Movie: Dragonball

[Psyke]

I'm still a little skeptical, but nonetheless it was reported on Super Hero Hype (http://www.superherohype.com/news/topnews.php?id=6267), which is pretty credible in such news. Here's the article:

Dragon Ball Z Feature to Shoot in Montreal?
Source: The Gazette September 4, 2007

The Gazette (http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/arts/story.html?id=5d8321ec-4d55-40bd-ae6c-742949303ea9) has posted unconfirmed news on the Dragon Ball Z movie at 20th Century Fox:

The 20th Century Fox studio is expected to shoot three big-budget movies in Montreal over the next year; each has a budget of at least $100 million. The films are the Night at the Museum sequel Another Night, Independence Day director Roland Emmerich's remake of the sci-fi flick Fantastic Voyage and a big-screen adaptation of the Japanese manga Dragonball Z.

Dragonball Z is adapted from the manga created by Akira Toriyama; the work was also turned into a Japanese anime series that played all over the world. It tells the story of an alien sent to destroy Earth, who has a change of heart and decides to join the humans in their fight against various aliens and bad guys.

There are no details yet as to when these three shoots will begin, but they are expected to wrap production by next July.

Stay tuned for possible confirmation of this.

From: Super Hero Hype

[David75]

Ouch, this is quite a punch.
Is it even possible to have a nice movie from such an anime series, with so many details, history and so on?

[XanBcoo]

There's been rumors of a DBZ movie for as long as I can remember. I'm not buying into this until I see some definitive proof. I even remember several websites coming up with possible cast-lists for this movie around 2002, because it was as good as "confirmed" even back then.

Not gonna hold my breath. Still waiting on some news on the live-action Evangelion movie too...

Edit: David75, I wouldn't expect too much regardless. It's DBZ after all. You just gotta know who the good guys and bad guys are, and you're set.

[Shadow Skill]

Well, if the Matrix can pull off flying, I am sure they can with DBZ.

I am just worried the power ups and Super Saiyan mode will look cheezy. :P

Ya, lets wait for some definitive proof.

[masamuneehs]

I'm personally looking forward to this. If it seems like they're doing a good job with hiring directors and casting, I might even see it opening night. I'd expect raucous cheering if they include the "IT'S OVER 9000!!!" line (which they so should).

But, you'd wonder far into the actual plotline they'd get with a normal length film. I'm thinking they cover Goku's arrival through Raditz. Maybe a very brief thing with the Red Ribbon and/or Piccolo from the Dragon Ball anime. With Vegeta and Nappa as the option for a sequel. Otherwise, it'll probably be a hodgepodge of characters and plotlines.

[animus]

It's not confirmed it's going to be live action, is it? But due to the studio that's working on it, maybe I guess =|. Don't know if they can capture the DBZ feel without looking like total cheeseballs and making you want to /palmface at the sight of them.

[Assassin]

DBZ live action would suck....even if they had an awesome plot, and an amazing director, just the fact that you can't have the DBZ look for the characters would ruin it. You need to have the insane muscles, and the crazy hair, or its not DBZ.

They could however do a live action+cgi overlay thing, like with that Beowulf movie. Thats the only way i see it having even a remote chance of begin decent.

[darkshadow]

100 million? that would make a crazy awesome dbz movie.

[Iridani]

I'll wait to see proof of this when it comes. Yes it could be interesting to have a DBZ live action film but at the same time... it could ruin things.

[Carnage]

I remember reading about them making a DBZ movie since I was 8. Im completely skeptical, because they have yet to make one, why start now? Especially when the DBZ hype has died down so much after its dub finished a few years back. :(

[6Zabuza9]

i think i saw a chinese live action movie on dragonball b4 like 10 years ago and it was pretty weird

[Psyke]

i think i saw a chinese live action movie on dragonball b4 like 10 years ago and it was pretty weird

I saw the same thing before. It was filmed in Taiwan and based loosely on the pilot episodes of Dragonball, when Gokou was still young.

It sucked..... so badly, and was a joke at best. :(

[itadakimasu]

i think the only thing a live action DBZ movie can do is confuse non-fans and infuriate actual fans. There is way too much plot to possibly ruin and / or not cover. unless they plan on filming 5-6 at a time to run in succession.

[Idealistic]

How do you show super fast speed with live action?

[6Zabuza9]

lol i remember the parts in dbz where when people were fighting, u cant see them actually fighting only random explosions on the screen because they said they were fighting too fast. that would be funny on live action

[David75]

lol i remember the parts in dbz where when people were fighting, u cant see them actually fighting only random explosions on the screen because they said they were fighting too fast. that would be funny on live action

We just had this in Claymore ep23 in the fight beetween Clare and Rigardo.
I thought exactly the same, that it was DBZ like...

[Assassin]

all anime high speed battles are the same

[Psyke]

http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/9058/468xe1.jpg

I still can't imagine live action Dragonball. :(

[DB_Hunter]

Someone should tell them to add some dirt and blood to their costumes... its not DBZ without dirt and blood.

[Carnage]

Someone should tell them to add some dirt and blood to their costumes... its not DBZ without dirt and blood.

I'll do it.

*Carnage rallies the mob of angry DBZ fans*

[Y]

This movie has even less chance of getting off the ground than the live action Evangelion movie. At least ADV actually raised SOME money and Weta Workshop drew SOME design sketches. The Dragonball movie is, as always, smoke and mirrors.

[Assertn]

They're about 10 years too late for a dbz movie.......

[Death BOO Z]

so what, I can wait another night before camping out in front of the local theather?

The androids/Cell Saga could make a good movie, up from Trunks coming from the future, to Cell getting his ass kicked by Gohan...

100 Mil isn't half enough for the food nutritions they'll need to get the SSj2 look...

[DB_Hunter]

I'll do it.

*Carnage rallies the mob of angry DBZ fans*

*Cue randomly waving bleached hair of said mob*

They should actually go for the Brolly look. That or Ultra SSJ.

[XanBcoo]

This movie has even less chance of getting off the ground than the live action Evangelion movie. At least ADV actually raised SOME money and Weta Workshop drew SOME design sketches. The Dragonball movie is, as always, smoke and mirrors.
Less chance indeed. Those Weta sketches were done about 4 or 5 years ago now? Last I heard they were still looking for a director. There's been absolutely no news regarding Eva except for those 4 new animated movies. Really disappointing.

They're about 10 years too late for a dbz movie.......
Hey, that didn't stop The Simpsons.

[Psyke]

News at last:

Wong Takes on Dragon Ball Z
Source: CHUD October 2, 2007

CHUD (http://www.chud.com/index.php?type=news&id=12002) has learned from a casting notice that James Wong ("Final Destination" films, The One, "The X-Files") is writing and directing the live action Dragon Ball Z movie for 20th Century Fox. The site has included the casting breakdown, which you can read here (http://www.chud.com/index.php?type=news&id=12002).

Dragon Ball Z is adapted from the manga created by Akira Toriyama; the work was also turned into a Japanese anime series that played all over the world. It tells the story of an alien sent to destroy Earth, who has a change of heart and decides to join the humans in their fight against various aliens and bad guys.

The film is expected to start production in Montreal in November.

[darkshadow]

awesomeness.

edit:
wait......
Piccolo is the cursed ruler of a demonic race who nearly destroyed Earth 2000 years ago, and with the coming of the eclipse and the possession of all seven Dragon Balls, he's prepared to free himself and do the job right this time. Crafty and smart, Piccolo has some disturbing news for Goku, namely that the boy is actually a Saiyan who's destined to join Piccolo as his right hand in destroying and enslaving the planet.....

Gohan is struck down by the high ninjas of the Namek-Jins, and as he dies he sends his grandson out to do face his destiny and do battle against them...


wtf.....

no raditz???? no vegeta??? omg..........................

[David75]

awesomeness.

edit:
wait......
Piccolo is the cursed ruler of a demonic race who nearly destroyed Earth 2000 years ago, and with the coming of the eclipse and the possession of all seven Dragon Balls, he's prepared to free himself and do the job right this time. Crafty and smart, Piccolo has some disturbing news for Goku, namely that the boy is actually a Saiyan who's destined to join Piccolo as his right hand in destroying and enslaving the planet.....

Gohan is struck down by the high ninjas of the Namek-Jins, and as he dies he sends his grandson out to do face his destiny and do battle against them...


wtf.....

no raditz???? no vegeta??? omg..........................
No Mr Satan :p

[XanBcoo]

James Wong ("Final Destination" films)

Piccolo is the cursed ruler of a demonic race who nearly destroyed Earth 2000 years ago, and with the coming of the eclipse and the possession of all seven Dragon Balls, he's prepared to free himself and do the job right this time. Crafty and smart, Piccolo has some disturbing news for Goku, namely that the boy is actually a Saiyan who's destined to join Piccolo as his right hand in destroying and enslaving the planet.....

Gohan is struck down by the high ninjas of the Namek-Jins, and as he dies he sends his grandson out to do face his destiny and do battle against them...

Oh well. No one actually expected this to be good...

[darkshadow]

I did.......................

[masamuneehs]

CHUD (http://www.chud.com/index.php?type=news&id=12002) has learned from a casting notice that James Wong ("Final Destination" films, The One, "The X-Files") is writing and directing the live action Dragon Ball Z movie for 20th Century Fox.

Ugh. Fucking a... this is gonna be another reason for non-anime viewers to think that all anime is childish garbage and that the genre is crap...

Needless to say, I wish they'd chosen someone else to head this up...

[itadakimasu]

that plot is uber lame.... DBZ just has way too much content to pull off a successful movie. i dont think i'd want to pay to see it in the theater.

[Carnage]

awesomeness.

edit:
wait......
Piccolo is the cursed ruler of a demonic race who nearly destroyed Earth 2000 years ago, and with the coming of the eclipse and the possession of all seven Dragon Balls, he's prepared to free himself and do the job right this time. Crafty and smart, Piccolo has some disturbing news for Goku, namely that the boy is actually a Saiyan who's destined to join Piccolo as his right hand in destroying and enslaving the planet.....

Gohan is struck down by the high ninjas of the Namek-Jins, and as he dies he sends his grandson out to do face his destiny and do battle against them...


Wait, what the fuck? Oh no....Jesus Christ if you going to make a shitty movie then just don't make one at all.

[Assassin]

Hmm...well thats definately not the dbz plot....is that from the original DB seires then (even remotely?), or did they just make a completely new story and keep the character names?

