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[Dai101]

Dreamworks just shot themselves in the foot.

I don't know how much the rest of you know about Japanese culture (I'm an expert), but honor and shame are huge parts of it. It's not like it is in America where you can become successful by being an asshole. If you screw someone over in Japan, you bring shame to yourself, and the only way to get rid of that shame is repentance.

What this means is the japanese public, after hearing about this, is not going to want to watch Ghost in the Shell; The Movie, nor will they purchase any of merchandise of it. This is HUGE. You can laugh all you want, but Dreamworks has alienated an entire market with this move.

Dreamworks, publicly apologize and cancel Ghost in the Shell; The Movie or you can kiss your business goodbye.

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

i never understood the argument for representation. my perspective is that its not government funded, its not like the movies are made with funding by tax payers . do they need to strive for social representation. i mean to say if i was an investor investing a certain percentage of my money in a say 100 million dollar budget movie. and i had the chance to cast a well known name in my movie. A name that i knew would attract a huge fan demographic why would i even consider casting someone for representation sake? it makes little to no sense for me. Hollywood is all about making money , any effort to make it into some sort of political correct machine is just wishful thinking .

other movie industries that i am familiar with . like kollywood ( tamil ) and bollywood (hindi) are made almost entirely on actor names and star power. movies are literally written around them. certain actors play young male roles well in to their 60s. again if this sounds ignorant i apologize . just dont understand how representation plays into an exclusively money making buisness. isn't it just numbers and fandom ?

Except diversity makes money now: http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch...defining-hollywood-diversity-makes-more-money

 

[Slayven]

Except diversity makes money now: http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch...defining-hollywood-diversity-makes-more-money

And Empire,

 

[Corronchilejano]

We're the Millers

Jennifer Aniston is right there in the poster dude.

Now You See Me

Jesse Eisenberg coming right out of The Social Network and Woody Harrelson. No house hold names, but well known actors.

Pacific Rim

Point.

Godzilla

Come on, now you're just throwing stuff to see what sticks.

Unbroken

Angeline Jolie.

At least research what you post dude.

 

[BeatResetsTheWorld]

i never understood the argument for representation. my perspective is that its not government funded, its not like the movies are made with funding by tax payers . do they need to strive for social representation. i mean to say if i was an investor investing a certain percentage of my money in a say 100 million dollar budget movie. and i had the chance to cast a well known name in my movie. A name that i knew would attract a huge fan demographic why would i even consider casting someone for representation sake? it makes little to no sense for me. Hollywood is all about making money , any effort to make it into some sort of political correct machine is just wishful thinking .

Because the world is diverse? Because the US is diverse? Because in almost every social area diversity is shown to have a positive impact? The fact of the matter is more minorities are seeing movies and that number is only increasing every year and not catering to them doesn't make financial sense. One of the largest franchises right now is the Fast and the Furious series, with a cast where the white guy is the minority and the director is asian. Has that affected it negatively at all? No

 

[Delta Assault]

Was there something in GITS that required the actors to be Japanese?

I don't know how much you know about Japanese culture (I'm an expert), but being Japanese is a huge part of it. It's not like it is in America where you can become successful by being white. If you're inexplicably white over in Japan, you bring shame to yourself, and the only way to get rid of that shame is repentance.

What this means is the japanese public, after hearing about this, is not going to want to purchase tickets to see GITS, nor will they go see any of ScarJo's other films. This is HUGE. You can laugh all you want, but Hollywood has alienated an entire market with this move.

Dreamworks, publicly apologize and cast a Japanese woman for Motoko or you can kiss your business goodbye.

 

[Volimar]

Dreamworks just shot themselves in the foot.

I don't know how much the rest of you know about Japanese culture (I'm an expert), but honor and shame are huge parts of it. It's not like it is in America where you can become successful by being an asshole. If you screw someone over in Japan, you bring shame to yourself, and the only way to get rid of that shame is repentance.

