Scarlett Johansson wanted for live action Ghost in the Shell film

MatParker116

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http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/oct/17/casting-conch-scarlett-johansson-set-for-ghost-in-the-shell-remake

Scarlett Johansson has been offered $10m to star in the long-gestating live action remake of Ghost in the Shell, reports Deadline. The top-dollar pay cheque recognises the US actor?s newfound status as an A-list action star following standout turns in Lucy and Marvel Studio?s Avengers series of superhero films.

Hollywood?s plan for a debut English-language take on the seminal 1995 Mamoru Oshii anime moved a step closer to reality in January when Snow White and the Huntsman?s Rupert Sanders was hired to direct by studio Dreamworks. Reports back then suggested the remake would be based on a new screenplay by The Reluctant Fundamentalist?s William Wheeler.
If she takes the part best of luck to her. Although I do wish this film had a better director as Snow White was kind of meh. Although Scarlett can act circles around the wooden doll they used to play Snow White.
 

Johnny Novgorod

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Well Rupert "I sleep with my protagonists" Sanders certainly knows what he wants doesn't he?
 

crazygameguy4ever

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no.. just no.. get an Japanese actress to play the Japanese character.. better yet, let Japan make a live action Ghost in The Shell.. we all know the track record of US companies making films based on Japanese properties..shutter in remembering such disasters as Dragon Ball Evolution, Kite, Mortal Kombat Annihilation and Street fighter... got a cold chill on that last one..
 

kyp275

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crazygameguy4ever said:
no.. just no.. get an Japanese actress to play the Japanese character.. better yet, let Japan make a live action Ghost in The Shell.. we all know the track record of US companies making films based on Japanese properties..shutter in remembering such disasters as Dragon Ball Evolution, Kite, Mortal Kombat Annihilation and Street fighter... got a cold chill on that last one..
Eh, GitS is one of those shows I think crosses traditional national barriers well. Being Japanese has nothing. to do with Makoto's identify, or for that matter the story at all.

Also, it's a show that frankly requires far more CGI than Japanese productions budget would allow.
 

Zontar

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crazygameguy4ever said:
no.. just no.. get an Japanese actress to play the Japanese character.. better yet, let Japan make a live action Ghost in The Shell.. we all know the track record of US companies making films based on Japanese properties..shutter in remembering such disasters as Dragon Ball Evolution, Kite, Mortal Kombat Annihilation and Street fighter... got a cold chill on that last one..
Why, it's not as if they tend to go out of their way to make live-action movies of their own material (and outside of dramas and romantic comedies, what little they tend to make live action tends to look like a cheap episode of Babylon 5 when it comes to sci if).

It's also fitting that the materiel would be adapted here for live action instead of in Japan, and not only because of the fact that here it can actually be afforded. Ghost in the Shell is proportionality popular here compared to how big it is in Japan. It's not Cowboy Bebop, Big O or Akira level of being a classic here that's been completly forgotten in Japan, but it's still much more likely to be a success in Western theatres then in Japan's ones.

I for one welcome the move, over the past 5 years Hollywood has become dramatically better at adapting Japanese source material to the big screen. Taking that time frame into consideration, it's more likely to be a hit then a miss.
 

Fappy

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I can see the argument made for GitS being kind of an "international" thing, but I still don't like the whitewashing. Johansson is a good actress but still don't have much faith in the project. Not sure Spielberg is really the right choice for this material.
 

Knight Captain Kerr

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Personally I'd have liked to see Rinko Kikuchi play Motoko Kusanagi. I think she'd be really good in the role. Or is having a Japanese actor play her too crazy?

Not a terrible choice though, Scarlett Johnson was really good as Black Widow which isn't a disimilar role. Still pessimistic about the quality of the film though. But never know, it might surprise me.
 

Antari

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Although normally I'd be against something like this. I actually think they've gone in the right direction here. She can do it as she has already proven.
 

PedroSteckecilo

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Knight Captain Kerr said:
Personally I'd have liked to see Rinko Kikuchi play Motoko Kusanagi. I think she'd be really good in the role. Or is having a Japanese actor play her too crazy?

Not a terrible choice though, Scarlett Johnson was really good as Black Widow which isn't a disimilar role. Still pessimistic about the quality of the film though. But never know, it might surprise me.
Also she's a favourite actress of Mamoru Oshii, the director of the two Ghost In The Shell Films, so that's another reason to believe she'd be a good fit for the part.
 

EternallyBored

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Given the director, I don't exactly have soaring hopes for this ending up any better than the development hell that the live action Akira went through. What is it going to be based on anyway? if its the movie, then there seems to be little benefit, like the Akira movie there isn't exactly any great need or demand to make another GITS movie just Westernized with live action actors. Edge of Tomorrow had the benefit of being based on a property that wasn't one of the cornerstone works of its medium, so there was more leeway to change things around to adapt it, with GITS its just going to be compared to the movie and I doubt Hollywood is at the point where an adaptation or reinterpretation would be able to live up to its inspiration.