Im assuming the piccolo here is the original piccolo from DB, not from DBZ.

[darkshadow]

that part about picollo and (grandpa)gohan is completely new

[FullMetalAlchemist]

pretty much everything besides the names is made up sadly. goku in high school made me lol.

[RyougaZell]

Stopped reading here...



[GOKU] 18 years old, Goku is considered uncool and unpopular at school....



WTF?

[Paulyboy]

OMG are you serious whenever people who makes movies, they really don't know whats going on most of the storylines are always bs, I mean seriously Goku 18........ trying to save the world, when he himself has been doing it ever since he was a kid....... Lets just hope the action is bad ass. If not well......

[Genma]

So basically, the reaction of everyone (including me) to this movie's plot has been "WTF?" Goku is totally uncool and he somehow -- straying away from Dragon Ball's plot -- grandpa Gohan lives to see his 18th birthday. So they're disregarding everything.

Might as well rename it "Dragon Ball: As Told By That One Guy Who did Final Destination, and Has No Idea What the Hell this Series is About."

Yeah... maybe enough hate mail will kick this movie in the right direction.

[XanBcoo]

[MAI] Late 20s, female, her features exotic, sexy but deadly, dressed in gleaming black, with weapons strapped all over her body, she's a martial arts expert and Lord Piccolo's chief enforcer. Crafty and quick thinking, Mai uses her ability to shapeshift near the climax of the movie and takes on the form of Chi Chi, a young martial arts expert who's romantically involved with Goku and later saves Piccolo from Master Roshi's curse; once she is revealed she ends up in the fight of her life.
Who the hell is this?? I don't even remember her from Dragonball.

I did......................
Seriously? You really thought that a movie condensing the plot of 500-some episodes of 2 anime series while simultaneously catering to a general American audience would somehow do "justice" to the goofy action show you enjoyed as an adolescent? I mean, I loved DBZ too, but give me a break...

It's like the Alvin and the Chipmunks thing. There's no possible way they could make this any good. I'm happy he's still called "Goku", because apart from that, he seems like a different character.

[Psyke]

Dragonball live action disaster from decades ago (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrjTokKH5-U)

WARNING: High endurance for stupidity required :eek:

Edit: A much better fan made DBZ inspired video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8VK3GmFr60)

[David75]

Never underestimate stupidity of people...

I wonder why they had to totally Rip Off DB and DBZ by using this name and having a nonsensical plot...

It was so easy to just make some sort of OAV at the time Goku was 18. A side story with anything they want in it, without being so stupid as changing everything from the original story...

[darkshadow]

Who the hell is this?? I don't even remember her from Dragonball.

Seriously? You really thought that a movie condensing the plot of 500-some episodes

condensing? they could easily make sequels to it, it doesnt have to be a be all end all movie ( which it obviously wont be).
but they couldve easily had production plans for dbz 2. dbz 3, dbz 4, whatever, for if it did good at box office.

[XanBcoo]

As it is, they've already condensed the entire plot of Dragonball into a story that barely resembles the original. I dread to think what more they could add with 2 or 3 movies.


Dragonball live action disaster from decades ago (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrjTokKH5-U)

WARNING: High endurance for stupidity required
Oh man, I wanna be just like Master Roshi when I'm old. Only not Asian. Still, that was amazing.
Edit: And the fan-made thing was pretty great too.

[Carnage]

condensing? they could easily make sequels to it, it doesnt have to be a be all end all movie ( which it obviously wont be).
but they couldve easily had production plans for dbz 2. dbz 3, dbz 4, whatever, for if it did good at box office.

Yea, they could even easily stop after the Freeza Saga.If you crammed 25 -27 eps per movie (I said 27 because I think thats how long the Saiyan Saga is), then you would only have 4 movies.

I wish they just didnt call this movie DBZ, but just admitted that its something completely new out of their asses.

[David75]

I wish they just didnt call this movie DBZ, but just admitted that its something completely new out of their asses. Correct!
If they want to name it DBZ so badly, respect it!
Create a side story at any point in the DB timeline. But do not change it as you please.

Those not knowing the DB world don't care about the changes made, since they don't know anything.
Yet doing this is just a huge kick in the face of fans... Why get them angry?

[Psyke]

From Superherohype:

Mexican newspaper El Norte reports that 20th Century Fox will film 85% of the Dragon Ball Z movie in Durango, Mexico under the direction of James Wong.

The production, expected to film in 2008, plans to use the Mexiquillo Forest, Marley Ranch, Hacienda la Providencia, La Joya Ranch, Laguna Seca de Santiaguillo and a forum from a Convention Center in the Culture Institute.

"Durango meets the needs in hotels, personnel, services like transportation, equipment, stunts, restaurants. This movie will provide the city with 750 jobs and an important flow of money," said Susana Elósegui Cross (Turism & Cinematography Director of Durango).

The sets will be constructed this month and shooting will begin in January and last through March. However, the movie cannot filmed completely in Durango, so they will move to Estado De México for some shots at Nevado de Toluca (an important volcano).

Durango was chosen by Ariel Shaw, the special FX director.

Dragon Ball Z is about a young boy called Goku. He faces Evil Vegeta, who tries to destroy the hero to prove that Goku is not the legendary warrior many believe he is.

[FullMetalAlchemist]

Dragon Ball Z is about a young boy called Goku. He faces Evil Vegeta, who tries to destroy the hero to prove that Goku is not the legendary warrior many believe he is.

I see this as more reliable then that whole evil picalo and the namic nija gin lol ( or w/e they put up on that other site) especially since that site pretty much said the whole story from beginging to end of movie >.<. hopefully they actually stick to the stopry and have the classic "IT"S OVER 9000!!!!!!!!!".

[UChessmaster]

From qj.net

According to the latest statement issued by 20th Century Fox in Hong Kong, the live action movie Dragon Ball will start production later this year and is scheduled for a worldwide simultaneous release on August 15, 2008. The cast is still not yet complete but confirmed personalities that are involved in the project include:
Stephen Chow as Producer (known for Shaolin Soccer and Kung-Fu Hustle)
James Wong as Director (writer for the TV series The X-Files and director of Final Destination)
Justin Chatwin as Son Goku (played the son of Tom Cruise's character in War of the Worlds)
James Marsters as Piccolo (played the vampire Spike on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/2492/220pxnormalmazur28529dg6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Goku

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/2140/1318294868111spike6h110my1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
Picolo

[Psyke]

Justin Chatwin as Son Goku = Adam Monroe as Kensei Takezo

:(

[XanBcoo]

Came here to post that info.

Piccolo looks ok, but I hated Chatwin's character in War of the Worlds. They couldn't have picked a whinier punk to play Goku.

But I am really glad that Stephen Chow is involved in this.

[Yukimura]

Spike as Piccolo just looks wrong to me...I hope they are going to put him in so much make-up you can't really tell.

I hope they are going to at least put everyone in a proper homage costume, If there's one thing that would completely ruin this movie for me it would be not having the characters have their signature outfits. I'm sure they're going to scoop out everything that might tie the movie to the original source material other than character names and back cover plot summaries (see Bourne Trilogy), but if they intend to completely rape the characters too then what's the point of seeing it if you've read the manga or seen the anime?

[Abdula]

Spike as Piccolo just looks wrong to me...I hope they are going to put him in so much make-up you can't really tell.

I hope they are going to at least put everyone in a proper homage costume, If there's one thing that would completely ruin this movie for me it would be not having the characters have their signature outfits. I'm sure they're going to scoop out everything that might tie the movie to the original source material other than character names and back cover plot summaries (see Bourne Trilogy), but if they intend to completely rape the characters too then what's the point of seeing it if you've read the manga or seen the anime?

I never liked James Marsters in Buffy, then again I hated the show period Angel was a bit better, Spike was never a compelling character but he did a great job in Smallville and Andromeda and showed that he definitely is a talented actor, I don't think he fits as Piccolo but whatever. I don't expect much from any anime, manga, graphic novel or video game based movies and they usually live up to my expectations with a few exceptions.

I loved the Bourne Trilogy, I always viewed them as three separate movies rather than a continuation of any plot, that way I can't really complain.

[Yukimura]

I loved the Bourne Trilogy as well, my point about them was if they had changed all the character and group names in the Bourne Trilogy and called the movies something else people who liked the movies would have still liked them but people like me, who went to see them expecting an adaptation of a book they'd read, wouldn't have been misled.

I don't like it when movies take a few general plot points of a pre-exissting story , then create their own story that doesn't mesh with the original material at all and put the name as the original work on it. If they want to make something inspired by the original I have no problem, but they don't have to give it the same name as the original. They could cut a quiet deal so they didn't get sued for having similarities to a preexisting plot and then make a movie that was thematically similar to the original but didn't include any of the characters or organizations from the original.

[Abdula]

I don't like it when movies take a few general plot points of a pre-exissting story , then create their own story that doesn't mesh with the original material at all and put the name as the original work on it. If they want to make something inspired by the original I have no problem, but they don't have to give it the same name as the original. They could cut a quiet deal so they didn't get sued for having similarities to a preexisting plot and then make a movie that was thematically similar to the original but didn't include any of the characters or organizations from the original.

That is what most movies are especially those movies based on books. It is pretty difficult to summarize an entire book or series into a mere hour or two. I remember thinking WTF, the first time I saw White Oleander because I really enjoyed reading the book. Even if they come up with a spin off inspired by the original they would still retain the same name simply because it already has an established fan base, so whether or not the movie even resembles what it was based on they will attempt to appeal to fans of the original because movies like these or usually just an attempt to make some quick cash off of these phenomena at the height of their popularity although that doesn't particularly apply to this case.

[XanBcoo]

I think it only ever bothers me when directors change around stuff that really doesn't need to be changed at all. Like in The Two Towers, for some reason Peter Jackson thought showing us 20 minutes of Aragorn falling off a cliff, and hazily riding his horse around would be an interesting change to the script. That one really threw me for a loop.

The costume thing...I can see them maybe paying homage to the original source, like perhaps dressing Goku in something orange, but not necessarily the same orange Gi he's known for in the anime.

[Yukimura]

@Abdula: I didn't mean to imply I didn't understand or expect better of movies, I just don't like what the entertainment industry does from an entertainment perspective. I know industry movies are about making money, not being entertaining so I don't actually expect them to ever be made any differently, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

[Idealistic]

^^ They always add in comic relief into their movies. That's what I hated. Especially Transformers. I was expecting some seriousness, but it became like a comedy.

