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Live Action Ghost in the Shell


Iceheart
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UUUUGGGGGHHHHHH

 

http://i0.wp.com/bitcast-a-sm.bitgravity.com/slashfilm/wp/wp-content/images/Scarlett-Johansson-in-Ghost-in-the-Shell-700x445.jpg?resize=700%2C445

 

Do we really need to talk about whitewashing at this point? I mean, probably, because they keep doing it?

 

And while I love Scarlett Johansson, is there really not any other actress? She's in ALL THE SCI FI things nowadays. I'm slightly shocked they didn't get her to play both Rey and Jyn Erso just because.

 

But the real clincher here is that the guy directing it is the guy who did Snow White and the Huntsman. I mean, GitS is very philosophically contemplative (aka s l o w), but jesus. It doesn't need to be boring.

 

I freaking love this series, but this movie just sounds like The Last Airbender all over again.

 

/nerdrage

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Will they really make all of the money with the guy who has one awful movie and an infidelity scandal to his name, and that's it? ScarJo not withstanding.

 

I'm glad nerd stuff is "cool" now, but it's really feast or famine on the quality nowadays.

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At the end of the day, I honestly couldn't care less who stars in it so long as they are convincing and engaging, and able to bring some depth to the role. I do not fetishize cultures or races and demand strict authenticity from things that clearly are not (or are, for that matter), nor do I have a sense of ownership/entitlement toward the creations of others.

 

Really, the only thing that truly offends me is the choice of dubbing over subtitles. Words across the bottom of the screen is "too distracting," yet somehow mouths that clearly aren't moving with the rhythm of what is being said isn't? Sooooo annoying.

 

That being said, if this were 20 years ago, I'd no doubt be losing my **** at 28.8 bits per second over this life-ruining outrage, so I can definitely understand how a lot of the detractors feel, even if I don't share their pain.

 

Of course it is worth acknowledging that the casting seems awkward on multiple levels that I shouldn't have to explain, especially if this is set in Japan. It just is, and trying to pretend it isn't is silly. But if casting Scarlett Johansson is what it took to get this made in the good ol' U.S. of A., fine. Western culture somehow did not collapse under the insult of Hi-Standard's cover of "Changes," (which I actually prefer to the original, shhhh...); Japan wil survive Johansson in the Shell. As far as art goes, unless it is my own, I am firmly on team "go ahead, try and entertain me," not the "make it exactly how I want or don't make it at all" camp.

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I think it depends on whether or not this is a story that still takes place in Japan and is inherently Japanese. In that case, it's kinda icky. But if this is an Americanized adaption of a Japanese cartoon that takes place in future Los Angeles it's not as much as a big deal.

 

I'm more annoyed that in America we don't consider animation legit to the point that an animated movie "counts" as the official thing.

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I believe it is still in Japan, which is part of why I said it was awkward on multiple levels.

 

If the setting were changed to, say, Future Minnesota, I would probably be telling people to watch the movie first before freaking out, and making fun of the ones who are especially upset. But from what I think I know so far, it makes sense that people are annoyed/questioning.

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Love me some anime, but they can do whatever they want with Ghost in the Shell for all I care. I never got why that movie was so popular. It almost represents everything Americans got wrong about what they thought anime was about back in the 90s and early-00s. Dark dystopian future visuals, violence, nudity, and philosophizing.

 

Granted, I'd be a bit upset if they did the same thing to Evangelion, and I would be annoyed if they got that wrong (heck, I'm annoyed that Pacific Rim took the premise). So maybe I'm being somewhat hypocritical. But I never had much use for Ghost in the Shell.

 

 

 

And while I love Scarlett Johansson, is there really not any other actress?

 

Is that fair? Outside of playing supporting character extraordinaire Black Widow for Marvel half a dozen times, she's mostly kept to fairly small movies. The only big budget movie that banked on her star power to sell a lot of tickets was Lucy.

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And while I love Scarlett Johansson, is there really not any other actress?

 

Is that fair? Outside of playing supporting character extraordinaire Black Widow for Marvel half a dozen times, she's mostly kept to fairly small movies. The only big budget movie that banked on her star power to sell a lot of tickets was Lucy.

 

It's not star power I'm worried about, it's typecasting. I get bored with seeing the same handful of actresses play sci fi heroines. It makes it seem like you're watching the same movie over and over again.

 

So, she's one of the most influential female action/sci-fi characters right now in Black Widow, and she was in both Lucy and Under the Skin (which GitS's core audience would be familiar with)... as far as my entertainment life is concerned, it feels like its all ScarJo, all the time. I'd like a little diversity in casting. Especially considering this franchise has SO much material to work with, so you know they're angling for a full movie franchise. Which would mean she's going to be the female face (and the main face of GitS) of one juggernaut and one wannabe juggernaut, both marketed to the same people.

 

This whole thing just screams The Last Airbender, and I'm really sick of seeing good stories get ruined because of a money grab.

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It is difficult to underestimate the level of tonedeaf stupidity that can be attained when of large groups of people and larger sums of money are involved.

 

However, this is so colossally dumb -- even without an understanding of history and context or crumb's worth of social media exposure -- I have a hard time believing anybody involved here thought it was a good idea, let alone approved the visual effects tests in the manner they are being accused of.

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Whatever, it's just gonna be Aeon Flux 2. It's been a while since I've seen Ghost in the Shell, but Scarlet Johansson seems like a terrible choice. Motoko seemed (in the English dub, at least) very not scowl-y/intense/flirty-demure... which is basically Johansson's shtick.

