Movie: Speed Racer

[XanBcoo]

May 2008 will bring us the Live Action movie adaptation of Speed Racer, directed by the Wachowski Brothers (The Matrix and V for Vendetta).

Plot summary by Warner Brothers Pictures (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0811080/plotsummary)

Several cast members have been confirmed. Of note are:
- Emile Hirsch as Speed Racer
- John Goodman as Pops Racer, Speed's father
- Susan Sarandon as Mom Racer, Speed's mother
- Christina Ricci as Trixie, Speed's girlfriend
- Matthew Fox as Racer X, Speed's rival

Personally I never was a huge fan of Speed Racer (I caught the odd episode here and there, but hey, who didn't?), but I love the Wachowski Bros. and I'm sure they'll do this thing justice. It will either be pretty lighthearted, or it will be fun and involve the unique Wachowski touch on the world of racing. Either way, I'm sure this won't suck. Also Emile Hirsch and John Goodman make me LOL as their respective characters. Will definitely watch this.

[rockmanj]

Matthew Fox is in everythign these days...

[LaZie]

Who the heck is Matthew Fox?

[Raven]

LaZie: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0289142/

[Shadow Skill]

I only agree with Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon. The others should not even be thought of as actors. :/

[Ryllharu]

I thought some of it was bad casting until I saw the press announcement
http://youtube.com/watch?v=sznsg7hRD3U

The whole cast is perfect if you take Speed Racer and turn them all into Americans. Speed Racer was so long ago, it's hard to even think of it as anime. Emile Hersh is perfect for the goofy way the Speed was always portrayed in the American dub. This was back when they renamed every character, took huge allowances with the translation (if they bothered at all), and generally just made the series completely different.

The Wachowski's are big fans of anime. They're paying tribute to the shitty dubbed version they were presented with. It's a great way to make a really cheesy family film.

[XanBcoo]

Hi-Def trailer (http://movies.aol.com/movie/speed-racer-2008/28066/main)


Holllly crap. I don't know what to think of this now. The footage of the racing looks really exciting and colorful, but the CGI is awful. It looks like a Hotwheels commercial.

Otherwise it looks like the best transition from anime-to-movie that anyone could have hoped for. The dialog, the characters, everything. It's also definitely got the "Wachowski touch".

[Abdula]

I don't know about the best transition from anime-to-movie that anyone could have hoped for, that remains to be seen. I really don't know what to make of this movie at all but the Wachowski Brothers doing it gives it some credibility. I wonder how the whole Racer X angle is going to play out. Never really liked the show much but it was bearable looking forward to see what the outcome will be.


It's a great way to make a really cheesy family film.

Its looks like that may be the direction this one is going to go in.

I wonder when they will get over this latest trend of anime/graphic-novel/comicbook/video game based movies. Looks like they are trying to revive the entire series with video games and a new tv series in the works.

[XanBcoo]

I don't know about the best transition from anime-to-movie that anyone could have hoped for, that remains to be seen.
Obviously I'm speculating. What I meant that was it was colorful, really corny, yet exciting and probably fun. It looks like they're trying hard to keep the heart of the old show.


the Wachowski Brothers
Correction: The Wachowskis.

One of them is a woman now.

[Yukimura]

I was under the impression that the entertainment movie makers were really out of ideas. Making an entertaining blockbuster smashing action movie generally requires a lot of the same basic things, and they've all been done to death. By making adaptations of old things they can reuse lots of cliches, since they are built into the original source, but still add in fresh new content to make the movie look slightly less recycled.

[Abdula]

I think they ran out of ideas in the late 80's or certainly sometime soon after.


The Wachowskis.

One of them is a woman now.

I chose to ignore that fact.

[fahoumh]

Correction: The Wachowskis.

One of them is a woman now.


Lana Wachowski rumor

Shortly after the release of Matrix Reloaded, it was rumored that Larry Wachowski began to make small public appearances dressed as a woman, using the name Lana Wachowski.[5] In his column, published May 30, 2003, David Poland said "Every indication I have says that Larry Wachowski is now in the process of changing his sex. Dressing in public like a woman, taking female hormones and yes, having a sex change operation." This was further supported by a March 2006 San Francisco Chronicle article on transgender people, which reported that Larry Wachowski, "has changed his sex and is now living as Lana Wachowski". [6]

However, in a 2007 interview Joel Silver, the producer of numerous Wachowski films, stated that the rumors concerning Larry's sex change were "all untrue," further explaining, "they just don’t do interviews, so people make things up." Similar statements were made by crew members working on the upcoming Speed Racer film, with one employee pointing out, "on the call sheets, it still says Larry." [7]

It's wikipedia, but the information is cited...but from Fox news so it's tough to say. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wachowski_brothers)

And yeah, the CGI does look terrible, as you've already mentioned.

[XanBcoo]

It's wikipedia, but the information is cited...but from Fox news so it's tough to say. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wachowski_brothers)

And yeah, the CGI does look terrible, as you've already mentioned.
I won't press the issue, since I can't remember my own source, but apparently the Wachowski's have been trying to keep Larry's sex change under wraps until after Speed Racer comes out, so as to not ruin the "family friendly" image they're shooting for.

