Ghost in the Shell Snags Scarlett Johansson

[Scott Tortorice]

Don't know if this project will ever see the light of day - it has been in development hell for two or three years now - but Spielberg is certainly doing what he can to get it going:

Scarlett Johansson Signs On For Ghost In The Shell

Variety is reporting that Scarlett Johansson has officially signed on to star in Dreamwork’s live action adaptation of the Japanese animated film Ghost in the Shell. The film is based on Shirow Masamune’s cyberpunk manga of the same name.

...

Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders has signed on to direct Ghost in the Shell.


According to Variety, the film has still not been officially greenlit, but Dreamworks head Steven Spielberg, said to be huge fan of the original film, is hoping that Johansson’s star power will help put those gears in motion.

Not too thrilled by that director. I would feel better if Spielberg himself was going to direct such a nuanced story. If they give this movie the Guardians of the Galaxy treatment where it is one action sequence quickly followed by another, it is going to miss wide of the mark. GitS is like Blade Runner: the most powerful parts are the meditative, existential moments. The actions sequences are just there as spice.

 

[kawaiku]

Wow... that. I just. I cannot honestly see her as Major Makoto Kusanagi. There's just no way.

 

[Scott Tortorice]

I was reading the comments on the original Variety story and it seems many people agree with you. I don't have an opinion as, frankly, I find most contemporary actors/actresses to be rather mediocre (the age of Vaudevillian entertainers is, sadly, dead, and Hollywood is the worse for it). But seeing how the writer has a thin, mostly TV-based resume, and Spielberg has no hands-on role in the production, I fear this is just going to be another Hollywood smash and grab. As one poster put it:

An American Ghost in the Shell….
*Cringes*
…I really hope they don’t **** on the franchise… that better not be all about cyborgs,guns and explosions plus CGI and ******** story, and actually have a deep human/cyborg/android remnants of the human soul, with some deep existential ending that leaves you wondering who/what was actually the bad “guy”, and wonder about the path of humanity into a technological future which is also has subject critique to the otaku/hikikomori(Social shut-in) modern way of life style of human beings alienating each other to favor technology and their own egos…..into the depths of human/organs/souls trafficking, corruption, prostitution, assassination in such a way that it shakes the very foundations of large companies and government….yeah…
Can’t be expecting this much from Hollywood…

But for the bad grammar, well said.

 

[Scott Tortorice]

A quote from Spielberg:

"...Steven Spielberg‘s enthusiasm for the project. The entertainment trade newspaper quotes the acclaimed director and producer: 'Ghost in the Shell is one of my favorite stories. It’s a genre that has arrived, and we enthusiastically welcome it to Dreamworks.'"

I think Spielberg is right: cyberpunk is a genre that has finally arrived after some fits and starts.

Below the article, I found this hilarious remark from a reader:

"You Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! G*d damn you all to hell!"

:laugh:

Yeah, the negativity concerning this movie is running pretty high from the anime fans....

 

[ParaMarine]

That's not the choice for director or actress I would have picked either.

 

[kawaiku]

That's not the choice for director or actress I would have picked either.

Yeah. I just recently watched Edge of Tomorrow which is an adaptation of a Japanese light novel (that was also adapted into a manga as well) called All You Need is Kill. They honestly nailed it. Save for the happy ending in the movie, the original isn't really that happy and the aliens are not as cool in the original, they did a great job getting it down. I would say Emily Blunt, after watching her in that movie, would be perfect to portray the Major, or someone like her. I was reading in another forum that people were saying Ron Perlman would be perfect for Batou and I couldn't agree more!! But, besides Chief Aramaki, the other members of Section 9 are distinctly Japanese, I'm afraid that they'll "white it up" and try to keep the main cast's names or something like that and botch the whole thing.

 

[ParaMarine]

Wow I never thought of using the actress from Edge of Tomorrow. She did a really good job and was a believable tough chick. That's high praise from an infantryman.
Edge of Tomorrow was probably the best movie of last year. Anyone who hasn't seen it yet here really should. I liked how unique it was - not just an Alien ripoff. I liked how it all took place in Europe too instead of just sets and obvious SoCal outdoors.

 

[kawaiku]

Yeah she would be perfect. She's attractive but also has this badass edge to her as well that lets you know you don't f**k with her. And it was a really good movie. Very sharp and really had no weak points from what I can see while also staying indelibly true to the source material. Scarlett might have the boobs to match Makoto's but Emily Blunt has that tough edge to her besides being able to turn on some of the soft side of her character as well (it happened in the series, but only rarely). Scarlett is just, it is very hard for me to picture her as the major. She might be better in a supporting role but she just never gives me the vibes that she can pull off the major.

