Lupin III Coming to Hollywood

Secret anime ninja writes "A story in today's Toronto Star says, "Master thief Lupin the Third, a comic book hero in Japan for more than 30 years, will soon make his Hollywood debut." The story goes on to say that it's been optioned by the producer of Minority Report, Schindler's List and Jurassic Park." Lupin III is currently airing on Cartoon Network and several Lupin movies are available on DVD. Castle of Cagliostro, directed by Miyazaki is a great movie.

Comments

Question

[choctawgh]

for those of us not in the know, anyone wanna step up and fill us in a bit about this?

Re:Question

[Anonymous Coward]

Imagine the A-Team, with incredibly skinny legs, and instead of helping people out, they try to rip people off. Oh, and a hot chick that is a backstabbing bitch, and also the only character with normal looking legs.

Re:Question

[skahshah]

If you want to know more about the original Arsène Lupin, gentleman-burglar, and the author, Maurice Leblanc: here and there

Re:Question

[Thomas M Hughes]

for those of us not in the know, anyone wanna step up and fill us in a bit about this?

I'll leave the technical details about the show history out for someone else to fill in, but I can give you a basic rundown of the plot and the characters...

Lupin the 3rd is basically a story about the exploits of four legendary thieves and an Interpol investigator who's constantly on their trail. They seem to try to rob and rip people off more for the challenge of it then for the actual money (though, they do seem to enjoy the money as well). Central to Lupin's character is that he doesn't seem to be a killer, just an unorthodox thief.

Lupin (pronounced Loop-ON, I believe) is the grandson of a legendary criminal, and has taken on his legacy of performing impossible crimes under the very nose of authorities many times. His main ability seems to be his quick wit and extreme intelligence when it comes to stealing things. He (as well as the rest of the crew) is a fairly good master of disguise.

Jigan is a guy who tends to wear a suit and a dark hat, drinks an awful lot, and is a damn good shot with a revolver. He's generally a rather pragmatic figure who tends to just like hanging out with Lupin, because Lupin's an interesting guy.

Goemon is a legendary swordsman (a kind of stereotypical samurai), who also enjoys just hanging out with Lupin and Jigan. Of all the characters, he is probably the most outlandish, performing rather impossible feats with his sword. However, it would not be difficult to mute this down to reality's level.

Fujiko (not positive on the spelling of these names by the way) is who Lupin is particularly smitten with. She has rather um...large breasts (sorry, there's really little else to say, since they're kind of central to her character). Of the 4 criminal characters, she is probably the most in it for money. She is probably the best at disgusing herself, and will often backstab multiple people just to get more money for herself. She often attempts to pull one over on the other main characters to enrich herself. Jigan and Goemon aren't too fond of her, but put up with her because of Lupin.

Zenigata is the Interpol inspector who has gotten pretty good at figuring out where and how Lupin works, but he has some behavioral problems so the local authorities tend to not believe him or comply with him fully when he makes requests. As such, he's usually there to witness Lupin's hijinks, but he never seems to catch him. Also referred to as "Pops."

That's the basics of it. Its a pretty fun, though simple show.

Re:Question

[Hubert_Shrump]

Don't forget the hair on the back of the hands.

And that the girl's so top-heavy her head could fit in her torso about 3 times.

Re:Question

[M-2]

Just to follow up, the creator of Lupin III, who uses the name 'Monkey Punch', did once note that Fujiko was named after Fujiyama (better known to us foreign devils as Mount Fuji), the largest peak in Japan. Because, well, she had... large peaks herself.

This has been your totally useless trivia moment.

Castle of Cagliostro is great!

[Anonymous Coward]

Castle of Cagliostro is an excellent anime movie, with lots of humor and action.

Recommended!

As for life-action: we'll see it when we see it... I doubt Hollywood can do it, the character of Lupin the 3rd doesn't seem to fit any of their stereotypes.

Re:Castle of Cagliostro is great!

[Mogomra]

There was an old rumor floating around that said Steven Spielberg really liked Castle of Cagliostro. I don't know if that was ever confirmed, but it's interesting that someone who produced three Spielberg movies optioned Lupin.

