Live Action Cowboy Bebop in the works

[TheSnowStorm]

Hay guys, this can't possibly go wrong.

Look how well the Dead or Alive movie did!

One of the best, undderatted movie of all time. It deverses a few Adacamey Awards. DOA put Mortal Kombat to shame.

As long as it stays faithful to the original series, I don't give a damn and even if it didn't or ruined the series, I'll be a bit upset but I wouldn't be a butthurt fanboy about it.

[BooDidley7]

I have absolutely no faith in the Cowboy Bebop movie conversion out of default. Same to all the others.

If all the rumors pan out to be true, 2009 is going to be the year of the nerds in the movies.

Akira, AstroBoy, Star Trek, Castlevania, Cowboy Bebop, Escape from New York, Goonies 2, Prince of Persia, X-men, etc etc.

At least one or two of them should be noteworthy, playing by the sheer number of them.

I think between Iron Man and the Dark Knight, we've definitely been spoiled this year. Both pics had 3 key elements: 1) Directors and scripts committed to faithfully bringing source material to the big screen, while making intelligent and agreeable tweaks where necessary. 2) Apparent full co-operation from studios when it came to appropriate budgeting and production values. 3) Arguably perfect (or close to perfect) casting of actors and performances that did justice to their roles.

Of films projected to come out next year, I highly doubt we'll see this combination in just about all of them. Star Trek probably has the best chance of being worthwhile, but the rest will likely be unnecessary (Escape from NY, Akira, Bebop) or an embarrassment (Castlevania, DBZ, maybe Wolverine, definitely G.I. Joe and TF2).

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

I don't think Cowboy Bebop would need that huge of a budget as compared to Iron Man, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't have one period.

The thing about Bebop though is that there really isn't that much continuity in the series save for around 6 episodes or so, so in that regard, they can't really mess up. That being said I'd hope that it wouldn't end up as an hour and a half long episode like Knockin' On Heaven's Door was.

And as for casting Edd and Faye? Well it could always be a prequel about Spike, Vicious, Julia, and their involvement with the Syndicate.

I dunno. I guess I've always thought that movies based off videogames/anime could really work given the proper effort, but so many directors and producers just see it as a way to cash in.

[Elex Synn]

And as for casting Edd and Faye? Well it could always be a prequel about Spike, Vicious, Julia, and their involvement with the Syndicate.

Personally this is the angle I'd most expect to see.

[audio fidelity]

Personally this is the angle I'd most expect to see.

naw, the best parts are the bounties with all the humor infused. the syndicate definetely gives the show depth, but hopefully this isn't the case. movies about syndicates are a dime a dozen, but movies about space bounty hunters that listen to great music...now thats dif.

[RedTigrr]

If they get Yoko and the Seatbelts to do the music for the movie, then that might be a saving grace... but not much.

[Lotd2242]

Though I know it's going to be a mountain of suck, Dragonball I get. After all, who doesn't want to see a live-action Kamehameha?

But Bebop? There's just no point to it.

[Brushfire]

I think Bebop could at least be believable enough to see on the big screen.

[Strike911]

Of all these cartoons/animes being converted to movies Cowboy Bebop has the most potential to be good. Things like DragonBall that are overtly TRYING to be over the top have always been terrible in live-action movies (with a few exceptions). Cowboy Bebop has enough going for it that it could succeed IF AND ONLY IF they keep the style intact and don't start reinterpreting the source material.... everything has to be as close to the show as possible...

...otherwise, fail.

I'll definitely keep my eyes open for further developments.

[Wiesty]

oh my wow. Arguably the best Anime series ever made, brought back to life, i love it.

[Bleck]

I will kill every person on the planet before I let this happen

[DJMetal]

I will kill every person on the planet before I let this happen

I'm with Bleck. I will cry bitter tears of regret, then commit a solid genocide. Seriously, why would they do this? And yes, I know, for money...BUT WHY!?

*Fanboy RAGE*

[Airwalker]

Live action anime? I hate to be a purist, but I don't see it working. I can only hope that I come back after it comes out and say "Okay, I was closed minded. They can pull this off very well. I underestimated them." But I have a hunch I won't need to say that.

[Sam I Am]

I'm more than a bit baffled as to why they would decide to do this now? I mean, the series ended its run in Japan back in '99. I guess the fairly recent mainstream attention the series has gotten in the US would warrant it, but still...

[I-n-j-i-n]

I think between Iron Man and the Dark Knight, we've definitely been spoiled this year. Both pics had 3 key elements: 1) Directors and scripts committed to faithfully bringing source material to the big screen, while making intelligent and agreeable tweaks where necessary. 2) Apparent full co-operation from studios when it came to appropriate budgeting and production values. 3) Arguably perfect (or close to perfect) casting of actors and performances that did justice to their roles.

Of films projected to come out next year, I highly doubt we'll see this combination in just about all of them. Star Trek probably has the best chance of being worthwhile, but the rest will likely be unnecessary (Escape from NY, Akira, Bebop) or an embarrassment (Castlevania, DBZ, maybe Wolverine, definitely G.I. Joe and TF2).

I would argue that Iron Man was badly miscast but Robert Downey Jr saved the ENTIRE film singlehandedly. To me, the Dark Knight wasn't cast as well as even some of the older Batman movies (Sorry, but Michael Caine was way too bossy as Alfred. Michael Gough is the best Alfred, period), Bale was alright and the rest were between pretty good to horrendously bad (Maggie gyllenhaal should be shot. One of the worst female romantic interests I've ever seen in any movie). But the thing was that the production and the vision of the creator was really good.