What this means is the japanese public, after hearing about this, is not going to want to watch Ghost in the Shell; The Movie, nor will they purchase any of merchandise of it. This is HUGE. You can laugh all you want, but Dreamworks has alienated an entire market with this move.

Dreamworks, publicly apologize and cancel Ghost in the Shell; The Movie or you can kiss your business goodbye.

Amazing. Even got the top of the page.

 

[kyser73]

According to oil babe expert Shirow Masamune it's about Shintoism. In fact he says so directly in the very first manga when he basically stops drawing to go on a diatribe to tell you his intention for the story.

You could however, set in the in the US. But the point of GitS is to question who and what is alive. This is an animistic issue that's completely missing from Western philosophy. So to use a very obtuse pun - it would be all shell and no ghost.

You should probably read more Western philosophy. The question is generally considered more in biology than philosophy these days, but its been a discussion in metaphysics since at least Plato, and led to the discussions 'What is living?' and most pertinently 'What is consciousness?'.

Pretty much every system of philosophy that emerged from successful early civilisations ask the same set of questions, this being one of them.

 

[SummitAve]

Again: Hollywood doesn't work on the star system so much anymore. People will absolutely go to a movie with people they've never heard of starring in it. They've done it again and again and again in the last 20-30 years. The argument that audiences won't embrace a film unless there's a "movie star" in it is fucking bunk, and has been for awhile.

Yes obviously, but will more people go see a movie if it did have the star power? Hollywood making the same business decision over and over again would suggest that stars do indeed have a positive impact on a movies potential to make money. There are about a million other factors that could swing the arguement either way as well.

 

[way more]

Her casting makes sense when you consider that her last major roles were all post-human characters.

At this point she's been typcast as the person to portray a future near-superhuman.

 

[Angelus Errare]

Provincial Jealousy. Nobody from Portland should be more well known than me.

And this thread is trying to convince people that Shailene Woodley is some sort of movie star? Again, she's RECOGNIZABLE. She's not a name. She wasn't even a name when Divergent hit, and Divergent wasn't large enough to have made her a name.

She's a great actress. She's not a reason people go to movie theaters.

neither is James Franco, really. He's known. He's recognizable. He's not a draw. I'd argue Bradley Cooper isn't a reason people watch movies, either. American Sniper didn't blow up because it was Bradley Cooper, and I think it's disingenuous to argue that. It blew up because of a marketing campaign that played the heartland PERFECTLY.

Again: Hollywood doesn't work on the star system so much anymore. People will absolutely go to a movie with people they've never heard of starring in it. They've done it again and again and again in the last 20-30 years. The argument that audiences won't embrace a film unless there's a "movie star" in it is fucking bunk, and has been for awhile.

Pretty much.

 

[Discotheque]

Holy shit do I hope Cameron kills this fucker off in the sequels. Good lord is he shitty.

cameron's had some suspect supporting casts in his last two films. billy zane in titanic and this dude from dodgeball in avatar lmao.

 

[gioGAF]

Lol at petition. Looking forward to this with ScarJo in it.

 

[Slayven]

cameron's had some suspect supporting casts in his last two films. billy zane in titanic and this dude from dodgeball in avatar lmao.

You don't go to the bottom of the ocean spending big bucks on minor characters.

 

[Samurai G0SU]

They probably wanted her due to her performance in Under The Skin.

 

[BeatResetsTheWorld]

You don't go to the bottom of the ocean spending big bucks on minor characters.

Yeah, you spend those big bucks on no name actors who can't act

 

[DarkFlow]

We're the Millers - Aniston
Now You See Me -Harrelson, Eisenberg, Ruffalo
Pacific Rim - Giant robots
Godzilla - Bryan Cranston
Unbroken - Angelina Jolie directed

You really are coming up with some shit examples here.

 

[Enzom21]

Angeline Jolie.

At least research what you post dude.

Angelina Jolie what? She wasn't in that movie she directed it.