I wouldn't be surprised if they did that with DBZ.

[Psyke]

From superherohype:

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/8658/jamiedragonballxa1.jpg

Jamie Chung has joined Justin Chatwin and James Marsters in Fox's Dragon Ball Z, the live-action adaptation of the popular Japanese comic.

James Wong is directing the science fiction action-adventure, which centers on an adult humanoid alien named Goku (Chatwin) who, after discovering he was sent to Earth to destroy the population, tries to fulfill the wish of his dying grandfather and collect all seven of the world's mystical Dragon Balls to keep them out of the hands of the evil aliens.

Chung will play Chi Chi, the love interest of Goku when he's growing up.

[Yukimura]

LOL!!!! Jamie Chung was one of the two 'normal people ' on Real World: San Diego. I can't believe she actually got an acting role from that.

[darkshadow]

is it me or does the plot keep changing? >_> ( for the better though)

[Abdula]

Yes it does keep changing but as you said the changes that have been made are for the better. If it keeps up we might actually get a good movie out of this. I think the plot changes are due to the fact that they have so much material to work with. I have no idea why they think they can condense DBZ into one movie. If they did a series of films to cover the four major arcs it would be better.

[Psyke]

Emmy Rossum has joined the cast of 20th Century Fox's live-action adaptation of the popular manga Dragon Ball Z.

"Heroes" actress Eriko Tamura, who plays Mai, and newcomer Joon Park (upcoming Speed Racer), who plays bad boy Yamcha, are also coming aboard the film.

Rossum, who starred in Poseidon, The Phantom of the Opera and The Day After Tomorrow, joins a cast that includes Justin Chatwin, James Marsters and Jamie Chung.

The sci-fi adventure is being directed by James Wong. Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle, Shaolin Soccer) is producing.

[animus]

Whose Mai exactly? I don't recall a character by that name.

[Yukimura]

Isn't she the girl who hung out with Pilaf and the dog ninja?

[XanBcoo]

Isn't she the girl who hung out with Pilaf and the dog ninja?
Man, I had forgotten that Shu and Mai even existed.

And I guess Rossum is gonna play Bulma. She's the only character I think a white girl can play in this movie.

[animus]

If Android 18 was in this movie, a white girl could've done her part too probably.

[Yukimura]

Or Launch. 18 would be way too far into the story. From all accounts this movie is going to be an adaptation of Dragon Ball, not Dragon Ball Z. So I expect energy attacks and flight will not be the norm but kept as aces in the hole. One important thing I'm wondering is if they don't do Bulma will they put in Krillian or Master Roushi. Goku has to have a side kick and if he's going to be a badass figher it won't make much sense if he doesn't have someone to train him.

[XanBcoo]

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117977810.html?categoryid=13&cs=1


Justin Chatwin stars as Goku, a warrior who protects the Earth from a stream of rogues bent on dominating the universe. ]James Marsters plays the film's villain, Lord Piccolo.

Rossum takes on the role of Bulma, whose father's Dragon Ball is stolen by Piccolo.

Yeah, looks like this is going to be more focused on Dragonball's story after all. I don't know why else Mai and Shu would be included. I wonder who will play Emperor Pilaf.

[LaZie]

Yoda will play Emperor Pilaf :p

[Psyke]

From superherohype:

First Dragon Ball Z Set Photos Online
Source: algeriansaiyan, jose leyva, Mauro, Weird_photo December 16, 2007

HoyCinema (http://blogs.hoycinema.com/movieland/post/2007/12/15/aexclusiva-primeras-imagenes-dragon-ball-y-set-se) has posted the first photos of Justin Chatwin on the Mexico City set for 20th Century Fox's Dragon Ball Z adaptation. According to newpapers Reforma and El Norte, the filming took place at UNITEC's (Universidad Tecnológica de México) Coyoacan Campus. The production will be filming at the location for seven days and will move to Durango state by January 2 for continued filming.

If that's how Goku us going to look like in the movie, some people are going to be disappointed :(

[Yukimura]

Well they can't really have an 'Emperor' in the setting they've chosen so if they put him in my money is on him being a goofy student council president or something with Mai and Shuu being other bumbling council members.

In other news...Emmy Rossum is confirmed as Bulma (sans blue hair most likely|)



http://blogs.hoycinema.com/myfiles/movieland/dbzmex2.jpg

That's supposed to be the savior of the Earth?

[Abdula]

No that can't possibly be the savior of the earth. He looks like a nerd on his was home from school. Did Goku even go to school where the hell did that come from. If that was Buu-saga Gohan I could understand but that can't be Goku. It looks like this movie really is going to be more about Dragonball than DBZ. Anyway since they did call it DBZ I'm guessing it will begin right at the end of DB and then skip to the beginning of DBZ. I hope this one doesn't become a complete write off because I'm already sensing major plot holes approaching. Whether this movie is about the late DB or early DBZ it should still have Tien and I haven't seen anything about him yet. Where is my 天津飯?

[Yukimura]

Contrary to the belief I've been sensing in this thread I have not seen any mention of a Z in the title of this motion picture. Every movie site and news clip I've seen refers to the movie that James Wong and Stephen Chow are involved with as simply "Dragon Ball". In addition, the plot summaries only include elements that fit with Dragon Ball plots (when they fit with the source material at all) and none of the named characters so far have been characters that didn't show up in the original Dragon Ball.

For me the most powerful evidence for this being a fully Dragon Ball inspired film has been Piccolo's description, he's an evil king searching for the Dragonballs in order to destroy/rule the world. That sounds nothing like the Piccolo from DBZ and exactly like the original Piccolo from Dragon Ball. The source of the majority of the inconsistencies in the film is that the movie will have Goku being a high schooler instead of a kid, because let's face it, 1) American child actors are pretty terrible at action and 2) Not enough people would pay to see a movie about a 10 year old kid beating up aliens and saving the world.

[Abdula]

Really well that explains that, I haven't been interested enough in this movie to check it out this thread is my only source of info.


Not enough people would pay to see a movie about a 10 year old white kid beating up aliens and saving the world.

Really now, are you sure about that because I can think of a few movies with prepubescent white kids saving the world. I think they would make him older and put him in school because you know some idiot is going to get their panties in a bunch if someone makes a movie about a little kid that is not in school, and goes around beating on people. The violence in DBZ was a bit much I'd expect they will dumb it down a lot but then again DB wasn't that bad

[Yukimura]

Didn't you see the 'not enough' statement? Sure there are plenty of people who would go see a direct adaptation of Dragon Ball on the big screen, with a child Goku beating up tons of adults and flying around on a magic cloud with a magic pole. But there are many, many more people that would be willing to see a movie about an angsty high school teen with a rough past beating up adults and maybe flying around on a magic cloud (not getting my hopes up). A movie like this is all about targeting a demographic and trying to make something the biggest chunk of them will want to see. Why target the interests of 10% of the population when you could target the interests of the other 90% (numbers completely made up to demonstrate point that traditionalist anime fans < general action movie fans).

From all the hype I expect this movie to get a PG-13 rating, and be targeted primarily at a 16-24 year old male audience. Just look at chick they chose to play the supposedly nerdy Bulma. If the story was about a 10 year old instead of a high school aged kid it would be much harder to hook in more 18-24 year old malesby casting random hot chicks.

[Eddie_Brock]

What can i say about this movie what is already not said. This movie is going to be shit, not in the good way. It isn't even like transformers that people were bitching but when they saw the movie they liked it. No this movie is going to be so gay you will need a condom meeeeh.

[XanBcoo]

Well...at least he's wearing orange...

Edit: and thank God he doesn't have goofy anime hair.



In other news...Emmy Rossum is confirmed as Bulma (sans blue hair most likely|)
I already posted that yesterday :(. Personally I hope they keep the blue hair. Or at least give her blue streaks or something. Basically anything to reference the original material.

Also, according to the Mexican article, it's assumed the setting will be more futuristic (according to the cars), that Piccolo is only one of many villains (so perhaps Pilaf will make an appearance), and that the cast (well, at least the extras) will be multiracial.

[Abdula]

It doesn't appear that they care much about the original material and he does need the goofy anime hair Goku isn't Goku without the hair. I really don't think that his movie is going to be any good when it comes to movies whether its based on books, animes, manga or what have you, I'd rather they do it right or not do it at all.


What can i say about this movie what is already not said. This movie is going to be shit, not in the good way. It isn't even like transformers that people were bitching but when they saw the movie they liked it. No this movie is going to be so gay you will need a condom meeeeh.

I'm just curious but how can something be shit in a good way and since when does gay=bad?

[Carnage]

This is approaching more and more to the point where I may not even bother downloading it...

[Eddie_Brock]

Well Abdula, you can use shit like : "this is the shit" that means its cool. and the term " thats gay" is often used for something lame. So i hope i cleared it for you.

[Yukimura]

Chow-Yun Fat = Master Roshi (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-12-19/chow-yun-fat-joins-dragonball-movie-as-master-roshi)

I'm glad someone's in this movie who I can expect to be at least somewhat entertaining. Maybe not in the way intended by the story, but still...

[Abdula]

I don't know what to think about that. I like Chow Yun-Fat he does great action scenes and he can be funny but I don't picture him as master Roshi. There is no way he could pass as a bald, perverted old man but they don't seem to care whether the characters resemble their anime counterparts in anything beyond name.

[Idealistic]

Wasn't there an Asian live action DBZ movie? Hahaha they killed it horribly.

It would look better if it was like 300 or Sin City type. You could pull off the hair and stuff better.

[Abdula]

That is actually a great idea. A Sin City like DBZ movie would be awesome, I think if someone had to do a DBZ movie that should be the way its done. The mood, the pace, the setting would all be reflected clearly and the action sequences would look amazing.

Now that you've put that idea in my head, you have succeeded in killing all my hopes for this movie.:(

[XanBcoo]

Heyyyy, finally someone with some talent in the cast.

I'm pretty happy with that news. Hopefully he'll be involved in the choreography.

[Shadow Skill]

The guy who's playing Goku looks as though he's going turn Goku in to a pansy and a homo. I fear the worst after seeing who they chose to play Goku.

Not too fond of who they chose to play Chichi.

The others... they're not giving me much hope that a Live action DBZ can be achieved without it being cheezy and boring. Sounds like a Dead or Alive movie.

[Junior]

My dad said Jackie Chan and Tom Welling are in the movie. Dunno if it's true.

