in the show, because you can still get real people who look even close enough to the characters to pull them off. There are already talks of a Battle Angel Alita movie (by James Cameron himself), and an Akira and Lupin movie. The best candidate for a live action update would be Cowboy Bebop, IMO.

[eleanor]

[i]*takes a deep breath* It's funny you should say that, Undefeated. Some of the comments I've read on this subject have sickened me as well. Asuka appears extraordinarily gorgeous because she is not an actual human being. It would be very difficult to find a healthy, non-anorexic actress whose body type was even mildly similar to hers. Some things--such as inhuman thinness--simply can't translate from anime to real life.

I'm 110 lbs, which is a healthy weight for someone of my age and height (5' 3"). As an anime character, however, I would seem morbidly obese.

OtakuSennen, tell me the last time you saw a girl with a body like the one shown in WETA's depiction of Ray. She's not ******* fat. In fact, she's not even particularly muscular. It disgusts me that people are judging these drawings by anime standards of beauty... the real actresses could look quite different, but I'll guarantee you now that none of them will be as slender as the animated girls.[/i]

[color=firebrick][b]Ok, don't turn this into some kind of giant obesity concept/debate thing, but I know this. Some anime characters are freakishly out of proportion [esepcially girls] when it comes to waistlines, hips, and breasts. *scratches* The pictures also do make some sort of sense because it makes them look stronger, and I'm guessing you'd need to be at least more than averagely strong to pilote giant Evas. Ok, but who cares. I don't even know why I wrote this anymore. But if they're planning on using skin-tight plug suits...[/b]

The live-action Evangelion movie was not the greatest idea in the world, but now that it's official I'm just hoping for the best. The castings will probably be similar to LoTR, a practically unknown cast. Although I'm really liking IanMcKellan right now. :P No one has given the official casting out yet, though. And if they pick Hillary Duff, I'm going to kill them.

[b]Ok, so WETA is working on the project. It should be good, right? I have absolutely no idea whether WETA is accomplished in both the 'technology' sort of effects or the 'fantasy' stuff. I'm just relying that the background will be good because Minority Report looked pretty cool. *shrugs* I have no clue as to how they're going to create the Evas and actually make them look good. I mean, this is one of those things where you can't cross the line between animation and live-action. The point of animation is to capture unrealistic elements, and sometimes it's really not meant to switch. *sighs* But whatever.[/b][/color]

[Dagger]

[quote name='outlawstar69']Trigun doesn't have the enthusiatic following that NGE does, nor the depth of said anime, but I think that it's workable. It's an example of a good anime in my opinion, and most of the characters look like people (aside from some of the Gung Ho Guns, of course). What do you all think about that idea, or any other good candiates?[/quote]

Nice question. After all, this thread wasn't intended to focus totally on Evangelion. ^_^;

I assume that you're referring to [i]non[/i]-Japanese live-action adaptations, in which case the size of Trigun's fanbase shouldn't make a significant difference. Neon Genesis Evangelion may have an "enthusiastic following," but the Eva film can't rely on anime fans alone; its creators must market it to the general public if they're to have any hope of turning a decent profit.

In my opinion, Trigun would become a sure-fire hit more readily than Eva.... because it borrows heavily from sci-fi novels (primarily Dune) as well as traditional Westerns, its subject material might seem more familiar to American audiences. The show's lack of Eva-esque depth also makes its storyline easier to compress and comprehend.

As for other good candidates, [b]Big O[/b] is the first series that comes to mind. It already has a certain Western sensibility, and I can easily imagine a Big O movie being able to duplicate Minority Report's sleek, stylish atmosphere. Most of the main characters look fairly normal, which I suppose is an added bonus.

mal: After seeing Gollum and the oliphaunts in action, I've decided that WETA's skills are quite able to meet our expectations. CGI is CGI, and I suspect that living creatures are more difficult to render realistically than machines.

~Dagger~

[Hittokiri Zero]

Mmmmm live action goodness... wait did i say goodness -_o I meant horror... Just look at (Gundam) G-Savior a CG and Live-Action mix =O... horrific results... all though there is a live action Initial D movie in the works ^_^ I honestly hope that it doesn't turn out all that bad and kind of put the street racing back into street racing instead of taking it out chewing it up and then spitting it back out like Fast and the Furious (and 2Fast 2Furious) did. It could possibly work well too because of the fact that all of the characters in Initial D are Japanese and the cars used are japanese manufactured cars :P. On the other hand finding real drifters to pull off some of the drifting techniques could be pretty dang hard so i wouldn't be surprised if they resort to cheap movie special effects ='|.

