Airbender Trailer & Akira News

This is based off the Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoon. I have to admit to not seeing any of the original, but the live action theatrical trailer doesn't look too bad. Heavy on the action and special effects, but it has to be better than Dragonball Evolution.



And a live action Akira isn't off the table. New York Magazine's Vulture Blog reports that the The Hughes Bros. (Menace to Society II, Dead Presidents, Book of Eli) are talking with Warner Bros. about using the script by the same writing duo that brought you Iron Man. Instead of trying to cram six manga worth of story into two hours of movie, two movies would be made.

Plain and simple, I just don't expect great things from Hollywood anymore. This is no different.

9 comments:

Creginald Vandercleve said...

Watching Japanese beetles fight has got to be more entertaining than DB:E :P

I'm wondering how many of you were kept up late at night worrying about the ethnicity of the first actor cast as the lead in this film? Plenty of 'Avatards' had their knickers in a twist over it : )

Creginald Vandercleve said...

A live action AKIRA is perhaps even less exciting than a live action 'Battle Angel Alita'.

I've said it before --but I am getting old and kranky-- what is wrong with Hollywood? It seems as if every new release is a remake or a sequel rather than something 'original' -- is this a sad indictment of the creative process or of the industry itself?

A remake of George Romero's 'The Crazies* hits in two weeks, and evidently someone felt the need to remake "Escape From New York" (which can only mean that an "Escape From L.A." remake will follow.)

I am *this* close to chucking the T.V. and the the P.C. out the window. GAH!

(*heh! Watch the original here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WadpnWoR0uo)

Unknown said...

Wait. They made a remake of The Crazies???

RWG said...

heh, the usual suspects are upset about the ethnicity of all three of the lead characters in this one. You'll notice the trailers are cut so as to have the lead character always looking down so you never get a good look at his face.

I actually liked the original Nick series quite a bit. Really well done for a kid's show. Lots of humor and the main bad gal of the final two season is a real bitch :-) That was an interesting creative choice by the producers, who don't downplay it much at all.

Among all the crapola over the casting, no one even mentions the director is a well-known American of Indian decent. They're too busy talking about how he hasn't made a good film since "Signs."

RWG (I'll go see it regardless)

RWG said...

Tohoscope, man, you need to check out rottentomatoes.com more often, buddy :-)

RWG (the "Crazies" trailers have been getting a lot of press there)

Creginald Vandercleve said...

@ RWG

"Signs" was Shyamalan's last good movie?: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0286106/board/nest/139544874

I guess I am just not a fan of the guy's work. Sixth Sense was good, but his films rely on the same "gotcha" endings so much that I wonder about the movie-going public a little, ya know?

Never watched Avatar on TV, but most of my friends have kids, so I'm sure I'll see a glimpse of this when the BluRay comes out.

RWG said...

I love "Unbreakable" to pieces. Really do. Just so much subtext in that film that you can go scene by scene and pick it out. But that's a geek thing, I guess.

You really ought to catch a couple of "Airbender" episodes, especially after Toph (the blind, female earthbender) joins the cast in the second season. It gets a lot of points for being empowering in a great many aspects, without hitting you over the head with it.

RWG (isn't afraid to get a bit cruel every once in a while either)

Unknown said...

I've actually seen a few trailers for The Crazies on TV, but I didn't connect what I saw with the movie that George Romero made back in the 70s.

I've also seen trailers for I'm guessing is a remake of The Stepfather which really don't seem to have anything to do with the original 80s movie. I actually liked that movie.

I've enjoyed The Last Airbender cartoon, too. Mostly for the supporting cast. The leads...not so much. A little too adolescent power fantasy for me. But still, a good show.

Unknown said...

I gotta rent Unbreakable some day. Lots of folks have recommended it to me over the years.