But I remember I once saw Dragonball, an old movie based on DBZ and I loved it when I was a kid. It's pretty old. >.>

But anyway, Spike from Buffy? Piccolo? Not too bad actually...similar features.

And Master Roshi...ugh...no o.o;

[Animeniax]

Wow, this is getting worse and worse. A white Goku? Will they change his name to Gary or George or what? A white Bulma? Emmy Rossum is hot but she doesn't fit the role. I think she's taller than the guy playing Goku.

Some Chinese or Japanese company should preempt this production and release their own version. Let's see, Edison Chen as Goku, Gillian Chung as Chichi, Charlene Choi as Bulma, Andrew Wong as Master Roshi.

Or the Japanese version:
http://www.jdorama.com/img_a/001366.jpg Tsumabuki Satoshi as Goku,
http://lunapark6.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/hiroshiabe-main.jpg Abe Hiroshi as Piccolo,
http://www.markcentury.com/images/aya.jpg Ueto Aya as Bulma,
http://www.jkdramas.com/jstars/img/female/019satomi_ishihara.jpg Ishihara Satomi as Chichi.

[Junior]

Wow nice choices!

AND OMG EDISON CHEN? God, he's hot. I had a huge crush on him after I saw the Twins/Vampire Effect.

I love the Chichi...she's beautiful.

[Animeniax]

That's weird that you'd like him after that role, since he played a pathetic pansy in that film. Personally I hate Asian pretty boys like Edison Chen, but the girls seem to like him, and Goku is a guy after all. Oh well. As long as it's not Stephen Fung. I can't stand that guy.

I'd prefer Japanese actors and actresses play the roles, but I don't know if they are as well known as Chinese, since there's 10x as many Chinese as Japanese in the world.

[Junior]

Aww, he's not a pretty boy. Well...a bit. XD

But Goku isn't a pretty boy. I think of him more as a free spirit and very laid back. He has to be played by a guy who suits the smiling, happy-go-lucky type role.

And yeah, you're right. You never see many famous Japanese actors, but I guess it depends on the looks in the end.

We fans are so judgemental. O: We won't settle for just anyone.

[Animeniax]

I especially don't like that Chen is acting in Japanese movies. There's enough Japanese to fill those roles, they don't need to import Chinese actors. I just mentioned him for the role of Goku because I don't know enough Chinese actors to suggest someone suitable.

I think the American public knows 2 or 3 Japanese actors/actresses, including Ken Watanabe, Koyuki (chick from Last Samurai), and maybe Mako. Ohh, he'd make a good Master Roshi:
http://www.rafu.com/images/mako_pearl.jpg

Too bad he died 2 years ago.

Maybe Watanabe can play Piccolo if Abe is busy:
http://photos.oscars.org/downloadpreview.php/10_ken_watanabe_the_last_samurai-p.jpg

This guy can play Pilaf:
http://wiki.d-addicts.com/static/images/thumb/e/ea/200px-Naoto22.JPG He's about the same height as the King anyway, though I don't like to make short jokes about my yellow people.

[Junior]

Pretty creepy...but he's Roshi material. It sucks he died. =(

wtf? WHY would they have a Chinese actor act in a Japanese film? Japanese are such proud people. That's strange.

oooh Ken Watanabe...hm...Vegeta maybe? He seems a bit old.

[Animeniax]

Mako was in a lot of American films. You'd probably recognize him if you saw a picture of him in his younger years (50s and 60s).

Supposedly Edison Chen can speak Japanese. Chinese make the goofiest choices when they westernize their names.

[Abdula]

Personally I hate Asian pretty boys like Edison Chen, but the girls seem to like him,

I wonder why you hate him then.

Ani please don't turn this thread into a Chinese actors playing Japanese roles thing. Yes its a problem but it has been going on for years and I don't see it changing anytime soon. Oh and the reason that the actors are going to be white is because these movies are directed at a specific demographic, namely Americans.

[Animeniax]

What's to wonder about? Pretty boys suck. That's why I love hockey. Pretty boy hockey players get their asses kicked.

The Chinese portraying Japanese has happened in western movies for years, but I'm talking about Chinese acting in Japanese movies made for Japanese audiences. That's just wrong.

I think most fans of Dragonball would prefer Asian actors. It would sell better in Asia too.

[Abdula]

Now you start talking about hockey. Hell if the Japanese are casting Chinese actors in their movies then they must not have a problem with it. Japan is becoming more and more Westernized anyway and yes I know you have a big problem with that but take it somewhere else.

[Junior]

But not all pretty boys are metrosexual! D:

But Abdula's right. It is aimed at mostly Americans, so it makes sense to choose a more...caucasian cast? Even tho that seems...a bit racisty.

[Animeniax]

Now you start talking about hockey. Hell if the Japanese are casting Chinese actors in their movies then they must not have a problem with it. Japan is becoming more and more Westernized anyway and yes I know you have a big problem with that but take it somewhere else.
That's crap, just because a couple producers decide to use a Chinese guy in their movies does not demonstrate an overall acceptance by Japanese audiences for foreigners in their movies. Japanese remain xenophobic and isolated, the way it should be. We do not all look the same or act the same. It's easier to support that argument if we keep to our own countries.

Back to the movie, I think they could fill more of the roles with Asian actors. How about John Cho (Harold from Harold and Kumar) as Goku?

My suggestion was for an Asian movie company to make their own DB movie and release it before the US version, and see which does better.

[Munsu]

Lol, so you have a beef with the casting of Dragonball for not having enough Asians... and having Goku played by a white kid? A series that has no real setting on Earth, the main character is an Alien, characters with green, purple, blue hair are abundant, some characters with Green skin, etc... Please, go whinne about something else. Nothing really wrong with casting white people for the roles, especially for a movie being released in the US, not by any stretch of the imagination.

If there's something to complain about is for the actual plot and story changes... but to complain about the casting solely because they have a couple of white kids playing leading roles is kinda dumb.

[XanBcoo]

Gonna echo Munsu. Dragonball isn't even set in our universe. "Asians" don't exist, and Bulma has always been white.

In a perfect world, I would have loved for the guy who played Lui Kang to be Goku, but I got no beef with some white guy playing him. I don't see why anyone should, aside from holding on to some sort of irrational ideals.

[Animeniax]

Who says there's no Asians in the DB world? The writing on the back of Goku's gi-s are Chinese kanji aren't they? And the colorful hair thing is just an anime standard. They use the different hair colors to represent different personality types. Some fans of anime you guys are, to not know that.

Like I said, what are they going to name the white guy who plays Goku? If the name was less ethnic like Bulma, I wouldn't see so much of a problem. And how about a white Chichi or Gohan? I'm betting they Americanize the names too. It'll be George and his son Geoffrey and wife Cindy, and their feisty friend Barbara. Vegeta will become Victor, Master Roshi will become Mr. Rogers. It's madness I tell you.

[Munsu]

Who says there's no Asians in the DB world? The writing on the back of Goku's gi-s are Chinese kanji aren't they? And the colorful hair thing is just an anime standard. They use the different hair colors to represent different personality types. Some fans of anime you guys are, to not know that.

Like I said, what are they going to name the white guy who plays Goku? If the name was less ethnic like Bulma, I wouldn't see so much of a problem. And how about a white Chichi or Gohan? I'm betting they Americanize the names too. It'll be George and his son Geoffrey and wife Cindy, and their feisty friend Barbara. Vegeta will become Victor, Master Roshi will become Mr. Rogers. It's madness I tell you.
Again, Goku is an alien... it doesn't matter what Goku was wearing, what his name is, or the symbols on his clothes say. He's not from Earth, so it doesn't matter. Also, I bring up the hair colors because it seems that the adaptation WILL keep the hair colors. The rest are baseless assuptions on your part that currently have no merit nor worth discussing. If they do infact fuck up the names, which I very much doubt at this point, then go shit everywhere then... not now.

Dragonball is not some unknown crap that they can get away with having too much creative freedom like changing the characters' names. This is a huge franchise, and they won't fuck it up by changing the characters' names.

Remember Beverly Hills Ninja? Chris Farley was called Haru... so there, deal with it.

[Animeniax]

Space aliens can be Asian. Why not? Think about it, on another planet at this very instant, if life existed, it would most likely evolve in the same manner as it did on this planet. So there could very well be Asians on alien planets, except they wouldn't be called Asian because the continent they live on probably isn't called Asia. But they'd still have the black hair, brown eyes, yellowish skin, etc. So even if Goku isn't literally an Asian, he is most definitely from the same genetic stock as what we refer to as Asians here on planet Earth. So the best way to represent him would be to let an Asian play his role in the movie.

My assumptions aren't baseless. They follow a clear line of thinking. If they are going to Americanize the characters, why would they leave the names alone? White characters with Asian names? Doesn't make sense. And the Beverly Hills Ninja reference? That was the entire idea of the movie, a white guy raised in Asian arts living in the US. Changing his name would make no sense. In this DB movie, if they're going to remove the Asian heritage of the characters, why would they not change the names?

[David75]

My assumptions aren't baseless. They follow a clear line of thinking. If they are going to Americanize the characters, why would they leave the names alone? White characters with Asian names? Doesn't make sense. And the Beverly Hills Ninja reference? That was the entire idea of the movie, a white guy raised in Asian arts living in the US. Changing his name would make no sense. In this DB movie, if they're going to remove the Asian heritage of the characters, why would they not change the names?

Sorry but Goku isn't the same species as humans, although he is compatible for making children with human females.

[XanBcoo]

I remember when people thought Viz would change Naruto's name in the English. The fanboys were livid that an American company would be touching something Asian. Your assumptions are baseless, Animeniax. The cast is multiracial and there's no good reason for them to make any radical changes based solely on the actor's ethnicity.

Also Goku's gi had kanji on it because it was written for a Japanese audience, not because he himself was any particular ethnicity.

Also Also I really want to discuss how homo sapiens would evolve on different planets now. Could they have ethnicities that we don't?? Does Eugenics exist on another world? How are the Space-Black People treated?

[Animeniax]

I checked the cast and only the main characters are Caucasian, besides Roshi. The minor characters like Chi Chi, Mai, and Yamcha are cast as Asians. So the official count is: 3 white people, 2 Koreans, 1 Japanese, and 1 Chinese. I shake my head at yet another case of typical Hollywood pandering.


I remember when people thought Viz would change Naruto's name in the English. The fanboys were livid that an American company would be touching something Asian. Your assumptions are baseless, Animeniax. The cast is multiracial and there's no good reason for them to make any radical changes based solely on the actor's ethnicity.

