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Voltron Headed For The Big Screen

An anonymous reader writes "Following the success of the Transformers movie, Hollywood is preparing to make another live-action film featuring giant robots from the 1980s: 'Voltron: Defender of the Universe'. The script, by Justin Marks, is described as '...a post-apocalyptic tale set in New York City and Mexico. Five ragtag survivors of an alien attack band together and end up piloting the five lion-shaped robots that combine and form the massive sword-wielding Voltron that helps battle Earth's invaders.' Let's go, Voltron force!"

283 comments

  1. Let there be lions. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    "The script, by Justin Marks, is described as '...a post-apocalyptic tale set in New York City and Mexico. Five ragtag survivors of an alien attack band together and end up piloting the five lion-shaped robots that combine and form the massive sword-wielding Voltron that helps battle Earth's invaders.'"

    Wonder how he's going to address the creation of the lions?

    1. Re:Let there be lions. by gEvil+(beta) · · Score: 1

      Wonder how he's going to address the creation of the lions?

      I'd guess it'll be stolen (and possibly modified) alien technology.

      --
      This guy's the limit!
    2. Re:Let there be lions. by DigiShaman · · Score: 2, Funny

      Wonder how he's going to address the creation of the lions?


      They are (are you ready?)...found in some deep dark cave. They don't know how long they've been there, but the language on the instrument panel changes from something alien to English!

      Seriously, does it matter? It's a fuckin Voltron movie for god sake! Where talking about mechanical lion mech warriors (painted in different colors no doubt)!!!
      --
      Life is not for the lazy.
    3. Re:Let there be lions. by jollyreaper · · Score: 2, Insightful

      They are (are you ready?)...found in some deep dark cave. They don't know how long they've been there, but the language on the instrument panel changes from something alien to English!

      Seriously, does it matter? It's a fuckin Voltron movie for god sake! Where talking about mechanical lion mech warriors (painted in different colors no doubt)!!! But it's a Hollywood movie, it's gotta have poop jokes. Tell me they have poop jokes! If not, dick and fart jokes would suffice. And if the robots can piss on something, so much the better. We've got to maintain the standards of the craft here, people.
      --
      Kwisatz Haderach
      Sell the spice to CHOAM
      This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
    4. Re:Let there be lions. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Without the perverted machinations of Prince Lotor this movie is going to suck even bigger balls than Transformers.

    5. Re:Let there be lions. by code4fun · · Score: 1

      Forget Voltron. Let's see Voltes V which predates Voltron the copycat.

    6. Re:Let there be lions. by Scrameustache · · Score: 1

      Wonder how he's going to address the creation of the lions? The new Transformers way? "A magic cube did it"
      --

      You can't take the sky from me...

    7. Re:Let there be lions. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes they're exactly the same.

      Except they're not, and really not even similar.

      You're an idiot.

  2. Original by Bibz · · Score: 4, Funny

    My god, I can't believed that I found the PowerRangers original when they came out... It's the "same" thing as Voltron!

    --
    I didn't found something funny to put here.
    1. Re:Original by sentientbeing · · Score: 1

      I must be much younger, but it sounds like my 80s favourite - Star Fleet and their flying robot Dai-X

      --

      ------
      beware he who would deny you access to information, for in his mind he dreams himself your master
    2. Re:Original by falcon5768 · · Score: 4, Informative
      There is a good reason that it is the same thing. Go-Lion (the anime Voltron came from in Japan) was a anime version of the Super Sentai shows there... which is what eventually power rangers was developed out of.

      Technically Power Rangers is much older. The series had started as early as the mid 70's

      --

      "Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."

    3. Re:Original by garett_spencley · · Score: 5, Funny

      I used to watch Voltron when I was around 4 or 5 years old. I had the toy robot that you could assemble / dissemble etc.

      Around the age of 11 or so the Power Rangers became "huge". Being a young, impressionable kid with no free will I watched it after school with my friends even though I thought it was "total crap". Anyway at that time I had completely forgotten about Voltron yet I KNEW that it was a rip-off of something that I used to watch as a young(er) child.

      I remember absolutely loving Voltron and for years I tried to figure out what that cartoon I used to watch as a kid with the cat-like vehicles that could assemble into one. Every person I described it to, in hopes that they would remember, could only think of "power rangers!" to which I'd respond "no definitely NOT the power rangers ... it was a cartoon!" and they'd just think "err... transformers ? :\"

      It was actually thanks to this /. article that I've discovered ... it was Voltron! :) ... and now, thanks to another poster, I know why the Power Rangers was so similar. Some days it pays it to slack on work and just hang out on /.

      Shit my boss is calling me ... oh well, he'll understand when I tell him "it was Voltron!"

    4. Re:Original by KrayzieKyd · · Score: 1

      Power Rangers is just an American rehash of Sentai Rangers from Japan. Japan's got 15 years on the American Rangers.

    5. Re:Original by Capt+James+McCarthy · · Score: 4, Funny

      Screw that, it's all a copy of the Banana Splits. Just with different a different agenda.

      --
      There are no loopholes. It's either legal or it's not.
    6. Re:Original by elh_inny · · Score: 3, Funny

      I highly recommend seeing the Robot Chicken remake:
      http://youtube.com/watch?v=OGNCWxWTGFg

    7. Re:Original by Ucklak · · Score: 1

      17 years.

      When I lived in Hawaii, I grew up with Go Ranger, Kamen Rider, Inazuman, Raydeen, Mazinger, and Robocon - the happy little family robot with robot friends and is afraid of cockroaches.

      American TV was sorely lacking, once Transformers and Voltron hit, I'd seen it better before.
      I actually got exposed to Ambassador Magma (Space Giants) when WTCG/WTBS carried it in the 80s in the states.

      --
      if you steal from one source, that is plagiarism, if you steal from many, well, that's just research.
    8. Re:Original by LaminatorX · · Score: 1
      Kids, kids, kids; Voltron/Go-Lion, Power Rangers/Super-Sentai, Robotech: the New Generation/Genesis Climber MOSPEADA; they're all ripping off Science Ninja Team Gatchaman! Tetsunoko came up with the multi-colored-team-of-five (Leader, Hothead, Big-guy, Hot &/or Dangerous Chick, Kid) with unique-vehicles/mechs-that-combine-&/or-dock way back in the 70's and it's been endlessly copied ever since.

      Even Cowboy Bebop follows the Gatchaman Mold, merely omitting the Leader.

    9. Re:Original by Dogtanian · · Score: 3, Funny

      Some days it pays it to slack on work and just hang out on /. Shit my boss is calling me ... oh well, he'll understand when I tell him "it was Voltron!" Oddest response to "You're fired, you lazy sonofabitch!" ever...
      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    10. Re:Original by neptune612 · · Score: 1

      Blasphemer!!!! they are SIMILAR, NOT THE SAME!!! the difference is Voltron kicked ass, as where the Power Rangers sucked it!!!

    11. Re:Original by petsounds · · Score: 2, Informative

      Actually, no. Voltron took a huge influence from the anime series Gatchaman which ran in the early 1970s. It was the first anime to feature team dynamics, and set up many standard elements of later anime shows. It was produced by Tatsunoko Studios, who also did such early series as Speed Racer and Astro Boy. It was (and still is) a hugely loved series by the Japanese. Gatchaman was later brought to the States in Americanized, no-violence form as "G-Force: Battle of the Planets." Incidentally, Gatchaman is also in production as a movie, although it is being done in CG.

    12. Re:Original by ArcherB · · Score: 1

      Of course, don't forget the video from Brian May and Friends!

      --
      There is no "I disagree" mod for a reason. Flamebait, Troll, and Overrated are not substitutes.
    13. Re:Original by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oddest response to "You're fired, you lazy sonofabitch!" ever...

      I wouldn't worry. "Bosses" that work on Sundays don't normally have the authority to fire anyone.

    14. Re:Original by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      All true... just adding this-

      Gatchaman is what the Sentai shows were modeled after, as that animated series predates even them!

      Gatchaman is better known in the 'West' as Battle of the Planets (Or whatever translation of that title appeared in multiple countries.)

      PS- You think Shaq will accept the part of "Lead Ro-Beast"?

    15. Re:Original by Bibz · · Score: 1

      Who got their movie first ? Power Rangers or Voltron ? Power Ranger got in 95 !

      But I must agree with you that Voltron was probably a better series than Power Ranger, but I never saw it so I can only say that by the suckyness of the Power Ranger series.

      --
      I didn't found something funny to put here.
    16. Re:Original by justinlee37 · · Score: 1

      The original inspiration aside, I think that what we can agree on is that Sentai Team anime is a genre unto itself, and that that's what the power rangers owe their everything to.

    17. Re:Original by KutuluWare · · Score: 2

      Around the age of 11 or so the Power Rangers became "huge". Being a young, impressionable kid with no free will I watched it after school with my friends even though I thought it was "total crap". Anyway at that time I had completely forgotten about Voltron yet I KNEW that it was a rip-off of something that I used to watch as a young(er) child.

      At the risk of being ridiculously pedantic:

      Power Rangers is not, technically, a rip-off of Voltron. If anything, it's the other way around, but even then "rip-off" implies intentional but unathorized copying, which didn't really happen.

      The Sentai series started airing in Japan in the early/mid 70's (it's been around longer than I have, so at least mid-1975), and as far as I know there is still a version of it churning out new episodes as of 2007. The show is produced jointly by Toei Animation, an animation studio, and Bandai, a toy studio, which is a pretty common arrangement for these types of shows. With the exception of a couple of early seasons, the Sentai series are all referred to as "Super Sentai" due to the use of mechanized things (vehicles, robots, etc).

      Since Japanese TV studios love spin-offs, there were bound to be some Sentai ones. One of the spin-off shows Bandai/Toei produced was GoLion, which was very similar to the Super Sentai shows, only animated. (Fun fact: "go" is the Japanese word for "five", so "go lion!" literally means "5 lions.") This was quite intentional, as the Super Sentai shows are some of the most popular in Japan, and are ripe for spin-offs. Another spin-off, Dairugger, was also produced by Toei, and also had a combining robot theme, though it was unrelated plot-wise to GoLion. Both series ran during the early 1980s in Japan.

      In 1984, Toei started what was supposed to be a series of three American anime shows called "Voltron" that were basically re-dubbed (and heavily edited) versions of the earlier shows. GoLion became the first season, and Dairugger the second. I don't think they ever made the third, so I don't remember what it was going to be based off of, but I'm sure Google knows.

      Somewhere along the line, some other company bought the rights to the old Sentai footage. Disney owns the whole mess now, but I think they acquired it from a company called Saban Entertainment (the Dragonball Z people, IIRC), who got the rights from who knows where. Anyway, Saban took one of the Super Sentai seasons and spliced the action sequences into newly filmed American footage, overdubbed the Japanese dialog with English, and released the Power Rangers.

      So, strictly speaking, both Volten and Power Rangers are American "rip-offs" of earlier Japanese shows, all of which are "rip-offs" of the original Sentai season, but since the footage and use rights have all be acquired legally and legitimately, it's more proper to call them all "spin-offs" than "rip-offs".

      None of which changes the fact that a Voltron movie is going to suck for the same reason every comic book movie after X-Men sucked, namely, there's no way Hollywood can accidentally fail to fuck up quality source material more than once every 10 years or so. --K
    18. Re:Original by localman · · Score: 1

      Every person I described it to, in hopes that they would remember...

      Dude, you need some new friends! All mine would know Voltron immediatly!

      Now, if I could only make friends with girls...

      But I'm glad you've rediscovered it anyways :)

      PS (admittedly it's a little older crowd, having been into Voltron probably around twelve or so)

    19. Re:Original by greenguy · · Score: 1

      Thank you. I was a huge fan of G-Force back in the day, and have yet to see any anime that was anywhere near as engaging or plausible. Well, given the target audience's age range. But even now, I wonder why G-Force doesn't have more of a following. At least now I know where it came from.

      --
      What if I do the same thing, and I do get different results?
    20. Re:Original by petsounds · · Score: 1

      You should definitely check out Gatchaman, then. It has a more compelling storyline and "adult" tone. The series is available on DVD, and they include the G-Force episodes as bonus features.

    21. Re:Original by vranash · · Score: 1

      I watched it pre-kindergarden I'm pretty sure (which would've been the early 80s) And had actually forgotten the name for quite a while (although I had and should still have the yellow lion sitting around someplace, was too broke to get all 5 though.) Actually happened upon it on Cartoon Network, playing M-F at like 5am I believe, check your local listings.

    22. Re:Original by vranash · · Score: 1

      Just as a clingon to this comment, I was wondering if anyone knew if Urusei Yatsura was on cable at some point in the late 80's, possibly on USA or something? I vaguely remember having seen it, although at the time all that female chasing was yicky :P

    23. Re:Original by Chris+whatever · · Score: 1

      And i cant believe they are making that crap anime into a movie, i mean giant lions,,,,sucks then, sucks now.

      Now how about Captain harlock,,,,,now that was a nasty ship and had nasty aliens in it.

      And why not do nausica of the valley of the wind or better yet AKIRA into a real movie.

    24. Re:Original by foniksonik · · Score: 1

      yeah but if his boss is a guy and about 5-6 years older, it will work like a charm! I know, I'm that boss... and if one of my guys came back with that response I'd definitely forget all about my tantrum and start rapping about cartoons from the 80s, Thundercats would be next ;-p

      --
      A fool throws a stone into a well and a thousand sages can not remove it.
    25. Re:Original by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 1

      Voltron is now on Cartoon Network in the very early mornings- I was stupid enough to add it to my Beyond TV shows at one point....

      --
      SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
    26. Re:Original by mhh5 · · Score: 1

      ok.. so I'm trying to remember another cartoon.. where there was this plane that turned into a "firebird" -- in situations similar to when Voltron just pulled out his undefeatable sword... anyone know that name of that cartoon? The people who piloted the plane looked pretty much exactly like the original Voltron crew, I think...

