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BATTLE ROYALE American Remake Set Up...
Hey folks, Harry here... Here's a project that could either be utterly fantastic or a steaming pile of shit. I know some of the folks involved in this film. Allegedly it's going to be an extremely Hard R - serious-minded Americanization of BATTLE ROYALE. Personally... in an ideal world... they'd hire Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner to adapt the script and Paul Verhoeven to direct. And they'd just turn them totally loose. Either that... or hire Larry Clark loose on this material and just set the world aflame. The scary part of this project is the tragically hip producer, Neal Moritz is producing... And that pretty much means any chance of this being an extremely hard-nosed brutal american telling of this Japanese classic... well is just about as sure as pissing a straight line outside during a hurricane. Not very likely. Let's hope for the best. At this point, there's no screenwriters and no director. It's just been reported that Neal Moritz and Roy Lee are producing at NEW LINE CINEMAS a remake of BATTLE ROYALE. Let us pray for the best!
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... will it be anywhere close to the REAL Battle Royale film. Period.
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... and can we just stop with the remakes? Even if only for a few years?? We need a break!
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... back in the water. They have got to be kidding, surely?
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this is hysterical
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I wont believe it til i see the poster with dead children on it. This is gonna be very very controversial here. And i am gonna love it!!
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I'm not a hater but there is just no way that a US film-making team will be able to pull off something as violent and intense as Battle Royale (or any violent Japanese film for that matter).
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OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU -
Yeah, hopefully this will be as hardcore as the original, if not more so. Wouldn't want to disappoint Harry's nephew. Paul Verhoven would be a great choice for this I agree.
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he was remaking Oldboy. Are things really this badthat there are almost no original ideas. Bless M. Night Shawaddywaddy, at least he's trying!
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...Paul Verhoeven's Battle Royale? He's the only mainstream Hollywood director I can think of who could actually subvert the inevitably studio-imposed PC element and turn it into a simultaneous entertaining action fest and amoral mind-fuck. I'd buy that for a dollar.
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People go along to see these things to see how bad they are/if they've done them right - if we keep away from these morally bankrupt ideas then they'll try another tack. I can feel a 're-imagining' of Different Strokes coming on...
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Then I would be very interested.
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just kidding
ha ha,
I dunno, but all I want is fucking paris hilton in the role of the slutty girl that stabs that guy in the penis..
thats hot!! -
Yet another oh-so-pointless remake. You're not going to make it anywhere near as good as the original. Fact. So why bother? Add this to The Fog, Wicker Man, and Infernal Affairs as recent travesties. If any directors without a shred of originality or creativity are reading this, here are a few you seem to have missed: Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Taxi Driver, The Godfather, Alien, The Thing, and The Usual Suspects. It really wouldn't surprise me.
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cool dude almost-indestructible psycho??
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So what exactly is the job of a Hollywood producer these days? He sits behind his desk snorting coke when his assistent walks in with a list of succesful Asian films. He hangs it on the wall, the producer throws a dart and voila! "The dart landed on Battle Royale sir. Excellent choice sir. Allow me to put my lips on your anus for a moment sir. If I suck your cock, will you give me some money to direct my own movie? It'll be very cheap and very original." At witch point the producer of course kicks him out because the word "original" confuses him.
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all the actors will be 25-30 playing high-schoolers. There's a reason the Japanese don't remake American movies, they actually have their own ideas. Hope this tanks, bigtime.
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Anger leads to hate, hate leads to spelling errors. -_-
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X3 remake. It has been less than a month come on people get a move on. Oh & PG-13 BR remake bad idea, but hey don't let that stop you.
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... (I rather they wouldn't) ... Paul Verhoeven for director, definitely and I think, Michael Moore for the Beat Takeshi role, simply because of the huge amount of irony that would be generated.
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Did you catch my message welcoming you back from Spain. It was Spain, right?
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Just.....FAAABULOOOOUUUSSS darlings!
I hope that the Battle Royale remake also stars Jennifer Lopez and Richard Gere, because they were SOOO FAAABULOOOOUUUSSS in the Shall We Dance? remake! FAAABULOOOOUUUSSS!!!
I wonder if they could get that wonderfully talented director, Paul W. S. Anderson. YEAH, the NEW SPIELBERG! Or how about Brett Ratner.... Man, is he a hot director! LOVE HIS WORK!
Hey, I do hope they can find a role for Rob Schneider in there. He could play the comedy sidekick! Yeah, FUNNY GUY!!! Hilarious! Then again, NOT as funny as Martha Stewart. WOW, Martha in Battle Royale!!! She could play a character called MARTHA FOOKER! A real mean, mean piece of cake. I saw her GUT a fish with noneother than Brian "Bloody Hell" Dennehy. Now, he's a tough guy, but man, oh man, was he scared of Martha.
Do you know what would be a FAAABULOOOOUUUSSS addition to the film? What if they add Stallone playing the DEAF COP SCHTICK from Copland? I'm on a role.... HOLLYWOOD, GIVE ME THE CONTRACT! I'M ONBOARD!!! -
Honest to God, what the FUCK, man?!! Biased as I am, I say this for two reasons:-
1. No offense to anyone here, but making Battle Royale American WILL NOT, repeat WILL NOT, work, for at least a dozen reasons that should be all too obvious. I mean, if Quentin Tarantino were the producer I'd at least feel a tiny hint of hope that he'd have the taste and decency to make sure it was handled well, but this screams, literally SCREAMS like a banshee, of half-assed, watered down, Hollywood stool water. I do not trust it for one second and you can't make me.
2. (and this the part where the personal bias REALLY enters,) I've spent since at least Spring of 2004 adapting a screenplay of this myself set in England, NOT in America. The bulk of what was in the original, plus more stuff that was in the original novel, (yes, it was a novel, and a manga,) and at the minute it's close to being 80% complete. A sort of Lord of the Flies meets Straw Dogs-type script.
