By Kim Voynar Voynar@moviecitynews.com
Oooh. Ahh. Death Note.
We’re a mix of excited/trepidatious at my house about the news that Shane Black is reportedly on board to direct a live-action adaption of one of our favorite, favorite, FAVORITE manga series, Death Note.
When I shared the news with my Death Note fanatic teenager, the first thing she asked was “Okay, who is this guy and what has he adapted before?” I’m not surprised that she would be wary … after the way M. Night Shyamalan took the very excellent anime series Avatar: The Last Airbender and turned it into a decidedly mediocre live-action adaptation, anime and manga fans aren’t too keen on having yet another beloved series screwed up.
Rumor has it that High School Musical hottie Zac Efron has been in talks about playing series protagonist Light Yagami, a brilliant high-school student who becomes a serial killer after he gets his hands on the Death Note, a mystical book that will kill anyone who’s name is written in it. Light, who assumes the serial killer alter-ego of “Kira,” ends up in a battle of wits with the mysterious, antisocial, equally brilliant detective L, who’s hot on Kira’s trail.
Death Note is an excellent series, and it’s going to be a challenge to adapt it well. But I actually really like the idea of Efron, who proved his chops as more than just a Disney pretty boy in Me and Orson Welles, taking on the dark role of the teenage sociopath. He could be really good in this role.
I’m a little less excited about Black as the director, though I’m not sure who my own pick would be. Maybe Zack Snyder, or Michel Gondry, or even David Fincher, who handled the serial killer/detective vibe so well with Se7en. We’ll see.
You know they made 3 live action Death Note movies already, right?
Well,I’m pretty much the opposite on this one. I love Shane Black and I’m super excited he’s finally doing a follow up to Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, but the news that he’s doing an adaptation of a manga disappoints me. I’d rather see something a lil more original from the guy who brought us some seriously good stuff in the past.
I guess as long as the demon in this movie doesn’t look as bad as the one in the Japanese live-action version of the film, we’re off to a good start. I remember seeing commercials for that thing in movie theaters before films and being astounded by how awful it all looked.
@Phreak9mm, those were in Japan with Japanese actors, speaking in Japanese. This film is going to be done/remade by Hollywood… Wonderful.
Why? Why do they have to remake good films a la Hollywood? They always end up f*cking things up… and what’s up with Efron as Kira? He’s way too old for that part, and I don’t think he’ll be able to portray his character’s depth.
I saw the Japanese versions and liked those, so here’s to hoping Shane Black can stick to the manga and not do what Harry Potter movies have done. Delete things from the books and then put things IN the movies that were not even in the books.
I absolutely LOVE Death Note and am actually really excited for the movie, but seeing how much they KILLED the manga/anime with the Japanese movies… I’m somewhat worried about what this is gonna be like. And since it’s been 5 years since the others, I hope that they can make Ryuk, Rem, and Gelus look more real.
Avatar: The Last Airbender wasn’t anime.