    27. Re:Original by mink · · Score: 1

      Sounds like Science Ninja Team Gatchaman/Battle of the PLanets/G-Force/Eagle Riders (names chaged in may places) to me.

      --
      Well I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years doctor, and I'm happy to say I finally won out over it.
    28. Re:Original by mink · · Score: 1

      I dont know about back then, but I do know that a California PBS station was showing it in the late 90's early 2k's

      --
      Well I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years doctor, and I'm happy to say I finally won out over it.
    29. Re:Original by vranash · · Score: 1

      Thankies, I *KNOW* I saw it at some point, because the first 5 seconds or something of the intro reminded me of Bewitched, then got all different.
      Didn't watch it at the time because I was still in the girls are gross phase :P

    30. Re:Original by mink · · Score: 1

      I think the station was KETH or something (I live out east, so I only saw people talking about it).
      Animeigo is putting it out on DVD and I'm sure that means you can rent it from netflix.

      --
      Well I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years doctor, and I'm happy to say I finally won out over it.
    31. Re:Original by vranash · · Score: 1

      I actually just picked up a bunch of the DVDs from Fry's, in fact partially because I vaguely recognized it from some prior point on TV.

  3. don't buy in. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Lame. Transformers got away with novelty. Voltron will tank.

  4. As popular? by biocute · · Score: 1

    I believe I'm not alone to still own both Transformers and Voltron toys from the 80's, but somehow Voltron doesn't do me as much as Transformers does.

    I don't know how to explain it, but does anyone feel the same? Or do you think Voltron has a stronger, more emotional and deeper storyline?

    1. Re:As popular? by tim_darklighter · · Score: 1

      When I was a kid, I really didn't care too much about storyline, but I did like the art of Voltron (pseudo-anime) compared to Transformers and the Voltron lions were cooler toys. And looking back at it, I can get behind 4 guys and a lady who band together to stop an evil empire more than I can get behind a bunch of alien robots who can't get along and decide to rip up our planet and screw us in the meantime. Both are pretty campy story-wise, but I don't think Voltron will do as well as a Transformers movie mainly because 1) Voltron won't get the big name backing (Spielberg, Bay) that Transformers did since 2) less people knew about Voltron when they were kids, or so it seems with the people I've talked to. I's love to see some new Voltron, but instead of "The Third Dimension" type crap, it may be better treated by an anime studio who could give it an interesting (at least not laughable) story line and some nice art. I'm already quite sick of the "let's use the 80s kid's nostalgia to sell tickets" method. It's going to be just like superhero movies: X-Men and Spider-man were great, and most of the later ones are either good enough to watch once (FF4) or crap (Daredevil). And unfortunately, Voltron will probably one of the latter two types.

    2. Re:As popular? by neapolitan · · Score: 1

      >I believe I'm not alone to still own both Transformers and Voltron toys from the 80's

      You would only be alone if you still *played* with those toys from the 80's. :) My Voltron assembly sits somewhere in storage in a basement...

      I think the franchise will do fine -- these movies have a dual appeal of nostalgia from us late 20's - 30 somethings, in addition to the timeless appeal to kids. How many young parents will take their kids to see it, or just see it with their old buddies for old times' sake?

      As pointed out here, Gobots http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gobots were actually the original adaptation of the Japanese toy.

      --
      Slashdotter, ID #101. UIDs are in binary, right?
    3. Re:As popular? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "My Voltron assembly sits somewhere in storage in a basement..."

      Let's be honest, it sits right next to your computer. In your parents basment!

    4. Re:As popular? by zakezuke · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I believe I'm not alone to still own both Transformers and Voltron toys from the 80's, but somehow Voltron doesn't do me as much as Transformers does.

      I don't know how to explain it, but does anyone feel the same? Or do you think Voltron has a stronger, more emotional and deeper storyline? It's hard to tell as Lion Voltron was a somewhat bastardized version of Hyakujuu Oo GoLion, a series that doesn't seem to exist in a dubbed DVD form. Even worse, the English version, they after a main character died (The prince), they rewrote another 10 or 16 episodes.

      Reviewing "Transformers" I can't say there was really a deep emotional storyline in the English version, but rather it seemed to be a vehicle to sell toys. Voltron is however a better example as an obvious attempt to adapt a short lived cheap Japanese series to the American market, and an excellent example of how stupid marking things the average sub-teen is.

      Now Macross is another animal. It was well well writen, and even the first part of the English version Robotech was very much watchable. It's not seen as being as popular as there was a dispute over the rights to the toys. It seemed in the early 80s the yen was somewhat weak and kids who were interested had a choice to buy either Robotech toys, or Macross toys, where Macross Toys were slightly cheaper.

      --
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    5. Re:As popular? by NeuroManson · · Score: 1

      For me, when I first saw it during my early teens, it was the crappy voice acting (the same voice actor for Pidge being used for the Princess' maidens in waiting, with obvious pitch shifting used, resulting in most of them sounding like Alvin and the Chipmunks), rewrites (kill all you want, they're just robots after all!), and resulting plot manglings due to said rewrites.

      Then there was the crappy sound effects (nothing could beat the transformer sound effect), and the spectacular soundtrack (oooh, Casiotone!). Transformers had an actual band playing.

      --
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    6. Re:As popular? by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      and most of the later ones are either good enough to watch once (FF4) or crap (Daredevil),

      Huh? I think you have those backwards. The only thing that made FF4 worth watching to the end was Jessica Alba, and only barely.

    7. Re:As popular? by powerlord · · Score: 1

      Now Macross is another animal. It was well well writen, and even the first part of the English version Robotech was very much watchable. It's not seen as being as popular as there was a dispute over the rights to the toys. It seemed in the early 80s the yen was somewhat weak and kids who were interested had a choice to buy either Robotech toys, or Macross toys, where Macross Toys were slightly cheaper.


      And to make things more interesting Hasbro, who was making the Transformers toy line, licensed the Valkyrie VHF-1 Macross figure from Bandai and released it as the Autobot Jetfire. I remember hearing about a lawsuit with the Robotech people over it in the States. Didn't care, loved playing with it, and was very surprised when I got into Robotech/Macross, and discovered this (along with being to play with it even more :D ).
      --
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  5. "Live Action" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Unless they're actually going to build the robots, then its just another Who Framed Roger Rabbit.. they may as well rotoscope the whole thing.

  6. Good old Holywood by hine_uk · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...a film does well and they start looking for the next easy cashin. Think back to how the recent comic adaptions were kick started by the likes of Xmen, one does well and all of a sudden there is a bandwagon trundling down the hill.

    Now a giant robot film has done well so the bandwagon looks for the next passenger it can send down. Personally I think voltron will tank. Hardly anyone knows what it is and it lacked that 'cool' factor when I was a kid growing up, even my father knew what transformers were then and wanted to see the film now. But Voltron?

    Its over reaching and says straight to dvd.

    I know I know, flamebait, troll, whatever you want but this is just my opinion from the UK, in the US it might be different.

    1. Re:Good old Holywood by Overzeetop · · Score: 4, Interesting

      A comic (whos name I cannot recall now) commented on the amazing popularity of March of the Penguins a couple of years ago. He pointed out that this was a turning point for Hollywood, to see a well-shot documentary with a solid actor doing narration and a storyline to hold the piece together. He felt that with the commercial success of this documentary we would see many more like it in the coming years. Not other documentaries, of course, but lots of penguin movies.

      --
      Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
    2. Re:Good old Holywood by CastrTroy · · Score: 4, Funny

      Gabe and Tycho saw it coming the whole time. Here's 2 approriate comics

      Part 1
      Part 2

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    3. Re:Good old Holywood by TheMeuge · · Score: 1

      As long as they don't find the Voltron parts buried on the ocean floor, preserved in the SUB-FREEZING depths of the OCEAN.

      P.S. If you're reading this, Mr. Bay, I implore you to consider that at least some of your audience has education beyond the 3Rs... or you know, common sense...

    4. Re:Good old Holywood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      To be sure, Voltron was on the table BEFORE Transformers and has been since like early 2004.

      Huh, huh I'm headed to the bank right now.

    5. Re:Good old Holywood by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 1

      I think your point is valid. I used to love watching Voltron, but frankly, now that I've seen it twenty years later, it's basically cliché-ridden dreck. Nostalgia doesn't do me any good here. It's quite irritating and predictable.

      I probably said the same thing of Transformers, but I think the recent movie was an improvement on the original. It's decent except that I wish the movie wasn't sponsored by GM.

    6. Re:Good old Holywood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      P.S. If you're reading this, Mr. Bay, I implore you to consider that at least some of your audience has education beyond the 3Rs... or you know, common sense...
      See, there's your problem, your assuming Michael Bay has an education beyond the 3Rs, or common sense.

      Maybe they aren't patronizing us... maybe they are just that dumb!

    7. Re:Good old Holywood by Lumpy · · Score: 1

      Then why the hell did SIN CITY, a movie that did far betterthan the tripe that was Transformers not spark a Johnny the Homicidal Maniac movie?

      Hollywood only makes movies that do not require hard thinking. Honestly it's so bad lately that I cant wait for the Star wars episodes to start being remade. Oh and a remake of stripes, They already are doing an urban remake of caddy shack.

      This summer is full of cartoons trned into movies and movie remakes. yet anything that would have any risk because it's a new idea or not a bubblegun slam-dunk is ignored?

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    8. Re:Good old Holywood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bewitched & I dream of Jeannie?
      Beverly Hillbillies & Green acres?
      Gomer Pyle & Hogan's Heroes?
      CSI & Law & Order?
      A Bug's Life & Antz?
      Happy Feet & Surf's Up?
      Disney's Sequelitis?

      The shit has gone on for an eternity.

    9. Re:Good old Holywood by Bazar · · Score: 2, Funny

      I think its also worth mentioning the Perry Bible Fellowship's take of Guntron!

      http://pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF186-Guntron_Alliance_ Force.png#172

      If you don't get it, you clearly don't remember voltron

      --
      To avoid criticism; Say nothing, Do nothing, Be nothing.
    10. Re:Good old Holywood by Ecuador · · Score: 5, Insightful


      Actually, "March of the Penguins" was not a Hollywood documentary, but a French production. What's more, having seen both the original French version and the English
      translation, I have to say that all Hollywood did to the movie, by adding the narration of Morgan Freeman, was to destroy one great and original aspect of the film. You see, the French version doesn't have a narrator, but voices for Mother, Father and Baby penguin. It sounds very silly doesn't it? Well, apparently it was very hard to make it good enough, so that it doesn't sound silly, and the translated versions followed the easy route of narration. Now in the original French version, the voice over was done brilliantly so that it does not sound like a "animals are talking" kids movie, but rather an alternate and more "personal" narration that added more feeling to the movie.
      </offtopic>

      On the current topic, I always thought it would be very hard to make a good live action Transformers movie. They pulled it off very well. But Voltron? Come on! From the far-fetched Transformers we are going to ridiculous lion headed fighters (or even worse, lionhead-limbed when combined as Voltron). If you want giant mecha, do Macross or something...

      --
      Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. Polar Scope Align for iOS
    11. Re:Good old Holywood by Amorpheus_MMS · · Score: 1

      I was hoping that Hollywood discovers Battletech if Transformers scored big. That could really make for a bunch of great movies, and I think it could be done nicely without messing things up too much.

    12. Re:Good old Holywood by celle · · Score: 1

      Here, Here!!! A live action Robotech with full story and full robotic action would certainly be great. It better be multiple movie otherwise they would have to jump around to much. Episode:"Glovals report" would make a good summary of the first year, at least the combat aspects but not the characters stories. That way maybe hookerwood wouldn't butcher the story up so much.

    13. Re:Good old Holywood by antdude · · Score: 1

      I remember the people, that scorpion ship, but not the gun. Uhh, what did I miss?

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
    14. Re:Good old Holywood by RealRav · · Score: 1

      I agree that Voltron probably wont be as successful as Transformers, but I assume you're a generation to young for Voltron. I watched Voltron when I was a kid and really enjoyed it. When Tranformers came out I was in my late teens and never paid any attention to it. I knew about it, but wasn't watching cartoons by then. I imagine there are quite a few middle aged men who remember Voltron quite well. My 2 cents.

    15. Re:Good old Holywood by AnonymousDivinity · · Score: 1

      Good old Hollywood... a film does well and they start looking for the next easy cashin.
      Uh... yeah. Hollywood is a business, not a charity or arts endowment. Movies are risky enough as-is, and, at least as far as big effects films are concerned, the best price/performance ratio is on low-risk sequels, spinoffs, and plot-alikes. If a business finds that a certain product was successful, why not release another one like it?

      If you really want originality or the like, there's tens of thousands of indie films, short films, foreign films, amateur films, and college projects out there, just waiting for you to discover them. I just don't see the point of criticizing a set of businesses for following good business sense...
      --
      --- To each of us a Truth is given.
    16. Re:Good old Holywood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >>I remember the people, that scorpion ship, but not the gun. Uhh, what did I miss?

      Woosh. Right over your head.

    17. Re:Good old Holywood by Clover_Kicker · · Score: 1

      Well, Sin City did well enough to get 300 produced, which also must have made a ton of cash.

      Maybe there's enough money floating around to tempt someone into doing a Frank Miller style Batman movie... drool...

    18. Re:Good old Holywood by G-funk · · Score: 1

      Fuck that, if they're going to continue recycling the same old franchises I choose Frank Miller's Robocop over Batman every time.

      --
      Send lawyers, guns, and money!
    19. Re:Good old Holywood by Nephilium · · Score: 1

      Miller and Rodriguez are also making more Sin City movies... or at least... that's what I've heard... and that Miller is writing new stories for some of the sequels...

      Nephilium

    20. Re:Good old Holywood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Funny thing is that their Ruxpin movie there looks badass.

