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NEWS: Live Action Eva Sketches Online


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MelancholyDevil



Joined: 31 Jul 2003
Posts: 311
Location: Louisiana
PostPosted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 7:57 am Reply with quote
Thanks Bamboo, you've clamed me down a little.

(now, about Nagisa)

Quote:
And right now I mirror that same sentiment towards the vast majority of the Evangelion fan community. You people are starting to remind me of that 4Kids crowd Asaqe runs with.


Don't associat me with those people.

Quote:
Mass market appeal. Face facts, most Americans struggle with Japanese names. Even among anime fans, you'll find people that struggle with remembering Japanese names. Yet they'll pick up Western names a lot easier, and these new names will likely have scant minimal bearing on the character's personality in the long run (Asuka's name is changed to Kate, yet she's still a firebrand bitch; did the new name REALLY ruin the character?).


Like I said, just annoyed, and I'll get over it.

Quote:
And do you realize how obnoxious it makes you and the rest of the Eva community sound?


Do I really need a disclaimer? *sigh* anyways, here goes. I in no way represent the Eva fan community (wow, that was shorter than I thought it was gonna be).

Quote:
Seriously, you're finding faults with an entire movie based on a couple square centimeters of drawing paper, what logic goes into that? Wait until we get something more substantial before you start inundating forums with your petty complaints.


You know what...you're right *ugh*


Last edited by MelancholyDevil on Wed Jan 21, 2004 4:47 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Aaron White
Old Regular


Joined: 23 Aug 2002
Posts: 1365
Location: Birmingham, Alabama
PostPosted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 11:22 am Reply with quote
SakechanBD wrote:
God's green DVD


I'll be stealing this phrase.
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Scaramanga



Joined: 02 Sep 2003
Posts: 134
Location: San Diego, CA
PostPosted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 11:53 am Reply with quote
SakechanBD wrote:
<Everything Bamboo said>

I wholeheartedly agree.

Zac wrote:
There was an article in Variety a week or two ago about this.... <etc.>

Personally, this only proves what I've always thought about most studio execs: that they have less comprehension about what the average movie-goer wants than a Probiscus monkey. Are the ranters and whiners in movie forums a minority that most likely do not represent the vast population, absolutely. Should they be ignored, hardly. The fact of the matter is, many film (and even non-film related) websites can often affect a films bottom line. These ranters tend to reflect a grassroots-type word-of-mouth that has no rival as far as instantaneous communication in this world. Even even ONE fanboy rants about how crappy a film is on a fairly popular website, I guarantee that at least a thousand other people have read or forwarded that post, and heeded it. It used to be if we went to see a movie that turned out to be a steaming pile of dung, the only thing you could do was warn your friends who might possibly go see it. Now you can warn tens of thousands of people with a single click.

The fact of the matter is, the Hollywood machine is really in its death throes unless it really rethinks its business. For the past 4 years or so we've seen 4-5 new major studio-backed films per week, and not one of those last more than 3 weeks. Besides the recent LotR series, there hasn't been a film that has "legs" in recent history. And it's not, as I think the studios seem to believe, because audiences have short attention spans, and need something new every other week. It's because a good 75% of films released have little to no redeeming value (entertainment or otherwise.)

Roger Ebert said something the other night when talking about the worst movies of 2003, in reference to Leage of Extraordinairy Gentleman, he had asked some kids who liked the film, what they thought about it. All they could answer was "It was OK." His response: "Life's too short to waste 2 hours and $10 on just OK." Yet studio reps scream bloody murder when someone downloads a movie. I think it's HIGH time the movie going audience be allowed to scream (and be heard) when Hollywood foists a particularly insulting piece of tripe at us.

And maybe the major studios have decided to ignore the online world and the fan population, but thankfully most independant-minded directors aren't that narrow-minded. I highly doubt we'd have Kill Bill or just about any Kevin Smith films if they had ignored the fans.
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor


Joined: 05 Jan 2002
Posts: 7912
Location: Anime News Network Technodrome
PostPosted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 12:14 pm Reply with quote
"The fact of the matter is, the Hollywood machine is really in its death throes unless it really rethinks its business."

You are completely

Utterly

Totally

Unequivocally

WRONG

about this. 2002 was the highest-grossing year EVER for the 'Hollywood machine', in the entire HISTORY of there BEING MOVIES. 2003 was like 2 percent decline. Movies make more money now than they ever have before. COST is skyrocketing, but PROFIT is way up. Movies don't have legs but they also make 50 percent of their total box office cume in the opening weekend, and that's because the DVD window is so short. This magical time you speak of where every movie was a grand-smash hit that was a great movie and ran for 4 months NEVER EXISTED. You're thinking of movies like Titanic and Home Alone, once-in-a-lifetime moneymakers that ran for months and months and months. Even mega-blockbusters back in the summers of the 1990's didn't last more than a month, which is about as long as any major film lasts now.