[outlawstar69]

Hmm... would the length of an anime have an impact on its movie potential? For example, If you had a series in the short range, say 5 to 13 episodes, would that make it more available to be made into a movie than let's say, a series with about 70 episodes, or 200? Also, would anime fans take offense if the movie wasn't a rehashing of the series, or would that be a bonus, making up a whole new storyline, with possibly new characters?

[Omar Harris]

The number of episodes is a moot point. In 2002, when Spider-Man the movie debut, the comic had already gone through 40+ years of monthly comics (closing in on the 500th issue), plus, in those 40+ years, there were at least ten otehr Spider-Man spinoff and side comics. Then you have properties like the Flinstones and Josie and the Pussycats, which were long shows, with a new storyline in each individual episode

Basically, making a movie based on a show is accomplished by compressing the show, and leaving only the general plotline, and all the elements/characters that made the show popular, then winging it from there. Most adaptations rehash the general plotline and then make everything else up as the story goes along, which is an ideal way of compressing so much continuity into one 2-hour long movie. The only time an adaptation with a new plot and new characters would work would be for something like Digimon, in which the Digimon are the stars and each years features a new cast in a new universe, with new concepts and plot points. Since there are new human characters every year, making up new characters for that movie would work, unless the studio wanted to use a specific cast. Otherwise, the old characters in new takes of their storylines would do just fine.

[Dagger]

In case anyone's interested, James Cameron (best known as the director of Titanic and The Terminator) has expressed interest in creating a live-action film based on the story of Battle Angel Alita. His next big movie is set to start filming sometime this year, and although he's been careful not to reveal very much about the project, there's a strong chance that it [i]could[/i] be Alita. If this is true--and not merely the stuff of Internet and magazine rumors--then we can expect Cameron's Alita to be chock-full of amazing special effects. In any event, I'm sure that he has enough talent and experience to successfully pull it off.

~Dagger~

[Guest gendou ikari]

This thread is centered around the Live Action Evangelion movie soon to come.
I personaly,am against live action adaptations of any anime's, for one, they give anime a bad name if the movie is unsuccesful, for two america, quite frankly cannot peice together something as great as evangelion, in the form of [B]anything[/B].

I started this thread to see peoples opinions about the matter,and have a good, old fasion, Evangelion debate.

Though the movie is going to be derected by the derector of the Lord Of The Rings
series, I highly doubt the fact that the movie will be the least bit succesful.

If you are unknowing of this,below are some live action evangelion, peices of artwork.

[URL]http://http://www.madcaps.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/evaimgtemp/res/01lower.jpg[/URL]

What you just looked at was the lower body of evangelion unit 01

[URL]http://www.madcaps.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/evaimgtemp/res/eva02down.jpg[/URL]

That is supposed to be unit 02's mouth.

[URL]http://www.madcaps.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/evaimgtemp/res/01upper.jpg[/URL]

[URL]http://www.madcaps.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/evaimgtemp/res/eva01bers.jpg[/URL]

THAT WAS THE BESERKER MODE! They changed it soo much.

Ok, thats the art, soo lets start the debate!Tell me your opions!

[Dagger]

[quote name='ScirosDarkblade']I already have a thread about this, actually. It's just tucked away somewhere.[/quote]

I merged the two topics. Next time, please PM one of the mods if you'd like us to do something about duplicate threads.


[quote name='gendou ikari']That's pretty interesting...but why did you tell me this...DEBATE![/quote]

Total spam, and you know it. I'll say it again: save these types of comments for private messages, as they contribute absolutely nothing to the discussion at hand.

Thanks. ^_^

On a side note... unless something has changed drastically since the last time I read an article about this film, [i]Peter Jackson is in no way whatsoever affiliated with the live-action Evangelion[/i]. Let's try to avoid spreading rumors, shall we?

~Dagger~

[Guest ScirosDarkblade]

I just realized that Emma Watson (Hermione from Harry Potter) would be awesome as Asuka. She's 14 right now herself... what are the NGE producers waiting for?

