Toby Maguire set to star in Hollywood Robotech movie

Paul

Paul

Ghost of Animes
Administrator
What with <a href="http://www.animeuknews.net/news/1491/$100-million-dragonball-z-movie-in-production">recent news of the Dragonball Z film,</a> it appears that big budget adaptations of popular anime franchises are the in-trend right now, because none other than Warner Bros. (along with Maguire Entertainment) have <a href="http://www.anime-ni.co.uk/?p=635">picked up the production rights</a> for the mecha-driven Macross hack-job "Robotech"; the intention being to churn out a live action "tentpole" franchise based on the sci-fi epic, funded as a reaction to the $311 million dollar success of Transformers.

Big name actor Toby "Peter Parker\Spiderman" Maguire (who owns "Maguire Entertainment") <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i1f2de64a1d24bd5585bf89b0691d2011">claims</a> "We are very excited to bring 'Robotech' to the big screen... There is a rich mythology that will be a great foundation for a sophisticated, smart and entertaining film." Unsurprisingly, Maguire is being touted for the lead role.

But that's not all on the live-action front because skilled director Andrzej Bartkowiak will be <a href="http://www.anime-ni.co.uk/?p=636">drenching another version of Street Fighter</a> with his creative juices. Bartkowiak's previous credits include critically-acclaimed romantic comedies like <em>Doom! </em>and <em>Cradle to the Grave</em>, so we're expecting something special from this exciting collaboration of talent.
 
Eep. :( As much as some stuff could be great as live action it worries me its going to lead to a mass plunder of the anime industry by uninspired hollywood directors. Guess they're running out of old films to remake and have turned to other shores...

As long as nothing I love gets the movie treatment, I won't have to start hate mailing :x
 
Robotech - the next anime to get the big screen treatment.

It seems like anime is being picked up left right and centre by Hollywood studios recently, i suppose its the next fad after Spiderman started the comic book phase. I've yet to see Robotech, not a huge fan of mecha series but its on my to-buy-list since its so damn cheap to pick up.

I really want to bury my head in the sand for the next 5 odd years if anime is the next big thing, we might get one or two good conversions but the numbers game suggests that we'll get at least a half dozen bad ones before that, stuff like this will give anime a bad name.
 
... Half elated, half suspicious of this news. Macross saga is one of my favourite anime, but robotech Masters, New Generation and Shadow Chronicles sucked major buttock IMO. If they were to make the macross saga into a movie that would be SO FRICKEN COOL, espcially as it could easily be divided into a few decent lenght movies.
If they decide to do something along the lines of Shadow chronicles pass the bucket. It was so cheesey and americanised ...gah. :x
 
For those who are intrested, there's a dream casting session for this movie on ign. Would a movie based on Robotech actually work? let alone on the super dimensional fortess macross part. While no doubt the effects would look pretty, i think they would screw up the story. Can you really see them take the singing seriously in a movie like that?
 
hey i think robotech could be a good choice to pick up for a hollywood remake, robotech is a us re-telling of 3 anime series anyway.

also why does everyone think a anime couldnt work in live action in a hollywood film just look at the crying freeman film, that was a great movie that stuck close to the feel of the anime all with a pretty small budget.
 
So it would appear that they have run out of western comics and shows with enough pull to turn into movies, anyway that could only last for so long.

Remakes have dried up and new original stories worth anything. So now they have to go and look for new quality stories and have come up with what we have know for a while, that anime has stories that draw you in and have more than one dimension.

I think Robotech could make a good movie, and at least it might save another classic from being butchered for a while.
 
We'll see what this brings, but I'm not hoping for too much.

A mass plundering of anime could happen, but I don't feel it's likely because the licences would have to be sellable to a mass audience outside of anime fandom, and that means it has to be to Westernised tastes... which some licences would be very hard to do (Hollywood Puni Puni Poemy, anyone?). Sure, there'll be more than a few films but possibly not in the numbers of 'American comic book films'. Of course, I could be wrong :)
 
I really could not see Puni Puni Poemy done as a live action any where in the world unless they had very lapse child protection laws.

However I can see Hollywood plundering older anime series and films with big enough names to pull an audience outside of those who watch anime. I could well imagine a version of something like Akira, Vampire Hunter D or appleseed.

You may even see storylines you find familiar without realising why, I can easily imagine a version of the Welcome to NHK storyline altered to reflect what ever the closest American equivalent to a hikkikomori is.
 
Rameez16 said:
so they must have run out of ideas for movies if they're doing so many live action movies.
Click to expand...

I don't really know what you're talking about, but I'm guessing you mean they're not making any more Robotech anime movies?
 
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