My first thought was "Oh no": Hollywood Live-Action Gundam

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Guyver I
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My first thought was "Oh no": Hollywood Live-Action Gundam

Post by Guyver I »

https://www.newsarama.com/40681-suit-up ... s-way.html

I can't imagine this going well, and I'm not saying that as a jaded anime fan (nah...of course not....) but more so I just don't think some things translate to live-action very well, and I personally don't think Hollywood really makes very good movies, for about the last decade or so. A few gems here and there, but not many.

And, "first live-action" Gundam film? I would say they forgot about G-Savior, but Newsarama is not known for having writers that actually read comics or watch anime or anything, a fact obvious if you read even a handful of their articles.

I guess the cameo in Ready Player One helped move it along? Who knows.
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Re: My first thought was "Oh no": Hollywood Live-Action Gundam

Post by DKop »

Word of advice: Don't let those damn Canadian hands touch the Gundam name, it's all ill say.

I wonder if they're gonna use the old script from the 80's that Lions Gate tried to do before Sunrise went NOOOOOOOOOOPE DON'T DO IT!
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Re: My first thought was "Oh no": Hollywood Live-Action Gundam

Post by usamimi »

Like most live-action adaptations of things, I always keep my expectations low: these movies are usually just made with the intent to make people seek out the original thing it's based off of, after all. They're rarely trying to appease the hardcore fans. I think it's cool they're working directly with the Japanese side of things, but yeah--I'm not "worried". This isn't gonna take away any of the Gundam anime, it'll probably just be another in a long line of lackluster adaptations. :lol:
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Re: My first thought was "Oh no": Hollywood Live-Action Gundam

Post by Drew_Sutton »

Yeah, I can't say I'm thrilled about this. Not from some perspective of 'purity of the franchise' or whatever, just that it's an adaptation that doesn't hold any interest for me.
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Re: My first thought was "Oh no": Hollywood Live-Action Gundam

Post by Char Aznable »

In theory, Gundam should be one of the more "filmable" anime titles--as opposed to something like Dragon Ball, but I'm sure Hollywood's adaptation will turn out terrible. It'll likely lack all the elements that makes so many of the Gundam entries unique, and instead turn it into some type of Bayformers abomination.

Though I genuinely wonder if this will ever get made, or will it end up like the Akira, Cowboy Bebop, Evangelion, and Robotech Hollywood adaptations that ended up in "development hell."
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Re: My first thought was "Oh no": Hollywood Live-Action Gundam

Post by _D_ »

Here's the problem though. Though many of the characters in these old anime had Japanese sounding names and the mannerisms might have been Japanese, how do you film them if the characters don't look Japanese at all? Blond hair and blue eyes doesn't really fit now does it. It sounds racist but is it? For Gundam, I can see it work. For Macross maybe. But for a lot of other series, just "no". Or would you prefer them to do like Attack on Titan...just throw away the story but put the monsters in and to hell with the fans? So, a Hollywood version might not be to your liking but would an expensive Japanese production be any better? After seeing the results of so many live adapations done by the Japanese themselves, I'd say "no". But you never can tell with that country since they will go see a movie made just like that in droves though the film might be terribly filmed and acted. But it's Japanese yeah?
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Re: My first thought was "Oh no": Hollywood Live-Action Gundam

Post by Drew_Sutton »

_D_ wrote:So, a Hollywood version might not be to your liking but would an expensive Japanese production be any better?
I mean, G SAVIOR was a joint Japanese-Canadian production and neither cinema industries are bad on their own...

Budget matters, sure, but directors and producers can make all sorts of good or bad decisions despite the presence or lack-thereof cash.

I agree with Char that there are broad generalizations of anime/manga properties that will or won't work at face value. But, I think with good staff, scripts and budgets, a good live action adaptation can be made of one of those more difficult titles.
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Re: My first thought was "Oh no": Hollywood Live-Action Gundam

Post by davemerrill »

If it ever gets made, odds are it'll be a bad movie. Most live-action adaptations of anime properties are.

My prediction: there's a 75% chance the film will never be produced. If the film is produced, there's a 75% chance it will be lousy. Odds are, I won't find myself seeing this one.
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Re: My first thought was "Oh no": Hollywood Live-Action Gundam

Post by DKop »

Drew_Sutton wrote: Tue Jul 17, 2018 7:14 pm
_D_ wrote:So, a Hollywood version might not be to your liking but would an expensive Japanese production be any better?
I mean, G SAVIOR was a joint Japanese-Canadian production and neither cinema industries are bad on their own...

Budget matters, sure, but directors and producers can make all sorts of good or bad decisions despite the presence or lack-thereof cash.

I agree with Char that there are broad generalizations of anime/manga properties that will or won't work at face value. But, I think with good staff, scripts and budgets, a good live action adaptation can be made of one of those more difficult titles.
Just about any adaptation has the ability to be 1/1 to the source material, or if it did its own thing (like G Savior) it could be a big benefit to the source that fans would enjoy. The problem is too many hands in the pot, not enough money, and it's still gotta get out there. I believe this can be a good film, but the right people need to be in it and especially the wrong ones need to stay the hell out of it. I'm all for this film if this becomes that live action film LionsGate was trying to make in the 80's, the premise of that seemed interesting. I'm gonna go with that a good amount of anime to live action made in the 90's were good films and can hold up today (Fist of the North Star, Crying Freeman and that second Guyver movie).
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Re: My first thought was "Oh no": Hollywood Live-Action Gundam

Post by Drew_Sutton »

If that Fist of the North Star movie is the one I am thinking of, I'm not sure that is what I would call a ringing endorsement (even if I'm a sucker for pro-wrestlers showing up in random flicks) but otherwise, I agree - there are a lot of variables as to whether or not the film will be good (by some criteria) and it should be judged on its own merits.
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