Akira

News

Warner halts production on Akira [31st December 2011 23:00:00]

Warner Brothers' tortuous attempt to bring a remake of Akira to the masses is fast becoming one of the most laboured projects in Hollywood history. The latest announcement reveals that the film has been delayed yet again, with the studio demanding the script receive a bit of a polish.

Akira follows fellow Warner projects The Dark Tower and Paradise Lost into a standstill, as studio execs demand that costs be lowered on those two films before production goes any further.

Producers Jennifer Kiloran Davisson and Andrew Lazar, and director Jaume Collet-Serra have been charged with tweaking the Akira script, but Steve Kloves may yet be called in to do a full re-write, the second time the Harry Potter scribe has been asked to perform such a function.

Another alternative might be for the studio to bring in a completely fresh pair of eyes to perform the necessary script surgery, with The Dark Knight's Jonathan Nolan and Green Lantern's Michael Green reportedly under consideration.

So there you have it – yet more umming and ah-ing over a project that most fans of the original think is a terrible idea in the first place. Perhaps it's time Warner put this one out of its misery once and for all... Source: www.totalfilm.com

Ken Watanabe offered role in Akira [23rd November 2011 00:00:00]

Inception star Ken Watanabe has reportedly been approached to join the cast of the upcoming Akira remake, and intriguingly, it appears he has been offered the same part that was initially earmarked for Gary Oldman.

According to Twitch, Watanabe is in line to play The Colonel, a government official charged with harnessing the psychokinetic powers of wayward teen Tetsuo.

Whilst Oldman recently confirmed to Collider that he had indeed received an offer for Warner Bros, that proposition has been on the table for some time now, and it would seem that the studio have lost patience with the star's indecision.

The news comes hot on the tail of last week's revelation that several actors have been screen-tested for the role of Tetsuo, including Toby Kebell and Paul Dano. Meanwhile, offers are still out to Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Stewart and Helena Bonham Carter.

Plenty of rumours then, but Warner have still to nail anyone down for definite. With the project long having lingered under a black cloud of production problems, we'd question the need to rake over the anime classic in the first place. Then again, Hollywood does love a remake... Source: www.totalfilm.com

Kristen Stewart offered female lead in Akira [16th November 2011 10:08:58]

In news that is almost guaranteed to rile fans of the original, Warner Brothers have reportedly approached Kristen Stewart to play the female lead in their upcoming remake of Akira.

Stewart is in the frame to play Kei, a young medium who becomes the love interest for gang-leader Kanedo, the role offered to TRON: Legacy's Garrett Hedlund.

K-Stew is the latest in a series of big-name stars to receive offers from the studio, with approaches also having been made to Gary Oldman and Helena Bonham Carter. At present, none have officially signed on to star.

For those of you unfamiliar with the original manga, Akira is set in the dystopian future city of Neo Tokyo (or New Manhattan in the remake) and follows the endeavours of Kanedo to rescue his friend Tetsuo from the shadowy government types looking to harness his psychokinetic powers.

The remake has been penned by Harry Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves and will be directed by Unknown's Jaume Collet-Sera. Filming is set to begin in the spring with a view to a 2013 release date. Source: www.totalfilm.com

Akira remake gets the greenlight [5th November 2011 08:42:22]

Despite enduring an ever-shifting playing field in which directors came and went, budgets were established and slashed and casting rumours were ten a penny, the remake of manga classic Akira has finally been greenlit by Warner Brothers.

Unknown helmer Jaume Collet-Serra will be directing, having initially been offered a $100m-plus budget to play with back in July. That was then trimmed to $90m, before months of meetings saw it reviewed again. Variety reports that an official budget has not been made public, but behind the scenes at least, a figure has been determined.

As for casting, Tron: Legacy's Garrett Hedlund is reportedly in talks to star as gang leader Kaneda, whilst approaches have been made to Gary Oldman, Keira Knightley and Helena Bonham Carter.

Set in the futuristic New Manhattan (a change of setting from the book's Neo-Tokyo), the film will follow the efforts of Kaneda to rescue his friend Tetsuo from shadowy Government forces when the latter finds himself in possession of a range of weird psychokinetic powers.

The latest version of the script was penned by Harry Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves, whilst original illustrator and director Katsuhiro Otomo is on board as executive producer. Shooting is set to begin in February 2012, but with no cast members having signed on the dotted line, we'd take that estimate with a pinch of salt. We suspect there's still a few twists and turns to come before this one is in the can... Source: www.totalfilm.com