I really have a hard time visualizing who could pull off the character, though. Jim Carrey is the first one that comes to mind, but do we even want something like this?

Funny

[Anonymous Coward]

First american movie based on a japanese anime based on a french book (arsene lupin).
Will a french adaptation be made after that?

Re:Funny

[Robotech_Master]

You can actually find quite a few of the Arsene Lupin novels and stories--including a couple that I donated to be scanned for Gutenberg (though they haven't made it to Gutenberg yet for some reason)--at BlackMask.com. Just search on Maurice Leblanc. They're very good.

Re:Cartoon Network

[aronc]

It is indeed from the 70s, or most of it is anyway. Many, many changes were made by the dubbers. This would be acceptable perhaps if the actual dub was good, but alas it is not. I'm a huge Lupin fan but I couldn't make it through more than about 15 seconds of the CN version.

Re:animated or live-action?

[GigsVT]

I think they would have trouble finding people with legs that skinny.

Lupin ? Hollywood ?

[koh]

It is often hard to derive Japanese art and not lose that something that made the movie enjoyable.

I hope Hollywood does a better job with Lupin than with The Ring... I don't have much hope, touch, since Lupin is 1) animation and 2) based on humor.

Maybe it will be better than scooby-doo...

Re:Lupin ? Hollywood ?

[Thomas M Hughes]

Lupin III is interesting because it really doesn't need to be a cartoon. Meaning, the effects taken aren't that outlandish (ala, Scooby Doo, or Dragonball Z). In fact, Lupin III could have been a very interesting live action piece from the very beginning as far as I can tell. The main reason to go animated over live action is that you can afford a lot more animated explosions and flying planes and exotic places internationally with drawings and ink then you could with a real set.

I think the comparison with 007 is really valid in this case. Whenever I watch Lupin III, it feels really similar to watching 007, if he had a set of good friends he hung out with, and he was a master gentleman thief.

Having said all that, I won't be seeing this movie, as interesting as it might be. A tight budget means entertainment tends to get cut first.

However...

[rde]

However, it's being renamed Lupin to accommodate the foolish americans who haven't seen Lupins I or II

Re:However...

[GothChip]

Not based on an urban legend but actually based on truth.

The movie is based on a play by Alan Bennett called "The Madness of George III". The popular story in the UK is that the movie's title is different from that of the play because it was thought the American audience might mistake it for a sequel. While not wholly true, director Nicholas Hytner has confirmed that it was "not wholly untrue" and it is now widely held that this almost certainly did play a part in the titling of the film. In the UK it would be obvious to anyone that "George III" referred to King George III, but it was felt that elsewhere this might not be so clear and that adding "King" to the title might help. While this explains part of the title change, it glosses over the dropping of the "III", adding renewed weight to the original theory.

Distribution Deal

[CleverNickName]

I have it on good authority that this will be distributed by Dennis Moore.

Re:Distribution Deal

[ericdano]

And you're starring in it right? ;-)

Re:Distribution Deal

[kfg]

"Blimey, this redistribution of literature is trickier than I thought."

KFG

Lupin

[stratjakt]

I've been watching the cartoons on cartoon network. I get the sense that it was probably really funny in its original japanese, but it's all lost in the translation, and whats left is sort of a lukewarm and lame attempt at humor.

Humor just doesnt translate like action does.

The premise is solid enough to make a good movie. Just so long as some good writers write a good script in english, and dont try to translate some old scripts.

Re:Lupin

[amuro98]

Well, the cartoon originally aired in Japan in the late 60s/early 70s... This is why the animation seems so "dated."

Even as newer Lupin comics, movies and TV shows were produced, the artist kept the same style.

Lupin Moive

[E-Rock-23]

Thanks to Cartoon Network, I've been able to finally see the Lupin III TV series. Despite it's dated nature and the modernization of the dub script (tons of modern refferences), I find the show enjoyable, and watch it damn near religiously.

But a live action Lupin movie? And from Hollywood, no less? Has anyone here seen G-Savior?