Now, at the risk of sounding like an arrogant self-important limey hack writer, given the choice of Hollywood screwheads or one Anglo-Canadian young turk, worse or better? -
This film blew me away when i first saw it and completely caught me off guard. Dragged a few mates the second time and loved it even more. Please do not remake - come up with something bloody original for once you lazy bastards!!!
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ling and what other semin hip teen TV actors are available ... hmm ..
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But I think from here on out I can only see you as the guy that hates Titanic. You've already been typecast. You should try to start some other fires on other talkbacks to wash away the sordid memories you left with all of us on the James Cameron one.
And coincidently you are dead on the money here. Battle Royale worked for a lot of reasons but one of the primary ones being that it is set in Japan. High school students their are forced to stay in school until 7 at night and then go to other academies until 2 in the morning. In that reality this film seems far more feasible. So there's that and the fact that crazed and bloody Japanese highschools girls fighting it out is fuckin' hot. So that being said if this gets made with a bunch of WB stars I'm gonna set the building on fire. -
and in an ideal world, i'd be king of australia and jessica alba would be my concubine. sorry, but the battle royale US remake will most probably suck ass.
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it'll end up being directed by Rob Cohen or some shit, and will just be a straightforward actioner with an $80 million budget and 550 effects shots. It'll be half as good as BR2 at best (and BR2 was a massive step down from the first, though not without it's merits). Oh and Radical, gutted for you if this movie goes ahead mate, gutted.
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it is? Weird.
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Got to say this sounds a terrible idea the only way it would work is find a new hungry director and get them a to an independent low budget but very hardcore version if this is the standard hollywood remake then it will be a steaming pile of shit
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I'm thinking with people taking notice of Gothic and Lolita fashion, someone will probably do "Shimotsuma Montogari"/"Kamikaze Girls" next....though someone will get Hillary Duff to be the loli (Which is actually something I'm ok with since she likes Jp. fashion.) and Avril Lavigne to be the yanqui thug (I'm going to admit I like her better as an actress after seeing "Over the Hedge"...she needs to end her recording career.) and probably have Jimmy Fallon as the yanqui's crush, with or without the ridiculous pompadour. Though I'm not sure if I'd see it...
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Just like my typing in my last post
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Forget it. You can't take the Jap out of 'Battle Royale' any more than you could take a twat out of 'The Player'. It just won't be the same. 'Seven Samurai' or 'Magnificent Seven'..? The choice is yours but I know which one I'd plump for every time. And don't get me started on 'The Wicker Man'. Everyone concerned with that particular remake deserves to rot. In Hell.
When was the last truly great Hollywood movie..? I'm scratching my head and having to go back at least 20 years. -
Well, that's something you wouldn't expect in the same sentence but there is a strange parallel of sorts. Douglas talked about a sport called Brockian Ultra Cricket which was horribly violent and really popular - even though no-one can see it because they build a really high wall around it. Battle Royale's the same way as in all the Japanese public can't see the game at all either.
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and its still gonna be tons better than this remake...probably...but you never know...although we all really do...
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Are Americans incapable of reading subtitles on foreign films? What's with this culture of re-making hugely successful Asian movies? I just don't get it.
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"If any directors without a shred of originality or creativity are reading this, here are a few you seem to have missed: Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Taxi Driver, The Godfather, Alien, The Thing, and The Usual Suspects." Ummm... you do know that The Thing was a remake of The Thing From Another World, right? Anyway, as others have said, there's no way that this will star anyone younger than mid 20s which will totally ruin half of the impact of the film. I also gaurantee that there will be a crappy nudity-free sex scene and a Titanic-style soliloquy from the male lead about how the female lead shouldn't give up. Yawn...
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... One way they *could* handle an American version of Battle Royale is that it's a 'sidequel' (not a remake) set in the Japanese Battle Royale Universe where the Americans have set up a franchise. Get Mark Burnett to play himself as the man who bought the concept from the Japanese. Have the show (within the movie) retooled for an American audience where everything is shown from multiple camera angles and sponsorship is riddled through it and running commentary. Have the Japanese act all snooty about how the American version debases the concept by overexposure - never mind the whole concept is about mass murder. Maybe have the class in the US Version selected not at random but because they're the lowest scoring class in the country on the standardised testing or something.
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lol. That is what an American remake would be. If they do it right, I'll love it. If not, then fuck it.
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It appears that there's little doubt even among the hardcore skeptics that such a match up would be gleefully evil.
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The Thing is being remade by the Sci-Fi Channel (no, really) and last year there have been talks of remaking Taxi Driver. I guess a lot depends on how that Taxi Driver game is going to sell.
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Jun 08, 2006 7:41:54 AM CDT
"Allegedly it's going to be an extremely Hard R" ...
by performingmonkey
You don't say... Teens being forced to kill each other to survive couldn't exactly get a 'soft' R or PG-13 now, could it? That's if they include the killing. They'll probably just vote each other off Big Brother style. I can't wait to see what cheesy American names they come up with for the kids. Eric is sure to be one of them. Why are they doing this? To make money. When that is the SOLE reason for a project you know it's already dead, lifeless and cold, before a single mother fucking frame has been shot. They don't even have a director yet? Get Ron Howard or Spielberg.
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that the original has still not had a proper American release. Regardless Im not sure Vorhoeven would be the best to let loose on it. While brutal, his stuff in hindsight turns out to be very cheezy once you get past the severed limbs and exploding acid dumped bad guys against the windshield.
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Unless you hire Adam Hackbarth to write it and either Takashi Miike, Eli Roth, or Quentin Tarantino to direct it. Hehe. Shameless.
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FIRST OF ALL- They're gonna tipsy toe around the subject matter because they'll be afraid of offending columbine victims.