Also Goku's gi had kanji on it because it was written for a Japanese audience, not because he himself was any particular ethnicity.

Also Also I really want to discuss how homo sapiens would evolve on different planets now. Could they have ethnicities that we don't?? Does Eugenics exist on another world? How are the Space-Black People treated?
But now you're talking about a cartoon adaptation, where Naruto's ethnicity can be debated, though he is Japanese. I'm talking about a live action adaptation where a white guy with supposedly no ties to Asian heritage somehow has an Asian name. I don't see it happening. Would you have imagined "Hsieu-Wong and Kumar Go to Whitecastle"?

And what's with everyone assuming Bulma is white in the anime/manga? Does that mean Sakura from Konoha is white too? And what about Misa in Death Note?

Also, your argument about there being no consequence for Asian characters on Goku's gis is off mark. I'm arguing against your claim that Asians don't exist in the DB world, when they clearly do, supported by the Chinese character on the back of the main character's outfit.

[Munsu]

Forget it, it's a lost cause... the characters will keep their names, it has been reported everywhere when they were casted, the role AND name of the character they were going to play. There hasn't been anything that suggests any different... as I said, it's a worthless discussion.

[Animeniax]

That's fine, I don't imagine my rant will change anything in Hollywood. It is fun to argue the point though, and maybe change a few minds. I'll probably watch the movie anyway.


I bring up the hair colors because it seems that the adaptation WILL keep the hair colors.
Looking at production photos, the guy playing Goku will have short, light-brown hair, so that's at least one change from the revered (supposedly untouchable) franchise. If live-action Goku doesn't have a freakish stock of black hair like in the anime, what else will they change?


Sorry but Goku isn't the same species as humans, although he is compatible for making children with human females.Which is evidence that he shares genetic code with humans, and is probably just a more advanced evolutionary form of humanity (given different environmental conditions on his home planet). Which means he could very well be Asian. Which means it would make more sense to cast an Asian for the role.

[animus]

Oh come on, Goku looks as asian as they come even if he's an alien.

[Munsu]

Of course he looks Asian... it was a Japanese series, that's what the mangaka knows how to draw... that's what he's familiar with. It's not uncommon to have foreigners in anime/manga to look similar to asian characters... looking Asian themselves because that's simply their drawing style, their character designs for a particular series.

Even the Androids in the series, who seemed to have western influences... looked Asian. Heck, look at the Code Geass designs and all those Brittish characters that look Asian, including the main character himself.

[Animeniax]

I always wondered what nationality or race Rick Hunter portrayed in Robotech. Roy Fokker and Lisa Hayes were clearly white and Claudia Grant was clearly black. I think Minmay was Chinese or Japanese, I can't say which. But Goku is definitely Asian, same as Chi Chi and Tien and Yamcha and Yajirobe.

Here's a tidbit from IMDB that was listed as a factual error for DBZ:
The series takes place in a universe that is, rather obviously, way different than our real-life universe. Yet there are references to all kinds of things from our Earth (Einstein, Isaac Newton, Humphrey Bogart, Dino, Hitler, etc.) So it's arguable that these are indeed humans on Earth, with the Saiyans being related to the human species. Therefore, Goku could indeed be Asian, and therefore, it would be best to have an Asian play the role in the live-action movie.

I could understand if they cast a white kid to play Naruto, since that character's race is ambiguous based on how he's drawn, but Goku is definitely Asian.

[Junior]

Oh come on, Goku looks as asian as they come even if he's an alien.

Especially with his hair.

XD

How about a Eurasian?

[Carnage]

Why are we even bitching about the cast? It doesn't matter when the plot will blow ass.....

[Animeniax]

The cast can make or break the movie, even if the plot sucks. Transformers is a good example. Even with the special effects, the plot was pretty straightforward and cliche. Shia LeBeouf and Megan Fox made the movie shine.

I don't see why you'd think the plot will suck that bad. It would be like any of the DB movies, kind of random and loosely based on the main plotline of the anime/manga, but occurring just outside of that plotline.

To me, this could be a great movie with special effects and seeing DB in live action. It could be as cool as Transformers or the first 2 Spider-man movies. But if the cast is all wrong and they change too many details (due to the cast), it will fail the DB universe, even if it makes money for Hollywood.

[Junior]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonball_%28film%29

This is going to fail. The Goku fails way too much for me to even comprehend. I mean seriously, he looks like the Green Day singer.

I would've liked to see Jackie Chan in it because he did inspire Dragonball.


He has been the inspiration for manga such as Dragon Ball, the character Lei Wulong in Tekken and the fighting-type Pokémon Hitmonchan.

I can imagine Goku being based on him.

[Shadow Skill]

That Justin Chatwin guy, his hair in no absolute way resembles Goku's hair. Goku's hair is Black and has 3 Pointy spots? Unless in Super Saiyan mode. That Justin's hair is Brown and faggish looking, with most of his hair going downwards.

James Masters looks like he'd be a good Piccolo with the proper makeup.

I am not sure how the director can say Justin's hair looks like Goku's. I swear none of these directors these days research what they create.

[Death BOO Z]

Justin doesn resemble goku, in a sense, they've got the same face (mainly the chin area and smile).

also, if anything, Goku is chinese. not japanese.
that's just how it is.

[Raven]

Some exclusive (http://blogs.hoycinema.com/movieland/post/2008/01/15/exclusivas-fotos-e-informacion-del-pizarrazo-oficial-la) photos, although I don't know how exclusive they are any more. Not very good quality either.

[Death BOO Z]

so goku's magical pogo pole makes an appearence?
and it seems that they're shooting a scene where adult Chichi is kidnapped by Yamcha, or maybe that's just me making up crap.

adult yamcha kidnapping chichi sounds just wrong,

edit: sorry, I mixed up this movie and the chun li movie, my mistake.

[Idealistic]

With the technology today, if Justin ever shoots a Kamehameha, we better see some lights and flashes. It better not be like Street Fighter where Ryu palm's the enemy's chest and all you see is a spark.

I agree with Carnage. Don't need to worry about the cast when the plot is going to suck. Nothing is worst when you have an awesome cast, but the plot blows.

[David75]

with his hair up, he looks very irish for a Goku :confused:

[Junior]

Those pictures are just omgbleh.

Fail goku is total fail.

[Animeniax]

If these are actual production photos, where are the outlandish hair colors? I think they're going to change that aspect of the characters too, and the names are probably next. They'll probably even change the symbol on Gary's gi to "Joe's Auto Shop" or "Abercrombie and Fitch", instead of the Chinese character.

[Junior]

^Lol @ that.

They need to leave the anime to the Japanese. I know they're just gonna butcher it.

[Abdula]

I know they're just gonna butcher it.

Its what they do best.

[Junior]

I wonder how this will come together.

Especially since the lead already fails. It'll just affect the whole damn movie.

[Psyke]

I've got zero hopes for this movie, so as to keep myself from feeling disappointed.

[Junior]

Does anyone blame the actors for actually accepting these roles?

I mean...seriously. o.o;

[Sapphire]

Hell, I'd take up the offer to be in a DBZ movie if it meant I could fly around and pretend to use spirit bombs.

[Abdula]

Yeah if the script sucks and the director doesn't know what he is doing it isn't the actors fault and I'd take the job too, I mean they are getting paid.

[Sapphire]

The costumes were quite funny, though. Maybe they will CGI them to look better. Hollywood seems to love CGI these days. *gag* In fact, the only good CGI I've seen lately is the CGI from Interview with a Vampire and Cloverfield.

By the way that first Youtube vid that someone posted is absoutely hilarious, the second fan one is just downright inspiring.

[Abdula]

I honestly don't see how a good live action DBZ moive could ever be created at this point. Despite all they say all they care about is getting the quick cash now. For any DBZ movie to have any merit whatsoever alot of work and time has to be put into it not to mention millions of dollars.

Its just not going to happen unless some independently wealthy DBZ fans decide to blow a few years and a couple million dollars on making a good movie. Aside from that a live action DBZ movie could only serve as comic relief at best.

[Sapphire]

Well I've been hearing rumors of a DBZ movie since like the 4th grade, but that was probably just a rumor because they were like "OMG VIN DIESEL IS GOKU" XD

Apparently they've been working on this movie since 2002, which is good enough for me, I guess. Now one movie I'm looking forward to is ENDER'S GAME. They've been making that script for four years, and if I can I'm going to try to be an extra or something lol

[Psyke]

By the way that first Youtube vid that someone posted is absoutely hilarious, the second fan one is just downright inspiring.

Since you guys enjoyed the clip (much more than I did), check out this clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRYx2Fm0A2Q). Seems they've released a remastered DVD last year.

Edit: If you want faithfulness to the source, you gotta check this out (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Tg9nQ4MmDo).

[Sapphire]

First vid: Haha, good times.

Okay the second clip is just pro. If the real movie isn't better than this I am just going to cry. I've been forwarding all the DB youtube vids to my older brother, who appreciated DB long before I did... (I was more of a Sailor Moon person god help me) Actually I was planning to watch the entire DB franchise series thing over Christmas break, but I got extremely bored after DB ep 4 and when I skipped to GT it was no better, every episode I tried, people were just walking out of thier houses to do a power up... >_>;

[XanBcoo]

Well Animeniax, here's your Asian Goku:

http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/7991/dbzliveactionzu0.png

As I said much earlier on, there's no one who'll be able to get this right. It's a concept that cannot translate well into live action.

[Zhan]

That Ken Watanabe guy would make a good King Vegeta (Vegeta's Dad, was that his name? I don't remember)

Have you guys seen these pics?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTinVfZv1tc&feature=related

Yeah its fake but its cool to look at..if piccolo looked like that it would be pretty awesome.

[Psyke]

Check out this video, from a Japanese fan who's suggesting who should take up the live action roles. This is more or less a wish list based on appearance only, and has no links with the movie. I'll have to say some of his choices are definately spot on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yFDyrCeXE8

[Animeniax]

You are spot on Psyke, that video is awesome. It's even cooler that I actually know half of those actors/actresses and from a visual standpoint, they are excellent matches. Thanks for the link.

[Junior]

Check out this video, from a Japanese fan who's suggesting who should take up the live action roles. This is more or less a wish list based on appearance only, and has no links with the movie. I'll have to say some of his choices are definately spot on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yFDyrCeXE8

Some of those were spot on. XD

Who's that pretty girl that supposed to play Bulma?