    21. Re:Good old Holywood by Scrameustache · · Score: 1

      On the current topic, I always thought it would be very hard to make a good live action Transformers movie. They pulled it off very well. Some would disagree.
      --

      You can't take the sky from me...

    22. Re:Good old Holywood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      CSI is not a take-off on L&O. Hell, the two shows began 10 years apart (L&O in 1990, CSI in 2000!)

      They have completely different focuses: while CSI is a police procedural focusing on forensics, L&O is an issues-based show that uses the police procedural as a vehicle to explore those issues. (This focus on issues makes it the better show by far, but that's irrelevant.)

      They may belong to notionally the same genre, but the police procedural is so firmly established in the television sphere that it's silly to call its members take-offs of one another based upon that tag alone. Other police procedurals from this era include Homicide: Life on the Street and NYPD Blue; the genre is so loose that you could call the X-Files a police procedural.

      In short, you do an injustice to both shows in saying that they are take-offs of one another when all they do share is a genre.

    23. Re:Good old Holywood by Bazar · · Score: 1

      If I'm to spoil the joke, its like this.

      Each member pilots a part of guntron.
      The blue team member is missing in the final picture.

      I'll leave it to you to work the rest out.

      --
      To avoid criticism; Say nothing, Do nothing, Be nothing.
    24. Re:Good old Holywood by antdude · · Score: 1

      I know that he is missing in the final picture, but why was he killed? Was he annoying in the cartoon series? I don't remember a lot from the 80s. :(

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
    25. Re:Good old Holywood by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Happy feet was hot shit on a stick!

    26. Re:Good old Holywood by kabocox · · Score: 1

      Now a giant robot film has done well so the bandwagon looks for the next passenger it can send down. Personally I think voltron will tank. Hardly anyone knows what it is and it lacked that 'cool' factor when I was a kid growing up, even my father knew what transformers were then and wanted to see the film now. But Voltron?

      Nah, Voltron will most likely make as much as your average Power Rangers movie since that's what most people will confuse it with.

    27. Re:Good old Holywood by merchant_x · · Score: 1

      Apparently he was the bullet but like you I still don't get it.

    28. Re:Good old Holywood by Deagol · · Score: 1
      As someone who used to watch the show, I'll take a shot at the joke. My first guess is that, in the cartoon, Voltron used to launch the heads (from just the hands?) as missiles at the enemies. I recall, as a kid, wondering "WTF?!?" at how, not only did the heads get back on the lions after being destroyed, but how the pilot survived (who, or so I thought, sat in the head).

      Or, more likely, was that Blue Lion's pilot was a moody, pain in the ass (would "emo" be an appropriate contemporary term for this guy?), and that the other characters wouldn't mind seeing him dead. While Airwolf came later than Voltron, I would liken the blue pilot to a cartoon version of Stringfellow Hawk -- broody and down all the time.

      It's been so long since I've seen the show, so, with my faded memory, the joke may be too subtle for me to catch. I *tried* to watch an episode on Netflix's "Watch Now" feature, but I couldn't even get past the introduction before I killed the stream. Too much cheese for this guy's taste -- nostalgia only goes so far.

    29. Re:Good old Holywood by antdude · · Score: 1

      Good, at least I am not the only one!

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
  7. just stop by radarsat1 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I,Robot, Transformers, all the comic book movies lately.. ... When is the movie industry going stop pissing all over my childhood?

    One would hope that they at least write a decent script this time.
    From the summary though, I doubt it.

    Sorry to be a downer. I just find that this trend of ransacking all our 80's childhood memories is starting to get on my nerves. It feels like they've just made some kind of list, with $$ next to each item, and they will continue down that list until the $$ gets lower than the expenses of creating CG effects. (And the latter is constantly getting lower.)

    They don't pick these movies to make based on good scripts, good ideas, or good director/writers, they are just knocking them down one after the other because people will go see something they have good memories of. They're completely taking advantage of everyone's misplaced hope that the next one will be better, because "that was sooo awesome when I was a kid." (Perhaps they have the right to do so... you can only vote with your wallet.) I went to see Transformers hoping it would be something decent, but these movies are constantly disappointing. (X-Men wasn't bad to be completely honest..)

    I think, this time around, at the very least I'll wait and heed the reviews instead of going to see it on opening day. (The hard part is finding a reviewer that usually agrees with you.)

    1. Re:just stop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Spy Game" and "Spiderman" (the first one) are the only two movies I've ever gone to see more than once in the theatre. The new Ninja Turtles movie, "TMNT," sucked so bad and blighted my childhood memories so badly, that I skipped out on transformers. I won't be seeing this one either. I completely agree with you.

    2. Re:just stop by garett_spencley · · Score: 4, Insightful

      They don't pick these movies to make based on good scripts, good ideas, or good director/writers, they are just knocking them down one after the other because people will go see something they have good memories of. They're completely taking advantage of everyone's misplaced hope that the next one will be better, because "that was sooo awesome when I was a kid."

      If one single person feels obligated to pay his/her hard earned cash on a movie for that reason alone and then feels "duped" afterwards then they got what they had coming.

      Come on, seriously! I realize it's cliche on /. to bash big money but it's not like they're employing slave labour to produce these films or robbing money right out of people's wallets at gun point. You're talking as if they're exploiting a group of people and forcing them to do something against their will. They're bloody movies! If you don't like them don't go see them. It's really as simple as that.

      Honestly, for a crowd who is so vocal about free speech and copyright law I get the feeling that the same group of people, if given the power, would strip the rights of anyone to make movies based on anything that they feel close to. It's like, they just can't do right. No matter what. Even though Transformers was a huge success you just can't escape the bitching and whining and, in this case, total exagerated teenage drama queen hyperbole about evil corporation raping some childhood memory and forcing you to consume it "mwuhahahahahaha we're rolling in money and it's all at the expense of some Joe Blow's precious childhood interpretation of a corny and cheesy cartoon who's sole purpose was to sell a line of toy's and make massive amounts of money anyway..."

      But then, I supposed it really is the "geek" thing to do. To quote Kevin Smith / Ben Affleck "The Internet is a communication tool used the world over where people can come together to bitch about movies and share pornography with one another".

      / rant

    3. Re:just stop by morari · · Score: 1

      If one single person feels obligated to pay his/her hard earned cash on a movie for that reason alone and then feels "duped" afterwards then they got what they had coming. But they don't ever feel duped. People go just because it is a new film, not because it looks particularly enthralling. They pay the ridiculous admission price, sit with a group of friends and then go eat Buffalo Wings afterwards. They talk about the few flashy parts where CGI explosions happened and don't even remember just how much the movie sucked because their brain wasn't clicked on during that whole area. People are inherently stupid, the films they go to see and the music that choose to listen to is just an ideal example of such. The fact that the only way you can get people en mass to read is by heavily marketing a book for elementary school child is beyond pathetic.
      --
      "He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
    4. Re:just stop by owlman17 · · Score: 1

      And after they ransack our 80s memories, they'll pillage our 90s memories. I'd love to see a Starblazers or Robotech movie though.

    5. Re:just stop by Capt+James+McCarthy · · Score: 1

      Just think in 10 years you'll be able to see a 'live action' pokemon movie. The best crap is yet in our future I'm afraid.

      --
      There are no loopholes. It's either legal or it's not.
    6. Re:just stop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Another interpretation is that it is not the same people responding in each story. I'm convinced the comments for a given article show the subset of the Slashdot readership who most want to bitch about the topic in question.

      Feel free to cry "Hypocrisy!" when individuals contradict themselves, but a series of self-selected samples which are a tiny fraction of the readership will not be at all representative or having anything like a consistent opinion.

    7. Re:just stop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Then you should see if you can find Robotech: Shadow Chronicles. As far as I know, it was direct to DVD. It wasn't too bad, but it helps if you've read the books, and I kind of wish it had been a bit longer.

    8. Re:just stop by zakezuke · · Score: 1

      I,Robot, Transformers, all the comic book movies lately.. ... When is the movie industry going stop pissing all over my childhood? Cinderella, Snow White, all the classic Grimm tales... I'd say never. Pissing on your childhood is what pays the bills.
      --
      There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
    9. Re:just stop by Pyrrhic+Diarrhea · · Score: 1

      In that case, can't wait for Jem! /gags. The studio tie-in with the spice girl of the moment will be too much to pass up. Synergy, baby, Hollywood style! /continued gagging until the end of time.

    10. Re:just stop by Chris_Jefferson · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I,Robot, Transformers, all the comic book movies lately.. ... When is the movie industry going stop pissing all over my childhood?

      When people stop paying money to see the films.

      --
      Combination - fun iPhone puzzling
    11. Re:just stop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When is the movie industry going stop pissing all over my childhood?

      It's what they do. It's much easier to attract people to an adaptation of a story they know (and may even like) that to something they've never heard of. The entire Disney catalog is based on the ransacking of classic childhood stories. How many times have Shakespeare's stories been adapted?

      Hell, it doesn't even stop at books-movies themselves are regularly remade: The 300, The Italian Job, Thomas Crowne Affair... Creativity is hard. It's much easier just to redo something after 20 years when the first audience has outgrown the story.

    12. Re:just stop by DeepHurtn! · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I sympathize with you. I really do. (I mean, have you seen the poster for the new Alvin and the Chipmunks movie???) But it's worth keeping in mind that all of our precious 80s childhood memories are memories of consumer-culture commodities to begin with. All the Transformer shows, comics, and so forth were *really* just ads for the toys. You're losing perspective if you think they were not exploitative cashgrabs to begin with. These endless remakes (err, reimaginings or whatever they're called these days) aren't bastardizations of these properties, but the perfectly natural and logical extension of what they were designed to do in the first place. Don't blame the studios, what they're doing is perfectly rational (although you can certainly despise them for it). Blame Transformers, and all the other "properties" that get recycled. It's in their nature.

    13. Re:just stop by wellingj · · Score: 1

      As long as they leave RoboTech alone I could care less.
      With the way Harmony Gold treats its long forgotten franchise,
      it's not really likely any ways.

    14. Re:just stop by flyweight_of_fury · · Score: 1

      Look at it this way: be grateful that at least (for the time being) GoBots is safe... uh... yeah.

    15. Re:just stop by aafiske · · Score: 1

      You could always, you know, not go?

      'You're ruining my childhood memories! Here's $11.50, can I have a jumbo popcorn with that too?'

    16. Re:just stop by glitch23 · · Score: 0

      Come on, seriously! I realize it's cliche on /. to bash big money but it's not like they're employing slave labour to produce these films or robbing money right out of people's wallets at gun point. You're talking as if they're exploiting a group of people and forcing them to do something against their will. They're bloody movies! If you don't like them don't go see them. It's really as simple as that.

      It's ironic. I bet these same people who feel compelled to see a movie are the same ones who call people of religion "sheeple". Ain't hypocrisy grand?

      --
      this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom. -- Lincoln, Gettysburg Address
    17. Re:just stop by zippthorne · · Score: 1

      I specifically did not see transformers because the previews made look like a joke. A caricature of an action robo-fi movie.

      The clip that made the decision for me was shown on "The Tonight Show." It was about a soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan having communications difficulty, and using a cell phone belonging to a hovel-dwelling family, he attempts to contact CIC only to be thwarted by Indian telephone operators with some over-the-top complaint. The scene was edited like a Conan O'Brian sketch, but after a few minutes of chitchat I discovered that it was an actual scene from the film.

      You had no cause to expect that film to be good.

      --
      Can you be Even More Awesome?!
    18. Re:just stop by zakezuke · · Score: 1

      Honestly, for a crowd who is so vocal about free speech and copyright law I get the feeling that the same group of people, if given the power, would strip the rights of anyone to make movies based on anything that they feel close to. It's like, they just can't do right. No matter what. Even though Transformers was a huge success you just can't escape the bitching and whining and, in this case, total exagerated teenage drama queen hyperbole about evil corporation raping some childhood memory and forcing you to consume it "mwuhahahahahaha we're rolling in money and it's all at the expense of some Joe Blow's precious childhood interpretation of a corny and cheesy cartoon who's sole purpose was to sell a line of toy's and make massive amounts of money anyway..." Just because you are for free speech and copyright reform doesn't mean you have to patronize others who enjoy present freedoms. Like with the new transformers movie... you don't have to buy tickets or even enjoy someone else enjoying their freedoms.

      I personally don't care. I'm neither upset nor excited about the transformers flick. It's been 20 years since it was new. If they want to do a Voltron flick, great. It can't be any worse than the series.
      --
      There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
    19. Re:just stop by AttillaTheNun · · Score: 1

      I'm still holding out hope for a live-action feature presentation of Hammy Hampster, complete with Kung Fu guinnea pigs, robot rats, and fast cars and a radio-active hamster with more powers than Q. Of course, none of that was in the original, but what makes you think Hollywood producers have a clue, care or intention of researching the original before cashing in on the latest fad?

    20. Re:just stop by suv4x4 · · Score: 1

      I,Robot, Transformers, all the comic book movies lately.. ... When is the movie industry going stop pissing all over my childhood?


      Don't watch the movie. Easy enough. It's not your childhood, it's a show some completely unrelated people to you wrote, created and aired. The fact you watched it, doesn't make you any more entitled to talk about "pissing all over my childhood" than any random guy out there.

      I just hope, however, that watching a silly cartoon isn't the best thing you ever did as a kid, otherwise you pissed all over your own childhood.

    21. Re:just stop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sounds like you just jealous nobody goes to eat buffalo wings with you. Your argument that people are stupid based on their entertainment choices is both arrogant and narrow minded. You underestimate a persons innate ability to enjoy both complex story line films and mindless entertainment films. Both can be a great source of relaxation depending on mood. Of course your cannot compare the Count of Monte Cristo to the Harry Potter series but both are entertaining in their own right. You really shouldn't underestimate "people", they might surprise you!

