70 COMMENTS
Live Action Cowboy Bebop movie +
A live action version of Cowboy Bebop is in the works by FOX. Truthfully, I’m more concerned with this movie being good than with Dragonball, which is also being developed by FOX.
Erwin Stoff is the director. He is best known for his work on The Matrix, and A Scanner Darkly. So while I don’t doubt he can deliver, staying true to the anime from Sunrise is going to be the greatest concern. Upon meeting with Stoff, the parties involved quickly brought up his experience with A Scanner Darkly, and how he stayed extremely faithful to the original work by Philip K. Dick.
Cowboy Bebop ranks in the top 3 of my favorite anime of all time. Galaxy Express 999 and Boogiepop Phantom sit there as well. So for now, this is reassurance that he won’t wreck one of my favorite anime of all time.
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July 23rd, 2008 at 7:42 am
LAME!!! I will never watch this.
July 23rd, 2008 at 8:36 am
I don’t see it that way… initially that is. In order for anime to become accepted by mainstream (which has its pros and cons) stuff like this needs to take place. Honestly, I can’t really think of a better way to introduce anime to people that normally wouldn’t have anything to do with it.
But I also think that by making these adaptations, there is a big chance of loosing the artist/writers original feel in order to appeal to a larger market. I don’t agree with that. The speed racer movie is a perfect example of that.
Why should anime go mainstream? We have seen anime companies stateside in trouble long before this “recession” in America started taking place. It’s partly due to them not adapting with the times, but its also because anime doesn’t have the mainstream appeal it does in Japan.
Thats why, whenever I can, i choose to support the companies behind such projects. I watch Nana via Netflix even though I’m sure I can find it via Bittorrent or some other site. Doing it legally allows the companies to be able to continue to bring movies like Nana to an English speaking audience.
July 23rd, 2008 at 10:19 am
I’m skeptical, but this probably has the best chance of being successful compared to almost any other Anime series. I know a lot of people who don’t really like Anime, but love Cowboy Bebop. The show already has a broad appeal because the characters, situations, and setting (aside from being in the future) are not entirely foreign to the West. That being said, I don’t imagine the movie-goer who likes this Cowboy Bebop movie will necessarily be interested in what else Anime has to offer.
The principle characters, for instance, don’t have foreign-sounding names like Goku, Keitaro, Sakura, and so forth. They have Western-sounding names like Spike Spiegel, Jett Black, Faye Valentive, Edward, and Julia. Some minor characters have exotic names, but considering that the Cowboy Bebop universe is a giant melting-pot, it’s not a huge issue.
Likewise, the underlying elements of the Anime, which combine science fiction with film noir, are also not “out-there” for Western audiences. For a live-action movie, the only thing that may need toning down is the comedy, which sometimes has that Japanese sensibility. But even then, I don’t remember that being a huge issue overall.
Having watched the entire series again this last month, I worry most about the story. The director can say that he’ll be faithful to the source, but there’s too much Cowboy Bebop material. Each episode is self-contained, while also adding to a larger story concluding in the final two episodes. What will his approach be? Unless this is planned to span multiple movies, I just don’t see it working out well.
I’m definitely interested, but color me pensively-realistic.
July 23rd, 2008 at 10:34 am
Well put. I have to agree that Cowboy Bebop isn’t necessarily the “traditional” anime. I think Cowboy Bebop was the first time I gave Jazz / Acid Jazz a chance. I’m usually not one for purchasing anime soundtracks, but I had to buy that one, and it’s still in my car even today.
But like introducing anything to the mainstream, you have to start slow. Cowboy Bebop may have been a good choice for the reasons you stated Jeff. Maybe if the media chooses to remind audiences that this was a story based upon an anime, it will make people think twice about anime. We need a few good titles to do well at the box office.
Leonardo Dicaprio is working on Akira at the moment I believe. I’m a bit scared for that… even though Dicaprio is a good actor. Iconic movies like Akira and Speed Racer are pivotal for anime to crossover. And right now, we are 0 for 1.
July 23rd, 2008 at 3:15 pm
wow, this should prove interesting.
July 23rd, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Its going to be either a huge flop or a big success kind of thing. I liked the anime back then and now I think its great that something new from the series is coming. I just hope its decent.
