Speed Racer was nice btw... The problem with most live action translations is the balance that the filmmakers feel they need to interject in the aesthetics.
"How can we stay true to the source material?" Most filmmaker's simply add pretty bells and whistles hoping to capture that something. Movies like V for Vendetta, Road to Perdition and Sin City boiled the essense down and built the project from scratch. Del Torro and Jackson dont walk on water. Much of the success of their work is the subject matter and source material (LOTR). M Knight will do great with this project. Now thats a twist I can live with. On Thu, Dec 11, 2008 at 5:44 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > LOL! I'm just trying to see how the cheese factor can be eliminated in > a big screen film, and am not at all sure Shyamalan is the man to do it. > There are guys like Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro and others I can think > of, such as a couple other Harry Potter directors. These people I could see > being able to mix the elements of fantasy, warfare, and action, while making > a film that appeals to both its target young audience, as well as to adults. > But Shyamalan? Just don't know... > > I'm trying to think of a really good cartoon-to-movie translation, or > videogame-to-movie translation for that matter, based on original source > material. I'm thinking of everything from Popeye to the Flintstones, > Underdog to Speed Racer, Alvin and the Chipmunks to the Rocky and Bullwinkle > Show. i recall Dudley Do-Right and George of the Jungle, Fat Albert and > Inspector Gadget, Masters of the Universe and Scooby-Doo. With very few > exceptions, the translations have been poor. A few like Speed Racer have > some fans, but not universally by any means. That's already a knock against > it. > > > -------------- Original message -------------- > From: Daryle Lockhart <[email protected]> > > Yeah see, I was waiting on THIS. > if Keith is not feeling this project, I'm not in. He's the most dedicated > Avatar person I KNOW. I may love bad movies (so sign me up for Dragonball > Evolution) but whitecasting Avatar sort of defeats the purpose. > > On Dec 11, 2008, at 5:19 PM, [email protected] wrote: > > > I have my doubts. One, great cartoons rarely translate well to live action > films. The history is replete with failures, usually because some of the > elements that work in a cartoon (crazy colors, unbelievable powers, etc.) > don't translate to live action. I love the series "Ben 10", for example, but > the live action TV movie was a dud. Second, Shyamalan is a talent, but when > he misfires--as he's done lately--he misfires big. I'm nervous for him to > tackle an already difficult undertaking. Third, gotta wonder about the > casting. I guess Ang, Sokka, and Kitara can be played by Europeans, but Zuko > is definitely Asian. What's up with that pick? I hope they don't rewrite > other Asian characters as Europeans, like Uncle Iro or the Firelord himself. > and while we're at it, if you *are* going to do some creative casting, any > chance of putting some brothers up in this joint? I loved the series and > recommended it to everyone over the years, but the lack of dark skinned > people didn't escape my notice. > > > -------------- Original message -------------- > From: "Tracey de Morsella" <[email protected]> > > Shyamalan lines up his cast for 'The Last Airbender' > > Dec 9, 2008, 11:32 PM | by Nicole Sperling > > Categories: Movie Biz<http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/movie_biz/index.html> > > M. Night Shyamalan has found the cast for *The Last Airbender*, his > upcoming live-action film based on the popular anime-inspired Nickelodeon > series. The youthful group is mostly filled with unknowns who are likely to > be household names by the time Paramount opens the first in its potential > three-film franchise in July 2010. After an open casting call in Texas, > Shyamalan discovered karate star Noah Ringer and offered him the part of > Airbender's 12-year old hero, Aang, an Avatar with superpowers who must stop > the Fire Nation from destroying the world. *Twilight*'s Jackson Rathbone > has been asked to play Aang's pal Sokka, while Nicola Peltz (*Deck the > Halls*) will star as his sister Katara. Genial singer Jesse McCartney, > meanwhile, is negotiating to play against type in the role of the Fire > Nation's evil prince Zuko. > > http://hollywoodins > ider.ew.com/2008/12/shyamalan-casts.html?xid=rss-hollywoodinsider-Shyamalan%20lines%20up%20his%20cast%20for%20%27The%20Last%20Airbender%27 > > > > -- cwm blog http://centralheatingblog.blogspot.com STRING THEORY http://www.stringtheory.mypodcast.com