Watch episode one of Ghost in the Shell: 1st GiG and tell me who would be better. Emily Blunt or Scarlett Johansson:
[video=youtube;-z_gYTXzM9k]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z_gYTXzM9k&list=PL3B92215F18CE89C5&index=1[/video]

 

[Scott Tortorice]

Yeah. I just recently watched Edge of Tomorrow which is an adaptation of a Japanese light novel (that was also adapted into a manga as well) called All You Need is Kill. They honestly nailed it. Save for the happy ending in the movie, the original isn't really that happy and the aliens are not as cool in the original, they did a great job getting it down.

The only thing I didn't like about EoT was the ending. I am so tired of global invasions being defeated by a single guy and a bandoleer of grenades. They really phoned in the ending on this one. But, with that one exception, I thought the movie was a lot of fun. In fact, I enjoyed it more the second time around. I really got a kick out of seeing Cruise play the part of the cowardly screw-up for a change.

How did the story end in the original novel? And how are the aliens different? I thought the mimics were rather bland myself, and not really worthy of the name "mimic."

I would say Emily Blunt, after watching her in that movie, would be perfect to portray the Major, or someone like her. I was reading in another forum that people were saying Ron Perlman would be perfect for Batou and I couldn't agree more!! But, besides Chief Aramaki, the other members of Section 9 are distinctly Japanese, I'm afraid that they'll "white it up" and try to keep the main cast's names or something like that and botch the whole thing.

Perlman was Batou is a great idea! Blunt is also an interesting choice for the major.

 

[kawaiku]

The only thing I didn't like about EoT was the ending. I am so tired of global invasions being defeated by a single guy and a bandoleer of grenades. They really phoned in the ending on this one. But, with that one exception, I thought the movie was a lot of fun. In fact, I enjoyed it more the second time around. I really got a kick out of seeing Cruise play the part of the cowardly screw-up for a change.

My best guess is that if the movie didn't show the aliens being outright beaten with that bandoleer of grenades, we may have gotten a crappy squeal. I personally would have preferred the idea that once the neural network is kaput, that the aliens are essentially like Tyranids when a hive mind is killed and the nids on the lower portions of the peaking order are basically left to be wondering, mindless creatures easy to kill. And I agree! It was hilarious seeing him dealing with everything including all those in jokes between him and Blunt's character. "No I'm fine, really. I'm okay." *Cocks pistol.* "Okay do it." :laugh:

How did the story end in the original novel? And how are the aliens different? I thought the mimics were rather bland myself, and not really worthy of the name "mimic."

In the end, in order get out of the loop because they had been in it for so long, one of them had to die and that meant Rita and Keiji (the original name of the main character) had see one of them die. Rita attacks Keiji and they battle it out and Keiji ends up killing Rita. She never liked the setting sun and painted her armor red because it reminded her of why she didn't like setting suns (it was basically when mimics killed her parents and entire town in the mid-west United States and the sky was burning red from fires). Also, Rita uses the giant axe/sword in the movie because they would run out of ammo really quickly and the close combat weapon never did. Rita learned this after going through her first loop. Also, a major change was that the military took the idea of the loop seriously and were using Rita to defeat aliens one battle at a time.

Perlman was Batou is a great idea! Blunt is also an interesting choice for the major.

I agree! However, I have no idea who would be good for the other roles, especially Togusa with that kickass mullet.

 

[Reckall]

*The* Major Kusanagi was the Polish actress who played the lead in "Avalon", a live Polish (!!) action movie by Oshii. Her name is Malgorzata Foremniak. Originally the part was written for a man, but when she auditioned for a secondary part Oshii rewrote the script with her as the lead. He later admitted that "Maybe a certain kind of women attract me..."

You can see her in this brief clip: min 4:00 and forward.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0Z5McvjFD8

 

[kawaiku]

*The* Major Kusanagi was the Polish actress who played the lead in "Avalon", a live Polish (!!) action movie by Oshii. Her name is Malgorzata Foremniak. Originally the part was written for a man, but when she auditioned for a secondary part Oshii rewrote the script with her as the lead. He later admitted that "Maybe a certain kind of women attract me..."

You can see her in this brief clip: min 4:00 and forward.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0Z5McvjFD8

What do you mean by this? I'm a little lost :hmmm:

 

[soggycrow]

Don't forget that Emily Blunt played one of Meryl Streep's secretaries in "The Devil Wears Prada." So I guess that means she's pretty versatile.