Dreamworks Acquires Rights for Ghost in the Shell

Anonymous GiTS fan noted a Variety story informing us that DreamWorks has acquired the rights to Ghost in the Shell and has plans to produce a "3D Live Action" version of the popular anime. This happened apparently because Spielberg is a fan. He says "'Ghost in the Shell' is one of my favorite stories ... It's a genre that has arrived, and we enthusiastically welcome it to DreamWorks." I hope they add a talking donkey.

Ambivelant about this

I don't know. On one hand, sounds like a good idea. On the other, some crappy Hollywood writer will find a way to fuck it up.

Re:Good idea? Spielberg???

I don't know if I would have called AI a sugar-fest. The best description I've heard of it was that it had all the warm characterization of a Stanley Kubrick film, coupled with the hard-nosed realism of a Spielberg flick.

Dumbed down for North America?

When I first read this, I thought "Cool!" I'm a big fan of the anime. However, with a series like Ghost in the Shell, one almost has to worry that Hollywood will take the signature wheels-within-wheels plot lines will and severely dumb them down for us "simpleton audiences" on this side of the big pond. Hopefully not; we'll have to wait and see.

Re:Dumbed down for North America?

That's because every anime is so fucking deep. Japanese cinema has about the same amount of crap produced as Hollywood and animations are no exception, I'd dare to say that it's even worse - how many ninja schoolgirls fighting alien invaders with gigantic robots while exposing their panties can we watch?

Re:Dumbed down for North America?

..how many ninja schoolgirls fighting alien invaders with gigantic robots while exposing their panties can we watch?

That's a rhetorical question, right?

sigh...

as a GitS fan, I should be excited by this, but why do i have a feeling that Hollywood will water-down, bastardize and destroy everything that makes the original great?

(and yes, i am talking about the beautiful nude scenes with the stealth suits breaking off. it was beautifully done.)

please, be faithful to the original.

Re:sigh...

as a GitS fan, I should be excited by this, but why do i have a feeling that Hollywood will water-down, bastardize and destroy everything that makes the original great?

Well established precedent?

Seriously, until recently any treatment of a comic-book or video game inspired subject was done completely badly by Hollywood. X-Men and some of the better ones seem to have done a good job by being true to the material. But, you still get some pretty badly done adaptations as the one studio decides that since another studio did well with a good comic adaptation, they should be able to get away with one too.

The problem is, sometimes the people adapting the material don't understand it, don't respect it, and don't know what to do with it. The result is something that the core fans don't like, that the people who have never heard of it can't figure out, and generally turns out to be a crappy movie.

I have no confidence whatsoever that Dreamworks can capture the feel and mood of Ghost in the Shell. I think you'll end up with some POS film adaptation which will be overly clunky and gimmicky, and it won't be able to tell a story. Some things are best left in anime since you have so much more freedom with the medium.

This all comes down to who does it -- get Bryan Singer or someone who has been able to deal with some of the Marvel stuff well, and you have a chance. Get Uwe Boll, and we're all screwed. :-P

Cheers

Spielberg, eh?

Great, now she's gonna be running around fighting baddies with... a RADIO. And they will be shooting back at her... with RADIOS.

Donkey?

"I hope they add a talking donkey."

Sorry, but I believe Hillary will be on the campaign trail for at least a little while longer.

/me ducks

Audience like me

They may not go after the anime audience, expecting them to watch weather or not it is good. If they do this right, many people will go see it. It has very deep and Matrix-like ideas (I believe Ghost came first). I am not a fan of anime, but I have seen the first Ghost In The Shell movie and enjoyed it. I watched it in a college film class on movie theater equipment. It all has to do with marketing it properly.

Re:Audience like me

It has very deep and Matrix-like ideas (I believe Ghost came first).

Just an FYI for future reference, the manga was released between 1989-1991, and the trade made it's appearence in English in 1995. The first movie (which covers a small part of the storyline in the Manga, and is VERY different in both tone and style) came out in 1995.

The Matrix, if I'm not mistaken, came out in 1999.

Finally, a definitive answer to the question

"Is there anything Hollywood won't shit on?"

So, let's see: Tom Cruise can play Batou. I know Batou is suppoed to be a big dude, and Tom Cruise is 4' 10", but I'm sure Cruise's face can easily be CGI'd onto a big, special effects body. Maybe they can also CGI in some acting ability. Jessica Simpson can play the Major. I know she's not Japanese--hell, she's a blonde--but what does that matter? We can wrap her in some tight, revealing costumes and no one will notice her from the neck up! She's made for the part! And instead of Japan, it can take place in L.A. And instead of hunting criminal, they'll hunt terrorists. Or maybe people who are mean to puppies. Or they guy who yesterday put whole milk instead of skim into Spielberg's latte.

