James Cameron's Live Action Battle Angel Alita

Dean Siren writes "Moviehole.net reports that James Cameron wants to direct a live action Battle Angel Alita movie. Cameron says, "The issue is will it be the next film, or will it be the one after the next film? That's really all there is to it at this point. We've done a tremendous amount of design for the film, we're fine-tuning the script, it's just a matter of time." As for the movie itself, "Motorball might find its way more into the second film - I definitely want to do more than one film. I want to create a world and a character that can go through at least one more film, possibly more. And that's not just for the classic financial reasons, it's just that I think there's a possibility for a real mythology here, so I feel that this is a good canvas to do something big that's got more scope." UK Anime and The Z Review are also reporting." I enjoyed the original Battle Angel Alita. It left me feeling like so much more could be done with it. It'll be interesting to see what comes of this one.

If you liked the movie...

...you'll love the manga [animenation.com].

it's book was better...

I enjoyed the original Battle Angel Alita. It left me feeling like so much more could be done with it.

A lot of people felt that way because the two part OVA you saw was only a small part of the story that sprawled across a multivolume manga [amazon.com]. If you really liked the movie and want more, definitely check out the manga. As with book to movie translations, the manga is usually better then the anime.

Lessons of History

After seeing how other animes have been brutally destroyed by the influence of the American entertainment industry, I am a little hesitant. They attempt to gear everything for the "Street Fighter" audience, and Battle Angel Alita deserves better than that... Even subtle things like dubbing takes away from anime... who has heard Rurouni Kenshin on toonami? It sounded like they hired the actors from the original Ninja Turtles. Can we expect more in live action? Or will we get another Tomb Raider?

Re:Lessons of History

Can we expect more in live action? Or will we get another Tomb Raider?

Depends on your opinion on James Cameron. Battle Angel Alita has a lot of themes that are very similar to Camerons other work, a tough female lead in the vein of Dark Angel/Aliens/T2, centered around a love story like Titanic/Abyss. And it'll need great special effects. It has such similar themes to Camerons other work I can see him doing a faithful adaptation.

Akira, on the other hand, I have no idea how they're going to pull off as a live action, so much is tied to it's setting in Neo-Tokyo and the drug use and the confusing ending, I don't see Hollywood doing that faithfully.

(and hey I mentioned this in October [slashdot.org])

I'd rather see more OVA's...

I don't think anyone could live up to Alita...
So cute and tough...and built perfectly...

I'd much rather see the rest of the series as well done animated movies. We don't need another "Fist of the Northstar" fiasco!

Will Jessica Alba be in it?

I'll watch anything with her in it. She is the ultimate in hotness. She was James Cameron's lead actress for his short-lived TV series.

A dream come true

As a film student and special effects guru-type, I can only say thank god for this. The manga is my favorite series hands-down (how many people can say they've cried at the conclusion of the Ourobouros section, where Alita and Nova face off?), and I've taken 2 years of Japanese mostly to be able to translate the rest of it that wasn't released here (look for Gunnm: Last Order on the net).
Cameron knows how to use effects well, and has enough of a reputation to command an impressive budget. He's got the kinks worked out, I think, having done the American version already (Dark Angel). With any luck, I can get on the VFX crew for the movie when it gets made...

Not Interested

He'll Americanize the crap out of it and cast some no-talent pretty girl in the lead (hell, he'll probably stick with Jessica Alba). I cannot imagine him finding a real actress with both the physicality to play Alita AND the childlike innocence that made her so easy to identify with. And then the whole movie will become a warning about how we should take better care of our environment or something.

If rich American directors and actors find Japanese anime movies they like, I'd rather they fund the creation of a new movie or a remake IN JAPAN than try to "bring it to the American audience", destroying everything that made the anime great in the process.

Sigh...

I suppose it was only a matter of time before hollywood decided to destroy Anime too...

Oh wonderful...

I quote:

There's a lot of really great things about it, and there's a lot of things - whether the artist really intended them or not - that I read into it, and so I think it'll be a good fusion of what Kashiro created and how I would do things.

"The manga is very episodic and very discordant - it's not internally consistent, meaning sometimes she looks like one thing and has one set of abilities, and at the whim of Kashiro he'll go off on a whole different tangent. It needs to be fused and focused and given a centralised storyline. But the character will be very, very true to Alita as she is in the manga.

Sure, it'll be "true" to the original character even though you want to change the storyline, the characterization and the focus. Great, another Americanised bastardization of a work that doesn't need that kind of 'improvement'.

Gunm?

Speak not of this Alita... Wherefore art thou, Gally?

Seriously, 'Alita' has already be pretty seriously corrupted by some of the same forces that mangled Macross into 'Robotech'. If Hollywood touches this, it's only going to stray further and further from the original plot and intent. Worse, it will be given a juvenile treatment and the dystopian story elements will be forgotten in favor of boobs and explosions.