 

[DarkFlow]

Angelina Jolie what? She wasn't in that movie she directed it.

Exactly, and they promoted the shit out of that.

 

[SCULLIBUNDO]

cameron's had some suspect supporting casts in his last two films. billy zane in titanic and this dude from dodgeball in avatar lmao.

Billy Zane is amazing in Titanic. IMAX anniversary screening still proved him to be a favourite whenever he was cheesing it up on screen. But yeah, Joel Moore was grating as fuck.

 

[Volimar]

Lesbi honest. If you were Motoko and you had the option of having ScarJo's body, why wouldn't you?

 

[Slayven]

Yeah, you spend those big bucks on no name actors who can't act

He was Macbeth in Macbeth.

 

[Slayven]

I have a confession to make. I been posting this whole thread confusing Ghost in The Shell for Akira. I keep wondering what female characters was in Akira.

 

[kamorra]

While I agree that Scarlett isn't the right choice I wonder why no one came up with a better option apart from that one poster who suggested Rinko Kikuchi.

 

[Abounder]

Angelina Jolie what? She wasn't in that movie she directed it.

To greenlight a Hollywood movie you need AAA names whether it's the actor, director, producer, brand, etc. Usually a combination of all of the above if you want a blockbuster.

 

[Slayven]

To greenlight a Hollywood movie you need AAA names whether it's the actor, director, producer, brand, etc. Usually a combination of all of the above if you want a blockbuster.

Big Props to Brad Pitt for pushing shit that would have zero chance of being made

 

[Riposte]

As a huge GITS fan, the racial aesthetics of Major's cybernetic body is really unimportant to me (and easily explainable). It being set in America would be far more annoying.

 

[BeatResetsTheWorld]

While I agree that Scarlett isn't the right choice I wonder why no one came up with a better option apart from that one poster who suggested Rinko Kikuchi.

Because Hollywood has done its best to make sure no asian actress aside from the ones popularized in the 90s and early 2000s (let's be honest, Maggie Q and Lucy Lui) ever get a role of significance

 

[Frodo]

Lesbi honest. If you were Motoko and you had the option of having ScarJo's body, why wouldn't you?

Would you have the option to have Gina Carano's body instead?

She even looks like she could kick real ass (and that is to keep it white).

 

[Angelus Errare]

Jennifer Aniston is right there in the poster dude.

You're seriously arguing that Jennifer Aniston is a fucking pull like you're saying Scarlett is? Are you kidding me bruv?

Jesse Eisenberg coming right out of The Social Network and Woody Harrelson. No house hold names, but well known actors.

Coming right out of TSN? You know that shit came out in 2010 and NYSM came out in 2013 right? Sorry but Eisenberg isn't a pull either. Try again

Point.

I know. Surprised you didn't argue Del Toro.

Come on, now you're just throwing stuff to see what sticks.

I'm sorry what actor/actresses headlined Godzilla? Heisenberg? Nobody was seeing that for him. And the last Godzilla movie was in 1998 so it's not like it was some piping hot franchise. Doubly so considering the last one left a bad taste in most people's mouth.

Angeline Jolie.

Whose name wasn't prominently featured in the advertising at all. In fact her card only flashes for a second at the end of the first damn trailer. They don't even say her name. You'd think the very first thing you'd see is "Directing debut of Angelina Jolie" or "Directed by Angelina Jolie" before the trailer even starts if that's the angle they were going for.

Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrjJbl7kRrI

Unbroken did well because it came out on Christmas day and played to everyone's emotions by being a feel good time piece. Angelina wasn't the draw of this film and the marketing department knew it which is why they never played up her name in any of the marketing.

Try again.

Exactly, and they promoted the shit out of that.

Not really.

 

[Slayven]

Because Hollywood has done its best to make sure no asian actress aside from the ones popularized in the 90s and early 2000s (let's be honest, Maggie Q and Lucy Lui) ever get a role of significance

Just did a podcast where we were trying to name Asian actors in Hollywood and the best we could come up was those 90s and 2000s stars and Devon Aoki.

