Ohayocon attendee Chris Adkins has been in touch to inform us that the studio discussions and fight for final rights of the Evangelion adaptation properties are in the midst of taking place, with everything still going ahead given the success of that other big robot movie, Transformers. Joseph Cho is in charge of the the Gainax/Studio relations and Matt Greenfield is hoping for some official announcements sometime in the next 9 months.
It certainly is good to see some news, but we really want that announcement ASAP, we’re all still waiting with bated breath.
The News: In an Evangelion panel at the Ohayocon anime convention in Columbus Ohio on January 30th, ADV director Matt Greenfield announced that several U.S. studios are competing for final rights to the project, meaning that actual production should begin soon. The delay on the project is due largely to the Transformers movie: The studios wanted to make sure that a “giant robot” movie would appeal to an American audience. The negotiations between the U.S. studios and Gainax are being handled by Joseph Cho, who assisted in the production of “Appleseed: Ex Machina”, an animated film based on the Appleseed series, so Mr. Cho has previous experience in dealing with studio types.
Matt Greenfield estimates that an official announcement, including naming the studio, the director, and perhaps casting information, would be made within the next 9 months.
Thanks Chris!
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Comments 41 Responses to “Evangelion movie discussions still moving forward”
If North American film makers butcher the story of a 14 yr old boys journey in all it’s complexities and churn out a pg13 version of the film, I’ll shoot myself in the head. I have felt so privilaged to be exposed to some of the great stories to arrive out of manga and the anime genre that having dirty hollywood fingers rape those ideologies would bring an era of great sadness. Hell, even the Evangelion story itself would describe the transformation of this story into another “American Empires” abomination as an act against humanity. All that said, I agree, a live action Evangelion is something I’ve envisioned in my mind, but in order to maintain the dignity of the story, it would not reach a rating which would cut a huge profit for north american film makers. Question is, what’s more important, the money, or the sharing of this story??
It’s about time some news has surfaced, but I am not getting my hopes up. Anything with the words, “Greenfield” and “moving forward” means several more months of waiting and speculation.
I hope this movie is not ruined by any film companies involved, though there is this common idea that American filmakers would ruin this film…When in reality, every other country (Even Japan *gasp*) has just as much chance of ruining this film. It all depends on the devotion of all the parties involved; and all the party’s involved thus far, (ADV and Weta in particular), seem to be really devoted to exposing and perhaps expand the story of Neon Genesis Evangelion to a new audience while catering to the longtime fans.
As for a rating. R is NOT required to make a good film. There are many ways to skirt around an R rating and still make it daring, controversial, and faithful to the source. A Pg-13 would be just fine for the first film or two (ASSUMING it’s a trilogy or more). Let’s consider this: the FIRST HALF of the series was aimed primarily at older children(12+), So I don’t see how a PG-13 rating would destroy the integrity of evangelion…Atleast for the “first” film or “two”.
Though an R rating would be expected for a ‘final film’.
Let’s not kid ourselves. While I DON’T believe this will be another ’speed racer’, I DO believe that they will want to market it to Adults as well as (dare I say it?) older kids (14+).
I have no doubt it can be done right.
I’m hoping that this film turns out great. Like many, I’ve waited years to see this film and I want to see it done right. I DON’T want it to be a point for point adaptation of the original series. I want it to be Faithful, but I would also like for it to stand alone, and perhaps (IF possible, I’m not assuming) build upon and expand the around some of the more sketchy details.
*whew*
Anyway, here’s to another year of waiting…
I agree with both of you. Too me, this anime series(along with the movies) – is Japanese Animation’s ‘Godfather’/'Holy Grail’..if you will..and also ‘ours’…I know one cannot rely on Wiki for the correct information on this, but when I saw that: Steven Spielberg – was in talk. I almost just…you don’t wanna know…He would just ruin it, heck..if there talking about him, why not get the director(that I cannot think of his name) who did the last two Batman films(before Dark Knight and Batman Begins) – he’ll give the Eva’s nipples! Cameron..eh..love him, but it would be like Titantic 2 and The Abyss….(my spelling it horrid I know..)
About cramming the films…thats another big problem – Look at Lord of the Rings, personally….I hated the first two and loved the 3rd, yet wanting to shoot myself at the end…WE do not WANT that….I think they get everything in….all the episodes and two films into four films..how? Break up the Trilogy – kinna like with Kill Bill….but the films will be each 1 hour and 30 minutes….so say…’NGE Genesis I – Part I’….this just an idea that I had floating in my skull…
Back to the directors…Anno needs to be at the helm, personally….yet I haven’t been that up to date on the news on this – so please correct me…..