Now, please excuse me while I got stick forks in my eyes.

Re:Not Spielburg

You'd think so, but actually Stephen Spielburg is Steven Spielberg's non-union equivalent. Sort of like Senor Spielbergo is his Mexican non-union equivalent.

You might think it odd that he would have his own non-union counterpart working at his company Dreamworks, but actually that's a typo in the summary. The actual company that bought the rights is Dreamworks' non-union equivalent, Dreemwerx.

Re:Anime.. A genre whose time has *come*??

Anime is nothing more than a legal outlet for the pent up frustrations of pedophiles.

Which is not to say that there isn't good anime out there.

Make up your mind: it's either good, bad or just another medium out there, no more prone (nor less) to being misused than any other comic (or any kind of art, actually). For some definition of misused, that is.

Re:Anime.. A genre whose time has *come*??

Anime.. a genre? What are you talking about? Anime is a medium like live action and cg. The genre Spielberg is talking about would be cyberpunk. All your bizarre opinions about the medium aside, your post is based on a flawed premise. Ghost in the Shell is closer to Blade Runner than it is to Sailor Moon.

Re:they better do naruto next

More evidence that popularity is not an indication of quality.

Re:they better do naruto next

Your wish shall be granted (at least half of it).. 8^)

A Dragon Ball movie is already on the works, set to be released in 2009.

IMDB Page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1098327/ [imdb.com]
Leaked photos: http://themovingpicture.net/new-dragonball-set-photos [themovingpicture.net]

Re:they better do naruto next

Your wish shall be granted (at least half of it).. 8^)

A Dragon Ball movie is already on the works, set to be released in 2009.

IMDB Page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1098327/ [imdb.com]
Leaked photos: http://themovingpicture.net/new-dragonball-set-photos [themovingpicture.net]

2009 backwards is 9002. Over 9000. Coincidence? I don't think so.

Re:they better do naruto next

Dragon Ball The Movie. Where they cram a 10 min ass whooping into 2 hours. Rather than the usual 2 months. Yeah, I think I can hang with that.

Re:Plot Feel

If you haven't seen the original version of the first ghost in the shell then you should find a copy of it and watch it. The SAC mini series is great; but the surreal feeling you are talking about from stand alone complex is minimal when compared to the full original movie :)

Graphic Novel

If you haven't seen the original version of the first ghost in the shell then you should find a copy of it and watch it. The SAC mini series is great; but the surreal feeling you are talking about from stand alone complex is minimal when compared to the full original movie :)

They are all good, but then again I am avid fan of Motoko. If you get the chance then I highly recommend getting the graphic novels, since not only is the artwork amazing, the stories are good and seeing all the little comments Masamune Shirow puts in really helps understand some stuff.

Re:Plot Feel

Same here... I still remember the episode that largely took place in a chat room as one of my favorites. GitS is good action, but the plot is why I watch.

Re:Plot Feel

There are three GITS movies. 2 TV series (possibly 3?) and countless Manga/books.

The movies are
Ghost in the shell
GiTS2 Innocence
GiTS Solid State Society

The TV shows are GITS SAC 1 and 2 respectively, and at least as good as the first movie when taken as a complete set.

Re:Dub GiTS2: Innocence

Happily, when they can actually release a dub with quality voice actors - as in, sometime around never.

Voice acting for big releases in Japan pays well and is a huge business - think of the star quality you get in a Disney movie.

Dubs of anime films are usually done by studios specializing in bringing as many anime films over as possible as cheap as possible, and use voice acting roughly on par with cheap children's programs.

It's like watching Star Wars with Sir Alec Guinness's award winning voice replaced by some guy just out of community college theatre, who is also doing the voice of Leia using a bad falsetto.

Combine that with the consistent problem of bad obnoxious translations ("Believe it!") and the core, unavoidable issue that different languages have entirely different pacings to them (ie, trying to fit the whole english translation of a sentence into the same amount of time as the japanese sounds ridiculously forced and unnatural) and you can see why quite a few people would really prefer subtitles. With a little practice you can read it fast enough to go watch the screen at the same time. I've noticed it's only people who have only watched one or two subbed movies in their life who seem to have problems keeping up with it -- but most of them pick it up fairly well by the end of a series.

buuuuuuullllllshit.

Mod parent troll, please. Battle Angel is a Cameron project, not a Bay project.

Which is good. With Bay we would have gotten decent pacing, top-knotch effects, good cinematography, massive continuity errors and zero rewatchability.

With Cameron, we'll get great pacing, excellent visual effects, killer cinematography.... and Celine Dion.