SECOND- They're gonna take it TOO seriously, therefore not making it anywhere near as fun as the Japanese version (which had a great sense of humor about itself) -
sorry folks but (although theoretically a good choice), he's been off the ball for years. He and Neumeier missed the mark somewhat with Starship Troopers (oh what it should have been). As for western directors, it has to be somebody with clout and a passion for the original therefore it would have to be Tarantino. But if he made it we'd be waiting till 2015, by which time we'll probably be letting the little bastards do it for real. Actually that would be a damn sight more entertaining than this'll turn out to be!
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They should make the kids college age. That way all of the destruction and mayhem can be acceptable since the MPAA and Washington don't care if people over 18 kill each other on film. The original Battle Royale is a fun movie. It's not a classic or genius. It plays out like a fucking violent episode of the Mexican teen Telenovella "Rebelde". But it is very unique and with it's flaws it's still a good movie. Hopefully they'll get someone like James Gunn to adapt and either Zach Snyder or the emerging talent with a knack of extreme "Oh Shit" shocking gore porn David Ellis. Say what you will about Final Destination 2. But that was a fun and evil fucking movie.
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The kids were pretty much interchangeable - and guilt of some pretty serious overacting. Oh and please spare us the hamfisted allegory of the Iraq war that will be hideously dated in a decade. Not that anyone will be rewatching it.
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...the chick shootout consists of Amanda Bynes, Kristen Bell, Amy Acker , Kristen Kruek and Alexis Bledel. Natch...
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Rob Zombie and he suggested that Rob make this for American audiences. I didn't think it was a bad I did at the time (though I wasn't such a remake hater at the time either) but now I just want them to stop remaking things alltogether...I guess if it HAS to be done Paul Verhoven isn't a bad choice to helm....
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They hire an Asian actor in the lead role. It's only right that they keep the character of Nanahara Asian. And they also need to get a real bad assed girl to play Chigusa and an especially good actress who can pull off playing the evil and bad assed Mitsuko.
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What didn't you like about Starship Troopers?
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...with subtitles? I am not aware of how some of that distribution stuff works but I'd go see it in a theater even though I've seen it on DVD. When AICN originally wrote about Battle Royale a few years ago they made it sound like it would never play in the States due to the subject matter...but if it's going to be remade then that's not the issue anymore, is it? And if they can make Battle Royale for American audiences, then isn't it about goddamn time for Stephen King's Long Walk?
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It was merely a suggestion. If it were up to me, they'd be younger and in High School and the ugly girl from the When A Stranger Calls remake (who looks like Chris Noth) would be in it and die first. And I wouldn't age the kids in "Lord of the Flies". Don't be silly. Again I'm not in Hollywood. The only way any of this shit would have been greeted by all of us positively is if Lions Gate were making it, since they are unconcerned with pissing anyone off. I'm just saying none of this shit would work anyway in this hyper sensitive society we live in, so try to adapt it in a different way in order to keep the violence. But for the record, I am against this remake because it's not going to be the same and will probably have a lower body count as a result of the film makers being pussies.
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Stop the goddamn madness! Please!!!! When will that fucking earthquake hit that'll drop Hollywood into the ocean? Future generations will look back on this period of Hollywood filmmaking and suddenly succumb to Irritable Bowel Syndrome and wonder, "Why didn't they kill themselves?!?!?"
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I can't believe this. Can somebody give me some examples of other countries remaking Starwars, the Godfather, etc because they didn't want to dub those versions? I fucking hate hollywood sometimes.
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The Running Man did cross my mind, yes ... By the way, anyone else hear the rumour that they wanted Quentin Tarantino to play the President of the United States in Battle Royale 2? (Part later cut).
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Christ, man, get a hold of yourself. Erm, actually, don't. That image just rings my breakfast back up. You know who should direct this? FUCKING NO ONE.
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... and let him go ape nuts on the script. He's sick enough to pull it off.
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Aside from the fact that the American movie studios are totally afraid of offending people or creating something with the political edge and social connotations...they will probably look to cast a bunch of b-list celebs like Timberlake in this movie, water down the social commentary and in the end have all the kids team up to fight terrorism for good ol' U.S. of A. F*** YEAH! USA USA! Oh, and all the media will be genius's who always tell the truth. lol. This remake has zero chance of being good.
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'cause i don't care. Why? I thought BR SUCKED but that's just me. Now i said it. I'm outta here. (but i agree...i just can't imagine how an americanized Hollywood remake could work in any way?!)
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Starring 35 year olds as 14 year olds, so as not to offend any patrons who want to see good violence, only at the cost of those over 18. Jesus fucking goddammed Christ! Stop remaking the good movies. Remake the BAAAAD movies!!! Remake Jaws 3 or The Garbage Pail Kids Movie.
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You know that no studio is going to back a movie where a bunch of kids are trying to kill each other. The American BR will feature good looking mid 20s actors and actresses who find themselves in "The Battle of Their Life is the Battle FOR Their Life". They all wake up on a mysterious island and are told they must fight to the death, and after a while the prettiest man and woman begin to work together to figure out who is behind it and stop the madness (which of course they do). After the credits there will be an "it's not really over after all" Surprise Twist
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Who would they cast as "Windy Wendy"?
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(yes I am concerned that he lost it since Starship Troopers). The real problem is the producer. He'll never release the cash to really do this any justice. The man is involved with the worst shit out there. The XXX movies (all of them); Fast & Furious 1,2+3; Cruel Intentions (OK 1 is good) but 2 +3?!; Urban Legends Final Cut; I Still Know What You Did Last Summer; Not Another Teen Movie; Sweet Home Alabama; The Sculls 1,2 +3?!; Stealth. I think... I'm... WARRRAGHHGHH!!! Sorry I just puked up my insides. Fuck. This. Shit.
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I LOVE the Idea of a BIG BUDGET Summer-event reimagining of Garbage Pail Kids... Michael Bay to direct...
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...Starship Troopers flame war in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...
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If we are going to americanize, why not use a crazy ass american?