      Also you should broaden your horizons to encompass everything because once you start to shut out certain things you deem beneath you, you start to close out your opportunities to just possibly learn something new.

    22. Re:just stop by TheMadcapZ · · Score: 1

      Did that hurt a lot? You know, pulling that out of your ass like that?

    23. Re:just stop by glitch23 · · Score: 0

      Surprisingly, no but then again I like it kinky.

      --
      this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom. -- Lincoln, Gettysburg Address
  8. No originality by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


    Once again Hollywood shows it has no originality left. And once again I'll download it and turn it off 30 minutes into the show.

  9. Voltron is Japanese.. by Turn-X+Alphonse · · Score: 0

    Why the hell is America trying to push into the giant robot market? Transformers was the worst movie I have ever seen and I sure as hell don't want them to do crap like that to the classic Japanese series (Could you even picture a PG Getter robo?).

    Lets be perfectly honest here, Americans suck with mecha, they don't understand how to do a deep plot involving robots nor do they have the history of super robots to pull off a decent Super robot movie either (There is also an argument about Japanese voice actors over English ones because they don't hold back and really do scream unlike most American ones I've heard). So I would rather they left the whole thing alone and didn't do more harm than good to the genre.

    This is going to be like the Super hero movies we're seeing, none of them are very good but "OMG THEY SELL TICKETS!" so they get made on mass to the point where it's impossible to even hear about half of them coming out. The only difference will be mecha is much easier to exploit because they can destroy entire cities (or planets if we include the really powerful ones) and the audience will lap it up even if it goes against the entire character of the pilots or the heroic side's ideals.

    --
    I like muppets.
    1. Re:Voltron is Japanese.. by Bombula · · Score: 2, Funny
      they don't understand how to do a deep plot involving robots

      You mean like a giant alien robot made out of five smaller robots shaped like lions that wields a sword?

      --
      A-Bomb
    2. Re:Voltron is Japanese.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lets be perfectly honest here, Americans suck with mecha, they don't understand how to do a deep plot involving robots
      Hahahaha...I love you Japanophiles. You "like" the worst kind of shit, you yourselves oh so seriously about the most trivial things in the whole fucking world.
    3. Re:Voltron is Japanese.. by Turn-X+Alphonse · · Score: 0

      Well done, you fail at mecha just as I mentioned.

      The mecha fanbase sorts mecha into 2 types. "Super robot" which do that sort of thing, where screaming, justice and courage win fights and "Real robots" which are more military use where 1 or 2 hits will blow them up, they have limited ammo and no matter how much they scream it won't do them any good in a fight if they lack the skill/luck/support.

      I'm a mecha geek, my passion is robots and it's painful to see that America doesn't grasp there is a different between 70s super robots and modern real robots or vice versa, even though you had stuff like Macross (Robotech) as part of your childhoods in the 80s and Super Sentai (power rangers) in the 90s, both of which show 2 different types of mecha use.

      And super robot shows can have deeper plots than you suspect. It can come down to just looking cool but if you watch something like Getter robo you will see that you can have a plot where the mecha are important but the entire story doesn't revolve around them.

      --
      I like muppets.
    4. Re:Voltron is Japanese.. by Chineseyes · · Score: 3, Funny

      I dub thee Comic Book Guy.

      Go forth and overstate the seriousness of children's cartoons wherever you shall go. Be a menace to all those who may decry the merits of such entertainment for this is your calling!!

      --
      I think the invisible hand of the market has its middle finger extended

      --A wise old fart named SC0RN
    5. Re:Voltron is Japanese.. by Po6oT · · Score: 1

      Both Transformers and Voltron have origins in Japan. Optimus Prime is known as Convoy in Japan. Ask yourself which you think is a better name. Personally, I think that, not only is Optimus Prime, a much better name, it is also one of the most memorable names of any cartoon series, period. The debate about American vs Japanese voice actors is not relevant to highly mainstream 80s series, where presumably there was a lot more money and quality control. Just look at the fans reactions when they heard that Peter Cullen was going to voice Optimus Prime. Fans were ecstatic. I have had the misfortune to watch Transformers with Japanese dub and it was awful. I haven't seen the recent Transformers film however, but from the looks of it, and the reviews that I trust, I will agree with you that it looks to be an awful film.

    6. Re:Voltron is Japanese.. by alexgieg · · Score: 2, Informative

      You mean like a giant alien robot made out of five smaller robots shaped like lions that wields a sword?
      No, he means something like this or this.
      --
      Conservatism: (n.) love of the existing evils. Liberalism: (n.) desire to substitute new evils for the existing ones.
    7. Re:Voltron is Japanese.. by vidarh · · Score: 1
      I loved the Transformers movie. But then I expected action, losts of explosions, and big shiny robots, not a meaningful plot. After all, the original Transformers cartoons had nothing resembling a meaningful plot. They were little more than badly disguised toy ads.

      And so the movie was fun because it made no pretense at all about being a serious movie, and kept making playful jabs at the series by throwing in lots of comments pointing to the original title song, and showing lots of action, explosions and big shiny robots.

      I'm 32. I was at the right age when Transformers were airing in Norway where I'm from. I loved it, as I loved lots of the other toy commercial cartoons of the 80's. But I have no illusions now that there was anything deep there. As such I have no problem disassociating the Transformers movie, which I considered lighthearted entertainment and nostalgia, from "serious" sci-fi and the portrayal of robots in stories with serious plots.

      The two simply have nothing in common.

      I just saw the Transformers cartoons at near giveaway prices at my local DVD store... I resisted exactly because I know I'd probably cringe if I saw them again. The Transformers movie on the other hand was near perfect in balancing the cheesiness of the original series, the nostalgia, and updated action. And of course really fucking big shiny robots...

    8. Re:Voltron is Japanese.. by louisadkins · · Score: 1

      You are a very lucky person, if that is the worst movie you have ever seen. ...*shudder*... The Nail Gun Massacre comes to mind.

    9. Re:Voltron is Japanese.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Americans suck with mecha, they don't understand how to do a deep plot involving robots nor do they have the history of super robots to pull off a decent Super robot movie either
      Yeah, and Gundam didn't take anything from Heinlein's Starship Troopers. *chuckles*
    10. Re:Voltron is Japanese.. by blincoln · · Score: 1

      I just saw the Transformers cartoons at near giveaway prices at my local DVD store... I resisted exactly because I know I'd probably cringe if I saw them again.

      They're actually out of print and selling for about $100/set ($500 for all three seasons) here in the US. I bought them years ago and only just now got around to watching them.

      The first season is fairly weak (Dr. Smoov's Heavy Metal Fight and SOS Wheeljack are pretty much spot on), but most of seasons 2 and 3 are a big improvement. There is still definitely the 20-minute toy commercial aspect, but the writing got much better and even covers some interesting territory like religion and the manipulation of war by arms dealers.

      --
      "...always new atoms but always doing the same dance, remembering what the dance was yesterday." -Richard Feynman
    11. Re:Voltron is Japanese.. by MaWeiTao · · Score: 1

      Yep... Voltron sure had a deep storyline... Every episode had the same exact formula. Evil giant robot attacks, the team tries to take it on individually and fails. They unite, and with their giant sword take out the bad guy in a dramatic swipe.

      Then lets not forget the complete and utter pointlessness of robots who can transform into vehicles.

      Reading your post you'd think the Japanese have cornered the market on robots. Oddly enough, of the top of my head I can think of some significant robots in American media. There's the mech Ripley used in Aliens. Then there are the Terminators. Then there are all the comic books and sci fi novels. The Japanese have borrowed a lot from the US. And I suppose things have come full circle where Americans are being influenced by Japanese media.

      They certainly refined things to a point we haven't really seen in American media, but that doesn't somehow make them superior or better suited to depict these robots. Anime is certainly superior than most US cartoons, but by no means is it as deep as the anime fans would like to lead people to believe. And Japanese live action is in general quite lame. Of course, there are exceptions, but then there are exceptions everywhere.

    12. Re:Voltron is Japanese.. by Nephilium · · Score: 1

      I'll echo the comment to stay far, far away from the cartoons you remember fondly from your childhood...

      Gods... I remember seeing Thundercats and the Mixed Up Adventures of Ed Grimely years after seeing them as a kid... and now I want to know how I liked that drek...

      Now Exo-Squad on the other hand...

      Nephilium

    13. Re:Voltron is Japanese.. by Turn-X+Alphonse · · Score: 1

      I wouldn't use Eva as an example (lets be honest, it's drug filled non-sense), but yes Gundam very much so. It's got some insightful plot points even if it is wrapped up in a lot of insanity and model kit sales.

      --
      I like muppets.
    14. Re:Voltron is Japanese.. by alexgieg · · Score: 1

      I wouldn't use Eva as an example (lets be honest, it's drug filled non-sense)
      Hehe, yes. I actually don't like Neon Genesis Evangelion at all. It's a typical underground fiction whose authors are trying to say something with, and that for some mysterious reason became popular outside the niche market that would usually have appreciated it. Whatever its worth is however, we cannot deny that it's mature material wrapped in robot fights, and that it works pretty well as a counterexample to those who think robot cartoons (and cartoons in general) are only children material, which was the "point" of the post to which I replied.
      --
      Conservatism: (n.) love of the existing evils. Liberalism: (n.) desire to substitute new evils for the existing ones.
    15. Re:Voltron is Japanese.. by Turn-X+Alphonse · · Score: 1

      I'm tempted to even argue with you there, because Eva is in a sense the anti mature anime. It throws around so much crap trying to look deep but is shallow as hell. It's like a 6 year old wearing make up and hooker's clothes, while it might look like a prostitute, there is just something missing in it so it's creepy (my examples are creepy as hell..).

      --
      I like muppets.
    16. Re:Voltron is Japanese.. by alexgieg · · Score: 1

      there is just something missing in it so it's creepy
      I think I know what it is: real human emotions. The characters act weird because they're built with psychoanalytical nonsense. Not that Freudian Psychology is useless, there are good ideas there. It's just that it's too much limited.

      Whenever you try do reduce human complexity to a small set of rules based on a single overreaching characteristic of which every other characteristic is a mere expression (the libido of Freudianism, the class structures of Marxism, the byproducts of natural selection of Evolutive Psychology, the rational egoism of Randian Objectivism, and so on and so forth), you end up creating a system that, although potentially very complex, is devoid of reality. This shows very well when you take one of these systems and build fiction upon it, for the characters and situations always end up being schematic and lifeless.

      But there is a positive thing in the creepiness that arise from such efforts. They at least show how badly suited this or that theory is to explain actual human behavior. This is the only way in which, IMHO, Eva can become an useful reading for anyone. Otherwise, it's just not worth it.
      --
      Conservatism: (n.) love of the existing evils. Liberalism: (n.) desire to substitute new evils for the existing ones.
  10. Are there any original ideas in Hollywood anymore? by imadork · · Score: 1

    I know that Voltron on the big screen sounds cool, and that everything piece of creative work borrows from the ones that came before it. But when was the last time a truly original story (that wasn't a remake of a book, TV show, or other form of media) made it out of Hollywood?

  11. Robotech Please!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hello Holloywood,

    We need to see a pretty little Lynn Minmei in a short skirt dancing on the big screen. Also, Veritech Fighters would be a plus.

  12. Form blazing sword by deniable · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    Anyone want to bet what the last move in the final fight will be.

    For some reason I always liked the vehicle force better. Planet Drool were a more competent enemy than Doom.

    I was home one afternoon and caught the Power Rangers. I swear they were using Volton toys in that show. It sure looked like it.

    1. Re:Form blazing sword by Robotech_Master · · Score: 1

      The funny thing is, it's actually the other way around. The first Super Sentai (the live-action rubber-suit series that has provided the grist for all the Power Rangers incarnations) predates GoLions (the Japanese name for the Voltron lion series) cartoon by several years. If anything, it's GoLions that was the "ripoff" (if you can call "Hey, let's use the sentai formula in animation instead of live action) of Sentai. (So was Gatchaman/Battle of the Planets, for that matter.)

      --
      Editor Emeritus and Senior Writer, TeleRead.org
    2. Re:Form blazing sword by Tamugin · · Score: 1

      A slight variation from the Perry Bible Fellowship here http://www.pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF186-Guntron_Allia nce_Force.png#172

      --
      Chris
    3. Re:Form blazing sword by mink · · Score: 1

      "So was Gatchaman/Battle of the Planets, for that matter."

      Supposedly live action superhero shows like Kamen Rider and Ultraman (Henshin shows) are what led to Gatchaman. Gatchaman series 1 was 1972, while AFAIK Sentai (5 person teams credited to popularity of Gatchaman) shows started around 1975.

      Looks to me like the "Sentai formula" was birthed in animation and because it was popular, was incorporated into the already popular costumed super hero show formula.

      --
      Well I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years doctor, and I'm happy to say I finally won out over it.
  13. Voltron is a TV Series by in2mind · · Score: 1

    The original Voltron is a Japanese TV Series.Not a Film.
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086824/

  14. For some reason... by david.given · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...I can't get this sequence from ReBoot out of my mind when reading the story...

  15. My God!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Think of my childhood!!!!

  16. the old show by jgarra23 · · Score: 1

    I remember liking the cat version of voltron when I was a kid... then I watched it with my kids recently (who love it) and for some reason the storyline seemed like some nutty commie propaganda.

    Now wasn't there some other space-ship based show also called voltron that had nothing to do with metal cats?

    1. Re:the old show by garett_spencley · · Score: 1

      I remember liking the cat version of voltron when I was a kid... then I watched it with my kids recently (who love it) and for some reason the storyline seemed like some nutty commie propaganda.

      I feel the same way about pretty much every single show that I watched as a child.

      My wife is a uber comic / cartoon / movie geek. She went and bought the Thundercats season 1 box set. I LOVED the Thundercats as a kid and was very eager to watch a few episodes and bring back some childhood memories. "Yawn" is pretty much the only word I can use to describe my experience "reconnecting with my youth".

