Live-action Cowboy Bebop coming to the big screen courtesy of....

[marukisu]

...

 

[marukisu]

...

 

[Johann Krauss]

Spoiler

Movies:

By CHARLENE CHENG, News Editor
Published 1/21/2009


Exclusive News: PRODUCER ERWIN STOFF GIVES iF THE SCOOP ABOUT THE 'COWBOY BEEBOP' REMAKE -- IT WON'T BE AN ORIGIN MOVIE!

LOCATION: Space

THE SKINNY: Last summer, iF Magazine broke the news that the classic Anime series COWBOY BEEBOP was in development as a live-action feature film.

Now, iF has some more exclusive information from producer Erwin Stoff after last week's official announcement of the movie getting and greenlight and Keanu Reeves being cast as intergalactic bounty hunter Spike Spiegel.

“The truth of the matter of is, I’m not going to know anything else until there’s a script,” Stoff tells iF, “but we’d like to make it next year.”

Peter Craig is on board to pen the script, and Stoff is quick to note that the story will pick up with Spiegel already in action.

“It’s not an origin story,” says Stoff. “We start with him, when he is in his present life already.”

Many of the key people involved in the Anime series, including the series director and writer Shinichirô Watanabe. Most importantly, Stoff says, Watanabe will be involved every step of the way, since he will be an associate producer on the film alongside the Anime series’ producer Kenji Uchida and show writer Keiko Nobumoto.

“First of all, we’re honoring the series,” says Stoff. “I don’t know how many people can say this, but the first thing we did was go over and meet with Watanabe. We started there. He will be the first guy to read a script when it’s done. We’ll discuss directors with him. As far as the cast goes, I can’t tell you who is going to play what, but I can’t imagine that we’re not going to have a totally multi-ethnic cast.”

This sounds great

 

[louiebling$]

Thats does sounds great all we need is rothman to fall off the face of the universe and we are good

 

[DorkyFresh]

Thats does sounds great all we need is rothman to fall off the face of the universe and we are good

yeah...as long as he's with Fox, there will always be a chance that they could muck this up. even if he doesn't have anything to do with it, his aura alone would cause stupid ideas to flow within the production.

 

[Robdixxo]

Vin Diesel as Jet.

 

[TheVileOne]

Sorry, I don't buy it. We've heard nonsense like that from Erwin Stoff before.

I'm glad it makes you guys excited. But even Don Murphy said stuff like that before LXG.

 

[Johann Krauss]

Sorry, I don't buy it. We've heard nonsense like that from Erwin Stoff before.

I'm glad it makes you guys excited. But even Don Murphy said stuff like that before LXG.

Please...just...just give me this

 

[louiebling$]

Lxg?

 

[DorkyFresh]

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

 

[TheVileOne]

20th Century Fox, producers of Dragon Ball Evolution by the way.

Just so you know.

 

[louiebling$]

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

o yea

20th Century Fox, producers of Dragon Ball Evolution by the way.

Just so you know.

O Hell Naw *Shakes Fist:

 

[Figs]

LOL

It says Watanabe the writer and director of the series is going to be on board every step of the way.

I don't know about anyone else but I predict he'll be the next on the list of people who refuse to work with Fox in the future when this movie is all said and done.

He is about to find out what it feels like to get a train run on him and his work from Fox/Rothman.

 

[TheVileOne]

Honestly, if I was Watanabe, I would take the Alan Moore route.

 

[DorkyFresh]

I don't know about anyone else but I predict he'll be the next on the list of people who refuse to work with Fox in the future when this movie is all said and done.

He is about to find out what it feels like to get a train run on him and his work from Fox/Rothman.

unfortunately i have to agree. he'll probably pull a Akira Toriyama/Stephen Chow. he'll start with an optimistic vision, then once Fox lays down their requirements for Hollywoodizing his creation he's going to take a back seat and be bitter that they're bastardizing Cowboy Bebop, all the while being paid for compensation.

 

[louiebling$]

Sad but true

 

[Figs]

unfortunately i have to agree. he'll probably pull a Akira Toriyama/Stephen Chow. he'll start with an optimistic vision, then once Fox lays down their requirements for Hollywoodizing his creation he's going to take a back seat and be bitter that they're bastardizing Cowboy Bebop, all the while being paid for compensation.

Like TheVileOne said, he should have pulled an Alan Moore and just not gotten involved.

My gf had me watch the animated movie but I've never gotten around to seeing any of the episodes from the series. Isn't Cowboy Bebop pretty up there in the world of anime? Meaning it's extremely popular and has very high regard towards it.

 

[dark_b]

FOX is doing this? hahahahah. poor fans

 

[TheVileOne]

Cowboy Bebop is like the . . . well I don't want to quite call it the Watchmen of anime, but its pretty close.

 

[dark_b]

and FOX is doing the watchmen of anime?

it will be nice to read posts from people who will defend everything.

 

[Figs]

and FOX is doing the watchmen of anime?

it will be nice to read posts from people who will defend everything.

Wait 'til TNC comes in saying how Fox won't butcher this property as well.

 

[wellsy]

I was just browsing Anime News Network, and I thought this was interesting.

Kenji Uchida, the president of the Sunrise anime studio, told attendees of a Tokyo International Anime Fair (TAF) 2009 symposium that actor Keanu Reeves' enthusiasm for its Cowboy Bebop anime was the deciding factor in the recent live-action film deal. Uchida said Reeves (The Matrix, A Scanner Darkly, Johnny Mnemonic) himself visited Japan twice to express his interest in adapting the stylized science-fiction anime, and added that if Reeves had not done so, the deal might not have been made. Uchida further noted that the difficult negotiations with the 20th Century Fox film studio continued for two years until agreeable contract terms were drafted. He emphasized that the contract allows Sunrise to assert quality control by stating, "If the script is terrible, the live-action film adaptation will not be approved."

Uchida spoke at a Thursday symposium titled "Basquash! to Cowboy Bebop ni Miru Kaigai Collabo Business Model" ("The Collaborative Overseas Business Model, as Shown by Basquash! and Cowboy Bebop"). At the panel, Satelight executive director and anime creator Shoji Kawamori (Macross, Escaflowne, Aquarion) and French animation creator Thomas Romain (Oban Star-Racers, Aria the Natural) discussed how they collaborated on next month's Basquash! robot sports action anime series. In describing the project's genesis, Kawamori said that he felt there are limits and clichés in the weapon-based action genre. Romain co-developed this unorthodox project about street basketball — as played by players in giant robotic mecha — with a team of both Japanese and French animators. Source: Variety Japan

 

[Darkness Falls]

not a good sign at all

 

[The Major]

FOX is doing this? hahahahah. poor fans

It might be decent. I thought the Alien vs Predator and Max Payne movies were good. The chances of this happening are extremely slim, though.

 

[wellsy]

not a good sign at all

How so? A Sunrise exec explicitly stated that if they don't think it's good, the project gets canned.

I mean, I'm aware of Fox's record and all, but I honestly can't imagine them treading on the toes of the studio that can just say "Forget it you nincompoops!"