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And Fast and Furious 3, I'll be content. Only him, no one else. Yeah, you heard me.
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Went to the cinema to see it even. The books were golden and the film is ok, but ok quite frankly isn't good enough. It should have been the ultimate sci-fi epic. I did enjoy the fact that none of the actors had a clue they were the butt of a huge joke. The satirical nature of the film was almost overplayed (like Robocop 2 and yes i know that's not Verhoeven) instead of being nice and subtle like Robocop 1. Verhoeven on form would probably make an absolute barnstormer, and kudos to the person who suggested John Milius, that's just fucking genius!!!
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Has already been remade twice - four times if you include the two television series. Who can forget the classic 'Caboblanco' with Charles Bronson as the Rick character and Simon 'Manimal' MacCorkindale as the Victor Laszlo type. And of course one of the best remakes of all time - Barb Wire - starring Pamela Anderson as Rick - if Rick had enormous breasts. In fact in this case I think we should really be called a 'premake' of these two classical pieces of cinema.
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even if the US remake sucks (which it probabally will), it also means that BR & BR2 will have an official US release at the very least on DVD so we can stop buying them from ebay or a disreputable dealer in Chinatown. And they may even release the original films in small "art house" theaters. Because while US distributors may be afraid of a the MPAA and parents' groups, they're even more afraid of not making money.
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If Tarantion did write and direct this, would it be called Battle Royale with Cheese??
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Moritz makes shit PG-13 movies that are all about style over subtance. I've had meetings with his company and they are a bunch of vapid brain dead idiots who rather talk about their pools than about movies and story.
Battle Royale should not be remade. I don't care if an American version goes as far as the original (which we all know it won't). This is sad day and the only outcome of this project will be another pile of crap up on the screen.
American filmmaking is dying right before our eyes and it's the executives who are killing it. We need a new filmmaker to come out and shake shit up and change things and we need a public that will support it. Until then, it's only going to get worse.
Next they'll be remaking In The Realm of The Senses as a teen high school comedy. Watch --- it's coming. -
shouldn't be drinking cider this time of day, but i live in somerset, so i can't help it!!
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I agree - STOP THE MADNESS!
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you're obviously someone in the know, are all the executive now just people who grew up watching 80's simpson/bruckheimer flicks?? if that's the case, we're fucked for the next decade.
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I did, and what I liked is that the "Beat" Takashi character wasn't crazy or over the top in the book. He was just an asshole whose job was to facilitate the game. If they do a remake, it'd be nice to go to the source material. As much as I love Takashi and this movie, his character's "wackyness" brought me out of the movie a little each time he went a little crazier.
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with the exception if Not Another Teen Movie (which is a huge guilty pleasure for me) what a bunch of crap that guy has had his fingers in...
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Turkey, Brazil, Japan. Now, don't ask about countries that remade Superman...
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Veronica Mars, Mischa Barton, Some Smallville guy, Some Seventh-tree-hill UPN show guy everyone knows about but me, Go-go yubari makes a fifteen second cameo, and I'm sure Brian Cox will find a way to be in it. Since it is an American remake, it will trash any complexity or nuance from the original and focus on the eternal struggle between good and evil.
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Getdafuckouttahere, unless the weapon of choice in the US version is the cumshot. Verhoven is the most obvious choice if it must be made at all. Milius would also deliver a potentially very interesting take. Now, the person who said that they'll be remaking IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES as a high school comedy next - THAT'S the movie you want Larry Clark directing.
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Dakota Fanning as Regan MacNiel, and Julia Roberts as Chris MacNiel, with Mark Ruffalo as Dimmy, Lindsay Lohan as Sharon and Tom Hanks as Lancaster Merrin. Rated PG13 because Spielberg will say that suggested violence is scarier than seeing everything played out on screen. And the special effects will be handled by ILM. And in the end the priest wont kill himself because the Devil "Can't win by making him commit the ultimate sin... Suicide" because that is too controversial.
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never read the book, but you gotta admit, that when you think he's dead, and the gets up to answer the phone, it was one of the laughs of the year!!
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Besides....who could Hollywood come up with to fill Kitano's shoes?
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He could play it down but also get a little sinister when necessary. After blowing up one of the kids, he says in his proper British accent: "Sorry bout that. Lets continue shall we?"
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If this is a film aiming for a cinematic release they have to change it one of two ways. Either remove the kids killing each other, or age the kids to adulthood. So it will end up as 'groundbreaking satire on reality TV', where a bunch of Big Brother type contestants (all clearly over the age of 18) enter a reality show called Battle Royale in the 'near future'. It will take place on an island off Florida (gotta have an excuse for there to be lots of young flesh on offer) where hidden cameras record everything for the show that tops the ratings. We will get an obnoxious host who can die at the end, to try and fool people there is a life lesson. Deaths will be more 80s action flick than gory. They will shoot three different endings with different hot young things winning to see which gets over better with focus groups. IT WILL FUCKING SUCK, and barely make back its cost. Nevertheless it will mark the beginning of a new age of cross-cultural film rape. Save this post and see how right I am...
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The problem with the execs aren't their influences, the problem is they don't love movies. They see films as a rancher sees cattle. I know there are some exceptions and I have been lucky enough to meet a few of them (I can count them on my hand), but for the most part I've met a lot of well educated privileged snobs who have no idea what the average movie goer wants to see. You go into meetings and try to make small talk with them and end up talking about their vacations and hobbies for 40 minutes. One of my first meetings with Mortiz's company was with this brain dead exec with a British accent who literally talked to me about her pool for half and hour. By the time I got a chance to speak about the projects I was working on, she was too distracted to focus.
That's why they keep feeding up the pablum they feed us. Look to 10, 15 years ago and how independent film was a breath of fresh air...now independent film is owned by the big studios and cast with big stars. It's hardly indpendent. For exmaple, Polly Cohen, one of the worst studio execs in the business responsible for such crap as Dukes of Hazzard is named the head of WB independent studio when Polly has no experience in making indie films nor does she have a brain her fucking skull. The day Disney bought Miramax was a death rattle people.
