Topic: ADV + Gainax + WETA Visual Effects + $$$$ = Live Action Evangelion Film

[DrForester]

This Is NOT a joke.

http://www.advfilms.com/news/index.asp?c=&p=920&i=921

Ginax (The creators of Evangelion), ADV films (Released Evangelion TV in North America), and WETA visual Effects (Lord of the Rings) have anoucned plans to create a live action film based off Neon Genisis Evangelion, arguably the most influential and still most talked abotu anime series ever created. While no date has been set, it was anoucned that production woudl be agressive, but they are still only in the most early of production.

Few big questions remained unanswered that hopefully will be answered soon.

Will they use a Japanese or American cast?

Will the story be a remake of the current story? Alternate presentation? Remake of End of Eva?  Sequel to End of Eva?

[Syl]

 /me cries.

[Infernal Monkey]

Yeah, I heard rumors about this a while back. James Cameron had expressed interest in directing it. Or something -_-
I do NOT want this to go ahead. I shudder of the thought.

It'd be hilarious if they tried to recreate End of Evangelion in live action form, so hilarious I'd go "HAHAHA!" and walk right out of the cinema.

[Termin8Anakin]

holy crap. I was just thinking about this.
i think it would suck though. i can imagine the live action part (really cool CG animated EVAs), but the acting would suck.
I mean, who can replace Shinji's cries of frustration in that cracking voice of his?
And what about Misato, Asuka, Rei, Gendo, Ritsko?
The characters may be the same, but I can't imagine them with any other voice except for the likes of Spike Spencer and all the others.
Asuka and Misato are just too sexy to be replaced.
And how the hell can you have a live actor with purple hair?

EDIT: I think it would be similar to The MAtrix, since The Matrix was created through the ideas of Anime (especially Ghost in the Shell). I mean, the "Last" episode of Evangelion was about how the whole Second Impact was a figment of Shinji's imagination, his dream of what the future would be like. There's too many psychological imbalances and mental breakdowns to make it a "Hollywood" film. The onlyway it would work then, was if they either only made the first few epsodes, or toned down the mental breakdowns of Asuka, etc.

[DrForester]

overall, i am not too fearful of this project.

Gainax is involved (which means Anno is probably involved) as well as ADV, they didn't contract or sell the rights to someone, the creators and other people with intimate knowledge of the series are involved, and I have no doubt weta can pull off the Eva units.

[Termin8Anakin]

Yeah i know that. I'm not worried about that. I'm just worried that it would just not be really Shinji, Asuka, Rei, etc, because I know them from the way they sound and how the voice actors made them that way. Unless you could get an actor who looks like Shinji, then dub his voice over with Spike's, well, then it would be a little weird. To me anyway.

Anyway, I gotta go. I have a class now.

EDIT, by the way, would Spike Spencer sound teh same now as he did back during Evangelion?
He did the voice of Mackey in Bubblegum Crisis, and he still sounds the same. Was BGC a recent series - for the west anyway? And when was the dubbing done for Evangelion?

[PIAC]

1996 i think, perhaps a bit earlier

this whole idea has me somewhat excited but mostly doubtfull, i have no doubts weta could create some awsome EVA visuals, angel visiuals for that matter, but its the storyline and characters i doubt they could recreate in real life, and im not even sure i want them to prove me wrong, i love the neon genesis series (the music is awsome check out http://www.geocities.com/clan_fanforced/piacsplaylist.html <-- lots of neon genesis mp3s there) but i love it cause its animated aswell, real life would make it seem too... real? i cant really picture it

but then im not a director am i sure some anime movies/series they could do real life copies of, but neon genesis i dunno... akira is another one that i think would be butchered by life (especially the end scenes, damn giant blob thing)

ahhwell, it will be interesting to see how this pans out, all i hope is that this wont recreate interest in neon genesis and make people buy all the box dvd sets before i have the money to

[DrZoidberg]

GOOBLAH DIRECT HATE TOWARDS NEON GENESIS BASTARDISATION

no doubt tremin9 will be along shortly to back up my rants of doom, THEY HAVE DESTROYED TEH CHARACTERS AND TOKYO3!    

[Ocarina Blue]

I'm not a huge fan of the series; it's screening time here makes it difficult for me to view more tan a few fragmented episodes. Therfore I'm by no means an expert on the series, but for the life of me, CHANGE THOSE CURSED CHARACTER DESIGNS. The eva's are (through my untrained heathen eyes) forgivable, and maybe Tokyo 3 as well; but Weta will invoke a scourge of righteous fury from all corners of the earth, a plane on which all geeks are comrades; incurring all sorts of DOS atacks, e-mail spams and all maner of cracks unto their system. If only that guy from Valve was their system administrator...

[Termin8Anakin]

Too right DrZoidberg......
I first heard the news over at IGNFilmforce, then clicked the link Zoidberg provides just above there..........and cried.

