ghost in the shell
The following unconfirmed photo leaks for the Ghost in the Shell live action film, have been making the rounds on sites spanning across Asia today, including the more major ones like Apple Daily.
Adaptations of anime/manga into live action often succeed in miserably failing source material, or otherwise just don't quite work.
Ghost in the Shell, the upcoming live adaptation that is, has been enduring accusations of white washing since Scarlett Johansson was announced as lead.
After the release of the trailer several days ago (we'll add it to this post), one thing is for certain, the movie is going to be true to the source.
But the question is, whats the point?
At least 33,000 people don't want to see a sea of whitewashing in Dreamworks' upcoming adaptation of Ghost in the Shell. Following news that Scarlett Johansson will star in the film, concerned citizen Julie Rodriguez penned a petition to Dreamworks to cast Asian actors in the film. She explains,
Fans of the iconic 1995 animated Japanese sci-fi film Ghost in the Shell have been anticipating a live-action remake for years -- but now, instead of casting an Asian actress, Dreamworks has selected Scarlett Johansson for the lead role! The film revolves around Major Motoko Kusanagi, a member of a futuristic security force tasked with tracking a mysterious hacker.
The original film is set in Japan, and the major cast members are Japanese. So why would the American remake star a white actress? The industry is already unfriendly to Asian actors without roles in major films being changed to exclude them. One recent survey found that in 2013, Asian characters made up only 4.4% of speaking roles in top-grossing Hollywood films.
Dreamworks could be using this film to help provide opportunities for Asian-American actors in a market with few opportunities for them to shine -- please sign the petition asking them to reconsider casting Scarlett Johansson in Ghost in the Shell and select actors who are truer to the cast of the original film!
At the time of this post, the petition has 33,477 of the 34,000 signatures it hopes to reach. If you're interested, check it out here.
Via Oricon
In case the name didn't ring a bell, Mamoru Oshii directed some of the most unforgettable anime we've available at our disposal, to date. From Patlabor to Avalon to Ghost in the Shell, Oshii's left behind a legacy not to be forgotten; and set a standard, we can only hope inspires up and coming anime directors. In a recent interview with Oricon, the 64-year-old Oshii explained a bit about why he's no longer interested in directing anime:
“Making anime is also the world of the artisan,” Oshii explained. “I’m the kind who wants do my own part 120 percent with perfection, but because if I’m allowed to do that, the whole work will head towards ruin, so I think 90 percent is okay.”
“However,” Oshii went on to say, “the number of people within this country able to work with such high precision is less than 5 percent. The younger generation is more individualistic, and while the world appreciates how good their art has become, they’re unable to do exhausting work like their older predecessors. The biggest reason why I’ve stopped making anime is because the people who I can do [anime] with are disappearing.”
