How many people do I have to kill?

[Tokyo Slim]

Exclusive: LIVE-ACTION 'COWBOY BEBOP' MOVIE IS IN THE WORKS

Producer Erwin Stoff reveals that he is developing a live-action adaptation of the iconic anime for Fox

By CHARLENE CHENG, News Editor
Published 7/22/2008


LOCATION: Beverly Hills, CA

THE SKINNY: If anybody is in the mood for some exhilarating, long-anticipated, previously-unannounced breaking news about anime series COWBOY BEBOP, iF Magazine has the exclusive scoop for you.

We caught up with producer-extraordinaire Erwin Stoff at the NBC TCAs where he was promoting his upcoming updated-David-and-Goliath-based show KINGS. When asked about other projects he is currently working on, Stoff, let slip some very juicy news about a very beloved anime franchise.

"I'm developing COWBOY BEBOP for Fox, but doing it as a live-action film, so I'm working on that at the moment," Stoff tells iF. "I'm really excited to be working on it, and it's in the really early stages. We just signed it the other day."

Before any of you BEBOP fanboys/fangirls get your skivvies in a twist about yet another questionable anime-to-human adaptation (see: DRAGONBALL), iF made sure to get an oath of fidelity to the original material from Stoff.

"I have such an enormous admiration for its creators, that our first and foremost concern is going to be a real degree of faithfulness to the tone of the movie, to the mix of genres, and so on and so forth," he says. "When I met with them in Japan, one of the first things that I brought up was the experience that we had on A SCANNER DARKLY, and how hard we worked to remain faithful to Philip K. Dick, and that was our big concern here."

For those skeptical about the casting possibilities, Stoff has the following to say: "Flak about choices is meaningless until people see the movie," he notes. "When people see the movie, then criticism has a place in it."

Does Stoff think that American audiences that aren't familiar with the anime will have trouble getting aboard?

"No, I really don't think they will," says Scoff. "I think they haven't [gotten aboard] with the anime because it's had limited exposure - it's just been on Adult Swim, and so on. I think the ability to tell this larger frame - the ability to build a world that's iconically American in its Western nature - I don't think so at all."

...if they screw this up... I will hunt them down. I swear.

 

[robin]

They're going to ******* up.

 

[DNW]

Originally Posted by robin

They're going to ******* up.

+1. It's going to come out looking like Babylon 5 or some ****.

 

[Thracozaag]

Why? why? why!?!?

 

[j]

Well, since we can expect this to suck, and since it's been an ongoing discussion between Slim, me, and a few of our friends for years now... who plays who in the movie?

Spike: ?? Goldblum? Cusack? (both minus 20 years).. I think Ratboy is the best choice I've seen, actually.
Faye: ?? Rachel Weisz?
Jet: Mickey Rourke ala Sin City?
Edward: some child actor
etc.

I can't remember who my choices were now.

 

[robin]

Have they called Uwe Boll yet? They might as well.

 

[Thomas]

Originally Posted by robin

They're going to ******* up.

Battlefield Cowboy Bebop Earth

 

[Toiletduck]

how the hell is anyone gonna pull off his curly hair.....properly.


they are going to ******* up for sure

 

[Lel]

While it mostly like will suck, this has potential to be awesome.

It seems that as the potential rises, the possibility of suck also increases.

 

[James Gatz]

Excuse me while I go kill someone now.

 

[landho]

Rain (who played Taejo Togokhan in Speed Racer) would be a good choice for Spike.

 

[TUspiv]

I'm sure it'll be better than the Dragonball Z live-action film coming up.

 

[Bravura]

Originally Posted by landho

Rain (who played Taejo Togokhan in Speed Racer) would be a good choice for Spike.

Spike's Jewish though.