What really pisses me off is that everyone sits around and talks about movies like they know ANYTHING AT ALL about them and then they spout total CRAP like this. DO YOUR RESEARCH. Read Variety. Read the Hollywood Reporter. Read Box Office Mojo. Read ShowBIZ Data. Read Movie Poop Shoot. READ READ READ. Don't just speculate based on box office numbers you don't know how to interpret and a bunch of complete know-nothing outsiders who sit on forums and speculate over something they have absolutely ZERO KNOWLEDGE of.

Christ on a cracker, I am sick of this crap. They did the research. They proved that internet naysayers know jack about how to make a decent movie. Forumgoers don't understand the moviemaking process, don't know what it requires to write a good script, and they speak only for themselves. Given the opportunity, they would make a movie that appealed ONLY TO THEM. THAT is what the problem is. The studios simply know better than to listen to the likes of you, believe it or not, live in denial all you like.

-Z
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor


Joined: 05 Jan 2002
Posts: 7912
Location: Anime News Network Technodrome
PostPosted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 12:15 pm Reply with quote
"And maybe the major studios have decided to ignore the online world and the fan population, but thankfully most independant-minded directors aren't that narrow-minded. I highly doubt we'd have Kill Bill or just about any Kevin Smith films if they had ignored the fans."

Oh, and for the record, Quentin Tarantino went on record as saying that internet fanboys know jack all about film, are a bunch of whining posers and that he'd never listen to a word any of them had to say about his films.

So there goes your theory.

-Z
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Scaramanga



Joined: 02 Sep 2003
Posts: 134
Location: San Diego, CA
PostPosted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 1:16 pm Reply with quote
Zac wrote:
Oh, and for the record, Quentin Tarantino went on record as saying that internet fanboys know jack all about film, are a bunch of whining posers and that he'd never listen to a word any of them had to say about his films.

So there goes your theory.

-Z

And for the record, I was at a panel for Kill Bill and I distinctly recall Tarantino saying this film was for the fans. Of course that wouldn't be the first time someone contradicted themselves publicly. Kevin Smith skewered online fans in Jay & Silent Bob, yet he still makes films for his fans (and in fact Jay & Silent Bob can be said to be entirely fan-pandering)

OK so wait, 2002 was the highest grossing year ever. Fantastic... something I think is generally failed to be mentioned in these statistics is that they're skewed. So movie grosses wouldn't happen to be up because ticket prices are rising? Or because they, effectively, "churn" stories, or the infamous "adaptations". In fact, the reported 2% drop in revenues in 2003 is probably closer to a 8-10% decrease in viewership. I'm sorry Zac, but Variety is a Hollywood insider rag, and as such I would highly suspect any statistics they spew.

And this research you say studios have done, have absolutely ZERO to do with producing a quality product and everything to do with the bottom-line. I'm by no means saying I know how to make a movie... but then I'm also not a painter, but I DO know that a bucket of paint thrown at a canvas is NOT art.
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor


Joined: 05 Jan 2002
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 1:21 pm Reply with quote
"OK so wait, 2002 was the highest grossing year ever. Fantastic... something I think is generally failed to be mentioned in these statistics is that they're skewed. So movie grosses wouldn't happen to be up because ticket prices are rising? Or because they, effectively, "churn" stories, or the infamous "adaptations". In fact, the reported 2% drop in revenues in 2003 is probably closer to a 8-10% decrease in viewership. I'm sorry Zac, but Variety is a Hollywood insider rag, and as such I would highly suspect any statistics they spew."

No, actually, it was the highest grossing year ever, adjusted for inflation versus every other year. Please tell me your souces on your "probably clsoer to 8-10 percent" thing, or is this fanboy speculative bullsh*t that isn't based in reality or on any actual numbers or figures or research? Insider rag? Where are YOU getting YOUR information from? If the world's #1 business news source for the film industry is 'spewing highly suspect numbers', WHO is reporting ACCURATE numbers, and where are YOU getting this info from?

Explain.

-Z
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Scaramanga



Joined: 02 Sep 2003
Posts: 134
Location: San Diego, CA
PostPosted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 1:45 pm Reply with quote
Zac wrote:
If the world's #1 business news source for the film industry is 'spewing highly suspect numbers', WHO is reporting ACCURATE numbers, and where are YOU getting this info from?

Explain.

-Z

You said it yourself, their business IS the film industry. They are, as you've said, a business magazine. Their concern is NOT with product, but with bottom line. And yes, my statistics are speculative, but when it comes to audience responses, most of studios' own projections for earnings are based on speculative numbers.

And since Variety seems to be the Holy Grail to you, I find this to be rather contradictory to what you've been saying. That must've been one BIG 2%.

