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NEWS: Live-Action Cowboy Bebop Proposal Officially Announced


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tygerchickchibi



Joined: 29 Sep 2006
Posts: 1448
PostPosted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 2:28 am Reply with quote
ikillchicken wrote:

But seriously folks...

Unit 03.5-ish wrote:
In the end, though, I don't care if it bombs or not. I still have the original anime I can watch to remind me of how it was done best the first time around.


I really, honestly can't express enough how great it is to see somebody recognizing this obvious (or so you would think) point. People love to complain about how horrible this will be but in the end, who cares? Even if we assume the worst, so what if Hollywood wants to make a shitty adaptation. We can all continue to enjoy the original series we fell in love with in the first place.


Exactly, my sentiments is pretty much the same thing. It's a simple deciding factor to go or not go, and since people have decided not to go, or even bother "wasting money" on seeing it...why waste
time posting?

Because it's free to run your mouth rather than run up your money. =P
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spooksmagee



Joined: 02 Apr 2007
Posts: 182
Location: Rochester, NY
PostPosted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 2:51 am Reply with quote
I'm indifferent to Reeves playing Spike really, I'm more interested in the rest of the cast tbh. Even if Reeves does a so-so job as Spike, the other actors could more than make up for it in their respective roles.

But I can't for the life of me picture who would play Faye. They'll probably get Angelina Jolie or someone equally horrible. Sad
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plastique



Joined: 17 Dec 2007
Posts: 28
PostPosted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 4:17 am Reply with quote
Playing devil's advocate for a moment, i think the Speed and Point Break-era Reeves had a little of the spunk and 'this crazy situation is kinda funny' humor the Spike has. I'm a big fan of those two early nineties corny-but-entertaining action flicks, and the Reeves of that time would've been, I think, a choice that wouldn't raise so much protest as he does today. Also, Reeves has been good in quite a few roles, like The Gift, My Own Private Idaho and the Matrix. The reason he is considered such a bad actor is because he was awful-not just bad, but galactically awful-in a couple movies like the Devil's Advocate, Dracula(ya'll gotta watch that again to really see how bad he was in it), A Walk in the Clouds, and Street Kings.

Watanabe's involved, and the producers said in a previous interview that faithfulness to the series is something they value quite a bit, so when it comes to the decision-makers this thing has more going for it than Dragonball ever did. So I think the movie needs three key things to be successful-1. a skillful director who is either a fan of the show or has the chops to pull off the style, drama, and action(Rian Johnson, who did Brick, is, I think, a talented stylish director who also happens to be a Bebop fan). 2. Either Yoko Kanno doing the music or someone doing music extremely similar to her. Maybe someone who knows both jazz and electronic music, like Amon Tobin, who did the soundtrack for Splinter Cell 3? 3. Reeves has to pull off the best acting of his career and achieve the style of Spike. Spike is a deceptively simple character, appearing to be a nonchalant slacker who kicks ass when he needs to, but really lives by certain philosophies.

In fact, Cowboy Bebop itself is deceptively simple. I hope that the producers aren't thinking its just 'good guys capture criminals in space' and make it like Riddick or Wing Commander or something. What sets it apart is its style and interaction between the characters(also the music, which influenced the cuts and mood of the series). I've never seen an action film pull off something like when Spike dropped those grenades on Vicious as he fell from the church window having flashbacks. Or how Jet continually tries to show others how he doesn't care if they leave the ship or not, but wrenches about it when they do. Or that long shot at the end of the movie where the villain talks slowly on the tower while the camera pulls away at the pace he is talking. There is a style and mood to this series that I can't really define in words that should be the biggest thing they should be concerned about when making this, bigger than casting, fx, or anything else that people making movies tend to get concentrated on. Its gotta have style.