July 23rd, 2008 at 11:08 pm
Heh, I really think we need to do an email discussion and post it on our respective blogs. I have more thoughts and I want to continue this interesting line of discussion with you, but comments just don’t seem like the right place to do it.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
damn all this live action anime movies
August 2nd, 2008 at 2:45 pm
[...] question popped into my head upon reading some of the comments on the Cowboy Bebop movie thread, and more recently I was reminded about it a comment on my Shoko Nakagawa post earlier [...]
September 5th, 2008 at 7:00 am
Is this really necassary. Making a work of art like anime live action seems kind of pointless. The animated movie was awesome.
October 18th, 2008 at 1:31 am
NINJA SCROLL GOING TO LIVE ACTION.
Threshold Entertainment (Mortal Kombat) will produce the live action adaptation of the 1993 anime movie Ninja Scroll from studio Madhouse.
Producer Larry Kasanoff will produce and helm the project alone with other Threshold’s Joshua Wexler,Alison Savitch and George Johnsen and Sean Catherine Derek will write the script asthe story will be different to the anime.
Christopher Faloona will do the director of photography while John medlen and Christopher Leps work on the stunts,Jonathan Carlson will work as the production designer and Jonathan Sloate and Ben Watkins to work as music scorers.
The cast for the Ninja Scroll will have some Asian American actors to star in the film some Playboy models would star in the film and the visual effects will be done by Threshold Digital Research Labs.
Thank You.
BRUCE ACOSTA
AUSTRALIA.
June 17th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
At first i was really freaked out about the idea of neo playing spike, but then i went and re watched the series.
The dialog isn’t really what drives the story of cowboy bebop, it is the music that sets the scene. As long as they can pull that off, and not have some cruddy emo band on the soundtrack, then I will be happy.
September 10th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
SPIKE WAS MODELED AFTER BRUCE LEE = HES ASIAN “NOT WHITE!!!!!!”
WHY ARE THEY TAKING AWAY ALL THE GOOD ROLLS FROM ASIAN ACTORS AND GIVING THEM TO WHITES EVEN WHEN ALL THE PLAYERS ARE OBVIOUSLY JAPANESE I MEAN THERES BLACKS AND LATINOS AND EVEN HINDI/IDIAN PEOPLES TOO AND YES WHITES ASWELL IN COWBOY BEE BOP BUT SPIKE AND EVERYONE ELSE IS OBVIOUSLY ASIAN!!!! THE CAST OF COWBOY BEEBOP SHOULD BE ALL ASIAN!!!!!!!
HOLD UP THEY ARE ALL ASIAN NOT WHITE FUK BIRD SHIT! WHITE PEOPLE ALWAYS FUK EVERYTHING UP!
SPIKE IS ASIAN! NOT SOME STUCK IN DA MATRIX HOMOFUK THAT CANT ACT EVEN OTHER ACTORS SAY HE CANT ACT WTF IS THIS IM NOT GOING TO SEE THIS NO MATTER HOW MUCH MONEY THEY PUY IN IT ITS JUST WRONG TO SELL SPIKE OFF AS A WHITE WWHEN THIS IS A FUCKING JAPANESE ANIME CARTOON!!!!!!!
FYE IS ASIAN!
VICIOUS IS ASIAN!
THIS IS ANIME AS IN JAPANESE NOT CRACKERLAND TRAILER PARK VILL
I LOVE ANIME BECAUSE THERE ARE NO ANGLOS!
I LOVE ASIAN CINEMA BECAUSE THERE ARE NO CRACKERS IN THAT SHIT! S
SPIKE IS ASIAN HIS CARTEL EX-ENFORCER CLAN IS THE DRAGON CLAN AKA JAPANESE YAKUZA YOU FUKN LAMES! ASIAN NOT KIBLER ELF!SPIKE TAKES AFTER BRUCE LEE THATS WHO THEY MODELED AFTER!
September 4th, 2010 at 1:41 pm
Spike wasnt Asian. He was a Martian. Im guessing your not white and thats why your complaining. Reeves can act you just dont know what your talking about. Does Spike look like Bruce Lee to you?