They are not encouraging American storytellers/filmmakers unless you walk in with a family comedy with a disinfranchised father and rebellious son. That's what these idiot hacks want. They want Cheaper by the Dozen 40, not Do The Right Thing.
Filmmakers abroad are where it's at right now and that's why American studios are copying them constantly. Instead of cultivating the American talent willing to break some barriers, these brain dead fucks have to let foreign filmmakers blaze new trails first and then hire hacks to dumb it down for America.
It's sad. -
...was a satire? I thought it was a Showcase for Dina Meyer's Boobenheimers.
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I really wanted to be the one to bring this book and movie to a an American audience, untouched. (Well slightly touched, but only for minor things, but would shoot the whole damn thing.)
Fuck Neal H. Moritz, motherfucker can't produce a fucking good movie to save his own cock from getting sucked off by great white shark. Yet he's in charge of this, fuck it. This movie will be utter shit. I WILL PROTEST THIS FILM ON ALL FRONTS!!!!! Not because of the content, but cause I care about this as a property. I do not need some dumbfounded 15 year olds telling me how cool the movie was, when they don't even know or give a shit about the source. So fuck this news, it isn't cool news, it's the 9/11 of movie news. Thanks Harry, you just killed thousands of fans by reporting this shit. If you have any brains, you'd stop this charade tubby. -
Tut,tut,tut the US film industry really is bankrupt...
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This film was made all the way back in 2000. Film was in its infancy then and I find it hard to believe that people can remember a film that was made SO LONG ago. Clearly it is in need of "Buh God" American remake.
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...Inherit the Wind again? Something weighty and substantive yet with artistic merit? NAW, we'll just get the filmitization of Who's the Boss?
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instead of actors in their 20's otherwise it is pointless. but unless they do it with actors in their 20's, the movie would be too repulsive for most and thus the budget would be too small to do it right. so, youre damned if you do, damned if you don't. but i thought the people who owned the property hated america and wouldnt even sell the DVD rights to any company here. which is why i've had a bootleg for a few years now instead of a real dvd. i remember part 2, aside from sucking, was totally about how america is the big satan.
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Am i missing something here but surely the whole point of a remake is to improve on the original film or make it more relevant to modern life. It isnt to simply remake it scene for scene or hope for the same "effect" or "impact" as the original. Nor should they make it a kind of "sadistic reality tv show" because to be honest i bet thats the angle theyll be going for
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One of the reasons the original was so suspenseful is that I honestly had no idea for half the film who, if anyone, would survive. If they put BIG AMERICAN NAMES in the lead roles, you can guarantee they'll be the final survivors of the film. Anyone with more than 4 IMDB credits should be automatically disqualified from casting. Except Bill Murray as the teacher.
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Especially with Moritz on the team. The man has supervised one good movie so far - Cruel Intentions, which I like, 'cause Buffy plays a slut in it - and to even think about touching Battle Royale... I just have one fucking question: What is the justification of all these execs and producers to remake movies? Is it just the money or are they too stupid and incompetent to think up their own stuff. I think a combination of both and 'Stupidity and Money' sums up Hollywood nicely these days. Fucking morons.
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Hey now, Better Luck Tomorrow was a pretty good first film. Too bad everything else he's done since has been a steaming pile of dogshit.
You're all probably right though, with the producer who thinks it's hip to mention Prima strategy guides in a movie (it doesn't, btw) navigating this one, it's pretty much DOA. Speaking of which, the Dead Or Alive (the video game) movie looks appaling. -
Seriously. Who doesn't love a battle royal?
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that some 'Rapper du Jour' will be tapped to 'float tha bumpin' soundtrack' of "songs from and inspired by" BR. The best of intentions die cold, lonely deaths in executive boardrooms.
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Neal Moritz? Did you nerds hear this? Neal fucking Moritz...just take a gander at this guys resume. And, he has tons of movies in development. How does this guy do it? And, he gets his hands on this? The first Battle Royale was a shocker. I thought it would be just this splatter foreign film, but does anyone remember when they take over the classroom in the beginning and tell the kids the rules? Man, that was great scene! It will be impossible to recreate that within the Hollywood studio system. Impossible. All the great violent scenes which make the movie so weird are going to be cut out and all the overly dramatic scenes(which the original has a lot too) will be heightened to a disgusting levels, especially since they will be casting unbelievable good looking kids who can't act. Not to mention Neal Moritz ONLY hires directors who have handled music videos or something like that. Come on people. Look at this talkback! Nothing but rage from a fan base that SHOULD be the target audience. Nerds who went out of their way to find the bootlegged version.
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movie. It will be what I thought the original was going to be before I saw it. I figured it was going to be some exploitation flick a'la Kung Fu High (or whatever that was) or something like that. I worry that it will be treated like House of Wax or something like that where, a couple of them kill eachother, but really there is an enemy that isn't them. Bah, it'll suck. There are issues of class/race/stereotypes that will come in as well that will muck it up.
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charisma of the guy who played Shuya, he is a mouse at the beginning and by the end you can't take your eyes off of him.
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STOP WITH THE FUCKING REMAKES!!!
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To be honest the original Battle Royale FILM sucked ass too. so give them a chance to remake it. Maybe it will live up to the book.
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If all the studio bullshit and risk of 'offending' people is forgotten about (er...Bush can send people to die and no-one cares, yet ALL those asswipes WOULD care if a faithful U.S. version of BR was made! Because, as we all know, fictional violence is MUCH WORSE than real death and destruction. In a way, I see 9-11 as fictional violence because of the way the event itself AND the coverage of it was orchestrated. In a sick way, it was the biggest budget disaster movie ever made. It's getting harder and harder to deny that it was a big setup - the biggest con since Christ...er, I mean The Da Vinci Code...no, that came after...) anyhow, Battle Royale is 100% guaranteed to be a 'controversial' production due to the plotline. And yes I'm guessing it WILL feature 20-something-year-olds playing 18-year-old college kids rather than kids in school uniform (can you imagine the backlash...it was bad enough with Britney in a uniform). Peace.
