warner bros gets rights to ninja scroll

[doug maverick]

not much info yet other then what the title says. i do know from source that its planned to be rated R. so warners is not gonna put to much coin into it. but with warners and there hands off policy (depending on the director/producer ofcourse) i'm sure this film will put kill bill to sleep. i also heard they're out to the wachowski's(hope they don't get it) yuen woo ping and a few others. the most far fetched but the one i secretly hope is true is that donnie yen might play jubei. my source is credible but you never know. hollywood is calling to donnie now, disney wants to use him alongside zhang jiyi in a live action mulan. they also want johnnie to to direct which is weird cause mulan is so not a johnnie to film. more as this develops

[GeneChing]

That would work for me if it wasn't for Disney. While I enjoyed the Disney version (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=118), there's so much more to the Hua Mulan myth that could be exploited in the hands of talent like To. What ever became of Snow and the Seven (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50299)?

Nice scuttlebutt, Doug.

[冠木侍]

This thing is abuzz in some anime forums.

READ ME PLEASE (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-10-26/warner-brothers-to-produce-live-action-ninja-scroll)

It's hard to know what to think.
The anime is way beyond an R level rating. I just hope they don't butcher it.

[doug maverick]

but you know warners is not in the business of making movies that don't make money. so we gonna have to settle with an R rating and a un rated dvd, you'd be surprised how much you can get away with an R rating, as long as they don't curse up a storm we should get alot of blood and guts and nudity like the anime has, look at batman that movie was rated pg 13 and so was iron man you know why? no cursing, and the body count was low, although this is going to have a high body count and blood galore, if kill bill did it so will ninja scroll. small update seems that wachowski's are in the dog house with warner's after speed racer, so hopefully they won't get it, while i loved loved loved the matrix(part one and most of two) i'm just not toally sold on them, matrix three and now speed racer has put them in doubt. and now i hear tekashi miike is also on the short list, now if he directs this movie is going to be hands down f ucking amazing.

[Zenshiite]

I'd think the only thing they couldn't get away with and maintain an R rating is how the kunoichi babe is constantly getting raped by the evil demon ninjas.

[冠木侍]

but you know warners is not in the business of making movies that don't make money. so we gonna have to settle with an R rating and a un rated dvd, you'd be surprised how much you can get away with an R rating, as long as they don't curse up a storm we should get alot of blood and guts and nudity like the anime has, look at batman that movie was rated pg 13 and so was iron man you know why? no cursing, and the body count was low, although this is going to have a high body count and blood galore, if kill bill did it so will ninja scroll. small update seems that wachowski's are in the dog house with warner's after speed racer, so hopefully they won't get it, while i loved loved loved the matrix(part one and most of two) i'm just not toally sold on them, matrix three and now speed racer has put them in doubt. and now i hear tekashi miike is also on the short list, now if he directs this movie is going to be hands down f ucking amazing.

Yeah, the anime is rated above R, by the standards of MPAA.

Doing a live action is a different ball game. On the one hand, you would hope that they would be faithful with the story. At best, it will probably be a PG-13 rendition. R rating may or may not happen. I am not in the know how about the intricacies of licensing and adaptations.

I can agree that Warner Bros. is in the business of making money, as is every other movie house/company. So, let's look at it this way. The anime and manga are well-known by anime fans. However, anime fans in general represent a small percentage of the population, as compared to the Hollywood movie fan base. If they were going to go about this, wouldn't they try to appeal to everyone?

In going about this, a PG-13 version of the movie would be able to reach a wider audience than an R rated one. Sure, the purists and anime fandom community would lash out but box office returns may offer a good buffer since you know all the anime fans will shell out for this one. That is a given. Then you have average movie watcher who may or may not have heard of Ninja Scroll. Lump in the teens and those under 17 who are able to get in, and you have a box office success.

You analogy to Kill Bill (I believe you were referring to the first one) actually makes a good point. I think that movie though, had a different focus. Tarantino, it seemed, was paying homage to different genres that he grew up with. Yeah, there was blood and limb decaps but it was nothing anyone could take seriously in my opinion. The only thing that made me wince was the parts of when Uma was pregnant.

I have no doubt as to how much you can pack into an R rated movie. Dark Knight looked like it could have been R but Iron Man not so much. That is just my personal opinion on the matter.

Matrix 3 was so long ago and Speed Racer was very recent. It seems Hollywood is very unforgiving when movies don't make it.

The American movie market has such strict rules about what is shown, that a true adaptation of the anime that we are all familiar with doesn't look to be on the horizon. The Japanese movie Shinobi: Heart Under Blade, was based upon the anime Basilisk, which was all based upon the novel that influenced Ninja Scroll. That was a great movie and not a bad adaptation. Ninja Scroll's content has some serious things that may not get past the censors that you know more about than others.

If Miike has a hand in it and it is made as a Japanese production, it will probably come out better. The US anime to live action adaptations don't seem to go so well.

*Even now, there is a lot of outcry about the new DBZ movie**

Just some opinion and conjecture. I know you'll keep us in the loop Doug.

[冠木侍]

I'd think the only thing they couldn't get away with and maintain an R rating is how the kunoichi babe is constantly getting raped by the evil demon ninjas.

Kagero is violated two very distinct times and each time is very graphic...
That will be one big hurdle because aside from all the other action, those scenese are what a lot of people think of when Ninja Scroll is mentioned (good or bad is relative I guess).