 

[Derekloffin]

While I understand, I find it kinda odd this complaining as well. The Major is a full body cyborg. Her look is entirely manufactured so it is kinda odd that we care this much what she looks like. Oh well. I don't really care one way or the other as I fully expect the movie to suck regardless of the actress involved.

 

[genjiZERO]

You should probably read more Western philosophy. The question is generally considered more in biology than philosophy these days, but its been a discussion in metaphysics since at least Plato, and led to the discussions 'What is living?' and most pertinently 'What is consciousness?'.

Pretty much every system of philosophy that emerged from successful early civilisations ask the same set of questions, this being one of them.

That's not what I mean though. Those are existential questions, not animistic ones. Western philosophy lacks any in depth in its discourse of animism. In fact, nature in Western thought is premised upon the fact that humans are separate from it and it exists for our manipulation. So it's anti-animistic. But animism isn't really an Eastern thing either - it's specifically Japanese.

 

[Dram]

Just did a podcast where we were trying to name Asian actors in Hollywood and the best we could come up was those 90s and 2000s stars and Devon Aoki.

Jamie Chung seems like she gets a lot of work.

 

[Odrion]

Her casting makes sense when you consider that her last major roles were all post-human characters.

Wow, that was Scarlett Johansson? Incredible.

 

[Toxi]

I'm sorry what actor/actresses headlined Godzilla? Heisenberg? Nobody was seeing that for him. And the last Godzilla movie was in 1998 so it's not like it was some piping hot franchise. Doubly so considering the last one left a bad taste in most people's mouth.

Technically the last one was in 2004, but that's still a decade before the Legendary Pictures one.

 

[ActuallyHulk]

Good. It should star a Japanese woman and it should definitely be set in Japan.

 

[BeatResetsTheWorld]

Jamie Chung seems like she gets a lot of work.

Love me some Jamie Chung. Not sure how good an actor she is...as I've only seen her in Dragonball...didn't she get popular from being on The Real World?

 

[Frodo]

Good. It should star a Japanese woman and it should definitely be set in Japan.

I'm already braced for a fictional city in a unspecific place.

 

[Hex]

She sucked in Lucy. She is not remarkable as Black Widow, I'm ok with this

 

[Valkerionseven]

Motoko Kusanagi isn't very english sounding, unless the movie changes the characters and the setting to match the white washing.

Tell that to the King of Fighters Movie...

Meet Kyo Kusanagi........... yeah.

 

[entremet]

I've always liked ScarJo, so I have no problems with the casting. But I also agree that it deserves scrutiny.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Yes obviously, but will more people go see a movie if it did have the star power?

You know, at this point, I'd argue that knowing a "movie star" is in the movie could hinder your movie just as much as it could help it, because audiences are so sophisticated/savvy now, and audiences have so internalized the sort of surface level "criticism" that makes moviegoing just a preamble to posting a cute joke on facebook/twitter/instagram, that putting a "movie star" in your film just makes it all that much easier for an audience to dismiss what the movie's going to be from jump.

Do I think those people outnumber the people who are guardedly deciding what movies to see based on whether or not a person they recognize from tv or a magazine cover (people still read those, right?) I don't know. But I think it'd be an interesting argument.

I do think that, at this point, shit is getting greenlit because it has a marketable name/brand, or a concept so easy to sell that it doesn't matter who you put in it. That's the way the industry has been pointed for awhile. "Star Power" isn't much more than basic insurance at this point, but as insurance, it's not even a great coverage plan, yunno? The industry continuing to make questionable decisions isn't a sign of anything but people sticking with what they know because they're scared that they're gonna get fired for taking a risk. And even with that being a fact of the industry that's always been there, you've still got 20 years of the star-system slowly burning itself out. Look what it's done to Will Smith and Tom Cruise.