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Just from someone who has had meetings with this assholes company various times I can tell you in no uncertain terms that when I walked in and pitched 2 rated R projects I was quickly told that they don't do rated R anymore. I brought up Cruel Intentions and was told that Cruel Intentions was the only exception to the rule and that they are only interested in slick teen driven PG 13 movies.
This is a another dark day here people.
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The one and only thing that could make this remake worthwhile would be if the cast BILL MURRAY in Beat Takeshi's teacher role. The last couple of times I've watched Battle Royale, I've imagined how awesome Murray's deadpan delivery would be in that training classroom. If they pull off that one incredible bit of casting, I'll be extremely excited about this. But they won't. So I'm bummed.
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The original was a brutally boring movie that took obvious and silly turns.
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For the film to work the way the Japanese version does they should just cast unknowns. The baggage known actors would bring to the story would completely lessen the shock of watching these kids slaughter one another. Althought I admit, the thought of Barry Watson getting his head cracked in half with an axe DOES have a certain appeal...
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Make something original and maybe the peple will come to the theater. This remake shit is getting tedious. It really is a sad state of affairs that there are so few origianl thinkers and visionaries controlling the Maerican movie system. Im just so sick of this......M
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Hollywood needs a shot in the arm and remaking Japanese/Asian flicks got boring about 8 years ago. Those ragging on Battle Royale need to go and start a fight elsewhere. Children.
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Get Tommy Lee Jones as the teacher. A bunch of complete unknown teenage actors to play the cast. Low budget, Hard R. Could be beautiful.
Won't be, but a man can dream can't he? -
Then we really really need to see an hour and a half of merciless slaying. There shouldnt be any egos, about who survives. Just a massive bloodbath involving all those we love to hate
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"Final Exam"? Fuck this. Fuck it up it's stupid ass. They'll never even TOUCH the original and it's not even worth trying. So what do we say when someone is doing something meant to entertain but fails so miserably we have to let them know? BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHISSSSSSSSSSSS
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AMERICAN CINEMA IS TRUELY DEAD. R.I.P. HOLLYWOOD.
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it truly is sad to hear about movie execs who don't care about movies. It seems that anybody with passion and ideas has gone to television. You Americans make the best drama serials in the world, Sopranos, 24, Six Feet Under etc etc. I guess we'll have to wait for the next generation of filmakers to come through, sick of what's become the norm, to shake things up a bit like back in the 70's. The really sad thing is, i'll pay to rent the DVD of this remake when it comes out, further enabling these cocknockers to make more steaming piles of shite.
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The only positive thing that can come from this is maybe some smaller theaters will show the original. And maybe we'll get a cool new ultra deluxe U.S version of the original on DVD.
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Good examples of the part of American Cinema thats not dead.
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...a Royale with Cheese! Hey,
atleast I'm entertaining myself. -
Because then it will actually have an excuse to suck as bad as it will.
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I have friends, who are smart people too, who say they don't want to "read" a movie and they say they'll wait for the remake, then when the remake comes they say "I don't know why you liked that movie so much" Then when a movie like Crouching Tiger or Amiele comes out everyone goes apeshit over it! It's like, yeah, they're all that good ass, you're missing out. I got a Dreamworks EPK a couple of years ago that had The Island, and a few other things on it and one of the movies they were going to release was Casshern. Yeah, that was like 3 years ago, thanks for even giving us a good DVD. Am I rambling? yeah I am. I just love America but get so fed up with how stupid and closeminded Americans can be.
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...to read. Why do you think our best-sellers are all diet books?
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Since they will fuck this remake up why not make it an extremely hard PG-13?
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Very good point though, but the same thing applys to books. No one reads andything, then they have a grand old time with the Davinci Code, which is a fun decent book, but there are much better ones out there, but god forbid they reach out and buy one that Oprah didn't tell them to read.
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OBSD: You're sniffing glue if you think any studio is going to grow a pair and release the original 'Battle Royale'. The minute some kid pulls out a plastic fork in a high school lunchroom, it's going to be blamed.
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My problem with the original BR wasn't that I had to read subtitles... It's that the subtitles were horribly translated, akwardly phrased crap. Now, since I'm pretty sure the movie was never given an official US release or an official translation, I can let it slide. The movie still looked terrific, and the action was great, but whenever I tried to show this movie to one of my friends who had never heard of it, their complaint wasn't "Awww, fuck, I have to READ this shit?", it was "Dude... What the fuck are they saying? That sentence made no sense." I think an American remake, if endowed with the balls it deserves, can be an excellent film and bring this unique concept to millions of people who otherwise wouldnt give it a second glance. To all the elitist Japanophile snobs out there who insist on calling Megaman "Rockman" to show are superior they are and who refuse to even acknowledge that an American movie can possible compete with the foreign original, just give this a chance. If Paul WS Anderson sign on, then I will eat crow until my stomach explodes, but until then I remain optimistic.
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"What didn't you like about Starship Troopers?" The fact that the director was mocking a classic story based on his inability to understand the source material.
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That's due for re-imagining.
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he'll never do it, but it would be fantastic, id take Harrison Ford too.
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http://www.battleroyalefilm.net .
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While any actor with a good reputation can make the role his own, my vote for the teacher would have to go to Harvey Keitel, with De Niro a close second. Can't think of any better.
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hooray!
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...make that hot chicks playing less than their age.
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I had no idea what was going on.
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MMMMMMM
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why the fuck not?
