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James Cameron's Live Action Battle Angel Alita
Dean Siren writes "Moviehole.net reports that James Cameron wants to direct a live action Battle Angel Alita movie. Cameron says, "The issue is will it be the next film, or will it be the one after the next film? That's really all there is to it at this point. We've done a tremendous amount of design for the film, we're fine-tuning the script, it's just a matter of time." As for the movie itself, "Motorball might find its way more into the second film - I definitely want to do more than one film. I want to create a world and a character that can go through at least one more film, possibly more. And that's not just for the classic financial reasons, it's just that I think there's a possibility for a real mythology here, so I feel that this is a good canvas to do something big that's got more scope." UK Anime and The Z Review are also reporting." I enjoyed the original Battle Angel Alita. It left me feeling like so much more could be done with it. It'll be interesting to see what comes of this one.
After seeing how other animes have been brutally destroyed by the influence of the American entertainment industry, I am a little hesitant. They attempt to gear everything for the "Street Fighter" audience, and Battle Angel Alita deserves better than that... Even subtle things like dubbing takes away from anime... who has heard Rurouni Kenshin on toonami? It sounded like they hired the actors from the original Ninja Turtles. Can we expect more in live action? Or will we get another Tomb Raider?
He'll Americanize the crap out of it and cast some no-talent pretty girl in the lead (hell, he'll probably stick with Jessica Alba). I cannot imagine him finding a real actress with both the physicality to play Alita AND the childlike innocence that made her so easy to identify with. And then the whole movie will become a warning about how we should take better care of our environment or something.
If rich American directors and actors find Japanese anime movies they like, I'd rather they fund the creation of a new movie or a remake IN JAPAN than try to "bring it to the American audience", destroying everything that made the anime great in the process.
Sure, it'll be "true" to the original character even though you want to change the storyline, the characterization and the focus. Great, another Americanised bastardization of a work that doesn't need that kind of 'improvement'.
Speak not of this Alita... Wherefore art thou, Gally?
Seriously, 'Alita' has already be pretty seriously corrupted by some of the same forces that mangled Macross into 'Robotech'. If Hollywood touches this, it's only going to stray further and further from the original plot and intent. Worse, it will be given a juvenile treatment and the dystopian story elements will be forgotten in favor of boobs and explosions.
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All that being said, his action movies DO still tend to be pretty good. I just think that Alita has more of a quiet confidence, rather than an in-your-face attitude, than Cameron is really used to dealing with in female action heros. I suppose on the bright side, he can probably reuse some of the costumes from Dark Angel to keep costs down :)
"The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than that of whether a submarine can swim" -EWD
Whenever I see this sort of "translation" going on for anime, I wonder why. I mean, Cameron especially has helmed (and written) some good sci-fi movies (T2, Aliens, The Abyss). Though Battle Angel/Gunm/Battle Angel Alita is probably more doable as a good sci-fi movie than say...Akira (also announced) or Dragonball Z (shudder), why does it have to be redone? It's not particularly old, and it's already a moving picture medium. Book/comic translations are different, since you essentially see the book as one person imagines it. Does having an American director redo a movie in live action somehow honor the original work(s), or rather say that the original is not good enough? I don't think so. We don't see (for instance) anime remakes of Hollywood movies for Japanese audiences. We do see American remakes of foriegn live action films though. Perhaps it's simply that American directors feel it's the only way to get the masses to see and appreciate what they consider outstanding works of fiction. In some cases, I feel it should be left as the audience's loss. There are libraries of books I haven't read, films I haven't seen, anime I haven't watched, etc. Do I need someone to go through and retranslate their favorites to more suite my taste? I don't think so. Could perhaps Cameron use his influence to instead get more anime that he likes (he has a quote on the Ghost in the Shell DVD case too, so I assume he watches it) shown more? For instance, the Cowboy Bebop movie was released not too long ago...great movie, and one that most people could enjoy. Except many didn't even get a chance to, since it didn't get a wide release. He could also helm a "director's choice" type program showcasing anime or foriegn films. After all, how many Joe Sixpacks are going to go look up the other Alita media after seeing the live action version? It's not doing much for the public's opinion of anime, or getting them to watch it, which means there will still be that library of entertainment that they won't even consider. I guess the main point is, does remaking stuff into live action show the opinion that anime is somehow a lesser format for telling a story? Or that Hollywood has a low opinion of the average viewer, figuring they just wouldn't "get it"? (which is probably somewhat accurate...there are many people that lack a certain open-mindedness when it comes to anime or non-American film). With all the great stories that could be told, why choose one that's already been shown? That being said, of course I'm curious to see what he does with it, since it *is* a great story.
I still believe that when trying to turn an anime into a live action movie one should work with the utmost respect for the anime itself, and try to keep everything the way it was, without trying to over-americanize it. (by adding unnecessary sex, guns, and explosions... Although the sex part is well covered in a lot of animes.) Otherwise you get something that is... crap.