Mika Nakashima as #18? Not too bad...

[Sapphire]

At this point I think Mika Nakashima could do anything.. <3

Then again I thought that of Jun Matsumoto... until he did Bambino.. that was a disaster..

[Psyke]

Who's that pretty girl that supposed to play Bulma?

That's Nakagawa Shouko (中川翔子) (http://wiki.theppn.org/Nakagawa_Shouko), a popular gravure idol, actress, and seiyuu. :)

[Junior]

She's adorable. <3 And Bulma material too. o_o But I always felt Bulma was caucasian.

[Lucifus]

I think i've seen the video, but I can't make sure. Youtubes blocked and I can't find a damned proxy. >.> I'm pretty sure its the same though because the Bulma one was the one that made me really say 'perfect' choice.

The 'Nappa' guy was awesome. I can't remember the actors name though. =(

I saw some really fitting suggestions though, especially for master Roshi but the guy I saw is unfortunately dead at the moment. :rolleyes:

All I know is, this movies gotta be halfway decent at least because you can't market something 'only' on hype and popularity alone.

(Though there are some cases of this, I doubt that can be reproduced with this movie)

[Junior]

Yeah true true. And your damn signature is killing me. D: Page stretch @_@

Anyway, if this movie bombs we can all laugh and have a drink. =)

[Sapphire]

I'm down for that, but I'm not planning on paying.

[Junior]

don't worry...The person who has faith in this movie is the one who gets the tab.

XD

[Sapphire]

I think I'll make my pre-judgement when they come up with a trailer.

[Junior]

They need to hurry up with it. WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT.

Damnit. Suspense is a bitch.

[Idealistic]

Nice video man... I just had to LOL at Fat Buu. 4:53.

[Psyke]

American Goku might look like this if he ever went super saiyan:

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/8288/akibanana004vu5.jpg

[Rek]

I don't know if anyone has linked the IMDB for the DBZ movie, but the casting and pictures I've seen lead me to believe that this is going to be the Transformers of 2009. In other words: Disappointing.

[Munsu]

Yet, Transformers was highly successful.

[Animeniax]

So were the Spice Girls, but that doesn't make them a worthwhile enterprise. Commercial success isn't a measure of quality.

They could salvage a good movie out of this with a lot of humor and cool special effects, and a lot of harking back to the original source material. If they make enough of a connection with DB fans, it would be successful and worthwhile. If they stray too far from the DB world and just use namesakes and concepts, it will fail.

[Munsu]

Was I basing it solely on commercial success? No. Fact is that the great majority enjoyed the film, and that it enjoyed commercial success it's a bonus. Just because a couple of people cry, scream, and kick that they didn't like the movie, doesn't mean it wasn't a good movie because overall it was.

[sangai]

*i didn't take time to read through all 8 pages*

im glad to see the film being done, but i am also glad that it will not be of the DBZ saga but rather more or less based from dragon ball featuring picollo as the main villain. it should be intresting to see goku gather all dragon balls and to see dr breifs kidnapped by picollo.

im still worried about there choice for goku but there bulma is a good choice for the film.

still no word on krillin or any of the other ball chacaters except for roshi and i think chichi.

can't wait to see what they can do with there budget.

[Animeniax]

This guy could play Krillin:

http://photos.ifmagazine.com/graphics/news/39_martinklebba_ss_1611.jpg

He's been in a lot of movies and TV shows.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0458514/

[Psyke]

No Dragonball Movie this Year
Source: Superhero Hype! March 5, 2008


20th Century Fox has pushed back the studios' big screen Dragonball adaptation from August 15, 2008 to April 3, 2009. On the old date, it was facing The International, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Tropic Thunder and Wild Child, while it is currently by itself on the new date.

Written and directed by James Wong, the movie stars Justin Chatwin, James Marsters, Jamie Chung, Emmy Rossum, Eriko Tamura, Joon Park, Chow Yun-Fat, Texas Battle, Randall Duk Kim and Ernie Hudson.

Dragonball is based on the manga created by Akira Toriyama; the work was also turned into a Japanese anime series that played all over the world. It tells the story of an alien sent to destroy Earth, who has a change of heart and decides to join the humans in their fight against various aliens and bad guys.

[David75]

No Dragonball Movie this Year
Source: Superhero Hype! March 5, 2008


20th Century Fox has pushed back the studios' big screen Dragonball adaptation from August 15, 2008 to April 3, 2009. On the old date, it was facing The International, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Tropic Thunder and Wild Child, while it is currently by itself on the new date.

Written and directed by James Wong, the movie stars Justin Chatwin, James Marsters, Jamie Chung, Emmy Rossum, Eriko Tamura, Joon Park, Chow Yun-Fat, Texas Battle, Randall Duk Kim and Ernie Hudson.

Dragonball is based on the manga created by Akira Toriyama; the work was also turned into a Japanese anime series that played all over the world. It tells the story of an alien sent to destroy Earth, who has a change of heart and decides to join the humans in their fight against various aliens and bad guys.

If they fear other movies, they will never make it.
The date is now free of oponents now. But in the months to come who knows?
So if some big hit arises and screens around the same time, they will give up again?

[Munsu]

If they fear other movies, they will never make it.
The date is now free of oponents now. But in the months to come who knows?
So if some big hit arises and screens around the same time, they will give up again?
There's nothing that suggests in the article that the reason for moving the dates was because of fear of competition. We don't know the details, but my intuition is that they probably need to reshoot some scenes, add the cgi shit, etc. Quite few movies have been delayed already, many because of the effects of the Writer's Strike.

There has been little marketing for the movie, I'm sure that plays a big part... I would not be surprised if they are planning a big marketing campaign for this.

[Animeniax]

Maybe they read some internet talk about the movie and actually heeded some of the concerns of fans, and decided to remake the movie so it would have a better chance of success.

[Sapphire]

Hasn't this movie been "about to come out" since like... '02?

[Archangel]

Hasn't this movie been "about to come out" since like... '02?

Looks like its gonna get out for real in 2009

[Junior]

Maybe they read some internet talk about the movie and actually heeded some of the concerns of fans, and decided to remake the movie so it would have a better chance of success.

I'm praying for that to be true.

Cast seems to fail so far.

[Archangel]

Well imo a dragonball movie with real people is just doomed to fail no mater who the actors are. CGi as it stands today can't possibly shows us the real goku in all his might, i mean how the hell are they gonna even make the guy do a kamehameha?

Their best chance would b doing something like advent children, while humanazing the carachters in terms of appearence they would still be able to make them look "authenthic" for the anime fans.

[Psyke]

From superherohype:

Dragonball Movie Wraps Filming
Source: JC March 24, 2008


On her official MySpace page, Emmy Rossum confirmed on Saturday that filming wrapped on Friday for 20th Century Fox's Dragonball movie, written and directed by James Wong. Rossum, who plays Bulma, said...

I've been so busy in Mexico finishing up Dragonball but we just wrapped yesterday so I JUST got home and this is my first opportunity in front of my computer to write to you. It's been nuts for about a month and a half working nights (on a schedule of about 5pm-8am) outside, but our spirits have been high and it was such a blast. I've missed writing to you but I've been exhausted after coming home from work early in the morning. I'm finally home (at least for a few weeks) and it's a mixture of happy and sad. Wrapping a movie is kind of like the end of school, you miss all your friends that you've bonded with so much but you are eager for a little rest and a break from all the hard work. I'll be starting work on something else in 3 weeks so I wont have much time to rest...

Adapted from the manga created by Akira Toriyama, the pic also stars Justin Chatwin, James Marsters, Jamie Chung, Eriko Tamura, Joon Park, Chow Yun-Fat, Texas Battle, Randall Duk Kim and Ernie Hudson. An April 3, 2009 release is planned.

[Archangel]

Do you have any idea where we can get maibe some images or trailers from it? I really wanna know how they are aproaching the anime.

[XanBcoo]

Do you have any idea where we can get maibe some images or trailers from it? I really wanna know how they are aproaching the anime.
Take five minutes to look a few pages back in this thread :rolleyes:.

As for the news, I guess there's no turning back now.

[Junior]

Well imo a dragonball movie with real people is just doomed to fail no mater who the actors are. CGi as it stands today can't possibly shows us the real goku in all his might, i mean how the hell are they gonna even make the guy do a kamehameha?

Their best chance would b doing something like advent children, while humanazing the carachters in terms of appearence they would still be able to make them look "authenthic" for the anime fans.

yeah, true, Except about the AC thing. EVERYONE would have crap to say about the actors. Certain fans would be jealous of who was playing Tifa or Aerith and some would think they weren't good enough or crap like that.

Drama. You don't want no drama.

[Archangel]

U misunderstood me junior, what i meant was that they should do the DB movie like they did AC, with CGI actors.

[Shadow Skill]

I agree, they should have went the CGI/FMV route with a Dragon Ball movie instead of using real people.

[Psyke]

Pretty amazing fan made stuff once again (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQoky6Q_dw8)

Though I didn't really like the Gohan actor and the fact that he did the last kamehameha wrongly.

[David75]

Pretty amazing fan made stuff once again (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQoky6Q_dw8)

Though I didn't really like the Gohan actor and the fact that he did the last kamehameha wrongly.

Very funny!
French made it seems :P (Or Quebec?)

[Junior]

U misunderstood me junior, what i meant was that they should do the DB movie like they did AC, with CGI actors.

Oooh, sorry Archie ^^;

hm...CGI Goku...can't picture it. o.o

That video is funny but very well done. Pretty #18!!

[Archangel]

Pretty amazing fan made stuff once again (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQoky6Q_dw8)

Though I didn't really like the Gohan actor and the fact that he did the last kamehameha wrongly.

lol awsome vid dude


Oooh, sorry Archie ^^;

hm...CGI Goku...can't picture it. o.o

Well if i asked u 3 years ago you wouldn't be able to picture a CGI cloud either would you :P

[Junior]

XDDD Maybe...but I mean, its GOKU. I can't picture 3D Goku.

At least there was 3D Cloud to start with.

[Archangel]

Hmm does this help?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaNK7gP1Gew

[Abdula]

Seriously, a 3d DBZ movie based on the art in the Budokai games would be nice. Anyway I'm sure someone pitched a similar idea in this thread already.

[Junior]

3D looks just the the 2D, only...3D.

XD I'd love to see a real CG of Goku. They'd have to seriously do him justice.

Actually, they should've totally gone to Square for help...provided they don't just end up making him look like Cloud.