As for additional casting, I think Bruce Willis could do a decent Jet without even trying, Faye could be played by several hot young actresses with quality acting chops(Beckinsale? Portman? Would they do a supporting role?), and they'd probably have to do some major casting sessions to find a kid to play Ed. I don't know if any of the characters are Japanese, so unlike other anime adaptations I wouldn't be opposed to a Hollywood cast. If they focus on Bebop's stylistic touches and mood they have a big plus going for them.
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bebophitchhiker



Joined: 16 Jan 2009
Posts: 8
PostPosted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 9:08 am Reply with quote
Plastique, you have nailed it. IF they end up with Reeves, Watanabe-san really needs to make him sit down and watch the entire series to give him the full flavor of what will, and I do mean WILL, be expected of him for the Spike role. Let's face it, folks. Those of us who love this show really do have our own takes on how things should be. Spike is, well, SPIKE. He has a certain set of mannerisms. From his ambling walking style, to his fighting style, heck, all the way to the way he lights his cigarette, he has his way. Unless Keanu can come close to that, his Spike will go over like a fart in a spacesuit.

The other cast members, the same thing. As far as who to play them, I have at least one preference. I think the guy who played John Coffey in The Green Mile (for the life of me, as much as I love that movie, I can't remember his name) would be a good Jet. Faye, well, I really don't keep up with actresses these days, so someone else might be better, but I think Cameron Diaz would be ok. And Ed, I don't have a clue!!!

But I will agree with a few other posters. For me, it's Yoko Kanno-sama on the music credit, or else forget it!!!
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sapphirebreathless



Joined: 16 Jan 2009
Posts: 3
PostPosted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 12:06 pm Reply with quote
oh god anyone but gary busey. sorry i'm sure he's a good actor but he scares me. i've seen him on those intervention-type shows and i wouldn't want to give him any more money to fuel that type of lifestyle. unless he's clean now, i don't really know. but thumbs up for james franco as spike!! they'd just have to dye his hair and make him a little more gangly i think. edward would be the hardest to cast in my opinion, or maybe even faye too. god, i'm just glad i'm not the one who has to cast everyone. i think i'd go insane lol
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Unit 03.5-ish



Joined: 07 Dec 2008
Posts: 1540
Location: This space for rent
PostPosted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 12:47 pm Reply with quote
sapphirebreathless wrote:
oh god anyone but gary busey. sorry i'm sure he's a good actor but he scares me. i've seen him on those intervention-type shows and i wouldn't want to give him any more money to fuel that type of lifestyle. unless he's clean now, i don't really know. but thumbs up for james franco as spike!! they'd just have to dye his hair and make him a little more gangly i think. edward would be the hardest to cast in my opinion, or maybe even faye too. god, i'm just glad i'm not the one who has to cast everyone. i think i'd go insane lol


As long as he doesn't threaten to rip out my endocrine system...



(2 people will get that)
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JacobC
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Joined: 15 Jan 2008
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Location: SoCal
PostPosted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 12:51 pm Reply with quote
(Wow, I heard about this late...)

Hooray! It IS being made, and soon! Very Happy

Hooray! Watanabe-san and many of the original crew will be consulted, which means the tone may be preserved a lot better! Very Happy

Hooray! They plan to stay faithful to the source material and they're using the Red Eye plot as a backdrop, giving us the perfect setup to draw Spike into the Vicious and Julia web of awesome! Twisted Evil

Hooray! Keanu Reeves is *rrrrrrrt!* ...Awwwwwww, maaaaaaaan. Crying or Very sad

I still have faith in this movie! I wanna see it! Really, though, only three things make or break a film, regardless of the awful Keanu playing a character I couldn't see him as in a million years.

1. The director. There isn't one attached yet, good or bad. Therefore I have nothing to say, but this is Fox, so the odds actually aren't very good! Boo-hoo...

2. The tone, i.e. the sources they consult in forming the spine of the film itself. They're going to the original creators, and several of them, as production consultants which is an excellent sign! It means they're officially attached to the picture and will contribute directly to its overall look. Using the Red Eye subplot as the backbone of the story is also a good sign, that's probably the best thing they could have done for the movie.

3. The writer. The finished script could be crap, and that would be a problem. The scriptwriter signed on, I looked him up and I'm not really familiar with his work at all...

Still, that matters considerably less as scripts are the blueprint for a film but often change radically during production when the director and actors can see what works and what doesn't, and furthermore, the first writer on a project is RARELY the last and only...

EDIT: Casting-wise, Faye could be cast as any number of women so long as they don't fall into that "hot women who can't act/Angelina Jolie" kind of trap.