My choice of Directors: Ridley Scott, David Lynch(he’s ****** nuts), Jerry Bruckhemier and my mind just went completely blank….x.x
Wachowskis! Thats it! x.x
@Grevlis
lol, Jerry B is a producer. Id want someone like Peter Jackson, Christopher Nolan, or Spielberg. But that would never ever happen.
No to spielberg, as a director! I have nothing against him personally. He makes Awesome movies! Truthfully, he is a pioneer in the industry.
But… He has a tendency to dump the character drama and developement in favor of the more imaginitive sequences. Which is great, but it certaintly wouldn’t be acceptable for a Live Action film of Evangelion, whose plot would most likely revolve around and advance through the struggles of the characters.
Though I still do hope for many kick-ass action sequences. ’scuse the french.
I hope they go for a director who is willing to watch the series several times over, maybe even take notes, come up with some of his own ideas, relay them through anno (not greenfield or ADV) to see if it would fit the series and consult with the writers about any changes.
Foremost, I want them to like, or better yet, love the series.
I DO WANT this to be very much faithful to Evangelion, but I also anticipate something a little different as well. Not a live-action-point-to-point adaptation. Instead I want a faithful but stand-alone eva movie(s).
I also can’t wait for casting information. I hope they would choose *mostly* American-Asian actors (except for Asuka). Not only would that remain faithful to the source material, but it would hopefully give asians a more serious role in the american movie industry.
It is sad that asians, to this day, still get typecasted as a martial artist, a novelty act, or the sexy woman hanging off of the villain. This is the 21st century. We are (should be) beyond that.
If they do choose to make the film with americans of “european descent”, I will NOT go crazy and say,”O MAI GAWD IM BOICOTTING T3h movie!!!!!!111one”. If they are going to pick white actors, I would hope they would choose actors of other ethnicities as well. I’m tired of seeing just white people in films (and I’m white…well bi-racial, but I was raised “white”) I say this because I don’t know what would make a white actor anymore capable or qualified to play an asian character over say, a black or hispanic actor.
Basically, if they choose not to do a film with mostly asians, I would hope that they make some of the main characters asian (Shinji, rei, yui, etc.) and the rest a mixed cast. Besides, combat with the angels is an international task (with japan taking all of the action of course).
I will boycott the film if it’s casting is anything like the upcoming dragonball film. That, my friends, is a good example of drunken casting.
If I see that overrated flat singer Miley Cyrus or some other disney pop queens or kings (like the jonas brothers…*shudder) are in this film, I would not only boycott such a monstrosity, but I would also…well, I don’t know what…use your imagination. Perhaps I would Pop in some linkin park and slit my wrists like a distraught teen girl(?)
Just as long as “Kate Rose” isn’t in this movie…
… still think this whole live action Eva talk is nothing but vapourware but here’s hoping to be wrong.
@Grevlis
lol, Jerry B is a producer. Id want someone like Peter Jackson, Christopher Nolan, or Spielberg. But that would never ever happen.
Mike – I know this. Its late hours, my goes kinna foggy. Yes to the first two. Hell no to Spielberg. =)
Asinine Whelp – Completely agree! Honestly, with everything you just said.
Let’s talk to music – Don’t bloody change it, just fuse it. I would love to see..maybe some major Japanese singer..honestly can’t think of one right now….with Diana Krall, who does a lovely version of Fly me to the Moon. Also, Sarah Brightman..would be lovely.
Give the music more flare, even though it really doesn’t need it – but it would to attracted more people who don’t know about this series. DJ’s…like Tiesto, BT or Paul Oakenfold…to give things a twist..
IT’S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN
Seriously, I just marked my calendar for nine months from now. THEN THE BIRTH OF LIVE-ACTION-EVANGELION WILL (hopefully) BEGIN!!!!!!!!!!
I too hope they keep the original music or atleast a similar heart pounding feel, but perhaps a little more up to date… Sound has changed in the last 10+ years since the show first aired. lol.
I also anticipate a ‘main theme’ and I hope to God/allah/xenu/raptorjesus/orwhatever, that they do an epic, INSTRUMENTAL rendition of Cruel Angel’s thesis.
I say stay away from singers or vocal songs. This movie should be an epic one! Not a commercial one.