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The movies and the tv series are two different animals. The movies are very, very, VERY slow. I like the philosophical aspect of them - I especially liked Innocence - but they are a slog. But Stand Alone Complex is a pretty great show. Same characters, but different tone. It's a cyberpunk police procedural. Yoko Kanno did the soundtrack, I believe Production IG did the animation, and it's a whole lot of fun all around.

 

Considering how slow GitS is, and how boring as hell Snow White and the Huntsman was... well if you wanted to wean yourself off of Ambien, it sounds like they're making a movie just for you.

 

Which is sad, because in the right hands, this would have been a lot of fun.

 

And, as an aside, I love Aeon Flux, both the Liquid Television series and the Charlize Theron movie, which I consider to be two separate entities much like I consider GitS' movies and TV series.

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Wellington is a good location to shoot... or could be. I remember some of the foot chase scenes in Ghost n Shell that are in dockland/habour areas.. and Wellington has a great harbour and waterfront for shooting that sort of stuff. I wonder if the VFX will be done by WETA?

 

Either way.. I'm meh on the Scarlett thing. I think she's a miscast not only cause of ethnicity but she's too short. That **** bothers me.. I don't buy her as an ass kicking assassin or stealthy jiujitsu fighting machine. But I have the same misgivings about her in Avengers too..

 

As for Hollywood telling/recycling foreign stories/films verbatim... well thats been happening for so long and frequently now getting irritated by it seems futile.

 

Id be interested to see how this pans out.

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I feel like every actress who plays an ass kicking character is too short. Actresses seem to just be short in general.

 

But then I'm 6' tall, and as far as I'm concerned the entire world is too short.

Aside from a few dudes, most every actor in Hollywood is shockingly small in person.

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So, she's one of the most influential female action/sci-fi characters right now in Black Widow, and she was in both Lucy and Under the Skin (which GitS's core audience would be familiar with)... as far as my entertainment life is concerned, it feels like its all ScarJo, all the time.

 

You pretty much only added Under the Skin to the list. Which was a rather low-budget movie that didn't even make its money back. Hardly anyone has seen it (including myself) even if critics seem to have liked it.

 

Given that there really aren't all that many actresses that have the credibility to bank on putting a blockbuster on their back, this being only her second big vehicle that will come out three years after her last one shows a pretty restrained record.

 

My only complaint isn't that she's miscast for Ghost in the Shell, because this movie will probably suck no matter who is in the role. Known/unnknown, white/Asian, doesn't matter. My issue is that she's TOO GOOD to be wasted on this ill-conceived movie that no one is really asking for. I'd LOVE to see Johansson blow us away in a truly excellent sci-fi blockbuster that she carried all by herself. But it doesn't look like that's going to happen anytime soon. And it may not ever happen.

 

 

 

This whole thing just screams The Last Airbender, and I'm really sick of seeing good stories get ruined because of a money grab.

 

It's got a while to go before becoming a The Last Airbender. Beyond which, the sad thing about The Last Airbender is that it wasn't a money grab. They really thought they were trying.

 

 

 

careful, Poe. Driver's fighting with pictures now.

 

Well, I was more annoyed that it's essentially prevented contemplating a real Evangelion movie for awhile than thinking it was the first giant robot show.

 

I think that was Driver's point anyway.

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Yeah to be fair, I ALWAYS thought it was kinda boring. I wanted to like it as a spiritual cousin to Blade Runner, but Appleseed was so much cooler.

Appleseed and Black Magic were both superior manga to GITS. Heck, I even enjoyed Dominion: Tank Police over that.

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Poe, I don't think you quite understand how few women are represented in sci-fi right now. Black Widow has been the gold standard since Iron Man 2. The pool has been growing lately to be fair, but she's really the queen of the blockbuster sci-fi action series, even if her role is much smaller than the rest of the Avengers'.

 

I'm not saying she's miscast. She has proven action chops. But I would rather see a Black Widow standalone movie than have her helm a series where she's basically playing Black Widow, just not. Let another actress have a chance.

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Poe, I don't think you quite understand how few women are represented in sci-fi right now.

 

I understand it. I said as much. There aren't that many opportunities for women to carry their own blockbuster available. So yeah, they opportunities are going to go to the bankable stars. Of which there are exactly three at the moment. Johansson, Jennifer Lawrence, and Angelina Jolie. There are a couple out there that look like they could make the jump (Emily Blunt usually gets mentioned here), but they're not there yet.

 

And Jolie appears to be moving beyond that range. And, honestly, she never really got a great signature role either. Maleficent might end up being her most remembered blockbuster. After that there's Mr. and Mrs. Smith I suppose and a big drop down to Lara Croft.

 

 

 

But I would rather see a Black Widow standalone movie

 

Okay...

 

But there's not one coming. It's not an either/or choice. For whatever reason, Disney has decided that we're not getting one. I really don't know why since they seem to be big diversity kick at the moment with Black Panther and Captain Marvel being the next set of middling characters they're going to turn into stars.

 

Of course, if it were me I'd sign Ruffalo up to co-star in a She-Hulk movie. There's an awesome, fun woman character where we can get our "HULK SMASH" fix without suffering through another straight-up Hulk movie. Always seemed a no-brainer to me. Especially with most of the signature female superheroes of Marvel being Mutants and tied up with Fox.

 

Anyway, it's not like Johansson is turning down a chance to star in a Marvel movie. It's not being offered. So that means that all the other studios, and Johansson herself, shouldn't try to put her in starring roles? No, it will have been three years since her last big movie, it's time for her to see what's out there and cash her paycheck.

 

If there were a better movie available for her, I'd love to see her in it. As a matter of fact, I WISH I could see her in it.

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