[Archangel]

Actually... add black hair, spike the hair a litle bit more, replace sword with magical stick... lol omg they totally should have asked square for help!

[Junior]

Maybe. Goku's more friendly-looking and happy.

Not really..Cloud.

But knowing Square...they'd probably leave the DBZ crew broke.

[Archangel]

Lol maibe this is how he would be like :P

http://files.turbosquid.com/Preview/Content_on_3_31_2004_09_34_14/preview00.jpgb03164b2-0730-4ef6-9486-e0a476daf8f2Large.jpg

[Junior]

XD

Don't you mean like a more realistic Goku? As in AC style? or would that type of animation be alright?

I'd love to see a real Goku. Watching a movie in that animation would be boring.

[Archangel]

K this is the best i can do

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPeVnBC-6ho

Btw i want to play this game now

[Sapphire]

Has this been linked yet? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nms2_BNeiMM Win

[iMUSTbeTHEdevil]

Has this been linked yet? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nms2_BNeiMM Win


I loled at Mr Popo.

[Archangel]

Argh no way cameron diaz would play 18, she isn't hot enouf. And btw have you ever heard her laugh? Omg...

And isn't that fuy that was supposed to be master roshi dead already?

[animus]

It said he's already dead in parenthesis.

Is it me or did that video not include a Goku at all?

[Archangel]

Well if you understand spanish you could also check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TfLtgN2kbY

[Sapphire]

Wanna translate for us?

[XanBcoo]

Wanna translate for us?
Portuguese != Spanish

It doesn't look like it tells very much information besides what we already know. Everyone in the comments seems clueless that the movie was in plans at all, so I assume the video (can't listen to it right now) doesn't say anything besides "the movie is being made".

[UChessmaster]

Portuguese != Spanish

But it IS spanish... anyway, important info?

A) Release date august 15 2008

B) It cost more than 1,000,000 $ (...lol 1 mil)

C) It IS going to be dragon ball z (not dragon ball)

[Sapphire]

But they pushed it back to '09 right? Too bad there's no trailer

[Junior]

Has this been linked yet? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nms2_BNeiMM Win

Lui Kang! As Goku!
...he seems a bit serious, but that isn't too bad.

Ray Park looks angry. Maybe...
Leo as Trunks. That's actually pretty good.

..Some were good...others...no.

But not Cameron Diaz as #18. That fails. It has to be someone who can be bad,e.g Michelle Pfeiffer(sp? D:) She's too old though...but someone who has the...deadly look.

[Archangel]

How about the chick from the resident evil movies?

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg145/xplaymate/resident-evil-movie-pic.jpg

[Munsu]

Wanna translate for us?
Bunch of useless information.

[Archangel]

Hmm this website looks really good actually:

http://www.dragonballmovieblog.com/

Is the stuff there true or is the owner just making stuff up?

[Psyke]

From Super Hero Hype:

http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/7757/dragonballposterusoi5.jpg

http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/6180/dragonballteaserpostermsg5.jpg

[XanBcoo]

http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/7757/dragonballposterusoi5.jpg

This is it.

There's no turning back now.

[Assassin]

why does the chinese/japanese poster look more flashy?

[Archangel]

This is it.

There's no turning back now.

There was no turning back a long time ago, they finished filming it about a year ago. That's a cool looking poster buy it still doesn't show us much of how the movie is gonna look like. I hate all this secretism.

[Animeniax]

why does the chinese/japanese poster look more flashy?
Everything is better in Southeast Asia. It's super special awesome perfect version poster!!!!

Actually if you look closely, it's the same poster, just the Japanese picture taker might have had the flash on or the window gave it a blurred effect.

I seriously want that Japanese DBZ poster on my wall, even though I think the movie will fail.

[sangai]

i take it none of you have actually seen the set pictures.....


well www.filmwad.com they might still have em up, but be forewarned they're god awful, im already willing to boycott this film.

the film is dragon ball...

plot summary : the evil king piccolo has kidnapped bulmas father and is forcing goku to collect the dragon balls.

*BTW everyone and every costume look gawd fuckin awful..


also i wouldn't put to much faith in those posters..they look terrible.

[Munsu]

Meh, are those pics really from the film? I don't recognize any of the actors in the pics. The site itself doesn't inspire confidence as it looks like some shoddy site. Also, you'd be surprised on much better it'll look post production... many films look like shit based on set pics.

Edit: Seems like the photos may be real, but those are a bunch of stunt doubles in there, and as I said I wouldn't expect to see any cool set pics when you consider Goku wears a shitty orange dogi. So are you going to boycutt a movie because the stunt double looks like shit?

Here's a bit on Piccolo:
http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/5316/piccolocg1.jpg

For those brave enough:
http://www.66stage.com/movies.php?pl=goo&url=7710822910811986699

[Animeniax]

Here's the site, it's in French:

http://www.legroom.fr/cinema/des-photos-de-dragonball-le-film/

I recognize Emmy Rossum as Bulma in the second image and Chow-Yun Fat in the sixth image and the Japanese girl from Heroes in the twelfth image. The guy playing Goku doesn't look like quite the schmuck I imagined from his pictures on other sites, unless that's the stunt double. It should still be a yellow guy playing the lead roll.

[David75]

The tournament isn't in open air?
hummm

[Animeniax]

They didn't want any spy photos being taken of this craptacular production.

[David75]

They didn't want any spy photos being taken of this craptacular production.

Or no spy was even interrested in making spy shots or this craptacular production...
Or they never knew what movie was being played and they didn't even care because they thought it was a fan low budget amateur movie...

[XanBcoo]

Here's the site, it's in French:

http://www.legroom.fr/cinema/des-photos-de-dragonball-le-film/

Chatwin looks like every douche from high school, but everything else looks pretty great in my opinion.

At first I thought that black guy was Mr. Popo but then I realized he's probably just a monk.

Edit to below: Oh shit you're right. Sorry. I thought he looked a bit odd...

[Munsu]

Again, that's not Chatwin... that's a stunt double.

[sangai]

and that photo with the face blacked out doesn't look like anything i have seen up until this point.


yah that french site is what i have seen, god if that is the actual film stuff..boycott this movie, and do not set a standard for crap films to be realeased im ashamed if this is the quality and the treatment DB would get for its first big action film.

if costume design and set design doesn't meet my expectations yes i would boycott this film in fact i would have to blast it as im doin so far...ive seen fans do better make up work then this film has so far.

[Psyke]

A scan from the latest Shonen Jump magazine gives us the first official pic of Justin Chatwin as Gokou!

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/4530/0805100601173242326ip6.jpg

[Death BOO Z]

he isn't nearly as buffed as he should be to play goku... he'd do a good gohan, though.

Roshi looks gold

[Munsu]

His dick is probably not as big either... These are just dumb complaints as far as I'm concerned. Dragonball was a freaking cartoon... while we are at it, Superman wasn't as buffed in the movies either. Did that stopped them from being an entertaining and successful movies? I believe the answer is 'no'.

[Animeniax]

If you look at the technical aspects though, Superman got his super power from the yellow sun, so he didn't need to be buff to be strong, so a non-buff live-action Superman wasn't that big a deal. But Goku is a fighter who trains incessantly. His power comes from his alien roots, but also from heavy physical training, which would result in musculature or buffitude.

Weird, but my first thought at seeing the picture of Chatwin as Goku was the same as DBZ's, that the kid was too scrawny to play Goku. My second thought is that Goku's not white.

[Munsu]

His musculature and buffitude had little to do with his powers, and you know it...

Goku is powerful because of the bullshit devices of the story, nothing to do with him being physically strong. If that was the case, Hercule would be quite a big shot in the DB universe, instead of a wannabe. Needless to say of how ridiculously powerful the kids become.

[Assassin]

who the hell is that black guy?

[XanBcoo]

My second thought is that Goku's not white.
He also wasn't Asian. I thought we'd already been over this.

Having said that, I also think he seems a little thin for me, but I guess since this is "Dragonball', Goku should still be young and inexperienced. He wasn't really muscley until DBZ anyway.

[Sapphire]

They could at least try a little harder to make the costume look cool. It looks like someone made it for a high school sewing class. And I hope that pic is of him posing instead of acting lol.. *cries*

"What's this orb of light? .....It's pretty!!!!! *gawkkkkkkkk*"

[Assassin]

spirit bomb?

I swear, if i see lightning comming out of the kamehameha, i'll be pissed.

[Shadow Skill]

That faerie looking guy who plays Goku, looks nothing like Goku. (As far as I know, The Saiyan-jins are Asian (Chinese). :P

Considering the story is based on the Monkey Mythology of China. :/

I'll keep waiting for the day Japan or China gets it right and creates the first real DBZ movie.

[Animeniax]

He also wasn't Asian. I thought we'd already been over this.

Having said that, I also think he seems a little thin for me, but I guess since this is "Dragonball', Goku should still be young and inexperienced. He wasn't really muscley until DBZ anyway.

It was discussed, but no resolution was made about his ethnicity. I think the arguments for his Mongoloid roots were stronger than any arguments that he's Caucasian.

If this was Dragonball, he'd be a little kid still. I think this movie falls in between what happened in DB and DBZ, kind of like Smallville for Superman. So Goku wouldn't need to be buff, but he also shouldn't be a scrawny puke.

[sangai]

not impressed at all, im pretty dissapointed with the film so far, it doesn't even look like there trying at all to keep a basic appearance theme, im not askin for a super ripped body but come on "oh lets just moose the hair" i know i know gokus hair would be insane and unbelievable, but if they fuck up how picollo looks then to hell with this film.

so far the film is lookin like a 2 outta 10...

[Sapphire]

At least they didn't use fake-ass disgustingly ugly wigs like in Forbidden Kingdom.

I'm still keeping up hope for this movie, but I ain't paying for it. I'll either movie hop, or download rofl. I'm going to cry if the cosplay Youtube vids are better than this..

[Munsu]

It was discussed, but no resolution was made about his ethnicity. I think the arguments for his Mongoloid roots were stronger than any arguments that he's Caucasian.


It doesn't need any resolution. He's an alien, that's all that matters so his ethnicity should bare no relevance here. He could be played by a white guy just the same as an Asian guy and it shouldn't matter. No one has argued that he's Caucasian and no one should, just that there's no reason to believe he HAS to be Asian, like you're making it out to be.

As for his shape, well I would like to see him without a shirt. Who knows, maybe he's in good shape. No Hulk Hogan buff, but in a decently toned way appropiate for a martial artist.