I think that, because it's Lupin, I'll hold on to a little hope that the fruitcakes in Hollywood won't mangle it, but I'm afraid that my hope is misplaced. They might try a live action "Cogliostro," which wouldn't be bad, but would probably insult the greatness that is Haiyo Miazaki (just like I'll bet they'll snub him at the Oscars).

Another sad option is that they'll try to turn this whole thing into another "Hudson Hawk." They could try to turn it into an action flick (almost making Jigen and Goemon the stars as opposed to Lupin), but then they'd offer the part to not-so-awesome "action stars" like Vin "I Look Good Standing Next To Hot Cars" Diesel or Duane "The Rock" Johnson.

If Hollywood were smart, they'd drop the idea entirely. But they're not smart, they're money hungry, so they'll jump all over it and turn it into overproduced fluff. Still, I have hope that somehow, someway, by some wild twist of fate, Hollywood can overcome it's current stigma and actually make a good flick based on an excellent Anime...

CliffHanger

[CommieLib]

Lupin III was also used to make the classic 80's videodisc game, Cliff Hanger.

Re:Cartoon Network

[argmanah]

It is indeed from the 70s, or most of it is anyway. Many, many changes were made by the dubbers. This would be acceptable perhaps if the actual dub was good, but alas it is not. I'm a huge Lupin fan but I couldn't make it through more than about 15 seconds of the CN version.

Agreed. For better or worse, we have a habit of Americanizing anything that comes over here. Watching anime transform from original Japanese to American television is often a scary process. You sometimes wonder if the editors understood why the anime had appeal in the first place. Good seiyuus (voice actors), interesting storyline, mature issues... many of these things often disappear when the American producers get ahold of it.

Then you watch something like Cowboy Bebop and you regain some faith in the system.

Bringing it over dubbed and edited can still be good, but only if the company doing it is competent.

Hudson Hawk was bad?

[Glytch]

Am I the only human being alive who actually likes Hudson Hawk?

Official website

[Apreche]

If you've never heard of lupin before head to www.lupinofficial.com to catch a glimpse. It's the official website pioneer set up to advertise the tv/dvd showings of the original lupin tv series on CN. You should be able to watch it Monday through Thursday nights at midnight + 1/2 on cartoon network. Before it starting rerunning episodes (because it takes awhile to dub new ones) me and my friends watched it religiously. We also watch every movie we can get our hands on. Lupin is absolutely hilarious. A great party anime.

And I quote

Ahhhh, the old exploding bear trap on the ass trick!

Castle of Cagliostro

[astrashe]

I know this is heresey, but I don't think that The Castle of Cagliostro stands up with Miyazaki's best work. I'm not exactly sure how to describe it, but his best stuff seems to be suffused with a kind of human warmth, a real fondness for and understanding of people, that doesn't come through in Cagliostro. It's not that Cagliostro is a bad movie -- it's not -- it just doesn't seem to have the force of some of the others.

For me the definitive Miyazaki scene is in Tonari no Totoro, when they're at the bus stop, and Totoro shows up. That moment when they're standing there in the rain, and she loans him her umbrella. There's so much that's good in that moment -- wonder, kindness, etc. -- and it all fits together perfectly.

Re:Castle of Cagliostro

[Mononoke]

I know this is heresey, but I don't think that The Castle of Cagliostro stands up with Miyazaki's best work.

I agree with you here. You can tell that this was a Miyazaki episode of Lupin, but that he may not have put as much of his heart into it as he would have one of his original stories.

For me the definitive Miyazaki scene is in Tonari no Totoro, when they're at the bus stop, and Totoro shows up. That moment when they're standing there in the rain, and she loans him her umbrella. There's so much that's good in that moment -- wonder, kindness, etc. -- and it all fits together perfectly.

For me the definitive Miyazaki scene is in Nausicaa when she is first given Teto. Teto bit into Nausicaa's finger out of fear and she remained calm, calming Teto in the process and proving to Teto that she could be trusted absolutely.

Let us not forget...

[bzcpcfj]

John and Lionel Barrymore, in 1932, starred in Arsene Lupin (with John as Lupin and Lionel as the plodding detective).

Obviously, this version was based directly on the original French work. Not a samurai in sight.

Lupin II casting game, anyone?