      I loved the Transformers movie. But I can't sit through the cartoons any more. Any film that tries to put an adult twist on cartoons or shows from the 80's to attempt to appeal to the children of that time who are now grown up I can certainly relate to and get into. But there are tons of movies and cartoons and music that I loved as a child that I am not the slightest bit interested in anymore as an adult. But I assume that's normal.

      I'm not in the least bit religious but Corinthians 13:11 comes to mind "When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things".

      Nothing against people who still enjoy cartoons from their childhood, though. In fact I envy them slightly.

    2. Re:the old show by cbreaker · · Score: 1

      Well, if they make a remake of Thundercats, I just hope they put some thought into who will play Cheetara =)

      --
      - It's not the Macs I hate. It's Digg users. -
    3. Re:the old show by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Now wasn't there some other space-ship based show also called voltron that had nothing to do with metal cats?

      Yes, there was, and I guess in one episode both the lion Voltron and the space car Voltron battle side by side to defeat whoever it was.

      A friend send me a YouTube link once, so you might be able to find it if you look around there.

    4. Re:the old show by CastrTroy · · Score: 1

      I had downloaded the old thundercats episodes, and was surprised at how badly they were done. I remember it being a really good TV show, but once you look back on it, your mind kind of forgets how bad it was, or you were too young to realize it. It's the same with watching Simpsons episodes from the first and second seasons. The drawings are much more crude, and the animation much worse then what they've accomplished later on in the series. South Park hasn't seemed to change much though.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    5. Re:the old show by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Some fare a lot better than others. Most Ducktales episodes hang together quite well. Batman TAS is still great. TMNT and Inspector Gadget are no worse than they ever were. But Transformers, Voltron, Thundercats, Silverhawks... all had a very short shelf life.

    6. Re:the old show by 19thNervousBreakdown · · Score: 1

      God damn it furry, go away.

      --
      <xml><I><am><so><damn>Web 2.0</damn></so></am></I></xml>
    7. Re:the old show by ThE_DoOmSmItH · · Score: 0

      yes, you might be thinking of robotech :)

      but it makes you wonder, if they continue on with voltron, when will they start doing live action versions of all the great anime series? :)

      --
      -TubaMan / ThE_DoOmSmItH
    8. Re:the old show by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've found the same thing with pretty much anything I liked as a kid. At various times I've tried to re-read the Oz books, Narnia, Prydain, The Three Investigators, the Riddlemaster of Hed, or any of the million other books I found fascinating and entertaining from 8-13. By and large they aren't bad, they just aren't aimed at me.

    9. Re:the old show by domatic · · Score: 1

      On the other hand, crude or not those early Simpsons are something that The Simpsons just isn't anymore: funny. I liked Bart far more as a profane little sociopath than a misunderstood-underachiever-who-just-wants-to-be-c ool-minor-character. I absolutely loved one of old Tracey Ullman shorts where he crams all the family counselors mints into his mouth then spits the chewed up mess back into the bowl when told to "Put Those Back!".

      When I quit watching the Simpsons, It was pretty much the "1001 Ways That Homer Can Indulge His Stupidity Show." You used to have to quick to catch all the jokes and asides they crammed in. These days it's just a played out latter day Flintstones that has overstayed it's welcome by at least five years.

    10. Re:the old show by KudyardRipling · · Score: 1

      There were three differing series within Voltron: The 'lion' series, the Alpha/Beta/Gamma series (I do not think that this one was aired in the USA) and the third one which groups of vehicles merged to form the major componenets and these major components merged to form Voltron.

      As for memories, I was already a dry-by-law adult (18x21) at the time and all it did was give me something to watch while I was eating cold cereal before going to work. As for those who tell others to 'grow up', what they are really trying to say is to engage in the same socially accepted activities as they. Things like getting into inextricalbe debt and marriage to nagging spouses so the 'unenlightened' can be as miserable as they are.

      --
      Submission as evidence constitutes plaintiff and/or prosecutorial misconduct.
    11. Re:the old show by jgarra23 · · Score: 1

      yes, you might be thinking of robotech :)

      Nah... my ex-wife is all about the robotech. I bought the dvd boxset when it came out years ago- at that point she had never heard of it & when the divorce came around I was happy to let her have it as she enjoyed it much more than I ever did.

      but it makes you wonder, if they continue on with voltron, when will they start doing live action versions of all the great anime series? :)

      Maybe a remake of 8 man after?? :D No wait, we all ready have that & it's called robocop.

      Maybe a live-action remake of GI Joe? I'd love to see that. Esp. With the all the original good guys & bad guys & the same ethnocentrism would actually be neato to watch!

  17. Oblig. by caylem · · Score: 0

    I, for one, welcome our new robotic overlo- oh wait...

  18. Re:Are there any original ideas in Hollywood anymo by CastrTroy · · Score: 1

    Just because a movie is made from a book doesn't mean it's terrible. Kubrick is considered one of the greats, but many of his movies are based on old novels. Clockwork Orange, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, Eyes Wide Shut, from the 5 movies that I know, all say they are base on or "inspired by" some other novel. The only one I own that doesn't say it's based on some other piece of work is Dr. Strangelove. So, while I would like to see some original stories. Seeing movies based of books isn't all that bad, assuming they are using interesting books and the movie is done well.

    --

    Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
  19. Blazing Sword FTW by Junior+J.+Junior+III · · Score: 1

    Spoiler alert: At the end of the movie, Voltron defeats the Ro-beast using the Blazing Sword.

    --
    You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
  20. Volt-who? by Dogtanian · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Lame. Transformers got away with novelty. Voltron will tank. I don't think that I'd ever heard of Voltron before this. My first thoughts were "wasn't that the baddie's name from Battle of the Planets?" (Apparently that was "Zoltar", whatever...)

    Going by the YouTube link to the 80s Voltron cartoon in the summary, it looks almost exactly like someone created carbon copies of the Transformers cartoon and Battle of the Planets and welded them together.

    Transformers were massive in the UK when I was about 10, so it's obviously going to benefit from nostalgic parents and thirtysomething media types. By contrast, I don't know how big Voltron was in the US and Japan, but it's pretty unknown here, so I doubt it's going to get the same free pass. It can't even have been *that* big elsewhere, because I'm sure I'd have come across more about it on the net if it had been.
    --
    "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    1. Re:Volt-who? by Turn-X+Alphonse · · Score: 1

      It's big in Japan and in the English speaking fanbase. It often features in Super robot Taisen which is a game like advance wars using lots of mecha animes. :)

      --
      I like muppets.
    2. Re:Volt-who? by vidarh · · Score: 1
      My impression was pretty much the same. I'm from Norway, and can't say I'd ever heard about Voltron before, though Transformers were huge despite only being available on satellite and cable at a time when only a relatively small part of the population had access to it.

      I used to live literally right next door to school, and we used to gather up at my place to watch the old Sky Channel (which is what ultimately morphed into Sky One, but which then was then mostly/only available outside the UK) and end up running out the door when the bell rang...

    3. Re:Volt-who? by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      It's big in Japan Yes, but so are lots of things; it doesn't mean that it's so big elsewhere

      and in the English speaking fanbase. That just means that "amongst the English speakers who are fans of it, it has a major following". Pretty tautological, and not really enlightening. How big is awareness of it amongst the US population in general- or even just amongst the late-twenty/early-thirtysomethings?
      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    4. Re:Volt-who? by teslar · · Score: 1

      Yep, same here - grew up with a lot of Anime on the continent, courtesy of Club Dorothée, but I'm pretty sure I have never heard of Voltron. I was briefly hoping it'd be the English name of Goldorak, but turns out that one's called Grendizer. I quite liked that one, I always found it supremely ironic that the bad guys actually managed to built a decent, fully functioning, nicely designed killer machine only to have it nicked by the good guy who then uses it to whoop their asses for the rest of the series.

    5. Re:Volt-who? by blincoln · · Score: 1

      How big is awareness of it amongst the US population in general- or even just amongst the late-twenty/early-thirtysomethings?

      Voltron was very popular when I was a kid. It didn't reach Transformers levels, but I would say that it was at least as popular and well-known as Robotech in the area I grew up (near Seattle).

      --
      "...always new atoms but always doing the same dance, remembering what the dance was yesterday." -Richard Feynman
    6. Re:Volt-who? by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      Voltron was very popular when I was a kid. It didn't reach Transformers levels, but I would say that it was at least as popular and well-known as Robotech in the area I grew up (near Seattle). As popular as Robotech? Is that a good or a bad thing?- I can't tell, given that they didn't show Robotech in the UK either :-)
      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    7. Re:Volt-who? by vuffi_raa · · Score: 1

      seriously? it was huge along the lines of robotech, tranzor z, star blazers battle of the planets in the wave of anime being rewritten and put out on english language tv in the 80s

    8. Re:Volt-who? by Fred_A · · Score: 1

      I've no idea what it was called here in France but I've certainly seen that thing with the assembled cat shaped robots and the sword wielding monstrosity before. Maybe it was after Club Dorothée ? Or maybe I caught it abroad... I'm not really into anime, and especially not lego robots so I know I didn't seek it intentionally...

      I'd be rather surprised if the resulting film rose above the level of that scientologist thing with Travolta though (can't remember the name).

      --

      May contain traces of nut.
      Made from the freshest electrons.
    9. Re:Volt-who? by Nick+of+NSTime · · Score: 1

      Robotech in the UK was shown with its original title of "Macross."

    10. Re:Volt-who? by Trashman · · Score: 1

      I live in the NE US, (NY to be exact,) during the Early eighties, the Cartoon to watch was He-Man! Macross aka, Robotech was airing here but not very well known or popular. I liked it, and a few of my friends were into it. Mid-late 80's Transformers and GI-Joe were huge here (they usually aired back to back on TV) Voltron (five lions) appeared around '87 Thereorabouts, and while it was big, it wasn't as big as the Transformers. Later the 15 vehicle Voltron appeared which didn't go over well with people here. Myself and one other friend like it. Everyone else I knew hated it.

      I never saw the cartoon for Voltron III i.e. the Gladiator Voltron (It never aired here as far as I know,) but I remember seeing the Toy in a Shop a few times.

      --
      Do not read this .sig
    11. Re:Volt-who? by Knara · · Score: 1

      Voltron was very popular in the US. It came out in a series of "anime made into American cartoons" along with Transformers and Macross/Southern Cross/Genesis Climber Mospeada (collectively "Robotech") plus a number of American spinoffs, during the huge cartoon+merchandising craze of the 1980's. All of those were staples of either weekday afternoon or saturday morning cartoon blocks (both of which are sorely lacking these days, I'm sad to say).

      Thing is, even Transformers suffered from the relative youthfulness of their target audience. I commented to an intern that I didn't think that the Transformers movie could be as entertaining to me as the original Transformers movie.

      His response? "There was an original Transformers movie?"

    12. Re:Volt-who? by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      As I said, I was 8 or 10 when Transformers mania was at its peak, and I was never aware of the 1986 animated movie at the time. I certainly don't recall it getting a cinematic release in the UK.

      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    13. Re:Volt-who? by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      Perhaps so, but it wasn't (AFAIK) shown in the UK. Back then (85, 86) most people only had the four terrestrial channels. (Before Sky launched in the UK in the late 80s, cable and satellite were extremely rare here). Kids TV was mainly concentrated in the afternoons on BBC1 and ITV for a couple of hours, with some in the mornings (breakfast TV on weekdays, lots more on weekends.) IIRC, Transformers was shown in the morning on breakfast TV. I remember the launch of breakfast TV in the UK. I even remember the launch of the fourth bloody channel, and that was a big deal when you only had three to start off with. Damn, I feel really old now!

      But back to the point; it occurs to me that they just wouldn't have had the time/space to show all those cartoons, particularly as they were probably restricted on the amount of cheap imports they could show. So that's probably why it was never shown here.

      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    14. Re:Volt-who? by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      Robotech in the UK was shown with its original title of "Macross." I certainly don't remember it at all. Was that around the time it was originally produced in the 1980s, or later on? And was it on terrestrial TV or some obscure satellite channel?
      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    15. Re:Volt-who? by Knara · · Score: 1

      Yeah, in the US it had a pretty nutty media campaign for it, so it was hard to miss.

      For the record, this intern spends much of his time reading videogame comics and other such geekerific things, so I cannot excuse his not knowing of its existence.

      Plus, he's the intern, so comeon.

  21. CoPA bait by TheConfusedOne · · Score: 1

    IIRC Minmei was something like 13 years old in Robotech.

    --
    --- I wish I could hear the soundtrack to my life. That way I'd know when to duck.
    1. Re:CoPA bait by countjared · · Score: 2, Informative

      No, she was fifteen at the start of the series. She turned 16 (Sweet Sixteen episode) around episode 7 or 8. Then she would have been like 18 or 19 by the end of the series.

    2. Re:CoPA bait by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 1

      No, she was 15 (in both Macross and Robotech--Robotech added a few years to some of the characters ages (Rick Hunter is two years older than Hikaru Ichijyou), but not Minmei's).

  22. Related trailer? by Dani+Filth · · Score: 1
    1. Re:Related trailer? by crankyspice · · Score: 1
      --
      geek. lawyer.
  23. What's next??? by Ctrl-Z · · Score: 4, Funny

    What could possibly follow up a Voltron movie? Thundercats?

    --
    www.timcoleman.com is a total waste of your time. Never go there.
    1. Re:What's next??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thundercats?

      Hopefully not! Thundercats suck!

    2. Re:What's next??? by Maxite · · Score: 1

      No. It'll be Gigantor.

      --
      Ah, you found me!
    3. Re:What's next??? by m0nkyman · · Score: 1

      Battle Of The Planets

      --
      ~ a low user id is no indication I have a clue what I'm talking about.
    4. Re:What's next??? by Culture20 · · Score: 1

      Ancient spirits of evil, transform this decayed form to Thundercats: The Movie!