Better quality:

http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/2449/gokukq7.jpg

By your account, Saiyajin aliens have to be of Asian ethnicity:

http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/9789/nappaxx1.jpg
http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/7035/6111ae4.jpg

If by chance, Goku being the alien he is, landed and was raised in a place that would ressemble the United States, you wouldn't be bunching up your panties about him being portrayed by a Caucasian even though where he was raised has nothing to do with his ethnicity. Yet again, you have some wierd fetish about Asian people, so you probably would still be complaining about useless shit like this.

[Animeniax]

I'm not the one having a hissy fit about this shit, so why don't you unwind your panties and loosen that bra while you're at it (sorry to any females here for the chauvinism). We're just having a friendly discussion about our visions of how this movie should portray our beloved characters, we don't need any high-handed nannying about whether or not we have the right to expect something from the movie.

It doesn't matter where Goku landed on Earth, but as stated before, there are clear indicators that regardless of what planet he came from, his family was from that planet's equivalent of an Asian race, meaning the landmass might be called something else, but physical traits and cultural aspects coincide with the people who are referred to on Earth as Asians (not including Pakistanis/Indians). So how much effort would it have taken for the producers to cast an Asian lead? They could even have chosen a halfer or a full Asian who looks gaijin white. It would be more true to the spirit of DB, which is what most of us hope they preserve with this movie, the spirit of the show, if not every detail. And before you say it, Goku being Asian is not a detail.

[Munsu]

I'm not the one having a hissy fit about this shit, so why don't you unwind your panties and loosen that bra while you're at it (sorry to any females here for the chauvinism). We're just having a friendly discussion about our visions of how this movie should portray our beloved characters, we don't need any high-handed nannying about whether or not we have the right to expect something from the movie.

It doesn't matter where Goku landed on Earth, but as stated before, there are clear indicators that regardless of what planet he came from, his family was from that planet's equivalent of an Asian race, meaning the landmass might be called something else, but physical traits and cultural aspects coincide with the people who are referred to on Earth as Asians (not including Pakistanis/Indians). So how much effort would it have taken for the producers to cast an Asian lead? They could even have chosen a halfer or a full Asian who looks gaijin white. It would be more true to the spirit of DB, which is what most of us hope they preserve with this movie, the spirit of the show, if not every detail. And before you say it, Goku being Asian is not a detail.
I'm only having a "hissy fit" because pretty much every post you've made in this thread has to do with Chatwin not looking Asian enough. Even when the topic has long been dead about it, you bring it up once again. What about finding something new to complain about the movie instead of beating around a dead horse?

[sangai]

whats it matter, fuck at this point even if they choice a black dude, if he fit the part better i wouldn't god damn care.

just honestly im just feeling a huge let down, this is B quality film at best..maybe lower...

[Death BOO Z]

So how much effort would it have taken for the producers to cast an Asian lead? They could even have chosen a halfer or a full Asian who looks gaijin white. It would be more true to the spirit of DB, which is what most of us hope they preserve with this movie, the spirit of the show, if not every detail. And before you say it, Goku being Asian is not a detail.

That's just being Anal..
Goku is the main charecter, so they chose an actor they think is best for the job. they can't go browsing between actors and pull out someone who's "Asian but white enough"...

so goku was supposed to be asian (be it china, japan or mongol) becuase of his literal origin (monkey king), his recent origin (being created in Japan by a japanese) or whatever.
you can also say that they should have brought a girl to play him, since he was voiced by a female in the original series.

the cast for Chi-chi is perfect, she didn't look so cute since.. forever. but i don't like the cast of Bulma, at least without any major make-up changes...

[Animeniax]

That's just being Anal..
Goku is the main charecter, so they chose an actor they think is best for the job. they can't go browsing between actors and pull out someone who's "Asian but white enough"...
This is a major motion picture with presumably a big budget. Of course they're going to take the time to find the perfect actor to portray the lead character in the movie. The fact that they chose Chatwin shows they either didn't care about the source material, didn't care about keeping fans happy, or it would seem, the success of the movie.

Look at Kung Fu, the TV series. The producers selected David Carradine to play Caine because he was a white guy with an Asian look and they figured that would appeal more to a Western audience (or so it was claimed in Lee's biopic, Dragon: the Bruce Lee Story). But that was 1972. You'd think by now and considering the subject matter and source material, that a Hollywood studio would think an Asian guy could play a role like this and make it a successful movie.

If you think studios don't have time or the inclination to pick the right guy for a part, consider this tidbit about Kevin Gage, the actor who played the relatively minor role of Waingro in the movie Heat: auditioned for his role in Heat (1995) over an intense three month period that included eleven script readings with the director before he finally secured the part. I guess the producers of the DBZ movie don't have that kind of attention to detail. They just want to bank on the loyalty of fans to lap up whatever toilet water production they put in your bowls.

[Yukimura]

His shirt doesn't even look orange :( This is it, I'm submitting. This movie is only meant to bring the 'spirit' of Dragonball to the big screen, not the implementation we remember from the manga or anime and I shouldn't expect any more than that.

What I'm wondering about now is what themes from Dragonball the producers of this movie actually perceived to be the 'spirit' of franchise. If they just saw stuff like good vs evil and coming of age and being 'different' yet having to overcome one's difference to 'save the day' through belief in yourself and your friends then I can't really fault the movie for not looking anything like what I envisioned a Dragonball movie might look like. I would just fault it for being a generic teen angst + action story.

I think it likely they saw the crazy fighting and magical attacks and maybe even the silly Goku antics as fluff that fans wouldn't really care about as much as the story of a boy (or teen) coming to terms with his place in the world while searching for magic balls with new and old friends while trying to escape an evil menace. If that's the case then I think this movie is already doomed to mediocrity because there's nothing particularly special about those themes and without something 'different' like the Dragonball universe to add flavor why bother going to see a story we've already seen dozens of times in other movies.

[Assassin]

i'll say here and now, i will not be going to see this movie. at most i'll dl a shitty cam, cuz it doesnt even deserve a decent quality file.

The only exception would be if my some miracle the movie turned out alrite, and the fans (true anime fans, not idiot gr 5 kids) loved it. but since i dont see that happening, i highly doubt i'll be seeing it.

[XanBcoo]

the fans (true anime fans, not idiot gr 5 kids) loved it. but since i dont see that happening, i highly doubt i'll be seeing it.
So by "true anime fans" you mean "true DBZ fans", right?

I can't imagine what kind of anime fan besides a junior high student would find DBZ amazingly intelligent and captivating. The only thing it has going for it for our generation is the nostalgia angle.

Which is good enough for me. My standards were set low for this thing from the start, so I'll watch it.

[Shadow Skill]

In that Ad/banner for DBZ, the kid portraying Goku looks sad, depressed and pathetic...

I do not remember Goku looking like that in any part of the Anime or Manga. :/

[Assassin]

So by "true anime fans" you mean "true DBZ fans", right?

i suppose so...i just meant people who actually know what anime is besides dbz/narooto/yugi-oh/digimon etc. nowadays theres a lot of 5-10 year olds who are technically anime watchers....as well as thier slightly older counterparts in middle school we'll watch it just becase its dbz and love it despite it being a piece of shit.

[Sapphire]

I'm starting a boycott if they try to appeal to the emo population like they did in Horton Hears a Who..

Also, I don't care if the dude is Asian or not, the people in the Anime weren't even necessarily Asian (to hire unneededly based on race rather than talent is just stupid), I mean I remember people having green hair and crap. All I want is good actors with kickass directing and good graphics. Costumes just seems to be a gimme, but they already failed at that so I dunno. I need a trailer at least.

[rockmanj]

Yea, I don't really think Goku's color is that big of a deal, especially seeing as there were all different types of Sayians of varying shades ( I mean, they're aliens, and who says that their ethnicities are equal to those of humans, so who cares?) But the film looks like what Yuki said...some boring coming of age story; which actually makes me care less. The thing I don't get is Chow Yun Fat as Roshi. He only looks to be like in his 40s, plus he's in pretty good shape...they couldn't find some old decrepit guy?

[XanBcoo]

I think it's easier to get a talented and physically fit young guy to act old than it is to get an old guy to act 30 years younger.

That's assuming Roshi fights in this movie, which I assume (because of the casting decision) he will.

[Psyke]

A new and better pic. I like Goku's hair. It might be the closest we'll ever get to the anime version.

http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/5717/young1lf6.th.jpg (http://img115.imageshack.us/my.php?image=young1lf6.jpg)

[animus]

That looks ridiculous.

Could've used more gel or something, and in the large picture it looks like a dino mohawk.

[Munsu]

That looks ridiculous.

Could've used more gel or something, and in the large picture it looks like a dino mohawk.
And you expected Goku's character with its hairdo, wouldn't look ridiculous?

[XanBcoo]

I think it's a pretty good attempt at Goku's hair in real life.

I would have been happy with just regular, shorter spikey hair, but this is pretty good too!

[Sapphire]

What about spiked like this (http://www.ffcompendium.com/chara/7ac-reno-1.jpg) or this (http://www.healthandbeauty.net.au/userimages/me-with-my-dangerously-spikey-hair2.jpg) or Kurosagi hair? (Can't find a pic of spiked Kurosagi hair..) only more uppity? I'm sure it's not that hard. For that pic it looks like they just used a cheap straightener and some hairspray.

[Archangel]

Actually i think his hair looks pretty good. Your suggestions would be cool too saph but spiky hair is goku's trademark so it wouldn't make much sense to chnge that. I really do hope this movie does well.

[Sapphire]

I was trying to demonstrate the difference between using mousse + straightener, from using gel and perhaps a little more effort. That hair can clearly be spiked 'up' hence the word 'uppity' :p

[Paulyboy]

Lol what does hair have to do with anything they cannot make it perfect. I just hope the movie is bad ass. It would be a dissapointment if it wasn't :(.

[Dark Dragon]

lol

The hair just won me over since it shows that they are at least attempting to take some ridiculousness from the anime.

At this point i already plan to walk into the theater with the lowest expectation possible so i might get pleasantly surprised or just not completely disgusted with it.

we'll probably see a Kamehameha but it won't be the ridiculously huge ones from DBZ, at best we'll see some smaller version that young goku used during the world tournaments.

[Psyke]

Some new scans:

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/7222/vjump2sv8.jpg

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/9126/roadshow11vf4.jpg

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/4426/roadshow21gh3.jpg