Recognizable actors might help offset some of the risk of bigger projects, sure. Not saying it won't. But if you're already going so far as to try and make a live action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell, there isn't a single choice you could make on the actor front that's really going to mitigate that risk. Either you're going to do the damn thing or you're not, and if you're going to do the damn thing, then mitigate your risk by taking whatever budget you had assigned for "movie stars," and push that off onto the best marketing team you can get.

What's selling movies in 2015 aren't the names above the title. Hell, just yesterday a huge fight broke out in the Spidey thread because people couldn't/wouldn't believe that Scarlett Johanssen could push a Black Widow movie to blockbuster numbers. And we're supposed to believe that she's absolutely NECESSARY to this movie?

Basically, what I'm arguing against is what I usually end up arguing against: People say things because they've heard them said before and just accept them as true without really thinking about them, and they repeat them, and that's how we end up with broken conventional wisdom that impedes the progress we obviously want.

 

[kamorra]

tbh them casting a Chinese or Korean actress just because they are Asian doesn't sound too great to me.
I want Chiaki Kuriyama

Meiko Kaji would have been perfect but she's way too old now.

 

[Hackworth]

It's not like Akira where the story is based so much in Japanese culture and history. GitS is just "future cops" really.

Man did you even watch Stand Alone Complex? It's like 90% allegories for Japanese history from 1800s to early 2000s whenever it's not making movie references.

Hell, the entire Ghost in the Shell concept is animism.

Bracing for "anytown USA" tho.

 

[Samurai G0SU]

Dreamworks just shot themselves in the foot.

I don't know how much the rest of you know about Japanese culture (I'm an expert), but honor and shame are huge parts of it. It's not like it is in America where you can become successful by being an asshole. If you screw someone over in Japan, you bring shame to yourself, and the only way to get rid of that shame is repentance.

What this means is the japanese public, after hearing about this, is not going to want to watch Ghost in the Shell; The Movie, nor will they purchase any of merchandise of it. This is HUGE. You can laugh all you want, but Dreamworks has alienated an entire market with this move.

Dreamworks, publicly apologize and cancel Ghost in the Shell; The Movie or you can kiss your business goodbye.

That's a bit extreme, but i understand where you're coming from. However, with this expertise, does this involve all demographics, locations, age, income and etc? For example, will a 15 yr old boy seeing mecha spider looking robots, invisibl-ish naked lady running through water killing bad guys, not find that attractive enough to watch? I hear your personal frustration, but perhaps your assumption is only at play with the individuals you are interacting with and not a country at whole? Maybe Scar-jo is just the SHELL and the voice is someone we never see? We know so little, we must be calm.. and wait for the opportunity to strike.

 

[Angelus Errare]

Exodus had more star power than Sentry AND it was based on the most well known book ever AND had a well known director

and it still bombed.

You'd think with all that it would have done like a billion or something. Star power means fuck all. We're in the age now where the marketing is more important than the stars in the film. Great marketing can turn the most boring property into something you want to watch. Marvel showed us this when Guardians destroyed the box office. Hell they showed us this when Iron Man destroyed the box office (and made RDJ a household name...I'd also like to point out that having RDJ did nothing for The Judge). GITS is easily marketable, much more so than something like say Agent 47. There's enough escapism and "Marvel-ism" in that property to do very well with a great marketing machine behind it regardless of who the lead actress is.

Technically the last one was in 2004, but that's still a decade before the Legendary Pictures one.

Touche, Final Wars. Though I was speaking more on US releases.

 

[genjiZERO]

Meiko Kaji would have been perfect but she's way too old now.

Can she actually act? I've only ever listened to her music (which is awesome). But wasn't she in pink film?

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

I guess ignoring the setting and the heavy japanese politics...

Japanese politics post WWIII and WWIV that is

 

[UFO]

The only thing thats dropping when ScarJo is involved is my pants.