EDIT: Anyway, lunch time, see you in 2 hours Zac. Smile
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor


Joined: 05 Jan 2002
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 2:09 pm Reply with quote
Scaramanga wrote:

You said it yourself, their business IS the film industry. They are, as you've said, a business magazine. Their concern is NOT with product, but with bottom line. And yes, my statistics are speculative, but when it comes to audience responses, most of studios' own projections for earnings are based on speculative numbers.

And since Variety seems to be the Holy Grail to you, I find this to be rather contradictory to what you've been saying. That must've been one BIG 2%.

EDIT: Anyway, lunch time, see you in 2 hours Zac. Smile


That's an op/ed piece and I covered those points when I said that COST is being driven sky-high. Pictures that used to cost $50m now cost $150m, and unless they can get those costs down, they're in a spot of trouble. Audience does not seem to be much a problem; they claim audiences are shrinking, but they've simply split the market across DVD, which as I said, revolutionized the industry and now is responsible for easily a third of any major film's final gross. It's a different sort of problem, and your suggestion that the studios listening to a bunch of whiny losers on forums will somehow fix this problem is totally laughable, man.

-Z
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cyrax777



Joined: 05 Mar 2003
Posts: 1825
Location: the desert
PostPosted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 2:29 pm Reply with quote
Zac you might as well be talking to a brick wall.

I agree with Zac on this. If the Industry was indeed in its death keels like the net forums say. Then they wouldnt be shelling out hundreds of millions of dollers a year on movies that keep bombing. Its a basic simple math if there making money there going to keep doing whats making them money. As Much as the "fan community" whined about the 2nd and 3rd matrix movie it still made a ton of money for the studio and continues to make a ton of money in DVD sales.

As for the Eva movie I predict it will be like the Majority of Anime/games turned into movies. The Fansboys will whine the Public wont care as long as there entertained.
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Scaramanga



Joined: 02 Sep 2003
Posts: 134
Location: San Diego, CA
PostPosted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 3:52 pm Reply with quote
OK, perhaps I engaged in hyperbole when saying Hollywood is in its death throes. As any $12bil/year industry is not likely to die out in my lifetime. But I certainly predict they will have to significantly change their approach to consumers in the next 5 years.

Zac wrote:
That's an op/ed piece and I covered those points when I said that COST is being driven sky-high. Pictures that used to cost $50m now cost $150m, and unless they can get those costs down, they're in a spot of trouble. Audience does not seem to be much a problem; they claim audiences are shrinking, but they've simply split the market across DVD, which as I said, revolutionized the industry and now is responsible for easily a third of any major film's final gross.

Again, you're talking about the business end of the industry. My major gripe against their current trends seems to be quantity over quality. Again, I'm talking substance here, not Domestic Gross. I definitely agree DVD has taken the lions share of profits from theatres, but you have to wonder when DVD sales rise 56% in a single year, yet box office results remain fairly tepid.

5 years ago, Hollywood insiders and pundits said that Hollywood would be cutting back on the number of films released a year, because of those rising costs, but we have yet to see this happen. Personally I think this would make the best economic sense and would certainly stimulate competition and quality products.

Zac wrote:
It's a different sort of problem, and your suggestion that the studios listening to a bunch of whiny losers on forums will somehow fix this problem is totally laughable, man.

First this is never what I proposed at all. I was simply stating that these people DO have a voice, and whether studios want to acknowledge that or not that voice influences people. Liking or disliking their vitriolic rants is completely irrelevant. Sure if maybe I post a negative review of a film maybe it only affects a handful of people. But what about when you review something Zac? How many people respond to it. And then take people like Gabe & Tycho of PA - their influence boggles the mind at times. Maybe the studios got tired of catering to every Harry Knowles who came along (and I can't say as I really blame them,) but to completely ignore online trends seems like a mistake to me.

As a consumer, all I ask for is a quality product. I don't think that's too much to ask for. Hollywood has grown complacent in its mediocrity and I feel it's shameful of audiences to accept this.
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thecactusman17



Joined: 26 Aug 2003
Posts: 167
PostPosted: Thu Jan 22, 2004 2:44 am Reply with quote
Scaramanga wrote:
Quote:
I was simply stating that these people DO have a voice, and whether studios want to acknowledge that or not that voice influences people.


Zac, I admit that yes, I am a bit of a "fanboy," and I admit that my voice is singular. I even admit that the voice of the Internet fan community in general is significantly weaker than the reader responses of magazines like Variety, Hollywood Reporter, and other "official" news outlets of the film industry. That said, I think I do have the right to at least express my views and opinions based on the information that we have been given and that is available to me, and I'm happy to see you exercising your right to disagree. Pretending to be more important to such as Hollywood bigwigs is not my intent.

