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NEWS: Oshii's Assault Girls Gets Hollywood Remake Inquiry




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ikillchicken



Joined: 12 Feb 2007
Posts: 7272
Location: Vancouver
PostPosted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 1:09 am Reply with quote
Interesting. I've never had much interest in seeing Oshii's live action stuff but this looks kinda cool.
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hara



Joined: 10 Nov 2006
Posts: 208
Location: EU
PostPosted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 5:21 am Reply with quote
It almost seems as if foreign films must not be screened in the USA considering that often used remake-habit of non American films. Haven't seen Assault Girls but if a Japanese film is enjoyable why can't it be enjoyed in its original form? It's not like only Americans could make good films.
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bob_loblaw



Joined: 14 Oct 2005
Posts: 229
Location: Tanning in Hell
PostPosted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 7:57 am Reply with quote
I honestly can't recall the last movie I watched that wasn't an adaptation of a novel or comic book; a sequel; a remake of a foreign language film; or a remake of an older film.

Mamoru Oshii wants to have the stars of his Assault Girls film appear in the Hollywood remake? That's a nice thought, but it won't happen; he might get Kikuchi though. Whichever producers approached Oshii about a foreign remake likely already had a bunch of Hollywood actresses in mind to fill the titular roles.
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Colin Howell



Joined: 20 Oct 2009
Posts: 3
Location: Mountain View, California
PostPosted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 8:15 am Reply with quote
hara wrote:
It almost seems as if foreign films must not be screened in the USA considering that often used remake-habit of non American films. Haven't seen Assault Girls but if a Japanese film is enjoyable why can't it be enjoyed in its original form?

Foreign films rarely enjoy wide screening or promotion in the U.S., though of course there are notable exceptions. The issue of language is a big turn-off for America's mostly monolingual movie-goers, many of whom find reading subtitles to be distracting enough to spoil the movie.

Also remember that Hollywood's business is making movies, and a remake is potential far more profitable for them than simply distributing an original foreign film, especially one shot in a foreign language.

Quote:
It's not like only Americans could make good films.

Leaving aside my pragmatic explanation for this behavior above, I do often get the feeling that many people in Hollywood believe they're the only ones who know how to make real movies--which is especially laughable and sad when you consider the wretched quality of many Hollywood movies these days. But Hollywood seems to be wrapped up in its own self-obsessed world anyway.
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LondinCalling



Joined: 26 Feb 2004
Posts: 122
PostPosted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 10:40 am Reply with quote
If Kikuchi is in it why not?

I don't like Hollywood's remake habits but it could still be cool. So long as Oshii directs and the special effects are subpar.
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megumi's guy



Joined: 28 Jul 2003
Posts: 67
Location: Murfreesboro, Tennessee
PostPosted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 12:01 pm Reply with quote
I guess we poor Americans can’t watch a movie and read the subtitles at the same time. ;>) When I went to Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon they told me 3 times that it was subtitled. I guess watching all that anime really paid off. :>)
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LondinCalling



Joined: 26 Feb 2004
Posts: 122
PostPosted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 12:21 pm Reply with quote
This is a very marketable franchise so I think it's a good idea now that i think about it.

It's not as NEARLY as bad as the proposed Seven Samurai remake. Now that is just insulting.

This couldn't be better of Oshii.

Assault Girls isn't art. It's just girls with guns blowing up phallic symbols( I mean sand worms). Who cares if it's remade? It's something to watch when you're drunk. And who knows, if a GOOD film director picks it up, it might not suck any more than Oshii's most likely will.
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Yuki_Kun45
Exempt from Grammar Rules


Joined: 26 May 2008
Posts: 725
Location: U.S.A.
PostPosted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 6:31 pm Reply with quote
megumi's guy wrote:
I guess we poor Americans can’t watch a movie and read the subtitles at the same time. ;>) When I went to Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon they told me 3 times that it was subtitled. I guess watching all that anime really paid off. :>)


Because the only other option is dubbed, and well dubs in live action are always painfully obvious. Generally movies see the highest attendance in theaters on Friday and Saturday nights and after a long work week most would rather sit back and watch the movie rather than crouch over trying to keep up with subs. Even I would and I do like foreign films.
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jdnation



Joined: 15 May 2007
Posts: 1994
PostPosted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 1:50 pm Reply with quote
Colin Howell wrote:
hara wrote:
It almost seems as if foreign films must not be screened in the USA considering that often used remake-habit of non American films. Haven't seen Assault Girls but if a Japanese film is enjoyable why can't it be enjoyed in its original form?

Foreign films rarely enjoy wide screening or promotion in the U.S., though of course there are notable exceptions. The issue of language is a big turn-off for America's mostly monolingual movie-goers, many of whom find reading subtitles to be distracting enough to spoil the movie.

Also remember that Hollywood's business is making movies, and a remake is potential far more profitable for them than simply distributing an original foreign film, especially one shot in a foreign language.

Quote:
It's not like only Americans could make good films.

Leaving aside my pragmatic explanation for this behavior above, I do often get the feeling that many people in Hollywood believe they're the only ones who know how to make real movies--which is especially laughable and sad when you consider the wretched quality of many Hollywood movies these days. But Hollywood seems to be wrapped up in its own self-obsessed world anyway.


I'd also add in that when if comes to film SFX, Hollywood is unrivalled. The FX is most foreign films, particularly niche ones like what Oshii's is, have smaller budgets and can't usually afford good FX work or access to good VFX houses. So a lot of foreign movies do contain poorer production values and this is noticable and doesn't jive with American audiences who are spoilt by quality production work in Hollywood films. Even budget Hollywood films with considered poor effects are usually better than most foreign films whose storylines require heavy FX work. So in some cases foreign films try to cover this up by being heavily stylized which can look cool, but also limits it's audience potential only to enthusiasts.

I wouldn't put the blame solely on Hollywood. The reason they do churn out stereotypical mass media fluff is because the majority of audiences in America actually do prefer it! And given that FX budgets can be costly in order to meet American audience's expectations, Hollywood doesn't want to take as many risks.
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