Franco Reportedly To Star In Akira Adaptation

Franco Reportedly To Star In Akira Adaptation

James Franco is in talks to star as the lead role Kaneda in the live action feature-film Akira.

News
By WaffeX - Feb 11, 2011 03:02 PM EST
Filed Under: Akira
Source: justjared.buzznet.com

The flick will be based off of anime artist Katsuhiro Otomo’s six-volume cyberpunk manga (Japanese word for comics). The film is set in New Manhattan, where the leader of a biker gang saves his friend from a medical experiment.

Warner Bros. has tapped director Albert Hughes (The Book of Eli) to helm the project, along with Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company Appian Way.



James also has the opportunity to replace Robert Downey, Jr. as the Wizard of Oz in the upcoming Disney movie Oz: The Great and Powerful. Director Sam Raimi will helm the Wizard of Oz prequel, which is based on L. Frank Baum’s classic books.
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Superzero
Superzero - 2/11/2011, 3:44 PM
Huh? Maybe? He's a good actor but this is one movie that should NOT, repeat, NOT be made. EVER. Btw, what's the source here?
marvel72
marvel72 - 2/11/2011, 3:45 PM
this shouldn't get made,hasn't hollywood learnt anything from their adaptions of.

-blood the last vampire
-guyver
-speed racer
-dragon ball z
-the priest
-fist of the northstar

again another insult to the source material.
GrimReaper90
GrimReaper90 - 2/11/2011, 3:57 PM
@ marvel72

AGREE. DBZ was a BIG slap to the face to fans.
Superzero
Superzero - 2/11/2011, 4:00 PM
wait, wait, wait...there was a live action "Fist Of The Northstar"??? I mean I love the comic and cartoon but....whaaaaaat?
Exiles
Exiles - 2/11/2011, 4:06 PM
honestly hollywood needs to take manga's seriously they have great potential a lot of the manga's are pretty impossible to adapt but manga's like priest and hellsing are already perfect to adapt theres no real need to change any thing. Priest could have been a epic supernatural western but instead its been turned in to some thing entirely different
marvel72
marvel72 - 2/11/2011, 4:09 PM
@ superzero

SanDevil77
SanDevil77 - 2/11/2011, 4:13 PM
Akira is an amime nd manga classic and from what people say they're planning to do to the story it would just take a dump on the fans.
Exiles
Exiles - 2/11/2011, 4:14 PM
correct me if i am wrong but is'nt kaneda meant to be a teen, i dont have a problem with the location change as much as casting a 30 year old as a teen, i mean franco's a great actor but
marvel72
marvel72 - 2/11/2011, 4:20 PM
@ exiles

yes your right,but casting a thirty year old as a teen,it didn't stop smallville ask tom welling.
Jer3miah
Jer3miah - 2/11/2011, 5:08 PM
Or Garfield... Hollywood just wants money. They couldn't care less about respecting the source material. They f*ck up damn near every adaptation.
AlexDeLarge87
AlexDeLarge87 - 2/11/2011, 5:28 PM
Exiles@ Maybe they make Kaneda and Tetsuo adults in this movie?... I hope not thou!8( The Whole idea of this flick creeps me out!:S
Specially because Hughes Brothers are going to make it PG-13 and i know in my guts that its going to be just a normal popcorn movie.
And the real Akira is much much more than just that kind of stupid entertainment.

marvel72@ Couldnt agree more man!
Pogokitty45
Pogokitty45 - 2/11/2011, 8:14 PM
@ marvel72 I thought speed racer was pretty good but the other movies you mentioned did suck pretty bad
WhiteDragon66
WhiteDragon66 - 2/11/2011, 10:27 PM
im sick and tired of holllywood casting american actors in anime classics TETSUO/KANEDA how the [frick] are they gonna pull that off? they are gonna ruin it. Theyre probably gonna cast american actors for theyre Ninja Scroll movie 2 [frick]in idiots
moonwaltz
moonwaltz - 2/11/2011, 10:58 PM
the real KANEDA


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NightBoyWonder
NightBoyWonder - 2/11/2011, 10:58 PM
Just leave the anime alone. Blood the Last Vampire, Speed racer, Dragon Ball Evolution, Priest, and now Akira then Death Note, then Bleach and who knows!?!?! Fullmetal Alchemist (which actually would be a good movie if made right)!?!?!
vermillion
vermillion - 2/11/2011, 11:24 PM
I agree with marvel72... EXCEPT for Speed Racer. That was a great film, it embraced the cheese of the original series.
vermillion
vermillion - 2/11/2011, 11:25 PM
I like James Franco as an actor, so if this gets made and the trailer looks good, I'll check it out.
patriautism
patriautism - 2/11/2011, 11:49 PM
@marvel72 Agree, but not with Priest.. You really don't know if it will be good or not, unless you're psychic. There were vampires in the trailer though, which is quite odd. Why did they decide to add vampires?
AVEN
AVEN - 2/11/2011, 11:51 PM
@ marvel72

Blood the Last Vampire live action it's a Hong Kong-French-British co-production

What ever for me all the live actions of anime's are terrible and that include the gantz and the death note movies

Of course The live action of gundam (Gundam Savior) is the most "funny" of all

Amazo
Amazo - 2/12/2011, 2:50 AM
Why?why?WHY? Why does hollywood have to remake films that are perfect already,frick them up,and put off non sci-fi/fantasy fans from the genre for life????? Leave well enough alone and come up with something original you pricks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
mumbz
mumbz - 2/12/2011, 3:25 AM
he could own it,
marvel72
marvel72 - 2/12/2011, 3:40 AM
i'm surprised so many of you liked speed racer,the racing was really good,but for me it was everything inbetween that was hard to watch.

