Rumor: High School Musical Heartthrob Offered Lead Role in Akira Movie

[mireko]

On a less RAEG note: this is going to be terrible. I don't think it will be his fault, but it's just going to be bad either way at this point. Hollywood really can't do a story like this, and unless some visionary director takes control of the project it's just going to be a pile of garbage disguised as its source material (like I, Robot).

And why adapt Akira anyway? It already has a movie. Adapt something that never got that far, like Uzumaki or BATTLE ANGEL ALITA.

 

[Popido]

And I hate the fact that the ones that WOULD work as live-action are ignored. Hellsing would be the best live-action thing...ever.

Im fairly sure they would find a way to ruin that too..thou all you really would have to do is just hire sexy brits as the main cast and blow people apart in slow motion and put it all in 3D.

 

[Ekonk]

I knew it was gonna suck when they changed Neotokyo to New Manhattan.

This is no surprise.

 

[Sparrow]

In this thread, people will complain about having Efron play the role while not taking into account how he is actually a damn fine actor.

Seriously, just because he was in HSM doesn't mean he is shit. He made a hell of a lot of money off of those movies too. Best damn business decision he could have made in my mind.

Exactly, I've seen Efron in other films and he wasn't bad. In most cases, he was actually GOOD. Still, most of those films had a romantic undertone but what films nowadays don't?

 

[RobfromtheGulag]

Works for me. But then I never really 'got' Akira.

 

[ZombieGenesis]

this is like starring Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka... and we all know how that turned out...

Depp turning in another good performance of a character that only hardcore Gene Wilder fanatics were up in arms about, but the rest of the world couldn't have cared less of?

Problem with hardcore audiences, like Yahtzee has stated, is that they're few in numbers, but extremely vocal about their displeasure of everything ever made.

Erego the problem, people couldn't care less because the performance wasn't on key with what was needed, Depp did an okay job certainly but he was nowhere near as definitive. There's a reason Paul Larson isn't remembered as Sweeney Todd nowadays, but Gene Wilder is still a universal Wonker.
And since we're talking Yahtzee here, I think another of his phrases comes to mind. This project is a fine example of a "man sticking his head underwater to seem more like a newt." To try and change something in spite of its nature.

Sure Zack Effron can play Kaneda, but it won't 'be' Kaneda as people would recognise him.

 

[ProtoChimp]

Zac Efron is a good actor but his role in high school musical really sends out a bad message to how good he can be. I haven't seen him in enough things to say he's great by any means but he has potential. Wait what was the rating again... PG 1- [HEADING=1]PG 13[/HEADING] [HEADING=1][HEADING=1] Oh FUCK! OH FUCK NO! [/HEADING][/HEADING] I didn't think Akira was all that perfect to begin with (please don't hit me) but a PG 13 will just... it will rape the story. That isn't even too far it's the only way to describe it, it will rape the story! [HEADING=1][HEADING=1][HEADING=1]FUCK!!![/HEADING][/HEADING][/HEADING]

EDIT: Okay perhaps I'm being too dramatic.

 

[Gaderael]

First off: Fuck off Warner Bro.! Akira isn't meant for the little kiddies, so don't dumb it down to a PG-13 rating.

Secondly: Zac Efron? Just no. No. No. No. What's wrong with going out and finding a good Japanese actor to play the lead? I mean Shotaro Kaneda is "the teenaged leader of a Japanese motorcycle gang." I'm normally not one to break out the 'race card', but um, the Anime was wildly successful, and none of the characters were made to look Caucasian for people in North America to enjoy it, so why should the live action film be any different?

EDIT:

I knew it was gonna suck when they changed Neotokyo to New Manhattan.

This is no surprise.

Wut? I hate Warner Bros. I don't care that they released the awesome new Batman movies. The makers of Akira need to fight them and beat them down like when they were trying to Americanize Harry potter. Akira's Neo-Tokyo is so memorable and countless that Manga, Anime, and western movies have copied it since it was released. There's no need to change the setting. I thought they had learned the lesson of thinking the audience was really that ignorant long ago. We, the audience are not that dumb!

 

[jackanderson]

Akira?! A PG-13 rating?!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

Why must everybody crap on my happy childhood? (Yes, I know I'm only 16. Shut up!)

 

[TwistedEllipses]

This Harry Partridge animation, now seems strangely prophetic:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jafd97yJFOI

EDIT: ach! Yosharian beat me to it...

 

[Galletea]

First of all; Zac Efron has proved he can act, he just started young and pretty so ended up in disney's clutches. He's also quite handsome now he's grown up a bit. High School musical might be a shitty kiddy movie franchise, but he's grown out of that and been in several films, in which he has been rather good. Better than a lot of actors who inexplicably get more work.

Secondly, and perhaps most importantly; it is unlikely that a live action Akira movie will be any good at all. These things seldom are, they're either rushed out fast as you like to reap the rewards from the fanbase, or they have no budget and end up with lame effects and actors, or suck through being not close enough to the original, or too close to the original, or a combination of all of the above. And of course giving it a pg13 rating is going to make it hard to pull off anyway. Even with widening the target audience, it's going to be very hard to keep the flavour of the original and keep fans interested.

 

[Hiphophippo]

So let me get this straight: A guy plays a role that your average nerd finds terrible so that instantly means he can never play anything good ever.

Logic, how does that work?

 

[MetalGenocide]

It could be worse, uhhh actually no. Oh wait yes it can, they could "do" Hellsing.

 

[Rayansaki]

In this thread, people will complain about having Efron play the role while not taking into account how he is actually a damn fine actor.

Seriously, just because he was in HSM doesn't mean he is shit. He made a hell of a lot of money off of those movies too. Best damn business decision he could have made in my mind.

I agree with this. He was actually very good in 17 again, the only reason he gets so much hate is the disney background.

 

[Galad]

I've no idea what roles that Efron guy has played in and how well. I'll just say that changing the setting and the rating that drastically will make it suck and not worth even mentioning before it's even seen daylight. Sounds like the "the last Airbender" fail all over again to me.

 

[Jabberwock xeno]

So is Dragon ball, but look how they screwed that over...

Comparing Akira to Dragon Ball is like comparing Ben 10 to Fritz the Cat.

But I see what you're getting at.

I wouldn't use that comparison, Dragon ball has influenced the west a great deal.

But yeah, Akria is more important culturally. Hopefully they won't screw it up.

 

[standokan]

Oh HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELL NO!!

 

[lee1287]

i like Zac Efron... He can act..