Not to mention, it would bring in yet another race/culture(japanese Vs. American) debate…and a language (japanese vs. english) debate…
Ahem, anyway, I have new questions!
-What things should be cut from the series to better fit the Movie(s)?
-What should be expanded upon, that you felt was neglected?
-Do you think episodes 1-6 would be a great start for a film series that would need to encompass a story of 26 episodes, plus, a movie?
I think our expectations for this movie are so high that it will inevitablly fall below expectations. I hope I am wrong but the chances of this happening are very high.
We talk a lot about casting and directors but I would not be surprised if a ‘new’ (or rather unheard of by you and me) director is given a chance to direct this movie. There are many movies that are brilliant but not churned out by hollywood. Hollywood ruines films and is going down the gutter. As far as I know the mainstream directors are busy and who knows, they may not give the full effort required to make this movie go above and beyond. I would not be afraid to give a ‘new’ director the reigns and see how it goes.
I think a key element to this movie is going to be pace. The anime moves along at a slow and liberal pace becuase it is broken up into episodes. The movie cannot afford the same luxury becuase it has to stand alone in a much shorter time. Breaking the movie up into several would be the best idea but still different concept from episodes. It will be intersting to see how the director or screenplay writer developes mood and connection to the characters over the span on a single movie (or carry that mood over a trilogy). Very hard to do I think.
if this ever gets made (doubtful), i’m prepared for it to be disappointing
but what would be good was if it wasn’t a complete wast, if there was enough great about it to pull out and savour from time to time. i’d rather have it be a noble disaster with brilliant aspects than a predictable blockbuster that’s been pressed down into the usual formula. and so i’d definitely like to see the direction job go to someone risky and exciting rather than a reliable studio man like spielberg.
This movie will get made, there’s not question about that. It’s just a matter of time really. It’s about time, recources, a great vision and amazing acting. The rest is just luck. I just wish we had some more news!
but i gather that WETA is no longer involved? is that correct? so a bit of a setback there…
it doesn’t seem that much of this project is moving along steadily in a forward direction.
I don’t see how WETA is not involved. I think they have the best chance of getting this film. Once the technical issues are set aside then the creative processes can begin and we will have something to really talk about.
don’t get me wrong – i’m not cheering for WETA to pull out; i thought their designs looked very good, and everything they’ve said in interviews suggested that they “got” the show in a way that was promising.
but i notice that there’s nothing about the project on WETA’s website anymore (is there?). the only mention i can find is one boy saying that he started working on the EVA project, and then he adds: “Pity it bummed out”.
maybe i’m missing something.
It’s too early to draw conclusions. There is a bidding going on right now and no solid information can come before everything is finalized. I’m pretty sure the movie will get made though. Of what quality it will be, too early to tell.
WETA hasn’t gone anywhere since the actual start of this project back in 2003 (That’s about 6 years).
If you look on the news section of this site, there will be a year old video about Richard Taylor (the head of WETA WORKSHOP) expressing his desire to get this film done.
At the present time (according to the most recent artical), there are several studios ‘competing’ for the final rights of the film. Most likely do to the success of Transformers. And because ADV is negotiating the final rights of the film, it gives WETA nothing to do but wait until the movie(s) are greenlighted or not.
They aren’t involved in the negotiations at this point because they are just there for the (Hopefully mind-blowing) special effects…
As for the abscence of Evangelion concept art on the WETA Workshop site, I wouldn’t think to much about it. They only had a tiny handful of ‘public’ concept work at the time it WAS on there. Plus, the concept art was made about 6 years ago, they might’ve updated most or all of the works by this point as the film seems to be moving forward.
Only time will tell though.
hmm well i hope this isnt going to be the fail that is the new dragonball movie
though that said while this could be a trilogy or possibly 5 movies seeing as the ending movie is a movie that should be just that and nothing else i really cant see the show getting below an R rating which i hope it doesnt. hell past episode 13 this show id honestly rate it nc 17 or even the X or XX or XXX by the very end.
and itd have to keep that kind of madness in order to stay true to the show. else really i dont want this show produced if it gets a pg 13 rating cause theres no way this show can retain its true form in that state.
though while id like to see it happen im content with leaving it alone rather than risk it. now if done right this could blow my mind but the odds are low but if its just an adaptation of the actual movie then yes it better be NC 17 or else i fear vital parts of the movie will be lost not that i want that rating but just saying that movie is quite crazy and im not sure how it would appeal to anybody but actual fans of the show which might make it pointless and a gamble.
but start it from episode 1-6 or 7 well i suppose that could work but im not sure how youd market such a thing and it cant be low budget which is funny cause the show by episode 18 was done on the lowest of all budgets lol.
