Spielberg and Ghost in the Shell

[azalie]

Don't know if this has been posted but I thought I'd post an update.

It was first announced almost two years ago that Steven Spielberg would be developing a new live-action adaptation of the beloved manga Ghost in the Shell. Since then we've heard bits and pieces regarding the project, but they still haven't really progressed past the development stage on it. We also learned last October that Shutter Island writer (and Avatar executive producer) Laeta Kalogridis would be writing the script for Spielberg. While out promoting the release of Shutter Island, both MoviesOnline and Screen Rant (via Anime News Network) caught up with Kalogridis and asked her about the latest on the adaptation.

The first, and arguably the most important, question Kalogridis is asked is whether she's adapting from the 1989 manga written by Masamune Shirow or the 1995 anime directed by Mamoru Oshii. Here's her answer:

"Ghost in the Shell was originally the manga. The anime came from the original graphic novel and then — and that anime, as you know, is a relatively famous, groundbreaking piece of material — also generated two seasons of an animated television show as well. And this is an adaptation of the original manga, the original comic book that sort of began everything."

When Screen Rant caught up with Kalogridis, they tried to get "a few answers on some key points I know you Ghost in the Shell fans have been wondering about." That question was, essentially, the same as above, regarding whether they'd be adapting from the manga or anime - her answer was the same (the manga). But she also added that it has "a lot of action… lots of action." That's certainly expected, but always good to hear. She also said, "there's still going to be a lot of atmosphere – [the movie] is about vast possibilities – all of this technology, the internet – it's about the limitless possibilities of this technology." Sounds perfect.

I'm sure our next update on Ghost in the Shell won't be for a while, as Kalogridis has to turn in her script, then Spielberg and DreamWorks will review it, and who knows when it'll ever see the light of day again. I'm excited to see this new live-action anime/manga craze kick off in Hollywood, but right now none of the projects have been given a greenlight. For now it seems like Ghost in the Shell is in the right hands - at least it sounds like Kalogridis is crafting a worthy adaptation of Masamune Shirow's manga. Do you agree?

Source

Thoughts? I'm a skeptic to most live actions but a quality team + quality concept sounds pretty good. And since Leonardo Dicaprio's Akira movie seems to be at a dead end, I think this'll be the next project to keep an eye out for.

[lethargic]

Heh...

I didn't know about Leonardo Dicaprio and Akira.

I do know that there's a Cowboy Bebop movie in the works with Keanu Reeves as Spike Spiegel. Also, there's been talk for several years about doing a live-action remake of Evangelion.

I'm not too sure about Ghost in the Shell. It certainly has potential with Spielberg at the helm, but it's probably going to be very different from the Ghost in the Shell that we all know and love. I'm not too sure if that will be a good or a bad thing, but I'm certainly interested.

The manga, movies, and series are all very different from each other. I would kinda hope that any live-action version would be closely related to Standalone Complex.

[The Risen Ghost of Hitler]

Spielberg is also working on the Halo movie too apparently.

[azalie]

Peter Jackson and Neill Blomkamp wanted to make a Halo movie but their studio wouldn't fund them so they ended up making District 9.

[Toothlessjoe]

I imagine, like said above, it will be very different from the manga we all love. Generally Hollywood just takes the name of something like this, throws in vague similaraties (artistic design sometimes, a few nods to the source material, maybe some names) and completely rapes it to suit a modern cinematic audience. Which I've never understood because you'd think their target market would be the hardcore fans.

Film adaptations of cult material are usually never accurate because that would alienate the average moviegoer.

Expect this to look like I-Robot - a film based upon a book, lots of effects and lots of high end action scenes to distract from the fact it lacks substanence.

[lethargic]

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment...ghes_bros.html

Looks like the Akira movie is still a go.

Apparently, they're going to compress the manga into two movies. Whether or not it will be set in Neo Tokyo or Neo New York is still a matter of speculation.