[doug maverick]

like i said acording to my sources which have bnever steered me wrong in the warners camp(i won a film contest to interned there in high school and still have good relations with alot of people who work there) and its going to be R rated do to the fact that all the movies fans are of the over 17 group. even r rated its gonna do big numbers i'm sure. its like Dragon Ball which has a horrible teaser trailer it looks like the worst thing ever, but that film is aimed at kids basically. movies like this and fox's upcoming cowboy bebop film in 2011 will be aimed at older teens and adults.

[Lucas]

Ninja Scroll (http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/10/legendary-anime.html) is up next.

This is one of my all time favorites. Lets hope its at least, O.K.

[SimonM]

If it doesn't get an "R" rating in Canada and "NC-17" in the USA they did it wrong.

[golgo]

In the words of Napoleon Dynamine:

"f-in Sweet!"

[golgo]

If it doesn't get an "R" rating in Canada and "NC-17" in the USA they did it wrong.

I totally agree.

[doug maverick]

yea thats pretty old news i already posted with some indsider info as to possible directors , stars and the such. warners buys rights to ninja scroll (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52369) thats why you do a search before you post.

[Lucas]

oh dang, my bad.

It was a spur of the moment thing from the recent post in the Miike thread.

I only just found out. Man thats what I get for not doing a search.

Maybe Gene can do a merge?

Sorry guys.

[冠木侍]

i knew this subject sounded familiar.

[brothernumber9]

If they improve upon what they tried to do with 'Shinobi', it should be good, I think.

[doug maverick]

im maybe mistaken but warners never did a shinobi movie. so who my friend is they?

[brothernumber9]

I didn't mean any production company specifically. I only meant in general, of attempts to make live action films from anime or manga.

I don't know what studio or company produced Shinobi, I just saw it at a mall kiosk and bought it. I just like the simple idea of a series of skilled fights, like challenges, either a group vs group, but split apart to fight one on one, or as in Ninja Skroll, a sort of ladder type challenge similar to The Game of Death.

[冠木侍]

I didn't mean any production company specifically. I only meant in general, of attempts to make live action films from anime or manga.

I don't know what studio or company produced Shinobi, I just saw it at a mall kiosk and bought it. I just like the simple idea of a series of skilled fights, like challenges, either a group vs group, but split apart to fight one on one, or as in Ninja Skroll, a sort of ladder type challenge similar to The Game of Death.

Shinobi: Heart Under Blade was a Japanese production that is licensed in the US by FUNimation.

It was based upon the same novels series (titled Ninpocho) by Futaro that were the source for Ninja Scroll.

If you watch the anime BASILISK, you will see many similarities between that and SHINOBI. Check it man.

[GeneChing]

We're in our deadline crunch on top of the holiday stress. :(

[doug maverick]

i just watched this film again, after maybe havent seen it in ten years, and its not as crazy as i thought or anyone else thought nd its totally doable and it will be a R rating because the anime is only rated r. there is really no cursing, nudity yes but only one actual intercourse scene that u mostly see through silhouette, an attempted rape scene. the most bloody scene is where the guy gets his arms ripped off in the beginning. im just running down the scenes, their is a criteria that makes a movie are. this movie can be done just like the anime and get an R rating, ofcourse the extra bloody scenes might have to be turned black and white. but it can be done. to everybody who says its gonna suck blah blah, watch ninja scroll again. you'll see what i mean, its not that bad.

[Lucas]

ya its pretty much just the violence and the rape. which is needed for the story line anyway.


and when that demon drinks the blood coming out of the guys arms after he rips them off, staring at the girl while he drinks it. classic.

[冠木侍]

Ninja Scroll is classic anime in my book.

[Lucas]

Ninja Scroll is classic anime in my book.

yep.

i put ninja scroll with: akira, ghost in the shell, fist of the north star, and others of that magnitude.

definately one of the greats

[doug maverick]

i was also thinking kids under the age of 20 probably never even heard of ninja scroll thats old school anime at its finest nd truest. **** they dont make em like that anymore. i remember when i first saw it , it was like in 93-94 and i was blown the **** away, granted i was 10 and i had to watch it in secret for fear of my mother kicking my head off my shoulders. but now almost fifteen years later ive seen much worse and i can say that ninja scroll is pretty tamed. and the rape scene isnt even really rape its more molestation, because there is no intercourse, there is only one intercourse scene.and about maybe four nude scenes, 2 with the nude girl and 2 with the poison ***** chick. funny thing is as im watching it im thinking **** the f uck she got super aids? ill leave you guys with that.

[Zenshiite]

I think I was 16 when I saw it for the first time, and for some reason the video story gave me the Spanish dub. I had no clue what teh story was about... but the spectacle was awesome! Even better when I finally saw it in English and knew what was going on!

[Shaolinlueb]

and now i hear tekashi miike is also on the short list, now if he directs this movie is going to be hands down f ucking amazing.


holy ****ing ****,. takashi mikii with a huge budget to do a splatterfest. omfg that will be great. Takeshi Kaneshiro would be a good choice i think. his english is perfect.

i always wanted to see the kid Masanobu Ando (played the crazy kid kiriyama in abttle royale) in a live action version of this movie.

[doug maverick]

yeah that news is mad old dont know if its still relevant, i do know that alex tse,who wrote sucker free city(a made for tv spike lee joint), watchman(yes THE WATCHMAN) and frankie machine michael mann and bobby D's next filmm has been tapped to write the script for ninja scroll. ive read all three scripts and if they are any indicator as to how ninja scroll is going to be we are in for a good movie.

[Shaolinlueb]

**** no takashi mikii :(