[Thag]

Lupin - I 've got no good ideas. Based on looks, maybe David Schwimmer? (note: he can do way more than Ross from Friends)
Jigen - Edward Norton
Goemon - Hopefully someone Japanese. Or at least Asian. Who was the guy they used for the first Onimusha game? Or maybe Robin Shou?
Fujiko - With a name like Fujiko, you'd have to go with an Asian, though the character looks caucasian... I hate to say change the name...
Zenigata - Fortysomething, Japanese? I really don't know many Japanese live action stars. Sonny Chiba?

What do you think?

Jon Acheson

Re:Lupin II casting game, anyone?

[Robotech_Master]

Some people have suggested Jim Carrey for the role of Lupin III. I think he'd be a very good choice, if he didn't go too far over the top.

Obligatory Haiku

[Chocolate Teapot]

"That's not a lupin!"
(whips a plant from back of belt)
"This is a lupin!"

Why is it...

[Mossfoot]

...that everytime Hollywood uses a much loved idea from other source I get this cold shiver down my spine? ;) Seriously, wouldn't you be worried if Disney decided to do their own version of Spirited Away or Princess Moanoke instead of just getting distribution rights?

Hmmm.. didn't they do that with The Lion King? I'm pretty sure I've seen a series of a similar theme out here that predates the movie... could be wrong though... I may live in Japan, but I still can't read Japanese ;)

I wonder about the name...

[newsdee]

Outside Japan, they had to distribute the Lupin III anime with an alternate name, Cliff or Wolf (the latter being closer to the original as lupus means wolf in latin).

Anyway story-wise the guy is supposed to be the grandson of Arsene Lupin, hence the number. However, the actual grandson of the original French writer has sued companies airing it for usurping the name, which was settled by changing the character's name.

So, I wonder what kind of deal they have to release a "Lupin III" movie.

Before anybody starts whining that copyrights are bad, just remember that they're going to turn Lupin III into a commercial trademark (it already is in Japan), so it's like Hollywood making millions by distributing "Linux: the movie" and trademarking the name... ;-)

Re:I hope it doesn't suck =(

[RobotRunAmok]

Man, I just can't but help thinking "sellout" when I read that article. Kato says he'll leave artistic control to the film professionals

Yeah, know what you mean. Guy's probably got a wife, kids, mortgage, bills to pay... DAMN HIM! Damn him to HELL!!

Seriously, if it helps, imagine him as the Linux-loving, MS-Bashing SysAdmin forced to run NT because of his job in the Fortune 500.

...or can only artists "sell out?"

Options are options, not guarantees

[ianscot]

Having something optioned isn't a guarantee it'll get made, ever. Options are... well, they're options. The studio or producer pays for the rights to make a movie, and then they check things out to see if it'll work. Lots of options expire and get re-sold elsewhere, with no movie ever made.

The Patrick O'Brian series I love -- "Master and Commander," due this Nov, is the source of endless hope and fear among fans -- took forever, with O'Brian getting option money for years and years with no film in the works. O'Brian died before anyone went ahead on a movie.

My former brother-in-law has had the option on a book of his sold, he collected somewhere shy of a million dollars on the rights, and the book's option has bounced around between producers for a long while now. Clint Eastwood supposedly liked it at first. No signs of a movie being made.

There are no guarantees. (And as far as it going on "as long as the 007 series," take things a step at a time.)

So doomed...

[realinvalidname]

At this point, part of the charm of Lupin is the familiarity of the cast and the hi-jinks. The TV movies they crank out every year are designed to give each of the cast members an opportunity to do the things they do best, or to do a little twist on viewers' expectations (the "it's a cop, no wait it's Lupin, no wait it's Zenigata, no that was Lupin" gag from Castle of Cagliostro gets reversed again in the opening to Harimao's Treasure). Is "The $1 Cash War" better than "To Hell with Nostradamus"? Doesn't matter. They're both aimed dead-center at the comfort zone.

Of course, a one-shot movie wouldn't have that effect -- it'd be like trying to do a "Friends" movie (or, for that matter, like doing a big-budget Zatoichi revival). And can we trust Hollywood to capture what makes these characters appealing in the first place? I'm betting not.