Ed is a total mystery to me.

Bruce Willis, sure, as Jet, but here's another thought. What about Ron Perlman? Heck yeah! Very Happy
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GrinfilledCelt



Joined: 17 Jan 2009
Posts: 75
Location: I wish I were in Ocqueoc.
PostPosted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 5:38 pm Reply with quote
Soon millions more people will think that Cowboy Bebop, anime and Keanu Reeves suck and they will only be right about one of them.
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Murasakisuishou



Joined: 22 Jun 2006
Posts: 1469
Location: NE Ohio
PostPosted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 6:36 pm Reply with quote
JesuOtaku wrote:
Casting-wise, Faye could be cast as any number of women so long as they don't fall into that "hot women who can't act/Angelina Jolie" kind of trap.


You know who might be a good Faye? Morena Baccarin. She's not a bad actress, she can certainly flip some attitude when the situation calls for it, and I bet she'd look awesome in Faye's trademark hot pants. She also looks sufficiently aged.
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Unit 03.5-ish



Joined: 07 Dec 2008
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 6:38 pm Reply with quote
Jesu: after Ron rocked my socks as Hellboy, I'd give that a F*CK YEAH. Seriously, the guy has the height and bulk for the role, and he's a bit older than Jet, but that's nothing you can't work around with the proper makeup.
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JacobC
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 6:44 pm Reply with quote
^ Yeah! Not to mention the voice/attitude. Bruce Willis tends to be colder and more hardboiled while Perlman's variation on badass is very casual. I think he proved with Hellboy that he can also sound tender and paternal unintentionally, which is kind of Jet's calling card. He doesn't make any effort to sound like he cares about the crew, it just oozes out of him whether he likes it or not. Mostly through his cooking. Laughing
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Greg Aubry



Joined: 10 Feb 2006
Posts: 224
Location: Detroit, MI
PostPosted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:13 am Reply with quote
If they're aging the cast by putting Keanu Reeves in Spike's role, then I'll go right ahead and reiterate that Vanessa Marcil would make a spot-on Faye Valentine. Her last big role was in NBC's Las Vegas, which ran from 2003-2008, and her attitude and look are very "Faye."

As for the rest of the cast-- I've got nothing.
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LordPrometheus





PostPosted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:24 am Reply with quote
Unit 03.5-ish wrote:
Jesu: after Ron rocked my socks as Hellboy, I'd give that a F*CK YEAH. Seriously, the guy has the height and bulk for the role, and he's a bit older than Jet, but that's nothing you can't work around with the proper makeup.


I completely agree with either Willis or Perlman. When I first thought of casting Jet, I thought "Dang, that's got Bruce Willis written all over it.", but then a few people in this thread mentioned Perlman, and he's just as pimp as Willis. I don't think they could go wrong with either choice.
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spoon89



Joined: 07 Mar 2008
Posts: 45
PostPosted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 12:45 pm Reply with quote
i saw this coming but the keanu reeves info was shocking, i wonder if that guy even has the time to watch anime, he better make that a habit if he wants to get a chance of even getting the movie to have an audience
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sapphirebreathless



Joined: 16 Jan 2009
Posts: 3
PostPosted: Sun Jan 18, 2009 3:38 pm Reply with quote
i was watching the matrix last night and, neglecting the fact it was filmed when reeves was 10 years younger, he was pretty good with the combat scenes....unless they were stunt doubles.... but the scene where he's fighting morpheous or however you spell it, i'm pretty sure the majority of actual combat is keanu, not the parts where he's getting slammed into support beams, and he was pretty good so maybe there's a chance he won't suck THAT bad. but he definitely needs to work on actually using his face, as in expressions. yeah i know spike's an anime character and the faces they make in the show defy the laws of physics. but honestly, a simple smirk or wtf face from keanu would suffice. if i were him, i'd sit in front of the mirror everyday until the movie is in theaters practicing goofy spike faces. i'm not really into keanu bashing bc i think he made some really good movies and he's an actor i actually like, but i don't think him being spike is the greatest call unless he's seen the series and can like channel spike somehow. but i'm hopeful since the original crew will probably abuse him into being better if he got something wrong haha
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