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His style of Pg-13 garbage action = pure shit. The most badass movie he made was Fast and Furious part one. And to even call that movie badass is a joke.
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Man so upsetting , cause i have a production company out of
Toronto and I tried for 2 years to get this developed speaking to TOEI in Japan and they kept saying no WAY this will never EVER get remade due to the content, especially after the Columbine incident in the US and that this would not work because it involves students and kids shooting each other, and now they give the project to Roy Lee, ohh well win some, lose some...I just hope he keeps the classical music in the project and doesnt cast Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears in the student roles. -
been waiting to talkback for a while so get ready for me!
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Not being from North America it didn't really occur to me. Such bullshit as well though. It's not like it's a couple of kids going to school and shooting everyone. It's the government that make the kids do it (brilliant social commentary). And then it is effectively banned in America because of this. Ironic really.
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It should be set in the Isle of White and the students should be replaced by chavs, then, have Ian Mckellin play the Kitano character.
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I dont know im just pissed because we had a great treatment for this film and we even made the characters older in college to make it easier on people, I was even trying to explain to Toei that making this film in the US wouldnt be the cause of more killing in schools and it WASNT too soon to do it, maybe they came around when they saw how fast movies based on Sept 11 came out.. who knows i just hope they do a good job because i was truly passionate about this film.
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They PROMISE you a hard R, then they deliver you fucking PG-13.
I don't see american cinema as having the BALLS to recreate certain scenes from the movie. The poisoned soup for instance, the random blowing up of kids, the whole movie is above and beyond anything America from early 1990s onwards would dare dream of touching. And why? Because the MPAA has been turned into a bunch of pussies. A bunch of steaming pussies afraid of letting something truly controversial out there for people to watch. If it's imported, sure! But if it's made right there? No way. -
Is it like Hollywood deaths? They come in threes?
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Italy, France and Germany, too!
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Goodbye originality...
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Y'know, if the main problem is a fear of reading subtitles (I have two friends who hate subtitles because they have problems quickly reading the text and then looking up at the action...could see that, even though personally I can glance back and forth with ease), why not just dub the thing? It's not like Battle Royale has anything that would really be lost much. Then give us a DVD with both audio tracks and subtitles and call it a day. --------------- But SPEAKING OF READING: If you enjoyed the movie, read the book. The translation is a little dry, but it's infinitely better... I thought the characters were a little shallow in the book, but the movie slices them to paperthin. You walk away with so much more from the original literary version. Or, if you liked the movie simply because it was a hardcore slaughterfest, get the manga version. It's almost as good as the book, but then throws in tons of extra sex and violence scenes just because it's manga.
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Oh...shit.
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it will do more business.
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"...could either be utterly fantastic or a steaming pile of shit." Excellent insight, Harry. I predict that history will definitely prove you right. (Also, note to Hollywood: Fuck these fucking fucked-ass remakes, motherfuckers. Your fucking industry is fucking dying for a fucking reason, you fuckerheaded fuck-fucks. Is this how you fucking want to go out, you sorry-fucked fuckerizors? I mean, for fuck's sake.)
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Im sorry I really tried to like this book but it bored me. It got really repetitive. Would have worked better as a short story.
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I'm glad that my dvd collection contains BR as I show it to as many people as possible, just to fuck with their heads. This can NOT be done Americanized, I say. From the backstory of japanese schools going to shit, to the training video, to the uber-violence and everything else. Just.. can't be done. Imagine the outrage the media would put forth onto the film and its makers! It would be like a bizarro-DaVinci Code uproar. I just do not see this being well-done, I'm sorry. My faith in the "tried and true" hollywood system has crumbled. Somewhat off-topic, what are yous-guyses favorite part of BR? Personally I enjoyed the first death..ya know the example of how the bomb-collar works. And inside the lighthouse when paranoia kicks in for the girls about food poisoning and one of em just goes apeshit with a SM gun? I could go on...
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Call me skeptical, but I have a feeling they'll sooner cast a bunch of over-acting Nickleodeon actors with unneeded punchlines that misplace the tone of the original. The original film was pure shock value, a fight for survival, and the basis of human trust. Lord of the Flies is really what it is.
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just take the original and do a good dubbing job on it? be a cheap investment that's almost guaranteed to make back what ittle money it would cost. i hate subtitles too, not only because they're usually poorly done, but they're just plain distracting. example of an excellent dubbing - CITY OF LOST CHILDREN (course it helped that a number of the actors also spoke english). CONNOR 187 - welcome aboard; have at it!
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Okay let me start by saying. I am a fanatic about the original movie and book. So much so I have 6 different copies of the first film in my collection. I have the asian promo posters, Neck Collar, Manga, book ect. The original was a masterpiece. Kinji did a masterful job. Beat was amazing, not that that is unexpected. Yet it is not available in the US. I always thought Tockyo Shock or Anchor Bay even should pick it up for US distribution....But no we get New Line Cinema preparing to screw up yet another franchise. AVP wasnt bad enough, making a joke out of both the Alien and Predator. ..No they have to fuck up a perfect film. I'd be willing to bet they make the same mistakes as the mini series. A total lack of charector development and 25 year olds shooting each other...Missing the entire point. Damn this pisses me off.
Maybe they should pull their heads out of their asses. Get the rights for the original and release that theatrically. -
... in the US?
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And i was thinking that only us mexicans suffered of that shit!
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My picks for director would be: Larry Clark (Bully, Kids) he does this whole brutal cinema verte that I think would work. Darren Aaronofsky (Pi, Requim for a Dream) his manic action scenes are awsome. Quintin Tarrintino (Pulp Fiction,Kill Bill) his dialoge and sudden violence will rock, Finally I would also choose Robert Rodgriguez (Spy Kids, Once Upon a Time in Mexico)he would amp up the violence to an absurd level or make it 3D so his kids could watch it.
