When you’re a simple manga/anime fan, seeing the story you love so much being adapted into a (insert entertainment medium here), can often be painful. Sometimes it feels like whoever has the big bucks to make the film happen couldn’t describe two episodes from the series and as a result, the essence of the story can be lost in greed, subs, and dubs (I’m looking at you, live-action Attack on Titan). But as of a few days ago, if you’re a fan of Battle Angel Alita, experiencing a terrible live-action adaptation is one thing you needn’t worry about.
Word first started circulating that Cameron was working on adapting the property around the year 2000, with the filmmaker eventually writing a script with Shutter Island’s Laeta Kalogridis, but ongoing tests and technological limitations continued to delay it. Cameron saw the project as one that would require the same kind of motion capture and digital cinematography techniques that he would eventually use on Avatar. That’s right, when he knew he couldn’t do the story justice, James Cameron delayed production. After the latter film was completed, he had intended to tackle Alita as his follow-up, but those plans eventually fell by the wayside as Cameron instead chose to focus on numerous Avatar sequels. Now it appears he’s letting go of the project just to ensure that it actually gets made.
For those uninitiated, the Alita graphic novel is set in the dystopian 26th century, and follows a female cyborg that is rescued from a junk heap and restored by a doctor. She remembers nothing but a deadly martial art, and begins hunting down wrong-doers as she tries to discover her real identity.
Word first started circulating that Cameron was working on adapting the property around the year 2000, with the filmmaker eventually writing a script with Shutter Island’s Laeta Kalogridis, but ongoing tests and technological limitations continued to delay it. Cameron saw the project as one that would require the same kind of motion capture and digital cinematography techniques that he would eventually use on Avatar. That’s right, when he knew he couldn’t do the story justice, James Cameron delayed production. After the latter film was completed, he had intended to tackle Alita as his follow-up, but those plans eventually fell by the wayside as Cameron instead chose to focus on numerous Avatar sequels. Now it appears he’s letting go of the project just to ensure that it actually gets made.
For those uninitiated, the Alita graphic novel is set in the dystopian 26th century, and follows a female cyborg that is rescued from a junk heap and restored by a doctor. She remembers nothing but a deadly martial art, and begins hunting down wrong-doers as she tries to discover her real identity.
Earlier last week, news broke that Robert Rodriguez is in negotiations to direct the live action adaptation of the manga graphic novels that will be produced by Cameron and his Lightstorm Entertainment partner Jon Landau.
In a certain sense, the two are actually a good match; while Cameron has opened new technological doors in blockbuster filmmaking, Rodriguez has done the same for smaller, more frugal movies. Not only does he run his own studio out of Texas, but he made the move to digital sets and shooting on video with Sin City well before many major filmmakers wanted to make the leap.
“Robert and I have been looking for a film to do together for years, so I was pumped when he said he wanted to do ‘Battle Angel,’” Cameron said. “He’s very collaborative and we’re already like two kids building a go-kart, just having fun riffing creatively and technically. This project is near and dear to me, and there’s nobody I trust more than Robert, with his technical virtuosity and rebel style, to take over the directing reins. We’re looking forward to learning a lot from each other while we make a kick-ass epic.”
Added Rodriguez in a statement: “’Battle Angel’ is an incredibly rich and vibrant epic in the tradition of Jim Cameron’s spectacular, character-driven films. Getting to work from Jim’s terrific and visionary script while learning the cutting edge techniques he’s pioneered is a master class in filmmaking. It’s an honor to explore the world of Alita along with Jim and Jon, whose films have impacted me for decades.”