I do think that studios refusing to listen to buzz on the internet, negative and positive, is foolish and frankly untrue. They may not agree. They may do nothing at all. We may be totally wrong and so far removed from the loop to not know what the freaking hell we're talking about. But you ask any hollywood producer who's made a name for themselves if they would like the support of i-media moguls like Harry Knowles and they'll tell you: "Hell yes."

In fact, AICN is a great (not to mention the most prominent) website that demonstrates the power of a word-of-mouth fan and film community outside of the Associated Press. While it certainly does not have the ability of powerhouses like Ebert and Roeper, it does inform fans of the information it has available, and those fans may do what they so desire with the information. Hell, that's the whole point of the internet, when it comes down to it. And those fans have used their information to complain and congratulate, and generally inform studios of their opinion as film buffs, for the last several years.

No, the industry is not at death's door. No, I as a single person likely have no right to expect being able to "backseat-direct" this movie. But I do think that as a person who watched and enjoyed the source material upon which this is based, I should at least tell them what I thought about it, and my opinion on what they could do better to keep things at a level of mass-market appeal while satisfying some of the more passionate fans in the prospective audience. Pardon me if I don't apologize for this.

Well, that's it. It's almost midnight, an I've got school tomorrow. G'night.
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Mohawk52



Joined: 16 Oct 2003
Posts: 8202
Location: England, UK
PostPosted: Thu Jan 22, 2004 4:12 pm Reply with quote
Louie-kun wrote:
Deep breaths Sakechan, it's going to be alright.

I said this in a previous post, but I'll say it again. Name changes do not matter. As long as the characters act the way they do in the anime and the basic storyline is intact, then it'll be a great movie.
Er, just what was the "basic storyline", BTW? Question After seeing it twice now I still don't get it. Maybe I was on the wrong medication. Wink
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AnimeHeretic



Joined: 10 Jul 2003
Posts: 179
PostPosted: Thu Jan 22, 2004 11:33 pm Reply with quote
Scaramanga wrote:
Why is it when people bring this thing up the majority of complaints are names and hair colour?!? I mean c'mon. Does it REALLY matter what they're called, as long as their characters are the same?? And really... why on EARTH should Rei's hair be blue?? Besides old ladies at the laundromat how many (non-punk) young girls do you know that have BLUE hair? I would figure people would be more worried about what they were going to do to the story characters rather than what they were going to call them or what colour hair they'll have or if the plug-suits will look the same.


Besides in Japanese Live Action shows based on anime, the hair color is almost uniformly black (IIRC, in Japan, Dark Brown and Dark red hair does exist, but is rather rare.)

Personally, I fail to be impressed by the artwork, because that's all it is right now. Show me the models or rough screen shots of the filming and then let's see if it's any good as a LA movie.
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Roo-Roo



Joined: 16 Feb 2004
Posts: 3
Location: Dallas
PostPosted: Mon Feb 16, 2004 8:55 pm Reply with quote
Maybe hair color isn't a big deal to some people. And maybe original character names aren't important to you. But when you're dealing with a project the size of Evangelion, making big mistakes like that early in the game is a big no-no. The names are very important. Spelling Rei's name " Ray " really is a huge deal. Rei means "zero" in japanese and she also pilots Eva Unit Zero, which means a lot in the series considering her almost inclusive involvement with the human instrumentality project.
I guaruntee the whole dummy plug deal will be wiped away from the movie. People in America wouldn't be able to grasp the concept if they haven't sat with the series. The idea of Rei's body being a shell for a single soul will have American's screaming. Especially in the religious world we have found ourself in. The religious involvement of the series will be taken away in the film to suit American religious beliefs and to avoid offense.
And changing Asuka's name to Kate Rose is the most outrageous thing thus far. How hard is it to say "Oska"? Americans can stand a foreign name. If we can't there's a problem with us. Why do we have to change a legendary character's name to form-fit our own selfish American tongues?
But there are plenty of things that will be totally screwed in this movie. Examples: Seele with more than likely be non-existent. If this is going to be what i think it is ( a big robot movie where we fight aliens ), Nerv will be the only organization. They won't have enough time to fit every piece of Evangelion in one movie. I assure you, you cannot fit 16 hours of amazing anime into a two, possibly three hour movie. They won't risk the loss of that much money in a project that they are not sure will hit big with such a wide-scale audience.
There will probably be a dissapearance in characters such as Kajii ( and if he IS in the movie, his part will probably blown up to fit his "American Male" rogue personality) Kowaru will not be in the movie for the reason that if it's a big robot movie, why fight a human in one of the last battles?
But, in a final conclusion, making a great Evangelion movie is impossible. If you tell me that there will be a few Eva movies, then maybe I'll stop this. But for anyone who loves anime and loves Evangelion, this movie will suck. Just like Final Fantasy : The Spirits Within, if you don't take it all the way from the original story and make it exact, it won't even come close to the captivation the original has. So just leave it alone.
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