For the Beat Takeshi character, I would chose a former TV dad like Bill Cosby, Alan Thicke or Tim Allen. The irony would be awsome and they are not doing abything nowadays. -
Jun 09, 2006 12:34:30 AM CDT
Completely agree Verhoeven is a must director for this!
by kampbell-kid
If not him, Peter Jackson would kick this in the balls nicely as well but it might be too controversial for his image.
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Cuz, if not, then this will probably be the one remake taken from that part of the world I'll endorse whole heartedly. Not enough white kids are dying in American cinema.
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Dude, I am Latino and live in NYC and believe it or not Rebelde is ridiculously popular here with younger Latino kids. That shit is on at 3PM on Univision. Everytime I see it I laugh because those kids look ridiculous in those fake school uniforms.
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You can't go too high brow since we are dealing with Neal Moritz. How about Zach Snyder, David Ellis, or the wild card JJ Abrams. He could totally pull off the little emotional school kid shit that happens in between the violence. Also good Alex Proyas.
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Surprisingly, this film largely predated most of the reality TV shows out now, where by government edict, people are selected at random by lottery and have to kill each other until one is left.
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If Harvey Keitel can look like a bad actor, in a bad version of La Feme Nikita, just think how bad the Americanized, "WB" casting will ruin the beautiful masterpiece that is "Battle Royale" DON'T DO IT!
Release the original in Art houses with new, good subtitles. word of mouth will make it the next crouching tiger. -
Seriously guys, and with all honesty, I was at first taken aback with the Battle Royale movie, thinking it was a great idea and awesome. That is until I read the novel it was based on, and better yet, the AMAZING 15 volume manga based on said novel. Every so-called lover of Battle Royale owes it to themselves to march into a comic shop or Borders or something (Barnes and Noble are too pussy to carry it) and pick up the first few volumes. You will then see that the movie, while admirable for the fact that someone had the balls to try something, completly destroys all character and relationship between the students, and worse yet, destroys the character of Kazuo Kiriyama. In the movie he just looks brooding and never freakin talks! They don't go into his backstory, the killing off those guys on the rock seems like they were cornering him when in fact those were members of his gang he led out there to double-cross.
Now, I know, book-to-film translations are often stripped of detail, but after reading the manga you too will understand how truly great this story is. Please! Go read the damned manga! Oh yeah, fuck the American version, I'm still waiting for the anime. -
The movie hardly sucked. You even say how you thought it was a "good idea and awesome". You ought to be thankful that it led you to the book and the manga. It's cool that you prefer them to the film but it doesn't make the film any less good. Same goes with Ichi The Killer, Ninja Scroll and Azumi in all their various forms. All good, but lots of different forms from which to choose your favorite.
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"Hey, c'mon guys ... I said, 'No whispering'!"
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Harry, you just tell your buddies involved with the project that I've got this one covered. Send 'em my way, and I'll give them the serious, Americanized take on the original that they're looking for.
And duh, everyone knows that if anyone's going to reprise the Beat Takeshi role, it should be Tom Beringer. -
Anyone else read the book?
I did, after, as the other guy mentioned, being disappointed with the subtitles, but absolutely loving the movie.
The book is awesome, much more detailed, well explained.
I can't imagine an american remake ever going where the movie would need to go. Not sure about Moritz producing it, maybe Fincher could do it.
in the meantime,
visit:
http://www.midgetswhoworkattarget.com -
I think Paul Verhoeven is an excellent pick for the remake. Yeah his starship troopers wasn't up to par, but credit to him for Basic Instinct. Battle Royale isn't a scfi like Starship, it's an action/drama thriller. It has a good chance to be a really good remake.
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Just to counteract the person who said they don't carry it, they had it when I looked. I accidentally bought the Manga version when I was wanting the book. I went back a few weeks later and bought the book.
If they are making this more of a PG-13 movie, I will not waste a fucking second on it, or a penny for that matter. If I want to see it bad enough, I'll fucking sneak in. I'll buy a ticket for Hilary Duff movie instead, then walk my ass into "Battle Royale" then complain and gouge my damn eyes. Then secretly aspire to remake the remake the right way.
I'd kinda like to remake "Jurassic Park" but stick more to the novel and not be kid friendly like Spielburg. Is that wrong? -
Supposedly, there's a script going around the Industry right now called X-Treme Survival 101 that's getting great word-of-mouth. The major changes are that the kid's are young college types and that they're "randomly" yanked from various colleges around the country. Other than that, it's supposed to be very bloody and funny, with the Teacher described as an Alec Baldwin type. Hopefully Hollywood won't screw this up...
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I'd just like to say that a remake of such an incredibly hardcore movie such as this should be handled only by Lions Gate. They are the only ones that have the stones to take on such a controversial movie. Directors should be Troy Duffy and Eli Roth. No questions here, this remake will blow.
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He's an unwavering, hardcore directorhe is also known for loving the series. So he may stay close to the novel if not the manga. Hopefully he won't mind the almost assured NC-17, X rating, or better yet, an R in theatres,to get the masses interested enough for a sequel,and unrated in the DVD release, with all the content that would satisfy the hardcore fans.
You all know what I mean by satisfy. -
Battle Royale is now to be desecrated? Wasn't it bad enough, that the loosers in Hollywood wrecked:Pulse, Juon, & Dark Water, and now OLDBOY,THE EYE, and BATTLE ROYALE? Just shoot me now, please.I swear I will never go see a movie from America again.They can't come up with thier own ideas and aren't even trying!To heck with them!
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No one ever commented on this.
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It is odd.
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From the producer of FAST AND THE FURIOUS... granted, if Verhoeven directed, it could be OK, but...?????
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me, my friends anna and louise would love to be in as anything...extras, mains whatever we loved the original and we all do our own little movies and have starred on tv and stuff so it would be cool to be in such a great films remake!!!!!
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...Bastards. You dirty bastards. You DIRTY bastards. Naughty hands off the nice fillum. Dirty bastards.
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