Keanu Reeves Eager To Do Something Good With Cowboy Bebop Movie
'Cowboy Bebop'Its no secret that Keanu Reeves loves anime a main influence on the Matrix series. Its also common knowledge that the actor holds a place in his heart for sci-fi, as evidenced by films like A Scanner Darkly, Johnny Mnemonic and the currently-tops-in-theaters The Day the Earth Stood Still. Its no surprise, then, that Reeves latest passion project revolves around his desire to make a live-action Cowboy Bebop.
Oh yeah, cool, he said when I asked him about the flick recently. Were trying to do that.
As fans of the Japanese classic TV series know, Bebop follows a crew of bounty hunters traveling around the universe in the year 2071. Reeves hopes to play Spike Spiegel, one of these futuristic cowboys forced to pick up the slack after a population crash and hyperspace gateways have left law-enforcement unable to capture many of the galaxys most ruthless criminals.
Its got a Western quality, a Western film noir aspect to it, Reeves said of why hes such a big fan of Shinichiro Watanabe and Keiko Nobumotos groundbreaking series. Its got so much style to it, and thats part of its appeal. That kind of Old West, bordertown, low-tech science fiction aspect.
Take a look at this clip and youll get an idea of why Reeves is not only a perfect-looking fit for Spiegel, but also why he thinks the most important person on the set will be the one trying to translate the series unique look. I think that would be a production designers dream, Reeves said of the flick. I think you just need a good production designer.
The flick is currently being put together by Erwin Stoff, a producer who has spent the last two decades working almost exclusively on Reeves projects, and recently set the film up at 20th Century Fox. Weve got the rights, weve got a writer, Keanu explained. Hes putting together a scene outline.
Reeves revealed that this outline for the flick is currently focusing on the origins of the fictional Bebop drug developed by the military, which provides its users with a brief surge of superhuman reflexes and awareness. Were taking the Red Eye [story], the beginning part of the series, he explained, and then well deal with the end of the series. Were trying to figure out [the time frame]. Were looking at the story right now.
Since the beloved 26-episode show (as well as the feature film) didnt necessarily maintain a linear style of storytelling, Reeves said that somewhere between the Red Eye origins and the Bebop conclusion, theyll be picking out various highlights for their own use.
Yeah, its so episodic and so disconnected. Were trying to figure out what pieces to put together to tell one story, he explained. Because its such a short form, to make a 2 hour version [will be tough]. And its got so much of an origin-story obligation; youve got to get people up to speed, but you dont want to do much of that. There are a lot of things to take into consideration, but we think we can do something good.
With devoted fans all over the world, and a complex universe to depict on screen, Reeves knows that it wont be easy to make a Cowboy Bebop movie. Yeah, he grinned when reminded of these facts. But thats why you want to do it.