[Queen Asuka]

[quote name='ScirosDarkblade']I just realized that Emma Watson (Hermione from Harry Potter) would be awesome as Asuka. She's 14 right now herself... what are the NGE producers waiting for?[/quote]

[color=crimson][size=1]I don't see it at all, except that the characters are the same age. If Emma's role as Hermione is any indication, then I really couldn't imagine her being Asuka. And another thing, Emma is British and Asuka is German. That wouldn't make very much since, unless they are just going to completely leave out her heritage. I don't know, and maybe they both have reddish hair. But STILL. I would rather some no-name actress with real talent play the role of Asuka Langley.[/color][/size]

[Rei_Man]

In my opinion, Live Action Evangelion is a big no-no. I think the series should be left as it is. The movies too (though I haven't seen them yet). I'm pretty confident that Weta would be able to make a good job of it, but then again, as Gendou's already said, their have been some pretty bad screwups in the past. Look at the Guyver movie, for example. Just because they made a good job of The Lord Of The Rings doesn't mean they could do so for this.
Also, to be honest, I'm perfectly fine with the anime characters. I LIKE them as they are. When the characters aren't completely realistic, it gives you space to imagine what the characters would be like if they were real. You can picture them however you want to, however your imagination wants them to appear. To have your imagination ruined by a badly cast character..... no thanks.

[Solo Tremaine]

[color=#503f86]Mmm, I've mixed feelings about live-action adaptations, but you never know. These things can surprise you sometimes. At least Shin Chan hasn't reared its head yet...[/color]

[color=#503f86]I wouldn't like to see Emma Watson as Asuka in any way. I've nothing against her personally, I just don't think it would be right.

When I first found out that Shinji was suppose to be fourteen I was really quite surprised. I was sure the kids all looked at least 17. I I were making a live-action version, I'd be tempted to change the ages a bit to make it slightly more realistic. In any case, I doubt there'd be many 14-year-olds with as much diverse acting talent as would be needed for a lot of the elements in Evangelion. As much as I enjoy the Harry Potter films, there are times when all of the main characters remain fairly wooden.

With regards to other anime adaptations, I think Outlaw Star would work pretty well. Aside from the Anten Seven, there isn't a huge amount of story to get through, if you condense it. I'm sure it'd be enough to fit into a two-hour film. Hugh Jackman as Gene Starwind, anyone? ^_~[/color]

[outlawstar69]

Hugh Jackman, eh? That's not a bad idea, he fits the lone rebel archetype at times. Who would be good to cast for the other roles, I wonder... Melfina and Jim were the characters I liked the most from the series, it would have to be good talent for me to not be disappointed. Outlaw Star was one of the first anime that I watched, and it influenced my tastes immensly, as evidenced by my user name. Do you think the plot of the series would be brought to script, or would they scrap it for something new? Also, I wonder if any of the so called "important people in the industry" ever look at message boards such as these and get inspiration for them?

[Guest ScirosDarkblade]

Hugh Jackman is good for just about any role at all. The man is extremely versatile as an actor, not to mention he is tall, dark, and handsome (fitting the appearance of 50% of all main characters in fiction).

As for Emma Watson playing Asuka, I don't know why it's a problem that she's British. I think that Asuka's German background is flat-out irrelevant to NGE's storyline, and maintaining it is a [i]luxury[/i] and not by any means a necessity. Also I think the Harry Potter cast all do a rather respectable acting job. Everything they do seems quite natural, and they're getting better with each film. But enough about that.

Most people would agree that a live-action adaptation of NGE is a mistake. I think so as well. A fully-CG feature would be more fitting. Something gritty like The Spirits Within, but obviously with a less-boring storyline and deeper characters.

As for WETA doing the effects, whooptee-frickin-doo. Their LOTR stuff wasn't bad, but it wasn't killer. The set design and costume design is where those films shined; not in the digital effects. The hyena things that attacked in the ambush in The Two Towers were horribly done. WETA is also responsible for the killer special effects in Hercules and Xena, I hope you all know.

Now, there aren't that many good special effects houses out there. Maybe the teams that did Jurassic Park. They're good.

But something that moves like a human (an EVA) is going to be REALLY HARD TO PULL OFF with something as hyperrealistic as a computer model in a live-action film. I'm not sure WETA can do it.