“The studios wanted to make sure that a “giant robot” movie would appeal to an American audience. ” this is pure bullsit all they wanna do is change key stuff and make it a “taco gringo” just as they did with dragon ball, there is nothing to adapt, the fans like it the way it is for a reason, as long as we dont get surprises like some rumors of “Ny-3″ or “aliens” instead of angels, i mean why the fuck everything need to happens in NY? NY is the worst fking place in this and paralel universes and only ppl that live in that shithole disagree, but as for the movie id like to see it on tokyo-3 and just the fking way it is on the anime, there is no need to “adapt” a damm thing
Great, more people who don’t understand the Rating system.
The rating isn’t what makes a film great. It’s the script, the actors, and all of those who work together to produce a film.
Most of the series itself could be catagorized under a PG-13 rating…
An R rating would be scuicide for this film, even if it turns out great. PG-13 would work just fine initially. The series doesn’t even turn grisly until episode 18+. As for X as a rating… Come on, that’s generally reserved for the ‘adult sensibilities’.
The only real part of evangelion that couldn’t escape a PG-13 rating, is the End of Evangelion…Assuming that they choose to go with that ending.
On another point, they never stated their intent to make Tokyo-3 into New York 3!
As for this statement: “The studios wanted to make sure that a “giant robot” movie would appeal to an American audience.this is pure bullsit all they wanna do is change key stuff and make it a “taco gringo” just as they did with dragon ball ”
Well sorry to break it to you, but We’ve known for over 6 years now that the film(s) were going to be made to appeal to an american (western) crowd. But both Anno and Gainax (which anno no longer belongs to) are said to have advisory positions…
If you don’t want to see this film, that’s fine, just ignore it and go about your business.
The Live-Action film is NOT going to be Neon Genesis evangelion.
Even if the Live Action film(s) fail, then we will always have the original series.
please, keep it long about 2 hour and a half. I think that makes me clear of the story because I don’t want to see the movie as short as Harry Potter. I hope that Evangelion will be the enormous film and look forward to the movie.
Harry potter is a short movie? Most movies run about 90-100 minutes. Harry Potter is about 120 minutes (2 hours).
2 hours would be just fine for the first in this possible film series.
as far as ratings, i would think a certain amount of the action of the series would genuinely be too disturbing to get away with PG13.
when unit 1 eats the angel? i still have nightmares about that all these years later! maybe i’m more sensitive than the standards applied by the ratings board though!
Hi, nice posts there
thank’s for the interesting information
i recently watched the new dune series and found myself swearing when i noticed that they changed some of the key quotes from the old movie if you go changing things that are set in peoples minds, like outstanding storys and more than memorable quotes
its going to totaly wreck this film imho i hope they dont change a single word or emotion this story has a script i hope they follow it to the letter or not at all.
I want to find good pop music. Help me please.
Pacing, eh? Obviously, the episodic “Monster of the Week” approach isn’t going to work, not even for a trilogy. That could mean fewer Angels; they will probably cut out some of the more ridiculous ones. Alternatively, they could make the Angels into a single species (or several sub-species), like in Alien, and have hundreds or thousands of them attacking the city in repeated waves. There are some other routes with this aside from these though; no matter what, the angel concept in the movie script will probably differ sharply from how it was executed in the anime. It simply can’t be a straightforward adaption.
Personally I hope this doesn’t get made because I do not believe Hollywood can do it justice. I think this is Just Greenfield making a cash Grab. I still have Flashbacks to the horrible ADV dub days when all of their voice actors were the same ones. It was weird hearing someone else talking and being like oh that’s Shinji from Eva so glad I switched to subs. In any case if I am wrong I will pray to god for an amazing movie ala Star Trek 11
In any case I think that a lot of these live-action anime projects will be stalling after the disaster that was Dragon Ball Evolution. The live action Akira just got canned and it would not surprise me to see some of the other project go belly up for awhile just like this one. Well we’ll see what happen until then I will just me enjoying the New Evangelion movies
Between the success of Watchmen (it’s made over 30 Million profit so far before DVD) and Transformers showing how good CG has gotten this will be made. I read somewhere the Official merchandise, tapes, and DVD’s has made over “one billion dollars” worldwide. I see this being R with a very Unrated version on DVD with an hour more of the scenes that made the MPAA scream “Hell No!”. Again, similar to Watchmen…
Directors I’m sure will surprise us big time. Hopefully they will tell us who all approached ADV films saying “I want to do this” which means they are fans already and have seen it several times. David Lynch is very likely one since Evangelion has several trippy scenes like in Twin Peaks. It would be hilarious if one is Quentin Tarantino since he likes Anime (remember Kill Bill Vol. 1?) and freaky surprises which Evangelion certainly has.
