Death Note Producer Promises Film Will Be Rated-R

[JaredJones]

Death Note Producer Promises Film Will Be Rated-R

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It looks like the American adaptation of the manga classic won't be opting for a family-friendly approach to its source material.

Adam Wingard might be one of the most promising directors in Hollywood right now. In addition to the pair of critically-praised horror-thrillers he's already got under his belt -- 2011's You're Next and 2014's The Guest -- he's also been pegged as the man who will direct the American adaptation of Hoon-jung Park's revenge masterpiece, I Saw the Devil, (though no release date for the project has yet to be announced).

So when it was announced that Wingard would also be directing the live-action adaptation [http://collider.com/death-note-remake-adam-wingard/] of the Japanese manga classic Death Note, expectations were high to say the very least. While the booking of relative newcomer Nat Wolff in the film's lead role wasn't much cause for concern, fan's of Death Note have been expressing interest in one facet of the movie in particular: it's rating.

You see, like many manga stories, Death Note delves into some dark, dark subject matter. Based on writer Tsugumi Ohba and illustrator Takeshi Obata's story about "a high school student who happens to discover a supernatural notebook that allows him to kill anyone simply by writing the victim's name," Death Note is the kind of movie that simply wouldn't work with anything less than an R-rating, and thankfully, it looks like the team behind the American remake will be delivering just that.

In a recent interview at DICE 2016, Death Note producer Roy Lee put the worries of the manga's bloodthirsty fans to rest, stating, "It's definitely for adults. It is zero chance it will be below an R-rating."

Although Wingard has demonstrated a mastery of framing intricate death scenes and a brilliant aesthetic eye to boot (just check out [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwo_INagZ94] if you don't believe me), the young director has yet to helm a film that deals with the supernatural overtones of Death Note. According to Lee, however, the upcoming adaptation won't attempt to disguise Wingard's greenness in this regard behind a wall of terrible CGI effects, either.

"(Death Note) will be one of the first manga adaptations that feels very grounded but still has fantastical elements," continued Lee.

Considered to be one of the all-time classic of manga, Death Note has already been brought to life in the form of an animated television series which ran from 2006-2007 and a trio of live-action movies released in Japan in 2006-2008. The series itself has sold over 30 million copies to date.

So breathe easy for now, Death Note fans.

Source: Collider [http://collider.com/death-note-movie-rating-tone/?utm_campaign=collidersocial&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social]

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[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Wait, DeathNote is still a thing?! Its been a decade! Let it go!

 

[-Ezio-]

i'd rather he promised not to make it.

 

[Steve the Pocket]

Good luck fitting even the good half of the series into a single movie.

Also, I agree that the series is "not for kids", but not because it contains anything explicit that would require an R rating in America, unless I'm forgetting something.

 

[omega 616]

Maybe it's 'cos I am a too liberal with this kind of junk but what exactly in death note is dark DARK? Some kid finds a book, starts laying people out due to some god complex, some Sherlock Holmes guy tries to stop him, they start playing a grand scheming chess match with each other and things conclude how they conclude (avoiding spoilers).

It's not like the original oldboy or human centipede, where it is just gross out and perverted ... in all honesty I would expect kids to lose interest, due to lack of spirit bombs and mega awesome fights! I think I would rather my kid watch death note, than say Tokyo ghoul ... which again isn't even that bad.

 

[RJ 17]

That's all well and good....BUT WILL THERE BE POTATO CHIPS?!?! O.O

 

[Redd the Sock]

No, now I'm more worried. Death Note aired on Canada's youth oriented network without issues, and that level is what made it work. It was the cat and mouse chase that was interesting, and the rules kept things well grounded. An R rating just confirms my fears the story will be re-written to allow the death note to create gory splatter deaths.

Yes, it's too intense and cerebral for the kiddies, and it's destined to be given grief for coming off very sympathetic to Light's actions, but this is one time I'll say PG13 might be a better option.

 

[Revnak_v1legacy]

Wait, you're going to make an edgy teen drama into an R-Rated movie? Why? It really isn't necessary. I mean, the original was explicitly written for teenage boys.

 

[The Almighty Aardvark]

I've been hearing about various anime adaptations being planned for about 5 years now, still haven't seen a single one start production

That's all well and good....BUT WILL THERE BE POTATO CHIPS?!?! O.O

I eagerly await the product tie ins

 

[Zydrate]

Despite what an individual opinions are on American remakes... Keeping it R is likely a very good move.
Granted the Manga itself was fairly PG-13 (At least the version I got?) It still dealt with the morality of murder, so. Plenty of room for it to be completely R.

I'll be watching it, since Death Note is on a very short list of Anime I actually like.

 

[RJ 17]

That's all well and good....BUT WILL THERE BE POTATO CHIPS?!?! O.O

I eagerly await the product tie ins

And then I'll pull out a Dorito...AND EAT IT! Then I'll open my Mt. Dew...AND DRINK IT! Then I'll turn on my XBox...AND PLAY IT! Then I'll get into my Ford car...AND DRIVE IT!

 

[Bad Player]

I remember a screenplay for an American adaptation of Death Note got leaked years ago... Is it really still a thing?

I wonder if it actually is that screenplay or another one, since from what I remember, that screenplay was basically just a carbon copy of the first live-action Japanese Death Note movie, except it took place in NYC rather than Tokyo.

 

[BenzSmoke]

Doesn't this already exist? Hold on... yeah here it is: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/death_note_2007/
This was a pretty good adaptation of the manga if I remember correctly, even changed a very specific part for the better.
But I'm sure the American version of it will be better, I mean the US totally doesn't have a record of just missing the point of Japanese & foreign horror movies or just media in general.

 

[RedDeadFred]

I'm getting the distinct impression that they're just going to use the Death Note as an excuse to create some Final Destination style deaths.

 

[MatthewTheDark]

This mystifies me. I mean, on one hand, its good to hear we'll have no holds barred here. On the other, despite its dark themes, it almost never reached the kind of territory where it needed to be rated R. This was one of the few excuses you could use to get away with a PG-13 rating. I'm curious as to what exactly they'll bring to the table. I'm still worried though, considering this is an american adaptation.

 

[RJ 17]

I'm getting the distinct impression that they're just going to use the Death Note as an excuse to create some Final Destination style deaths.

Yeah, I'd say that's a pretty safe bet to go on.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Better just to watching the Asian live action version of Deathnote as it pretty good. Also not sure why this USA remake of Deathnote has to be R-rated? Really has know need to be as the Asian version was great without having to fill it with gore.

 

[Callate]

My experience with Death Note was that it started with an interesting premise and became increasingly bogged down in the convolutions of its lore and its anti-hero falling into a "When All You Have is a Hammer" complex- that even when a problem might more easily be solved without killing someone and less attention would be drawn as a result, he still elected to go through some convoluted form of homicide.

If a remake can tone down some of those flaws, it might be worth a look.

 

[Mahorfeus]

The first Japanese Death Note movie was pretty good. It was a pretty faithful adaptation, while at the same time spinning things around differently to form an interesting twist at the end. I thought it was really let down by the second movie though, which was rather crappy by comparison. Far too much material to adapt, and it all just spiraled down into a messy conclusion.

If they're gonna Americanize it, would it kill them to at least make it an original story? Death Note has a lot of interesting lore that could easily fuel a one-off follow up to the series (there was an epilogue chapter that did just that), or even a prequel (like Another Note). Light was not the first human to acquire a Death Note, after all. Either way, it'd be better than a straight-up copy of the Japanese movie.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Deadpool is the gift that keeps on giving.