[Solo Tremaine]

[quote name='ScirosDarkblade]As for Emma Watson playing Asuka, I don't know why it's a problem that she's British. I think that Asuka's German background is flat-out irrelevant to NGE's storyline, and maintaining it is a [i]luxury[/i'] and not by any means a necessity. Also I think the Harry Potter cast all do a rather respectable acting job. Everything they do seems quite natural, and they're getting better with each film. But enough about that.[/quote][COLOR=#503F86]Oh, I'm not saying they're bad actors- I just think they wouldn't be right for the roles on Evangelion. Besides, I shouldn't really talk- I'm an actor in-training myself and I've been nowhere near as successful as they have been. And there are some things I know they can do better than I can.

I see your point about Asuka's background- her accent in the NGE series is far from German anyway, so it's kind of a moot point. It's the character that has the explanation and history in it anyway, not the actor. But Emma Watson... still no. Apart from the stigma the kids from the HP films would carry around with them (they'd always be known as Harry, Ron and Hermione), they don't quite look right for Eva.

I'm interested in how the live-action Transformers is coming about; whether that's really live-action, or whether it's live-action with CG characters in it. That's what I anticipated NGE to be, either that or completely CGI. Actually, I think complete CGI might look better. At least that way you don't have to worry too much about the actor's faces fitting the characters.[/COLOR]

[quote name='outlawstar69']Do you think the plot of the series would be brought to script, or would they scrap it for something new? Also, I wonder if any of the so called "important people in the industry" ever look at message boards such as these and get inspiration for them?[/quote][COLOR=#503F86]Heh, I really wouldn't bank on it. Most film adaptations come from someone reading somehting they actually know and like, rather than plucking random ideas from places they don't know. But anime's becoming more widespread, and Ghost in the Shell already inspired the creation of The Matrix, so you never know what could drop up next.

As for OS... who knows? The series script condensed could fit quite nicely. To do something new but similar takes a lot more work, although it may end up with a better result in the end.[/COLOR]

[eleanor]

[i]As for WETA doing the effects, whooptee-frickin-doo. Their LOTR stuff wasn't bad, but it wasn't killer. The set design and costume design is where those films shined; not in the digital effects. The hyena things that attacked in the ambush in The Two Towers were horribly done. WETA is also responsible for the killer special effects in Hercules and Xena, I hope you all know.

Now, there aren't that many good special effects houses out there. Maybe the teams that did Jurassic Park. They're good.[/i]

[color=firebrick]Most people thought the effects WETA were did were amazing, so they wouldn't know if it were bad or not. I mean...I thought they were pretty freaking fabulous. I have no problem with WETA doing the special effects for the live-action Evangelion. I haven't seen Hercules, though. *rubs chin* Well, whatever. If you're talking about the TV series Xena, you can't expect much because it's a TV series. They get much less budget than movies like LoTR. Jurassic Park was pretty dang good for its time, though. *shrugs*

As for the Emma Watson thing, no. The only reason they'd use Emma is to say "Hey kids! Emma Watson is in this movie! She was in Harry Potter! Watch it!" Besides, I thought Asuka was supposed to be tall and shapely. Can't really imagine Emma in a tight skin suit.[/color]

[Guest camarokris]

ok so when it comes to adapting it.. as stated almost none of the characters are drawn to have any japanese characteristics.. so that should not be too much of a problem.. insert shameless recommendation for character.. ralph fiennes for gendo.. seriously he would be able to fit that character.. anyways.. as for setting.. i personally say keep it post apocoliptic japan.. makes much more sense anyways i am a bid proponent of staying as true to the original story line as possible.... casting easy setting not so easy esp the geofront and the buildings recessing into the ground..

[EVA Unit 100]

[quote name='camarokris']insert shameless recommendation for character.. ralph fiennes for gendo.. seriously he would be able to fit that character.. anyways.. as for setting.. i personally say keep it post apocoliptic japan.. makes much more sense anyways i am a bid proponent of staying as true to the original story line as possible.... casting easy setting not so easy esp the geofront and the buildings recessing into the ground..[/quote]

Gendo's a bit too refined for Ralph Fiennes. Ralph would be better suited to play Commander Keel of SEELE in my opinion.