Cast… who knows but I hope the voice actors get cameos. They’ve earned it. Asuka’s mom should be Tiffany Grant and she’s even a redhead! Perfect. Robin Williams clearly is a fan so make him a comedian in the bar with Ritsuko, Kaji and Misato joking about the Evangelions leaving 3 meter deep footprints in the street. Cameo’s alone with Major stars should be interesting.
Cross your fingers Evangelion fans! Hollywood isn’t completely a screw up all the time. Look at Watchmen and Transformers.
Directors I’m sure will surprise us big time. Hopefully they will tell us who all approached ADV films saying “I want to do this” which means they are fans already and have seen it several times. David Lynch is very likely one since Evangelion has several trippy scenes like in Twin Peaks. It would be hilarious if one is Quentin Tarantino since he likes Anime (remember Kill Bill Vol. 1?) and freaky surprises which Evangelion certainly has.
I am going to direct this with my friend jack and we are writing the trilogy too…!!!!
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My only hope is that the spirit isn’t lost, ending up in a big build up to nothing… like Southland Tales…
Just saw District 9 and given the director (Neill Blomkamp) is great friends and worked with Peter Jackson I would bet he’s one of the directors who came to ADV interested in this. Peter Jackson probably was too.
District 9 very much has a look/cinematography that I think a Live action Eva movie would aim for. The alien spaceship hovering over Johenesburg looked completely real. Great movie and great job WETA.
i think we need to start a petition to make sure they keep it japanese and not make it all westernised.
and pg13?? what kid is going to understand the philosophical, psychological, and religious themes that give it such depth
they better not fuck this up!!
but you know what? i wouldn’t want to see that “documentary style” shooting in an EVA movie. hand-held cameras and fast, blurred action – i’ve had enough of that. i’d want shots like in the anime: long shots where you can see everything, and appreciate how cool everything is.
i’ve been waiting 6 years for this. evangelion changed my life forever. Can Hollywood keep the magic intact? I am crossing my fingers. This is a story that needs to be told and if done correctly, with an ample budget, would easily rival star wars or transformers in its epicness. I am so tired of googling this (for years now) only to find vague statements from executives at anime conferences.
I just discovered that ADV sold all its assets (including intellectual property) to five different companies earlier this month. I hope this doesn’t mean the end of the Evangelion live-action film project.
Well personally i want to see a good live action of this amazing anime!!
And here is a good cast that probably will make a goo live action of evangelion:
Shinji ikari: Logan Lerman
Asuka: Emma Watson
Rei: Chiaki Kuriyama
Touji: Shawn Ashmore
Kaworu: Cody Linley
Misato: Kate Beckinsale
Kaji: Colin Farrell
Ritsuko: Kristin Chenoweth
Gendou Ikari: Hugh Laurie
the images are in http://russianrulete.blogspot.com
@Sparkamus Prime
I too saw District 9, and I too agree that this movie was, in essence, what Evangelion should be in it’s Live Action form – a movie about the people involved in an incident without precedents, and a setup so natural that the plot flows as something amazing and plausible to the audience – even with Aliens, Gods, giant humanoids and the likes lurking above a not-NY-city.
Weta did an AMAZING job on a movie that had (relative) little costs, rapid setup, and, well…
“Jackson and Blomkamp were working on the Halo movie, and when that attempt collapsed, the pair went to work on District 9 instead.” (IMDb)
hmmmm… Weta even sneaked some EVA-eske robots into District 9… I can’t see an Evangelion Live Action wouldn’t work, even if the story ends up somewhat different from the source material.
On a side note, Gainax is remaking it’s Evangelion series into 4 (more like 7/2) amazing animation movies that change key aspects of the original series and, EVEN WITH THOSE CHANGES, the fans are going crazy with the quality of the final product…
Gainax will gather more than enough money by the end of those 4 movies to pull Eva’s Live Action without need for anyone else, so we will probably end up with a movie paid by Gainax, produced by Weta Ltd., and distributed / promoted by some major studio like Universal… *-*~