I'm scared

Okay, I really enjoyed the Battle Angel Alita (aka Gunnm) manga. I could even believe that they could make a good Hollywood movie out of it. However, I'm not convinced that James Cameron is the right man to direct it. I generally don't like the way he directs female action stars. They always seem like they're trying too hard. Vasquez, in Aliens, I think is the best example I can point to. It's like he doesn't think we'll believe a woman can be bad-ass unless he "proves" it to us. Look at the Terminator movies and the transformation Sarah Conner underwent. Whereas Kyle, the hero of the first movie, could be a soldier fighting a depserate revolution, but still an otherwise normal guy, Sarah Conner was turned into a nutty, ultraviolent caricature for the second movie.

All that being said, his action movies DO still tend to be pretty good. I just think that Alita has more of a quiet confidence, rather than an in-your-face attitude, than Cameron is really used to dealing with in female action heros. I suppose on the bright side, he can probably reuse some of the costumes from Dark Angel to keep costs down :)

Better than live action akira...

I'm really looking forward to this. Not only have I read the original manga, I also have started reading the new comic that has started from it that is basically about the rebirth of Alita after visiting Mars. It's a very dynamic world that has a lot that can be played with. I also think that Jessica Alba would actually be pretty decent in the role, because she DOES have the skills as an actress, and the physical capabilites to perform like Alita, although if she were 15 it'd fit better... But, yeah, I give major props to James Cameron for picking up the idea for Alita, I've been waiting for someone to realize that there is more to this story than just the OVAs.

Dark / Battle Angel?

It's almost the same type of plot. At least we won't be seeing another crappy hack job by the so-called greats of Hollywood (Spielberg, Lucas, et al). I would not put it past him to use Jessica Alba again. She's is the basic type for the role. I would watch it even if it was an Alan Smithee production [mvdbase.com]

I thought Cameron's next movie was Galaxies!

I thought James Cameron's next movie was an adaptation of Barry Malzberg's Galaxies, as reported here [locusmag.com].

there's a new Angel series now

Battle Angel Alita: Last Order is out these days.

Compliment or insult?

Whenever I see this sort of "translation" going on for anime, I wonder why. I mean, Cameron especially has helmed (and written) some good sci-fi movies (T2, Aliens, The Abyss). Though Battle Angel/Gunm/Battle Angel Alita is probably more doable as a good sci-fi movie than say...Akira (also announced) or Dragonball Z (shudder), why does it have to be redone? It's not particularly old, and it's already a moving picture medium. Book/comic translations are different, since you essentially see the book as one person imagines it. Does having an American director redo a movie in live action somehow honor the original work(s), or rather say that the original is not good enough? I don't think so. We don't see (for instance) anime remakes of Hollywood movies for Japanese audiences. We do see American remakes of foriegn live action films though. Perhaps it's simply that American directors feel it's the only way to get the masses to see and appreciate what they consider outstanding works of fiction. In some cases, I feel it should be left as the audience's loss. There are libraries of books I haven't read, films I haven't seen, anime I haven't watched, etc. Do I need someone to go through and retranslate their favorites to more suite my taste? I don't think so. Could perhaps Cameron use his influence to instead get more anime that he likes (he has a quote on the Ghost in the Shell DVD case too, so I assume he watches it) shown more? For instance, the Cowboy Bebop movie was released not too long ago...great movie, and one that most people could enjoy. Except many didn't even get a chance to, since it didn't get a wide release. He could also helm a "director's choice" type program showcasing anime or foriegn films. After all, how many Joe Sixpacks are going to go look up the other Alita media after seeing the live action version? It's not doing much for the public's opinion of anime, or getting them to watch it, which means there will still be that library of entertainment that they won't even consider. I guess the main point is, does remaking stuff into live action show the opinion that anime is somehow a lesser format for telling a story? Or that Hollywood has a low opinion of the average viewer, figuring they just wouldn't "get it"? (which is probably somewhat accurate...there are many people that lack a certain open-mindedness when it comes to anime or non-American film). With all the great stories that could be told, why choose one that's already been shown? That being said, of course I'm curious to see what he does with it, since it *is* a great story.

Not the right director..

One of my favorite mangas.. The anime version IMO has a lot of the meat of the story pulled out. Ultimately it's this very tragic love story about charecters trying to rise above their circumstances. I have a feeling that James Cameron would turn the story into an action movie. Ridley Scott might do an okay job.. Ang Lee would do an excellent job.. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is one of the greatest films ever made IMO, and Battle Angel Alita should be made with the same sense of tragedy and loss. James Cameron is too Hollywood. One thing that Hollywood directors don't understand is charecterization in fight scenes, which is very important in anime/manga.

Ooh, will Harold Ramis be in it?

Although Ido wouldn't've taken half the shit that Spengler took from Venkman...