More like Rupan III

[yerricde]

In some countries, the maker of Lupin III can't publish under the title Lupin III because of trademark problems. In those countries, he becomes "The Wolf" (literal translation of "Lupin") or "Rupan III" (transliteration of kana).

Some minor corrections.

[Alkaiser]

Lupin (pronounced Loo-PAN/PON. The syllablization cuts after the "lu" and depending on who's pronouncing it, it'll sound like Lu-PON or Lu-PAN. If you watch the dubbed anime in the US, they often refer to him as Ru-pan but that's not quite right.) is pretty much like described above, but in addition, will never take the same punch twice. This is why in certain cases you'll see him absorb a tremendous amount of damage...he's studying the foe's moves for the next time they meet.

Also, Lupin will be smitten by whichever single female the writers put in the plot for that day. He's not really obsessed with Fujiko...she just happens to be in range more often than other women. Lupin has his heart swiped as often as he swipes stuff.

Jigen Daisuke is Lupin's main sidekick. Looks exactly like Abe Lincoln, and is vicious with his gun...as long as he has his hat.

Goemon has a love/hate relationship with Lupin and Jigen. Sometime it seems like the group is begrudging friends, other times it seems like Goemon's only there to get paid. His katana cuts through anything. (In the intro to the PS2 game, he cuts a suspension bridge in half.)

Fujiko is a female character from Lupin's past who hangs around his present to get her share of the loot. It's implied that they had something going on before the comic started but it's never really revealed if this is only in Lupin's mind, or if Fujiko actually agrees upon this. She's a tease and uses her...ample skills to fulfill her role and is basically in it for the money, though if it comes down to it, she'll begrudgingly choose saving the guys over getting away with the loot.

Zenigata is an inspector that runs around trying to catch Lupin. If he does, it's never for more than a couple minutes, kinda like the A-Team. Zenigata will declare various little truces with Lupin, especially in the movies, because he sees that Lupin's trying to stop a greater evil. (usually for money/the girl.) This allows for Zenigata to look like he's still doing work, instead of just chasing Lupin all the time.

Castle of Cagliostro is the Lupin film most fans will recommend you watch. It's good stuff. I also enjoyed "The Legend of Harimao's Treasure" and "The Fuma Conspiracy".

Re:Cartoon Network

[amuro98]

The original dialog was full of Japanese cultural references, not to mention puns galore. Sure, hardcore fans like myself wouldn't mind those left in...but that's not the audience CN is aimming for by putting the show on the air.

While not faithful to the original dialog, the English dub is pretty faithful to the original intent, tone, and to the characters themselves.

Yeah, I know the dialog's been peppered with cultural references that didn't exist when the show was originally created, but the jokes *work*, and sometimes being able to laugh in the right places is more important than a literal translation.

Besides, the DVDs are in stores now, and contain both the original Japanese language with subtitles, as well as the English dub as heard on CN.

Re:Lupin III is not a good example of Anime.

[amuro98]

Lupin's popularity in Japan was mainly due to the whole spy/gadget craze back in the 60s - when Lupin debuted.

Most Americans were introduced to Lupin via the movie "Cagliostro Castle" which still stands today as one of the classics of anime, as well as just being an overall great action film.

With the Lupin cartoon on TV in America, now Americans can see what the original was like. Cagliostro Castle toned the characters down a bit (especially Fujiko.)

Still, if you're a fan of the older James Bond films, along with the Flint spy films and The Pink Panther films, then there's a pretty good chance you'll find Lupin III enjoyable.

niche info

[lingqi]

posting late, but:

If anybody watched the movie about treasure of Caliostro; in the end, you can see the interpol (Internatioal Police, supposedly) cars, but they have "åY¼çZè¦åY" or somesuch written on the side - which is actually "Saitama Police" - Saitama being a Japanese prefecture north of Tokyo.

Now, this was supposedly in the small but influential *country* of Caliostro, which is supposedly in Europe or something, so I couldn't help but chuckle.

ahem, now a piece of *useful* information has been squeezed out of your brain, I feel a bit better.