I'm not doubting WETA's CG effects, cause I'm sure they will be brilliant, but good god, those name changes! The western faces on the characters!
For your enjoyment ;______;, these are the name changes so far:
- Rei Ayanami: Ray
- Asuka Langley Sohru: Kate Rose
- Misato Katsuragi: Susan Whitnall

Whats more, the art of 'Kate Rose' makes her look like a 50 year old whore instead of a perky, cute, redhead teenager.
Tokyo-3 looks OK, but it looks too big, and more like a cross between New York in The 5th Element and Coruscant in Star Wars.
The Evas look good, even with the slight changes in Unit 00.

Perhaps the WORST news to come out of the Evangelion movie rumour mill thus far is that:

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe is rumoured to play the part of the Third Child; 14 year old Shinji Ikari

If that is the case, then I am sure that Radcliffe is going to ask that his fellow Potter co-star, Emma Watson, the fiesty redhead Hermione, play Asuka....or Kate Rose (shudders). I think this will be the scariest anime/comic remake ever attempted by Hollywood (and Gainax, since they are probably trying to scam up some more doe into their Swiss Bank accounts).

Now, I am not a 'true' evangelion fan, as DrForrester can support when i mention the Evangelion thread I made a year ago now, but I am a fan nonetheless, and so far for the movie, it's pretty scary.

I can only wonder how fans will react when art comes out for the live action adaption of DragonBall Z.
Supa-spiked hair in real life?
That's a no-go zone.
It looks scary when fans dress up, I don't think it's gonna look any better when the make-up dept. come in.

We'll just have to wait and see, as this movie IS coming out.........  

[KDR_11k]

The signs are appearing... The world is really going to end.

[Bill Aurion]

There's no way you can get the right look when you transfer over from anime to live-screen, and that's why they should just leave it be...

Just another innocent cow led off for slaughter...*sigh*

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

When it comes out in theaters, gather a crack team of covert operators (us forum visitors), steal ALL the film reels from the theaters, and replace them with the fantastic feature film, "Mortal Kombat: Annihalation."  

[Infernal Monkey]

Another thing, the movie most likely will lack any of the edgy distorted religion the series was based on. C'mon, it's Hollywood. "OH NO THAT WOULD CAUSE DRAMA!"

... Or maybe they're trying to go for a horror effect. That concept art of "Kate" has scared me more than Fatal Frame, The Ring and Silent Hill combined.  

[ThePerm]

lol..i watched a live action sailor moon tv show.....

[DrForester]

Well First off.....

No script has been done,

As it turns out WETA (As of now) is ony coing the concept work, they are not confirmed to be doign the FX as was thought origionally.  

Becasue this is all pre-production stuff, we can't take any of the names seriously, as a final product.  Also can't take the characters seriously, as they are only concepting the costumes, not the characters.  

Second, rumor about Radclif playing Shinji.  Rumor came a week or two after the first anouncement of this project.  No script or anything yet, I doubt they are looking at actors yet.  

New info about this project has revealed a lot more, mainly how early in production this movie is.  They don't have a final script.  Anno probably will have no involvement (And dispite my earlier comments in May, I am now happy about it.  He'd probably throw a hissy fit halfway through production and walk out).  They don't have a FX studio yet.  They don't have a director.  They Don't have a cast.  This movie is in the earliest of pre-production.  more has been said about this movie than probably any movie from hollywood by this point in production (Except star wars).  

[RABicle]

Quote
Whats more, the art of 'Kate Rose' makes her look like a 50 year old whore instead of a perky, cute, redhead teenager.

She might look 50 in their drawing but remeber, this is live action so they will probably get a perky cute 19 year old with dyed red hair. Aslo at least the name Kate Rose is slightly more, German than Asuka. Mabye Kate Langley would've been better.

I am still silently hoping that this film will turn out to be allright, and I'll definatly go and see it. But if Daniel Radcliffe is Shinji we should abandon all hope. Shinji was annoying enough, we dont need an annoying actor to play him too. I think they could at least get Japanese or Asian people living in America as actors to play the roles. I mean it is set in Japan, unless Tokyo-3 was apparently built in a subterraian opening they happend to find under New York. Although... Emma Watson wouldn't be a bad Asuka IMO
Speaking of Potter and his ilk whatever happend to the third movie??  

[Termin8Anakin]

Prisoner of Azkaban comes out in June this year.
Haven't you seen ANY of the teaser stands in cinemas, or any of the trailers (there's only one so far)?

I know it's all in VERY EARLY pre-production, but i kind of don't like the direction they're taking thus far.
And Rab is right.
It's set in Japan, an asian cast would be good.
I nominate me as Shinji, so I can get snug with Asuka, Rei and Misato
And perhaps even Emma Watson, should she be Asuka
She is soooo gonna be bloody hot when she's a bit older.

But no Radcliffe.
NO RADCLIFFE.

The movie is prolly gonna be more action-huge-robots-stuff than religious references and freaky images of insanity.
It's probably gonna end in a happy we-saved-the-world thing too.
Which would be good, cause I was frankly confused and disturbed by the way they shose to end the series.

[Oldskool]

Funny, a Japanese anime is being made into a Hollywood movie with a New Zealand SFX studio doing the SFX!

[RABicle]

Quote
She is soooo gonna be bloody hot when she's a bit older.

She already is.

[Termin8Anakin]

I know she is
She's gonna be even more in a few years