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Friday, February 22, 2008
It’s official a live action movie based on the 3 volume manga “Akira” Will be made. A release date of Summer 2009 has been given to the film. Leonardo DiCaprio will be producing the movie with his production company Appian Way. The live action akira will be split into 2 movies with DiCaprio playing the role of Kaneda and actor Joseph Gordon playing the role of Tetsuo. First time film Director Ruairi Robinson will be the director for both of the movies. So far he has only directed a couple of shorts and commercials so this could either break or make his career depending how he does with this. For you guys who are not too familiar with the manga or anime here is a synopsis of the film taken from Amazon.com
Neo-Tokyo has risen from the ashes of World War III to become a dark and dangerous megalopolis infested with gangs and terrorists. The government seethes with corruption and only maintains a token control over the powerful military that prevents total chaos and hides the secrets of the past. Childhood friends Tetsuo and Kaneda plunge into Neo-Tokyo's darkest secret when their motorcycle gang encounters a military operation to retrieve an escaped experimental subject. Tetsuo, captured by the military, is subjected to experiments that make him a powerful psychic, but, unfortunately for Neo-Tokyo, Tetsuo's powers rage out of control and he lashes out at the world that has oppressed him! Nothing can stop the destructive forces that Tetsuo wields except possibly the last boy to destroy Tokyo.
I have always been a fan of Akira since I first seen the anime movie back in the mid 90’s so the idea of a live action movie makes me happy; But I am not too sure about a couple of things. First of all it has been confirmed that the movie will take place in a neo Manhattan instead of neo Tokyo which is where it takes place in the manga. When I see film adaptations of my favorite movies, comics, books etc. I want it to be kept true to the source. So I really don’t like what they decided to do with the location. Second, will DicCaprio be able to pull this off? I have a feeling this movie might be better if done with a Japanese cast. Now im not saying lets have Japanese audio with subtitles (Which I wouldn’t mind) But let’s face it the average American will not sit thru a subtitled movie. This is my only guess why I think they are going to dumb it down. Either way im a fan of all of DiCaprios work and hope he can pull it off. If done correctly this can be an amazing movie full of gore and action. But until summer 09 we play the waiting game. Check back for new “Akira” movie updates. I will be following this movie till its release.
Check out the trailer for the anime movie "Akira"
Also check out the Video for "Stronger" By Kanye West It's a tribute to the Anime "Akira"