    5. Re:What's next??? by gatzke · · Score: 4, Informative


      Thundercats is in pre-production, slated for 2010.

      http://imdb.com/title/tt1047015/

    6. Re:What's next??? by jollyreaper · · Score: 1

      Thundercats is in pre-production, slated for 2010.

      http://imdb.com/title/tt1047015/ FUCK YOU! Tell me this should have been modded funny! Tell me this is a joke! Shit-fucking hell! ARGH! Where's the imagination? Where's the single sparking synapse that could have derailed this entire travesty? One solitary voice in the night saying "You know, it really wasn't all that good in the 80's, it probably won't be that much better on-screen in the 21st century."

      Ok, deep breath.... so I suppose they're doing Silverhawks next?
      --
      Kwisatz Haderach
      Sell the spice to CHOAM
      This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
    7. Re:What's next??? by AttillaTheNun · · Score: 1

      I was going to respond with a He-Man comment, but I have a nagging fear... either it was one of those "I ate too much pizza night" nightmares or Dolph Lundgren beat me to it... http://imdb.com/title/tt0093507 Oh god, it's true.

    8. Re:What's next??? by Michael+Snoswell · · Score: 1

      Zoids would be good - I expecially liked the first two series, Chaotic Century and Guardian Force. They have pretty good story lines whilst the later series are so-so to my mind.

      And of course, Zoids provide another great chance to revive the mechanidise spinoffs too. I couldn't help but be impressed by the mechanical complexity of the Liger I bought my son for his 8th birthday some years ago - it was a lot of fun, even if it did take a whole day to build :-)

      --
      pithy comment
    9. Re:What's next??? by Culture20 · · Score: 1

      I'm surprised they didn't do JabberJaw after the Scooby-Doo Movie.

    10. Re:What's next??? by jollyreaper · · Score: 1

      I was going to respond with a He-Man comment, but I have a nagging fear... either it was one of those "I ate too much pizza night" nightmares or Dolph Lundgren beat me to it... http://imdb.com/title/tt0093507 Oh god, it's true. At least they haven't done a Fat Albert one yet...oh, fuck.

      Well, at least they haven't done Battlefield Earth...oh, fuck.

      So when are they going to do Turbo Teen, the one about the teenager who turns into a car?
      --
      Kwisatz Haderach
      Sell the spice to CHOAM
      This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
    11. Re:What's next??? by Deagol · · Score: 1
      Right after Grape Ape and Captain Caveman. If they're scraping the bottom of the barrel with the likes of Underdog (they already did Rocky and Bullwinkle), then any of those cheesey Hanna-Barbarra flicks have a shot. Just wait 'til they take on the Sid and Marty Croft shows: Land of the Lost, The Bugalloos, Dr. Shrinker, H.R. Puff-n-Stuff, and that one with the sea creature whose name escapes me.

      Then come the cheesy 80's series remakes: Webster, Small Wonder, Punky Brewster, Diff'rent Strokes.

      Hollywood knows no shame.

    12. Re:What's next??? by Culture20 · · Score: 1

      If it's Diffrent Strokes, they'll hire an all new (and young) cast, except for Gary Coleman. Mr. Drummond will be 10 years younger than Gary. Whatchu talkin 'bout Deagol?

    13. Re:What's next??? by mink · · Score: 1

      "that one with the sea creature whose name escapes me."

      Sigmund and the Sea Monsters?

      --
      Well I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years doctor, and I'm happy to say I finally won out over it.
  24. Oh dear... by heroicnonsense · · Score: 1

    I wonder when the online petition to get Peter Cullen to read the intro will start.

  25. Re:Are there any original ideas in Hollywood anymo by Walt+Dismal · · Score: 1
    Well, *I* thought that the Saturday morning kids show, Tux Invaders, was awesome. I mean, who could have predicted that a story about five penguins from another planet who transform into operating system components and then load themselves into a giant PC to do battle with a giant Steve Ballmer robot would win so many awards?

    ...Cindi Lou? WTF did you put in my COFFEE this morning, you bitch! There appear to be enormous spiders on the ceiling, writing code, and I for one am not amused.

  26. Smell that? It's a DUPE! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  27. For the love of all things holy by nuclearpenguins · · Score: 0

    Please leave the 80's alone! We don't need more remakes and revisionings. Of course there are gobs of morons who pay to see this shit. I would personally like to smack everyone who comes out of theater after having seen the new Alvin and the Chipmunks. Oh, did you know they're making a Smurfs movie too? WHEN WILL IT END HOLLYWOOD?!

    --
    Anonymous Coward: "This is slashdot. Accuracy is second class citizen here, unlike King Bias."
    1. Re:For the love of all things holy by mink · · Score: 1

      I expect soon we will have Big Track(TM) the TV Series. It will follow the crew of this high tech military vehicle as it protects our freedoms here and abroad.

      --
      Well I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years doctor, and I'm happy to say I finally won out over it.
  28. I was a *major* Voltron nut as a child. by numbski · · Score: 1

    As an adult, not so much. :(

    The reason is simple. When I sit down to watch the original, I can clearly tell where GoLion was hacked up and spliced with Dairugger XV to give us the story we have. Amazingly, no one is ever killed in an attack. Funny, I thought that guys head just got ripped off? Oh lookie, killer mutant frogs...good thing those are actually just little robots! :\

    Voltron.com had mention of GoLion getting a subtitled, uncut release here in the states this summer, but I've seen no signs of it. Transformers became somewhat plausible because the big robots came from "someplace else". GoLion was a sentient being that was punished and split up into 5 component parts. I don't see how that story will get told, nor do I see someone explaining away how someone on earth thought it was a good idea to build 5 giant robot lions.

    Dairugger XV would be more plausible, but not as popular. This scares me. :\ World Event Productions is here in St. Louis. Perhaps I should go to their office and express my fears? :P

    --

    Karma: Chameleon (mostly due to the fact that you come and go).

    1. Re:I was a *major* Voltron nut as a child. by arashi+no+garou · · Score: 1

      Speaking of hacked-up hacked-together Japanese anime, I'd love to see Macross or even US-version Robotech on the big screen in live-action, if it were done right anyway. Sadly, I doubt it would be given the proper treatment, and since it's giant transforming mechs it would be called a Transformers ripoff by the clueless masses.

  29. Re:Are there any original ideas in Hollywood anymo by deniable · · Score: 1

    Starship Troopers?

  30. Something to think about... by PJ1216 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    A lot of you are complaining that they are basically strip mining our childhood and taking these awesome shows and turning them into mediocre movies with big-budget special effects. Well, yea, they are, but I don't think its completely their own fault. We're blaming them for not having decent story lines, but lets think about this for a second. Do you *remember* the story lines these shows used to have? We grew up in a different time back then. Personally, I think it was because we were better at having an imagination. We didn't need things like "realism" and "believability". We were fine when some guy was shot in the face, had plastic surgery, and became a crime fighter along with his sidekick: a pontiac grand am that can talk and had a cool red light that flashed back on forth on his hood.

    Yea, these guys see nothing but dollar signs with these things. They're not trying to bring a childhood memory to the big screen to make us happy. However, lets remember the scripts the original writers of these shows used to throw at us and realize that maybe the script that went along with Transformers wasn't so bad. In this day and age, people need realism and all that and they *tried* to do that with Transformers. But, come on, how many plausible ideas can you think of for the creation of a talking semi?

    I for one am going to see this movie and I'll probably be pleased by the special effects and the nostalgia that will come to mind from my childhood. Let them strip mine my memories... I for one think that awesome explosions, great advances in CGI, and fight scenes are a decent trade-off. Let's not forget Underdog was from our childhood as well. At least they didn't do *that* to Transformers...

    1. Re:Something to think about... by crankyspice · · Score: 1

      along with his sidekick: a pontiac grand am

      Grand Am?! Um, no. The Knight Industries Two Thousand (K.I.T.T.) was a Firebird Trans-Am. Compare and contrast: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88 /800px-83firebird.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a /'85-'88_Pontiac_Grand_Am.jpg

      But you're right, the plots of those shows (including Battle of the Planets, aka Voltron) were simplistic and preposterous. "Together with the good planets of the solar system..." Evil witches, coffin-shaped star ships, helpful mice...

      Anyway, we al know KITT was built using captured Cylon technology as part of the Battlestar Galactica's crew's attempt to bring Earth up to technological parity...

      --
      geek. lawyer.
    2. Re:Something to think about... by IL-CSIXTY4 · · Score: 1

      A lot of you are complaining that they are basically strip mining our childhood and taking these awesome shows and turning them into mediocre movies with big-budget special effects. Well, yea, they are, but I don't think its completely their own fault.
      You're right, there are sinister forces at work, and the results could be disastrous.
  31. Forget Voltron by jcorno · · Score: 1

    How about some Tranzor Z?

    1. Re:Forget Voltron by tmortn · · Score: 1

      Dottie Fire 1....

      Tranzor Z will be the porno version of Voltron.... that show was hysterical

      --
      I don't ask you to be me. I only ask you not expect me to be you.
    2. Re:Forget Voltron by vuffi_raa · · Score: 1

      I have been rewatching tranzor z lately- I don't think the whole devileen the shemale would go over with middle america so well- I would love to see though a live action star blazers/yamato- the original story with the gemelan war

  32. Nope and here is why by JRGhaddar · · Score: 1

    I work in the film industry, and the reason why the hollywood executives aren't going for original stories is simple. Risk / Reward. Hollywood is about making money. It is a business. It's not art. Here is a little insight into the exec's thought process.

    1. Is there a preconceived interest?
    - Does the audience already know about the subject matter.

    Hollywood doesn't like gambling. Espicieally if there are millions at stake. They want a sure bet. They believe that a film that the audience already knows about and likes will be a better risk than a totally new storyline.
    This is why you see all the remakes. Transformers, Starsky and Hutch. etc. etc. and it is also why sequels are made. If they bought tickets for the first one then they (the audience) are more inclined to by tickets to see the second.

    2. Do we have existing rights to the material?

    Another reason why you see remakes and sequels is that Hollywood already owns the rights to the work. No new expenditures are necessary to secure a story, and this is a way to extend there copyright on the original work.

    3. Can we tie in "Big Name Talent"

    Actors and actresses are considered as "assets" by the studios. If you put together the right stars (even though the script and store are complete crap) you can get profitable film. These individuals may not be the "most talented" but they have the "most recognizeability" with audiences and thus generate more ticket sales.

    4. Are there opportunities for product placement?

    This is crucial for Hollywood to make films. Spielberg is the worst with this one...seriously he is an incredibly talented director, but just watch Minority Report, Jurasic Park, or his latest Executive Produced project Transformers. Count the company logos and insignias. All of that pay for the high budget projects and all ticket sales are thus gravy. It's clever and definitely business saavy but often I find them very distracting.


    If you can ask those 4 questions and find projects that are favorable to those questions than YOU can be a Hollywood Exec today. I don't hate them or dislike them for that matter. I just understand the business from working in it. If you want to watch something insightful, original, uninhibited, and artistic you have to go to independent film for that. And there are some incredible pieces out there. You just have to go looking for them. They won't be dropping into theaters anytime soon.

    Here is a gem I saw earlier this year in march that is coming to theaters. "The King of Kong" a great documentary about the 80's that makes me remember my childhood but also tells an entertaining story. Most of the people here on /. will love it.

    1. Re:Nope and here is why by domatic · · Score: 1

      Your problem then is that we (your audiences) are going to get burned out on this stuff. I can only stomach so many superhero, sequel, and icon-of-my-childhood movies before I want to see something else. "Rise of the Silver Surfer" meh. I just got around to watching the last Fantastic Four on the premium movie channels. I have no doubt there will soon be a new Batman movie follow on from "Batman Begins" where he fights the Joker this time. I'll be in absolutely no hurry to see it.

      As for nostalgia like Transformers, I'm absolutely satiated. I've relived all I care to relive for awhile. If you want any of MY money then you guys had best gear up to take a chance on something new again. Yeah, I'm damn familiar with all the properties being trotted out. That is getting to be a problem rather than an asset. Want a positive example? I enjoyed the hell out of "V for Vendetta" and didn't even know there was a comic book until the end credits. So there you go. Use existing properties. But for crying out loud, leave the ones that have been run into the ground alone. I'm looking at you Paramount with your stupid Starfleet Academy movie.

    2. Re:Nope and here is why by JRGhaddar · · Score: 1

      I couldn't agree with you more. Things do need to change, and quickly....but Hollywood is crying about the decline of ticket sales and blaming piracy....When in reality the real reason is no one wants to buy a ticket to see recyled regurgitated crap.

    3. Re:Nope and here is why by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      I wonder how many ticket sales are lost to DVD? Any time a movie comes out and I don't feel like spending $25 to take my wife to see it because it probably won't be that great, I just put it on my Netflix queue. Some time later, it shows up in the mail and we watch it, for very little money (since Netflix is a flat monthly fee).

    4. Re:Nope and here is why by JRGhaddar · · Score: 1

      Rentals have always been a great source of revenue for the studios. DVD's are currently one of the best revenue sources for the studios.

        A DVD costs approx $1.00 to make. That includes materials AND labor divided by quantity ordered. So they make a HUGE amount of profit on DVD's. NETFLIX will order 10,000 DVD's at a large discount price. Typically it's 20% off wholesale. Which is still a great profit for the studios. What hurts the studios the most are people who go into a theater with a camera record the film burn it on a DVD and then sell them on the street for 5 bucks each. (Sometimes they sell them for a dollar) If that person sells 1,000 bootlegged DVD's that is a HUGE loss of revenue to the studios. That's what hurts them the most. Filesharring too to some extent, but that's because they aren't doing the filesharring themselves. If they created there own system of file sharring for distribution that they controlled (and no I don't mean DRM) They could reccapture that lost revenue.

