Laeta Kalogridis, the current screenwriter for Dreamworks and Steven Spielberg's planned live-action adaptation of Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell cyber-police manga, revealed on Tuesday evening that she will "turn in a draft in a few weeks." She expressed cautious optimism about the project, and indirectly noted an obstacle such a project faces in Hollywood: "Cross your fingers, guys — [it has a] female lead."
Kalogridis spoke at a post-screening Q&A session for Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island film in Los Angeles. At this event sponsored by Creative Screenwriting Magazine, Kalogridis was more tight-lipped about another manga-based project with a female lead character. Kalogridis was once hired by Avatar director James Cameron to script his planned adaptation of Yukito Kishiro's Battle Angel Alita (GUNNM) manga. When asked about the possibilities of the Battle Angel film or an Avatar sequel, she responded, "You have to ask Jim — anything to do with [those projects]."
Kalogridis served as the screenwriter and an executive producer for Shutter Island and as an executive producer on Avatar.
The American arm of the manga's original Japanese publisher Kodansha is reprinting the manga after Dark Horse Comics had the license. Kodansha also launched two new manga series based on the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex television anime series in December.