Seriously, though... this could be good, barring some sort of greedy bastardization (unfortunately a distinct likelihood with Hollywood, never mind the fact that it's Cameron). The only problem I really see with it is the ending, since Americans are not usually all that keen on action movies that end sort of as a downer. No pun intended, really, for those of you who've seen it.

On the other hand, can you imagine the eye-candy and gore-value?

Cameron interview

There's an interview with James Cameron in today's Sunday Times Culture Section over here in Ireland. Here's a quote about what his next feature will be:

[He] is prepping his eighth feature film, which he hopes to shoot next year. All he will reveal is that it will be shot in 3-D, with "action and visual effects". He denies it will be a live-action/computer-generated adaptation of the Japanese animé film Battle Angel Alita, thought that's "in the queue", along with numerous other ideas.

So it looks like Battle Angel Alita won't be his next project after all.

"Development"

"I like that, that the development of her mind actually affects her physicality."

So the more she learns, the more she gets back problems. Great.

Please do better than the crap anime

That anime was utter crap.

PLEASE! Focus on the story from the manga and its themes, its a much more engaging and sensible story.

Hotdog! Get yer Hotdog here!

I'd just like to remind everyone that you can read the complete original article in Hotdog magazine, from the UK but available all around the world.

Again, that magazine name is HOTDOG. Hotdog, the movie magazine.

And why am I plugging Hotdog? Because I edit it, and I wrote the article, and I got to interview James fuckin' Cameron! Woohoo! (Got a load of cool stuff about the making of Aliens that didn't go into the article, as well - but that's for a future issue of Hotdog, the movie magazine.)

Ghosts Of The Abyss is pretty damn awesome, as well. If it's on at your local-ish Imax, see it.

Oh, and buy Hotdog, the movie magazine. HOTDOG! :p

So it begins...

It is no secret that many high profile directors have been keeping a close eye on anime (Spielberg was one of the first). It seems that Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi's Oscar has opened the floodgates to the medium.

Normally this would be a superb event but, historically, foreign film makers have often misunderstood and misconstrued the medium. Producing subpar renditions of excellent series (G Saviour anyone).

Overall, my buttocks are firmly in "clench mode" for this one.

Anime does best as anime.

Just because a work of art is great in one medium doesn't mean that it will be great in another. Yes, you will often see manga to anime and visa versa, but other than that conversion... most other conversions are a waist of time.

Making a live action version of an anime will not improve it. Live action is not better than anime. It is different.

Off Topic: Recommended Anime: "Hikaru no Go"

It is not part of western culture, so you have to make anime recommendations whenever possible. There is one anime series that I was introduced to and loved. Hearing a description of what the show is about will turn most off, so I won't try to describe much about the show, except:

1. There is no violence, gore, sex, or robots.

2. On the surface, it is about professional gaming. Though the game played is 4000 years old.

3. Underneath the surface, the show is about a person that starts out as a loser and has no passion in life... is serious about nothing, but then finds his calling.

What makes "Hikaru no Go" such a good anime? Character development! You get attached to the characters. You relate with some and hate others. Sure all stories have that, but Hikaru no Go is different somehow...

My recommendation, even to those who "know they won't like it", is to just download and watch the first 5 episodes, which are masterfully fan subtitled and available using BitTorrent from AnimeTorrents [animetorrents.com]. It should take one night to download the first 5 episodes, which are very high quality xvid files.

I thought that I would either hate or not enjoy Hikaru no Go, but I took the challenge and downloaded and watched the first 5 episodes. I must say that it is the best anime I have seen since Cowboy Bebop. Yet it is nothing like Cowboy Bebop.

His next film will be in 3D...

James Cameron was on the BBC (Blue Peter) this weekend and said that his next film will be in 3D, using the three-dimentional camera systems he's helped develop for the Titanic documentary he's just done. And when asked by the presenter what KIND of movie, said Cameron "It'll be Sci-Fi". And that's all he'd say...

Re:He better not screw this one up

Well, I haven't (fortunately) seen Tomb Raider, but I remember that originally, it was supposed to have Sandra Bullock as Lara Croft, and she was supposed to play this doubleplusgood adventurer who donates all the loot to an orphanage... Angelina Jolie told them to stuff themselves with this script.

Re:Four words: Who. The. Fuck. Cares.

Are you ignorant, or just an idiot? Have you ever been to any anime societies? They're FILLED with women! Women who are dying to get some because they don't have any better idea how to be social than you seem to. Just say something like "I thought Ruroni Kenshin was the most beautiful anime ever!" and they'll be all over you like a shirt.

Dude, anime = chicks, totally.

Re:The best anime movie

The Blue... What?
Cat?
Wig?
Chair?
Room?
Door?
Car?
Bic icle?

Re:If memory serves.

I only know of 2 Zeram films. They both were made long before Iria: Zeram the Animation came out.