Also that wiki picture makes Larry look a lot like a woman, compared to earlier pictures of him. But whatever...

[fahoumh]

You're right, he does look a lot like a woman...and that was the first thing I thought when I saw it so you're probably correct. I guess it doesn't really matter if the rumours are true.

BTW, anyone else hoping they're going to work in the original theme song into the movie?

[Abdula]

BTW, anyone else hoping they're going to work in the original theme song into the movie?

NO, but they probably will.

[Phoenix20578]

The concept of this movie made me happy, but the trailer made me cry :(

I dont know which is more surprising, John Goodman being Pops, or John Goodman desperate enough for money to be in this movie.

[Munsu]

Alot of marketing is being spent for this movie... $80 million at he least:

So the studio has enlisted a lengthy lineup of promotional partners that will pony up at least $80 million in additional marketing support around the film.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117979682.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

That aside, I don't mind the CGI just because this is a movie for children. If the movie was taking itself seriously and making it for adults, then things would've been completely different. The CGI looks fun and I'm sure kids will enjoy it.

[Junior]

...when they say Speed Racer, do they mean the OLD OLD cartoon?
With the theme 'go speed racer! go speed racer!'?

[Animeniax]

See, Caucasian actors in this movie makes sense, since the characters in the anime were arguably Caucasian. I don't really like Christina Ricci as Trixie. I think someone like Winona Ryder or someone similar to her should play that character. Matthew Fox as Racer X is ok. Goodman doesn't really suit the Pops role or look.

The most important roles will be the monkey and the car. What kind of car will they use for the Mach V?

@Junior: yeah, that's the one.

[Munsu]

Here's a 3 minute clip:
http://anime.ign.com/articles/871/871442p1.html

[Shadow Skill]

In the face of Iron Man, this movie bombed. :/

I knew a live action would fail. It's got some bad reviews and being slammed constantly.

[saman]

lol i thought it might. even from the trailers it looks like it sucks

[Foomanchew24]

Wow, lots of comments but no one has actually gone and seen this yet? My son and I went to see it and the cgi does look a bit cartoonish at times, which I assume that is what they were going for. The races were very nice to watch and my son was very happy with that, but when the action stopped and the people started talking he was less interested. The monkey and speeds little brother cracked me up as well. I thought it was a fun popcorn movie to watch, the only thing it lacked was scantly clad women. Overall I thought it was worth watching if you are not going into it thinking it is going to be a serious movie. You will see car races that you have never seen before which in my mind is worth it.

[darkmetal505]

I snuck into it. The races were pretty awesome.

[XanBcoo]

Jesus Christ, I loved this movie. I only just got back from seeing it, but it was worth the wait.

I can definitely see how this movie did so badly, and why it got so many bad reviews. It's a love-it/hate-it movie through and through. If you're not willing to have fun and suspend your disbelief (or should I say, rip out your disbelief, lock it in a trunk, set the trunk on fire and bury it under a mountain) then you were never gonna enjoy this. It's a movie that requires you to take part in the ride and embrace the absurdity. Personally, I loved it. All the actors were great, the story was fun, and the races were (as mentioned) awesome. And then there were the colors, oh God, the colors.

Me and my brother were sitting in the theater laughing loudly during the last race because HOLY SHIT SPEED RACER JUST BACKFLIPPED HIS CAR AND DROVE THROUGH AN EXPLOSION INTO A TUNNEL OF LIGHT AND OH CRAP DID HE JUST HIGH FIVE JESUS? I CAN'T TELL BECAUSE THERE'S SO MANY SHADES OF PURPLE AND BLUE AND YELLOW OH FUCK.

Yeah, I liked it.

[Pandadice]

So I just watched this movie, and I loved it!

My only knowledge of Speed Racer going into this movie was that Speed Racers episode of Dexter's Lab. So I had a general idea of what it's about (But I mean, who doesn't have a general idea when the show is titled "Speed Racer"?).

The races were so incredibly intense they had me on the edge of my seat. It was awesome every time he used those jumping things. And yeah the ending of the final race was crazy and had me laughing, cause I couldn't follow what was happening at all but then he speeds through it and the race is over lol.

Sure there were some kiddish (Or, family-friendly) scenes, but the old series is a shounen to begin with, so it should be expected.

And I loved the cheesy fight scenes, when they turned the backgrounds into lines. That was 100% anime influence right there.

Also I liked how the bad guys are the big corporations. Movie had such an anti-capitalism tone, lol.

My only complaints with the actors is with that little kid with the monkey. I mean, a lot of the stuff he did was cheesy and comedic, and I'm sure that's all like super accurate to his original character. But the actor just didn't really seem to be in the character that much. Oh and though I thought John Goodman did a good job, it's always hard watching things with big name actors like him in them because all i can think when he's on screen is "hey it's john goodman".

but yeah, overall a really enjoyable movie. And I think as far as anime-to-live adaptaions go, this is probably the truest one we've seen, and probably we will see.