      But to be honest....the best way to fix their problems is to make great enjoyable films and make going to the movies a great expierience....and unfortunately it's not. The movies are bad.. The theater food is way over priced... If the theaters stepped up the enviorment in which people see movies, and the studios made better films they would see a dramatic shift in attendence.

    5. Re:Nope and here is why by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      Rentals have always been a great source of revenue for the studios. DVD's are currently one of the best revenue sources for the studios.

      I'm not so sure about this any more. Surely they don't make as much revenue on a DVD rental as they do on a theater ticket sale (especially since multiple people will typically watch one DVD together). DVDs are great for making more money on older movies that are well past their theater days; but with DVDs being released so soon after theatrical release now, it's pretty easy to just wait for the DVD release.

      But to be honest....the best way to fix their problems is to make great enjoyable films and make going to the movies a great expierience....and unfortunately it's not. The movies are bad.. The theater food is way over priced... If the theaters stepped up the enviorment in which people see movies, and the studios made better films they would see a dramatic shift in attendence.

      The biggest problem with theaters isn't the food (though that sucks too), it's the people: there's too many rude and noisy people at theaters, especially teenagers. I haven't had much trouble myself, but that's because (for the few times I go to the theater) I usually wait until the movie has been out a while, so the theater is usually uncrowded and the teenagers have already seen it. But the theaters can't do anything about the annoying teenagers because they're the #1 revenue source, so adults usually just wait for DVD release, so they can watch the movies in their expensive home theaters.

  33. Who? by mlk · · Score: 0, Troll

    Never seen it before. Looks like that crap Power Rangers.

    --
    Wow, I should not post when knackered.
  34. Re:Are there any original ideas in Hollywood anymo by Culture20 · · Score: 1

    Might I direct you to your nearest Art Movie-Theater? Of course, most of them suck, but there are a few gems.

  35. In other news... by zakezuke · · Score: 1

    Hollywood will take it upon them selves to create a feature length version of
    Battling Seizure Robots

    --
    There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
    1. Re:In other news... by Barny · · Score: 1

      Well, they couldn't fuck it up any worse than they did transformers movie, still trying to work out WHY they had so many actual actors in it...

      --
      ...
      /me sighs
  36. Voltes V by RichiP · · Score: 1

    I'd watch it if it were Voltes V they were making. It's the first anime I saw that featured vehicles "volting" into each other to form a larger robot. Not to mention I kinda dig the sappy underlying story.

  37. I'm not the only one who says this... by Lisandro · · Score: 1

    ...but fuck Voltron. Where is my Centurions movie?! That one has been overdue for years now!

    1. Re:I'm not the only one who says this... by Wilson_6500 · · Score: 1

      Hey, if you get your Centurions movie, why can't I get my M.A.S.K. movie?

    2. Re:I'm not the only one who says this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Centurions would be brilliant, but dammit a decent MASK film would really make me a happy chap indeed.

      Voltron? I thought I recognised the name, and when I saw the YouTube clip I realised where from. I remember getting a cheap, rubbery plastic set of toys as a stocking filler one Christmas - and that was what the set was from! Very uncool to admit at the time, because they were definitely not Transformers. It was lower on the peer performance scale than the Go-Bots, or whatever they were.

      I can understand the fuss over Transformers, but Voltron? C'mon Hollywood, give us MASK with a decent script!

    3. Re:I'm not the only one who says this... by FeTrut · · Score: 1

      They already made it (and Cher is in it, woo hoo!): http://imdb.com/title/tt0089560/

  38. Now all we need is live action Gundam. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I dont care if its new or based on one of the anime series; There needs to be a good live action GUNDAM.

  39. GoLion was anything but deep. by Valdrax · · Score: 1

    And super robot shows can have deeper plots than you suspect. It can come down to just looking cool but if you watch something like Getter robo you will see that you can have a plot where the mecha are important but the entire story doesn't revolve around them.

    However, GoLion was NOT one of these shows. GoLion was utterly derivative crap that just happened to mix sentai and giant robots into a formula that sold well to little boys.

    There is no depth and no subtlety to get -- all you do is combine, pull out the super weapon, and the episode is over. Everything else is just episodic filler of villians cackling, teammates bickering, and teammates unnecessarily getting injured because they're too stupid to combine and do their super attack until the right amount of time has been wasted. There was no deep metaplot, no social commentary, and no real character growth.

    As long as the movie studio doesn't try to make it edgy, introduce unnecessary inter-party conflict, ditch the mystical elements of Voltron for "hard" science, or pick the most talentless actors they can for it, it's going to be hard to screw up. Of course, I have faith in Hollywood to do every single thing I just described, so...

    --
    If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
  40. As the Brokeback Mountain sequel? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    After all, I can't imagine anything being gayer than live action Voltron.

  41. Obligatory by NormalVisual · · Score: 1

    Okay, since no one else has done it yet...

    "I saw it!! It's a lion!! It's huge!!"

    --
    Please stand clear of the doors, por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas
    1. Re:Obligatory by Stormwatch · · Score: 3, Funny

      You're doing it wrong. It is:

      >:3

      JESUS CHRIST IT'S A LION GET IN THE CAR!

      .
      .
      .

      (posting more text here to work around lameness filter)

  42. Not the one with the lions... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...but the other Voltron - there were three, I think - the one about the alien prince who was a gray character, tormented - that was very good and deep storyline, from what my prebubescant mind recalls. The robot itself sucked, though. I think it was a van, and an airplane and a few other cars and such that came together to form the big guy. Even back then I thought it was stupid.

  43. RE-Voltron by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm still waiting for the Mechwarrior movie. Wooohooooooo

  44. The Man Who Just... Wasn't by SpaceToast · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Marks on imdb.com:

    Writer:

    • Voltron (2008) (announced)
    • Masters of the Universe (2009) (pre-production) (screenplay)
    • Unbroken (2003)
    • The Stranger (2003)
    • Fast Forward (2002)

    Producer:

    • Unbroken (2003) (producer)
    • Risk/Reward (2003) (associate producer)
    • The Stranger (2003) (producer)
    • Fast Forward (2002) (producer)

    Miscellaneous Crew:

    • Saved! (2004) (assistant: Sandy Stern)
    • Family Secret (2000) (assistant to director)

    Editorial Department:

    • Family Secret (2000) (assistant editor)

    Basically, Marks self-produced a couple of indy shorts early in the decade, then there's a big gap where he fell off the radar. Hard to say if he was script doctoring, working the business side of the industry, or just had enough money to bum around Hollywood bugging people to read his screenplays. Suddenly he reappears screenwriting two big (the studios hope) franchise relaunches.

    I have to wish him all the luck personally, but resumés like this don't fill me with confidence about the final product.

  45. All this crap... by Groggnrath · · Score: 1

    ...and still no Macross movie.

    It's like hollywood actualy looks for crapy old stuff, rather that purchase the rights to classic ground breaking stuff.

    ...but I digress, lets have yet another Fantastic Four movie, 2 isn't enough for Jessica Alba's boobies.

    1. Re:All this crap... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's like hollywood actualy looks for crapy old stuff, rather that purchase the rights to classic ground breaking stuff.
       
      when you're trying to sell eye candy you don't need to worry about the quality of the story line.
       
      look at the matrix. it was about as insightful as most half hour twilight zone episodes and when they got past that they just needed to fill in the rest of the 1.5-2 hours. the fact that there were sequals is what really put it to shame though.

    2. Re:All this crap... by Groggnrath · · Score: 1

      about as insightful as most half hour twilight zone episodes

      You just described M. Night Shyamalan's entire career.
    3. Re:All this crap... by zakezuke · · Score: 1

      ...and still no Macross movie. No macross movie?

      IIRC there were two Macross movies, the first one which was the series in overdrive, and another movie which wasn't all that great. Not to speak of OVA releases such as Macross Zero, which actually was worth watching, and Macross Plus which was only soso. This is assuming that you missed the fan subs of Macross 7. There was something else referenced on the 25th macross 25th anniversary that suggested a new movie or series.

      Unless you really want a Harmony Gold based Robotech movie.

      --
      There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
  46. not August Moon, Bitter Moon by Simonetta · · Score: 1

    My mistake, the title of the great Roman Polanski movie referred to in the message above is not August Moon, Bitter Moon. From the early 1990s. It is one of those movies that makes you leave the theater in deep 'cinema shock', a dream-like twilight state induced by a powerful movie experience.

        It is the last of the great type of movies that can only be called anti-date flicks. These are films that are so anti-romantic, but without being specifically 'dick-flicks' like action movies, that they drive you and your date apart after watching the movie like two like poles of a magnet.

        These movies were prevalent in the early and mid-1970s and many are on the lists of what critics call their best films. From a modern perspective, it is hard to believe anyone would actually go on a date or even a casual quasi-romantic outing to one of these showings. These movies are carefully crafted to destroy any possibility of romantic mood. If you are actually going out on a date to one of these titles, like an old movie revival festival or retrospective, be sure to get your date's phone number and e-mail address before the movie because you certainly won't afterwards.

        Some of the movies don't age well and many lose their venom when seen on the small screen from VHS or DVD. Not all are violent or bloody or creepy (but it helps). Here's my list, please add your own titles if you know of any movies in this particularly strange genre.

        (in roughly chronological order)
              El Topo 1969 Mexico
              Clockwork Orange 1971 UK
              Swept Away 1973 Italy the original not the Madonna remake
              Chinatown 1974 USA
              Seven Beauties 1976 Italy Wertmuller again, naturally
              Taxi Driver 1976

        About this time (1977), Hollywood changed because of Star Wars, anti-date movies weren't made anymore. In the 1980s the only movie that I recall that was in this category was Fatal Attaction. And even that was a date movie if you assured your girlfriend that you would never, never, ever do such a thing. Then it was romantic.
    There must have been some anti-date movies after the 70s, but except for Bitter Moon, I don't recall any.

        Now, movies are just a bore. It's more fun to talk about them than to actually watch them.

  47. Galaxy, Solar System and Universe by Bob+Gelumph · · Score: 1

    Has anyone else noticed how they use these 3 terms completely interchangably?
    It's really annoying.

    --
    I'm gonna need a spec.
    1. Re:Galaxy, Solar System and Universe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You'd think they'd realize there's only one solar system. This one. We're in it.

      Ain't no others anywhere. I don't know why "planetary system" is too hard to use.

  48. Up next Go-Bots the Musical by grapeape · · Score: 2, Insightful

    If Hollywood really has to go after also ran robot properties to create movies why cant they at least go after something semi-repectable like Getter Robo G or Mazinger rather than one of the shows that tried to rip them off?

  49. What we really need is the Patlabor 2 movie by monopole · · Score: 2, Interesting


    One of the best Anime films ever made. In this cereberal political triller, a series of carefully calibrated terrorist attacks with possible military links pushes the civilian goverment of Japan to the verge of collapse. As the Self Defense Forces take to the streets of Tokoyo a small group of police desparately atempt to unravel the secret behind the attacks before a military takeover and near certian American intervention. Made well before 9/11 this film has remarkable resonance today. Giant Robot Alert: Strangely enough there are giant robots (well thought out rescue and crowd control robots, as well as a praticularly neat traffic control robot) at the beginning and end of the movie (if you really don't like robots, just jump ahead to the third chapter, it won't take away from the plot). The robots function in the same manner as the witches in Macbeth: as plot devices which move along the story (what Hitchcock would call a McGuffin), and just as Macbeth is not a story about Witches, this is not a story about robots. If you like Patlabor 2 you may also enjoy Patlabor 1 and Patlabor WXIII.

    1. Re:What we really need is the Patlabor 2 movie by Saurian_Overlord · · Score: 1

      One of the best Anime films ever made.
      Absolutely. Both 1 & 2 were excellent films. I haven't seen WXIII.

    2. Re:What we really need is the Patlabor 2 movie by LogicHoleFlaw · · Score: 1

      WXIII was... ok. It was much more of a horror flick than anything, and it introduced a new cast of characters, which was disappointing to me. While the animation and production quality was very good the story itself didn't do anything for me.

      --
      -- Flaw
  50. It's been done, thought it wasn't very good. by Glytch · · Score: 1
  51. ROBOTECH! by sanman2 · · Score: 1

    I never liked Voltron. It was dreck to me from day one. But Robotech was spectacular beyond imagination. I remember the first time I tuned into it, and was bowled over by their rich presentation of robot-centric techno-futurism, complete with action, drama and an intriguing backstory. It was like Battlestar Galactica meets Transformers meets Top Gun. Had the best of everything, including some of the best hero moments.

    I would LOVE to see Robotech done as a live-action bigscreen movie.

    And then I would like to see the same thing done for Megazone23.

    And finally, maybe Gunbuster re-written without the robots.

  52. Not my childhood. by stonedcat · · Score: 0

    No No No No NO! You bastards can not ruin my whole childhood. You've already taken half of everything I ever loved and bad movied it into obilvion. Not Voltron, please no, take "The Letter People" for god's sake, anything but Voltron.

    --
    You can't take the sky from me.
  53. French version by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yes, but in the French version all they did was sit around and talked about how much they hated The Jews and Americans.
    You put 2 hours of antisemitism on the screen in France and it will be a huge hit.

  54. StarBlazers? by st0rmshad0w · · Score: 1


    I'd pay to see that in live action....

  55. Re:Are there any original ideas in Hollywood anymo by icebrain · · Score: 1

    Nope. Starship Troopers was originally a book by Robert Heinlein. I suggest you read it; if you haven't seen the movie yet, just read the book and ignore the movie.

    The movie was originally going to be called Bug Wars, or something like that. Part of the way through production, they discovered Heinlein's book, with a similar concept (space troopers vs. aliens), and adopted the name and some plot points. However, they completely bastardized and fucked over the book, which was partly written to explore the justification behind use of force. There was a fair bit of political commentary throughout (whether you agree with it or not is a different matter). The movie just shows the military/government in a light not much different from the Nazis, and has as much in common with the book as the I, Robot movie did with its namesake. Both are the equivalent of pissing on their respective author's grave.

