Because Dragonball Evolution was obviously such a smash hit (sarcasm, chill out internet) Hollywood has geared itself up again for another remake and this time it’s AKIRA! And who better to play the teenage protagonist than a 46 year old Keanu Reeves. I loved him in Johnny Mnemonic, Keeanu Reeves = Cyberpunk but I think Todd Brown of Twitch-film.net summarises the fact best that it is the final nail of credibility in the Akira movie coffin. My most recent cinema adventure was Thor and it had got me thinking how comic book adaptation movies have really come along way from the travesty that was Dare Devil to the devine ambrosia that is Iron Man. Why can’t they get it right with anime remakes!?
I think the first step to solving this mystery is realising that anime for the mainstream crowd is still viewed, with prejudice, as for kids or as lacking depth particularly by Hollywood executives. It’s because of this there seems to be more leeway for them to take liberties with (someone else’s) story and change it to suit American tastes / trends. This really does go to show how far comic book movies have come. I mean god forbid somebody changes The Hulk’s back story.
The second barrier is culture, and in a lot of cases race. There was huge controversy over Avatar The Last Airbender having a mostly white cast despite the animated series being set in Tibet. Again, Dragon Ball Evolution polarised fans with Justin Chatwin being cast as Goku. The argument falls on shaky ground as fans are forced to ask themselves, is it racist to cast a white actor in an Asian role? Penny Arcade admitted that they themselves were being hypocritical with their criticism of the casting for Avatar The Last Airbender but defended Thor in it’s casting of an African American actor as a Norse god. Ultimately studios want to create a product appealing to Western audiences and so want to use actors and western culture that resonates well with their audiences. Otherwise what’s the point in doing a remake?
What I think is most crucial for these movies to work is presenting a credible situation. Obviously just remaking the movie with Hollywood actors in the USA but leaving their Japanese names is not going to produce a believable scenario. However if they treat the source material with some credibility then they have a real chance of making it work. The Ring was scary as hell because the film makers realised that using American-gothic aesthetics made the supernatural themes more relevant to a western audience. Whereas The Grudge was was at least faithful because they stayed true to the source material by transplanting Sarah Michelle Gellar into Japan as an expat.
Japan has had great success in turning their anime into live action movies. Of course they have the advantage of setting everything in Japan and that seeming natural to audiences. I wonder what Katsuhiro Ootomo’s take on all this is or if he’s even aware of what’s going on with his intellectual property. It seems once the production moves overseas the author has little to no input. At any rate with Hollywood’s current attitude to anime remakes and the stories coming out about the production I am less than optimistic that Akira will be the film to break the mould.