Some of the movies does have pretty high credentials attached like maybe Akira. I mean what the heck is Leonardo DiCaprio doing with the project? If he has a lot of serious respect for the source material, it might be okay. And there's something like Battle Angel (based on Battle Angel Alita) by James Cameron. And with such obscure comic/manga material they're basing off, I think the big-company support is there if they can even plan hard in making them. It's not like with Evangelion or Halo movie where their status is totally in the air, so a lot of them really could see a 2009 release.

I am seriously hoping for a surprise mega-hit like with Transformers (which nobody thought it'd be any good) in GI Joe. They still haven't revealed whether it'd be a serious movie or a campy one. A lot of the projects can go either way, and almost all of them does have some star actors, directors or producers starring in them. I'll leave it up to luck that maybe four or five of the 20 or so geek-films will be good.

[Bleck]

the rest were between pretty good to horrendously bad

pretty sure heath ledger was nothing short of amazing

[I-n-j-i-n]

Yes, obviously. I really have no idea how even the returning actors for Lost Boys 2 and Goonies 2 would do. Aren't some of them Oscar-calibur actors now?

[Tricklozen]

Casting:

Here's Spike

Anyway. As long as they manage to keep the nonchalant feel of the series, I'll be happy. The rest is about bounty hunters + space + action + comedy + great music (Kanno, or maybe THE THRILL (Blue Submarine No. 6)).

[Airwalker]

I'm more than a bit baffled as to why they would decide to do this now? I mean, the series ended its run in Japan back in '99. I guess the fairly recent mainstream attention the series has gotten in the US would warrant it, but still...

In the same light, why did they make a Speed Racer movie just now? That series was long over for a while.

[The Phalanx]

Casting:

Here's Spike

Sorry dude, we need to get a time machine and get a young Bob Dylan.

[Tricklozen]

Sorry dude, we need to get a time machine and get a young Bob Dylan.

I couldn't agree more, however, the whole time machine idea killed it for me.

How about slapping an afro on Jon Stewart? No..--Pauly Shore could let his hair grow.--Weird Al is out of the picture for so many reasons.

More plz. Do the work of the casting agency.

[Nohbody]

ehh, still havent seen this series, searching on veoh or youtube(HATE!) yields only a clusterf*** of annoying amvs and spanish/german/dutch translations.

Buying the series will be shame-inducing but from what Ive seen, its worth it.

[Tenucha]

as a fan and a Spike cosplayer...

I am intrigued and hopeful.

I did enjoy Speed Racer... it'll be odd to see an American adaptation of Cowboy Bebop... I wonder how the story would play out in the series...

I have absolutely no faith in the Cowboy Bebop movie conversion out of default. Same to all the others.

If all the rumors pan out to be true, 2009 is going to be the year of the nerds in the movies.

Akira, AstroBoy, Star Trek, Castlevania, Cowboy Bebop, Escape from New York, Goonies 2, Prince of Persia, X-men, etc etc.

At least one or two of them should be noteworthy, playing by the sheer number of them.

There's another X-men?! Augh... or are ou refering to the Wolverine spinoff?

[Olarin]

Originally Posted by Tricklozen: How about slapping an afro on Jon Stewart?

For some reason I initially read this as Patrick Stewart instead of Jon Stewart.

[BooDidley7]

I would argue that Iron Man was badly miscast but Robert Downey Jr saved the ENTIRE film singlehandedly. To me, the Dark Knight wasn't cast as well as even some of the older Batman movies (Sorry, but Michael Caine was way too bossy as Alfred. Michael Gough is the best Alfred, period), Bale was alright and the rest were between pretty good to horrendously bad (Maggie gyllenhaal should be shot. One of the worst female romantic interests I've ever seen in any movie). But the thing was that the production and the vision of the creator was really good.

Some of the movies does have pretty high credentials attached like maybe Akira. I mean what the heck is Leonardo DiCaprio doing with the project? If he has a lot of serious respect for the source material, it might be okay. And there's something like Battle Angel (based on Battle Angel Alita) by James Cameron. And with such obscure comic/manga material they're basing off, I think the big-company support is there if they can even plan hard in making them. It's not like with Evangelion or Halo movie where their status is totally in the air, so a lot of them really could see a 2009 release.

I am seriously hoping for a surprise mega-hit like with Transformers (which nobody thought it'd be any good) in GI Joe. They still haven't revealed whether it'd be a serious movie or a campy one. A lot of the projects can go either way, and almost all of them does have some star actors, directors or producers starring in them. I'll leave it up to luck that maybe four or five of the 20 or so geek-films will be good.

I really feel the only weak link at all in the Batman cast was Maggie Gylennthal, and that's more because she looks like she's 40-ish. She was a much better presence than Holmes though.

The rest of the cast is pretty dead-on. Caine's Alfred is a different Alfred, more of a father figure. Michael Gough was good in the role he played though. I don't think too many people would argue that Bale isn't the best Wayne/Batman combination on screen to date. Keaton was the best Batman of the earlier films, but I never bought him as Wayne.

For G.I. Joe, I can't help but dread it will be a disaster. Marlon Wayans is in it for crying out loud. The early pics released make it look like a serious flick for sure, and everyone is practically decked out in black Matrix/X-Men 1 outfits. How inspired. Oh yeah, and the kid from 3rd Rock from the Sun is Cobra Commander, and it's from the ADHD mind of the director of Van Helsing.

Then again, I really hated the Transformers movie. In a nutshell, I wanted a movie about giant fighting robots, not some kid trying to get laid for 2 hours and made some robot friends along the way. Incidentally, the big battle scene at the end was a fucking mess. You couldn't tell who was fighting who half the time, because of the scatterbrained editing, and we only got an abrupt intro to the majority of the Decepticons, only in vehicle form, like 3 seconds before the fight started.

Also, and how did robots that live in an atmosphereless planet (Cybertron) and travel through space (see Starscream) cease to function in the relative warmth of Antarctica or liquid nitro? /rant