@ patriautism

if i remember rightly in the priest manga doesn't he do battle with fallen angels,but in the film he fights vampires,i judge alot things on how close to the source material,slight changes are fine iron man for example,but don't take the piss.

@ aven

i thought it was hollywood,my mistake.

i liked the opening scene on the train but i thought it was quite bad after that.
CarpesDiems
CarpesDiems - 2/12/2011, 4:29 AM
james franco woul be great as spike spiegel in cowboy bebop thought
Amazo
Amazo - 2/12/2011, 5:48 AM
@CarpesDiems
He'd be better than Keanu no doubt,but why bother with live action in the first place?! Why not simply make another animated movie and pull out all the stops?
WhiteDragon66
WhiteDragon66 - 2/12/2011, 7:41 AM
@ WARDS SHINTARU KATSU was the man!!!! The ZATOICHI series was the GREATEST samurai series to ever come out of JAPAN, even though the title character wasn't a samurai at all he was YAKUZA(if im not mistaken)I have a whole album dedicated to the series on my FB page along with the mighty SHAW BROS studio. He also produced the LONE WOLF AND CUB series starring his brother TOMISABURO WAKAYAMA all six films are classics in the genre. Theyve actually remade the film starring TAKESHI KITANO, and also REBOOTED it starring a girl in the title role called ICHI but nothing beats the original series.
Daniellantern
Daniellantern - 2/12/2011, 7:48 AM
damn! i hate when hollywood take over manga adaptation! do you ever watch crows zero? it was great manga adaptation i thought..
Amazo
Amazo - 2/12/2011, 8:03 AM
@WhiteDragon66
Love those series and movies too mate!!! Zatoichi is indeed Yakuza.
The kid that plays Daigoro in the Babycart movies is straight out of the comics!Can never get enough Lone Wolf and Cub! :D
Rubbers
Rubbers - 2/12/2011, 10:03 AM
No, no, and no. I went to high school with Mr. Milk himself and that is all I ever want to remember of him.

...and you do realize how old he is, right? I'm talkin to you Hollywood script writers. Better get this one right, or else!
KaneDiablo
KaneDiablo - 2/12/2011, 12:26 PM
God, i'm so sick of James Franco....he sucks! He is plays the same charater in everything.
Negrodamus
Negrodamus - 2/12/2011, 12:41 PM
James Franco can act.. you really have to check out his latest film 127 hrs to get a new feel of him.. I think he could definitely pull it off.
Amazo
Amazo - 2/12/2011, 1:47 PM
@Rubbers
Definately too old
Ranger14
Ranger14 - 2/12/2011, 3:58 PM
Just because Hollywood can choose to make the characters older, doesn't mean they should do it.

I actually liked the Death Note live action movie(s).

Americanizing Akira is just plain wrong.
loganoneil
loganoneil - 2/12/2011, 4:27 PM
wards - Don't get me wrong, but THAT version of Akira I wouldn't mind seeing (LMAO)! The rest of this is TOTAL BS!
WhiteDragon66
WhiteDragon66 - 2/12/2011, 11:28 PM
@ WARDS I OWN ZATOICHI VS THE ONE ARM SWORDSMAN AND UR RIGHT ITS NOT AMAZING BUT IT IS A WELCOME ADDIIION TO THE SERIES. ZATOICHI VS YOJIMBO WAS EXCELLENT AND IT WAS VERY FUNNY MIFUNE AND KATSU HAD GREAT SCREEN CHEMISTRY, WITH THEM REFFERIN TO EACH OTHER AS THE BEAST AND MONSTER LMAO ACTUALLY AMAZO DAIGORO AND OGAMI ARE BOTH STRAIGHT OUT OF THE MANGA TO BELIEVE AT THE TIME OF THE FILMS RELEASE WAKAYAMA BECAME A SEX SYMBOL IN JAPAN LOL THE WORLDS UGLIEST HEARTTHROB BUT WHEN IT COMES TO REAL HONG KONG CINEMA LEGENDS MY HATS OFF TO THE LATE GREAT ALEXANDER FU SHENG AKA THE CHINATOWN KID HE WAS THE MAN HIS MOVIES ARE CLASSICS IN THE GENRE IF U GUYS GET A CHANCE PEEP AVENGING EAGLE, MEN FROM THE MONASTARY, AND NEW SHAOLIN BOXER HE HAD TWICE THE CHARISMA AS JACKIE CHAN AND HONESTLY I THINK THAT JACKIE OWES HIM CUZ IF FU SHENG HAD NOT TURNED DOWN THE MOVIE SNAKE IN THE EAGLES SHADOW JACKIE WOULD STILL BE A STUNTMAN IN HONG KONG
warlock
warlock - 5/12/2011, 10:15 PM
Please dont mess this up
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