If they base it on the TV show, then it would be a choice between keeping the distinctly Japanese centric setting and political drama, versus gutting it so much that it would end up as a movie inspired by the source material rather than directly adapting it.

I've already seen the Edge of Tomorrow comparison being made here, but GITS is on a whole other level of popularity and influence than the original All you Need is Kill light novels that EoT was based on, the GITS setting is much more rigid and defined. I just don't see Hollywood having the ability to adapt it with any level of finesse without making it only vaguely resemble its source material. By some miracle it might still be a good movie, but I doubt it's going to bear a close resemblance to the actual property outside of the premise of the first movie.
 

Soviet Heavy

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GITS is one of those franchises that really doesn't need a nationality tacked onto the team members, or the Major herself. All the different versions take place in a post World War 3 scenario where cybernetic cops engage in electronic warfare and cyber crime. It really isn't that big a jump to make the Major another nationality. Hell the Mamoru Oshii film was implied to take place in Hong Kong rather than Japan.
 

Lugbzurg

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I could see multiple actresses playing Motoko. I mean, she has switched prosthetic bodies before. That could actually be pretty cool. How often do you see a live action film that does that?

crazygameguy4ever said:
no.. just no.. get an Japanese actress to play the Japanese character.. better yet, let Japan make a live action Ghost in The Shell.. we all know the track record of US companies making films based on Japanese properties..shutter in remembering such disasters as Dragon Ball Evolution, Kite, Mortal Kombat Annihilation and Street fighter... got a cold chill on that last one..
Mortal Kombat is an American videogame franchise.
 

Ryan Hughes

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I honestly do not really care. I spent twelve years in the industry, and I can assure you all that this project -regardless of the cast- will be terrible. However, this does not have to ruin fond memories of Oshii's work. I just suggest that we all ignore this project.
 

Fox12

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Johnny Novgorod said:
Well Rupert "I sleep with my protagonists" Sanders certainly knows what he wants doesn't he?
Well, if he finds as many pointless excuses to show her naked as they did in the original film, I wouldn't be surprised.

Honestly, I don't think I like anything about this. It's going to be westernized in the worst ways possible. Besides, there wasn't much of a plot in the first film to begin with, and what was there wasn't all that impressive.

We already have a ghost in the shell film. It's called The Matrix.
 

Dalisclock

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If they could do a good adaptation of SAC or 2nd Gig or even a better version of SSS, I'd love to see it. The problem being, the show really works better with 26 episodes rather then 2 hours of film, because it has time to develop it's plots, characters and themes.

As much as I love the show, the original film had serious pacing problems where there would be short periods of lots going on in short sucession followed by long periods of not much of anything at all. And it hasn't gotten better on rewatching either.

So unless they got a bangup scriptwriter, director and production team to do this right, I'm not holding out hope.
 

Thaluikhain

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What? So, whitewashing GitS?

Huh, actually, yeah, let's do that. But, the next Avengers movie? All the American characters should be played by Japanese actors.

If you want a white GitS, make another Blade Runner movie.
 

giles

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Ah yes. Not gonna deny that she's hot, but I don't think she's an amazing actress...? (Not even gonna get into the Japanese thing. No sir.) Idk. Plus she doesn't look remotely animu. Not a stick figure with pink pointy hair and huge monster eyeballs.


captcha: hairy eyeball
... wow.
 

Hoplon

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EternallyBored said:
Given the director, I don't exactly have soaring hopes for this ending up any better than the development hell that the live action Akira went through. What is it going to be based on anyway? if its the movie, then there seems to be little benefit, like the Akira movie there isn't exactly any great need or demand to make another GITS movie just Westernized with live action actors. Edge of Tomorrow had the benefit of being based on a property that wasn't one of the cornerstone works of its medium, so there was more leeway to change things around to adapt it, with GITS its just going to be compared to the movie and I doubt Hollywood is at the point where an adaptation or reinterpretation would be able to live up to its inspiration.

If they base it on the TV show, then it would be a choice between keeping the distinctly Japanese centric setting and political drama, versus gutting it so much that it would end up as a movie inspired by the source material rather than directly adapting it.

I've already seen the Edge of Tomorrow comparison being made here, but GITS is on a whole other level of popularity and influence than the original All you Need is Kill light novels that EoT was based on, the GITS setting is much more rigid and defined. I just don't see Hollywood having the ability to adapt it with any level of finesse without making it only vaguely resemble its source material. By some miracle it might still be a good movie, but I doubt it's going to bear a close resemblance to the actual property outside of the premise of the first movie.
It's based off the original Manga. The screen writer has done a fantastic job of reading them and doing an original script. I've had the privilege of reading it.

Not going to try to spread any details beyond that. don't want them to change it.
 

Julius Terrell

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What's wrong with just showing oshii's original films in the theater. To be fair innocence did get a limited theatrical run here in the US. Just stop Hollywood. They are terrible at remaking foreign movies. I don't want this to exist either.