    Reportedly (haven't seen it myself, but I intend to) was the animated series Roughnecks. It follows Heinlein's idea a lot closer.

    --
    The meek may inherit the earth, but the strong shall take the stars.
  56. Bleh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The only giant mecha-movie I'm looking forward to is the live-action version of Neon Genesis Evangelion.

    Great story, there are talks about a trilogy, WETA is involved, 'nuff said.

    Concept art on WETA's home page http://www.wetaworkshop.co.nz/projects/filmography /galleries/neon_genesis

  57. Will it suck like the 3D CG TV show? by antdude · · Score: 1

    Voltron: The Third Dimension was a sequel to the cartoon and rendered 3D CG, but it was really bad. Is the movie going to be crappy like this one? Here is the introduction on YouTube.

    --
    Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
    1. Re:Will it suck like the 3D CG TV show? by vuffi_raa · · Score: 1

      wow the sword animation is truly ass

  58. Voltron.com mentions the movie... by antdude · · Score: 1

    Voltron.com's make section has Justin Mark's memory flashback about the cartoon and mentions briefly about the movie. Also, there's the pilot episode too to watch online!

    --
    Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
  59. Re:You like comic book movies? Weird! by theNeophile · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Comic books movies are embarrassing. Comic books are for children and we aren't children. To tell people that we really like comic book movies, such a Superman, Batman, X-Men, Transformers, is to tell people that you are still a child in your cultural development. Not as in 'child-like', but in 'retarded'. This is not a good thing. I really can't fathom how insecure and fear-based you must be to advise hiding you enjoyment of these movies like there were a crack addiction. I don't know how long you've been in a cave, but comic book movies have never been more respectable. Yeah, Batman Begins, A History of Violence, Sin City, American Splendor, all kids stuff!

    Now before you start to flame me or boot me down to -2 Score, just a short word. This is simply a warning to people who usually don't interact in the non-tech world. If you actually are a serious fan of comic books and comic book movies, keep it quiet. Be quite discreet. This same advice goes out to the guy who still thinks that Turtle LOGO is a serious programming language. Fuck that shit. How about, instead, you just admit what you like without a crippling fear that people won't think you're cool. You'll be much happier.
  60. Old news by BobSutan · · Score: 1

    This film was announced 2 years ago. It's been a work in progress for a while and was planned to be theaters next summer.

    --
    "On a scale from 1 to 10, people are stupid"
  61. Did you know... by freeze128 · · Score: 1

    Did you know that there were 3 different incarnations of Voltron?

    The first, was the vehicle Voltron, made from 15 different vehicles. (5 land based, 5 submersible, and 5 air/space craft)

    The second, was not as well known, and was never translated to English. There were 3 humanoid robots that could join together and become Voltron.

    The third, is made up of the 5 lions that most people are familiar with. The stories for this version were directed more toward younger children, probably to market towards a larger audience.

    I actually preferred the first Voltron to the one with the Lions. The Vehicle Voltron seemed to have a neater sequence for joining, also the villians were much more evil, and there was a bit more of an adult theme to the whole thing.

    1. Re:Did you know... by wheelgun · · Score: 1

      What's odd, to me, is that toys from the 2nd series were sold in America. I still have my red 2nd series robot. I think it was purchased at Toys-R-Us.

  62. Is this the third movie in the trilogy? by professorfalcon · · Score: 1

    Too late. Again. (Look at how detailed the trivia pages are!)

  63. Are there any original films on the internet? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Actually I find this whole debate amusing. Here's everone decrying the state of movies and a few talk about independent films. AND yet there is this internet with sites like atom films and Ifilm with all the quality films you can stand. Why are you all here bitching instead of there watching?

  64. Re:Are there any original ideas in Hollywood anymo by deniable · · Score: 1

    Woosh. You missed the irony.

    I've read the book. It's a very good book. I've seen the film supposedly based on the book.

  65. Not enough of them ... by ScrewMaster · · Score: 1

    There are five Voltrons, it says, but there were originally only four:

    "One Banana, Two Banana, Three Banana, Four ... no-one knows we're robots and there's room for just one more!"

    --
    The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
  66. Re:Are there any original ideas in Hollywood anymo by eloki · · Score: 1

    Don't you watch comedies or more serious/arty dramas? To name a few (that I'm not saying I have watched), what did you consider Little Miss Sunshine, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Broken Flowers, Crash etc. to be?

    Knowing Slashdot, someone will tell me that one or more of the above are based on books, but it doesn't change the essential point. You watch blockbusters, you'll get that kind of movie. You watch dramas that only get shown a couple of times a day, you'll get more original viewing because it doesn't require the audience kn

  67. Teenagers have simple tastes by Scrameustache · · Score: 1

    lets think about this for a second. Do you *remember* the story lines these shows used to have?
    [...]
    Transformers wasn't so bad. In this day and age, people need realism and all that and they *tried* to do that with Transformers. But, come on, how many plausible ideas can you think of for the creation of a talking semi? A magic cube did it is the lamest explanation yet.
    In my days the alien robots were remnants of an advanced civilization that abandoned them, and they survived, reproduced, and evolved. It was the Autobots that first learned to transform into other objects, vehicles were the most useful shapes, they could move without revealing their true form. The Decepticons captured Autobots and reversed engineered their technology.

    A magic cube did it is not an attempt at a plausible story.

    Bah humbug.

    Do you know Superman used to be a coherent science fiction? In the 30s his story was that he was from a planet with a denser core such that it's gravity was 10 times that of Earth. Hence Kryptonians on Earth were stronger, faster and tougher than anything that evolved in this far less difficult environment, and were able to leap over the tallest buildings (but not fly) much in the way astronauts leap so far in their heavy suits on the moon. Not to mention that the denser core meant higher periodic numbered elements, and thus the nuclear explosion that destroyed Krypton which Jor El saw coming but the establishment couldn't accept.
    It's not a new thing for stories to grow dumber as they grow more popular, but don't say they tried to make it plausible when they clearly just went with car chases, babes and explosions a plenty.
    And get off my lawn.
    --

    You can't take the sky from me...

  68. re; robotech by sanman2 · · Score: 1

    Hey, look what I found:

    http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/347613

    At least fans are keeping it alive

  69. No, seriously, shut up. by StarKruzr · · Score: 3, Informative

    Transformers was way, WAY better than ANYONE expected, and you know it. It was a great popcorn flick and didn't try to be anything more.

    --

    +++ATH0
    1. Re:No, seriously, shut up. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Drugs are bad.

      I was excited for that film, but it was in no way a "great popcorn flick". Some decent effects, but little actual screen time for (robot vs. robot) battles. When we did see them it was too blurry or the camera was bouncing around. The "hacker" subplot was pointless and a better director would have kept it for bonus material, and you know it.

    2. Re:No, seriously, shut up. by AgentSmith · · Score: 1

      It's like Hollywood went out to the garden of our childhood memories and is whoring
      the squishy and decayed fruit that lies within.

      C'mon Big, Hollywood machine. I defy you to think of something different! What's next?!
      A G.I. Joe live action/CGI movie. Yo Joe!

      The Mighty Orbots?

      I have found the mighty secret for profit.
      The missing step so to speak. You all ready?

      1. Pay attention to Geek trends. Who is wearing what retro 80's merchandising T-shirt.
      2. Spin the trend into a craptacular script.
      3. Sell the script to a BIG Hollywood studio looking for a safe bet. [i.e. Any Studio]
      4. Profit

      Any questions?

  70. It wasn't "destroyed" by StarKruzr · · Score: 1

    The narration was done incredibly well. Morgan Freeman added a lot to the film. If another version has voices for the penguins, lovely -- it's a different movie.

    --

    +++ATH0
  71. Can anyone say.... by HouseArrest420 · · Score: 1
    Thunder Cats, Thunder Cats, Thunder Cats HOE

    Not sure of the spelling on that last part so I figured I'd make it a word we'd all know how to pronounce. No its not a knock at the working girls...you know I love you lol!

    --
    This is Slashdot! Give me the latest gadget, bug, or OS project! This ain't english class so don't confuse the two!
  72. Transformers Japanese too? by CarpetShark · · Score: 1

    I heard once (from a very media-knowledgeable friend) that Transformers also had roots in Anime. Not sure if he meant it was developed by Japanese animators/houses, or if it just took inspiration from that, though.

    On the movie sucking.. yeah, I agree. I've no idea what made them choose wirey robots over the old-style solid ones.

  73. To paraphrase... by SIIHP · · Score: 0, Troll

    "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!"

    I believe I captured the nuances of your post quite nicely.

    --
    I only go to buffets for the unlimited soft serve.
  74. Is there nothing New? by ClownSoup · · Score: 1

    Seriously. Is there no one left in Hollywood to write something new? Why are we rehashing stuff from 20, 30 years ago?

    1. Re:Is there nothing New? by ClownSoup · · Score: 1

      ... but on second thought, I'd really like a chance to steal a Mach 5 prop from the new Speed Racer movie...

  75. Re:not August Moon, Bitter Moon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You forgot the following:

    Beavis and Butthead Do America (1996)
    Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo (1984)
    Convoy (1978)
    The Toxic Avenger (1985)
    Enemy Gold (1993)
    Hollywood Hot Tubs 2: Educating Crystal (1990)

    and the best has been saved for last!

    King of the Kickboxers (1991)

    Bitter Moon? Faggot shit!!!

  76. What about that "other" Voltron... by ZOMFF · · Score: 1

    ... the one that was made up about 30 vehicles? That would probably make more sense as a plot for a movie than trying to explain how 5 robotic cats were formed/made/found.

    --
    Launch every sig.
    1. Re:What about that "other" Voltron... by Peale · · Score: 1

      This was always my favorite Voltron. But, sadly, you never hear about this one.

  77. The parent poster is an idiot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not only can't I believe that this idiot didn't know how to spell "Ho," but I'm gobsmacked by the fact that he thought a "hoe" was a prostitute. U R TEH STUPID, LOL

  78. Obligatory Quote by Hellpop · · Score: 0

    Activate interlocks! Dynotherms connected!
    Megathrusters are go! Let's go Voltron Force!

    --
    "People are stupid; given proper motivation, almost anyone will believe almost anything."
    1. Re:Obligatory Quote by Hellpop · · Score: 0

      Crap! Forgot the Damn Infracells!

      Activate interlocks! Dynotherms connected! Infracells up!
      Megathrusters are go! Let's go Voltron Force! ... and I'll form ... the head!!

      --
      "People are stupid; given proper motivation, almost anyone will believe almost anything."
  79. Re:Are there any original ideas in Hollywood anymo by Knara · · Score: 1

    Cindi Lou Who?

  80. "And I'll be ... the head!" by cylcyl · · Score: 1

    I want to see a real person say that!

  81. Coming in 20 Years... live action Cowboy Bebop by meanween · · Score: 1

    I'm sure in 20 years Cowboy Bebop will be a classic. Hollywood will be tapped for all original thought and create a live action version. Oddly enough, I think it would be pretty cool if done correctly.

    --
    http://www.guster.net : Mmmmm fresh Guster.
  82. SWEET!!! by SpazMoose · · Score: 1

    Now those Betacord Voltron videos (which include the very first episode) I saved from when I was a kid will be much sought after.

  83. Oh, No!!! by SpazMoose · · Score: 1

    I just had a flash of the future run through my head...Pokemon live action movie *shudders with fear*...

  84. Can't be as bad as FF: The Spirits Within by rubberbandball · · Score: 0

    Zarkon or Lotor? Any involvement of Planet Doom? Princess Allura taking over the blue lion for Sven? And the most begging question on my mind: Where will the space mice fit into the grand scheme of things?

    --
    oh marmalade.
  85. If it is true to the TV Voltron by RoboOp · · Score: 1

    Then they will spend 1/3 of the film time getting to the damn lions in those transporter tubes.

    And here is another thing that chaffs me about Voltron - one of them was parked in the middle of a volcano, submerged in lava, right? And you needed a *KEY* to turn in on - like somebody's gonna steal the damn thing. And I thought I was obsessive compulsive.

    But that's just yet another reason of the long list of why it sucked compared to Gatchaman. Which I will cover in another posting.

    --
    "First you get the Linux, then you get the power, THEN you get the women"
  86. Plenty of killing in Voltron by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 1

    Amazingly, no one is ever killed in an attack. Funny, I thought that guys head just got ripped off? Oh lookie, killer mutant frogs...good thing those are actually just little robots! :\

    Not true - I've just been watching these with my daughter. The last episode was about a girl who the antagonist convinced to be a spy/saboteur and kill the Voltron force (failed, obviously) in exchange for all of his slaves being freed (right...). Her brother agrees to be turned onto a giant 'claw-beast' by the evil witch, and attempts to kill Voltron. Along the way, the claw-beast eats a bunch of villagers running in terror, and Voltron slices him in half with his Blazing Sword.

    The girl weeps, "my brother is dead."

    (well-adjusted daughter cheers)

    --
    My God, it's Full of Source!
    OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
  87. Re:Are there any original ideas in Hollywood anymo by mink · · Score: 1

    You are evil. Your posing for some reason made me remember this show.

    --
    Well I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years doctor, and I'm happy to say I finally won out over it.
  88. Re:Are there any original ideas in Hollywood anymo by mink · · Score: 1

    I know it's not a good idea to rely on Wikipedia about things, but according to the Dr. Strangelove entry there the screenplay was based on a novel called Red Alert (also has a wikipedia entry). As far as I can tell, Red Alert and Dr. Strangelove only differ (in major plot elements) in that Dr. Strangelove was done as a comedy.

    --
    Well I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years doctor, and I'm happy to say I finally won out over it.