vashdaman said:Wait! Now it might have Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman alongside Zak Effron and Joaquin Phoenix. This just keeps getting better and better. Seriously if their going to do it it might as well be a unique (and slightly disturbed) take on Akira. Lets be honest a Hollywood adaptation set in Japan and starring unknown Japanese-American actors was never going to happen nor end well.
Its true the director does seem to have a pretty lack lustre track record so far. But the moment you expect a legitimately good Hollywood adaptation of an anime like Akira you've already lost.
I must admit that I am put off by the person who is going to direct both parts of this movie, who is spanish director Jaume Collet-Serra. This was the same director who made the rather awful american remake of the horror movie House Of Wax starring Paris Hilton who won a rasperry award for the worst actress in that movie. House Of Wax was a american remake of an old american horror movie. But the director made a pretty poor job at the remake as it was nominated as one of the worst horror films and remakes made.
He also made Goal 2 and Unknown (starring Liam Neeson), which were average movies in my opinion.
Originally Gary Whitta wrote the script for both parts of the Akira movie who was the same guy who wrote the script for The Book Of Eli movie, which was not a bad film. The script for Akira was apparantly, extremely faithful to the Manga. But the script for both parts of the movie is now being re-written by someone else whom I am not sure of the name as of yet.
Also, The Hughes Brothers was originally meant to direct both parts of this movie, but they backed out because of creative differences and handed both parts of the movie to be directed by Jaume Collet-Serra.
I personally think that it will be the screenwriter that will have the huge responsibility in creating this movie. The director will simply convert on what the screenwriter has written onto the screen.
I think Morgan Freeman has been miscasted as The Colonel due to the fact that Morgan Freeman is old whilst The Colonel character is a middle aged character. Also, in Volumes 4-6 of the Manga, The Colonel character does alot of fighting in which I don't think Morgan Freeman would be able to handle at his age.
But I think Morgan Freeman's portrayal of The Colonel would be someone that will be spending alot of the time standing around and making Shawshank Redemption style speeches and words of wisdom speeches about Akira etc etc, as well as narrating the movie.