"Your Name" Live-Action Movie in the Works, JJ Abrams to Produce

[GLaDOS]

Hoo boy... I don't know how to feel about this considering Hollywood's track record.

Paramount Pictures and J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot have won the rights to adapt the blockbuster Japanese animated movie “Your Name.”

The two companies announced Wednesday that they will work with Japan-based Toho Co., Ltd., the producers of the original animated film, to develop a live-action take on the story. Toho will handle distribution of the film in Japan.

Abrams and Lindsey Weber will produce for Bad Robot, along with Genki Kawamura, producer of the original film. Eric Heisserer, who received an Academy Award nomination for his “Arrival” screenplay, will write the screenplay for “Your Name.”

The Japanese film was created, written, and directed by Makoto Shinkai. It tells the story of a teenage boy and girl from different backgrounds who discover they can swap bodies. They become desperate to cross space and time to find a way to meet and stop an impending disaster.

“We are excited to collaborate with an extremely talented team in Hollywood,” said Yoshishige Shimatani, CEO of Toho Co. “And to create with them a live-action version of the iconic Japanese film ‘Your Name.'”

Paramount-based Abrams is one of Hollywood’s most prolific producers with credits on the “Star Wars,” “Star Trek,” “Mission: Impossible,” and “Cloverfield” franchises. He directed “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and came on board on Sept. 12 to replace Colin Trevorrow as director on “Star Wars: Episode IX.”

RELATED

Ike Barinholtz to Write, Direct, Star in Satirical Thriller 'The Oath'
“Just like in the film it feels like a dream,” said Kawamura. “Mr. Abrams and his team have captivated audiences in their masterful reinvention of known properties. And Mitsuha and Taki have found a perfect narrator, Mr. Heisserer, to tell their sci-fi infused love story, which gave the film such drive. The meetings so far have been creatively stimulating with fantastic ideas that no doubt will make for a great movie. I am greatly honored to work with these incredible creators in bringing to audiences the Hollywood live-action version of ‘Your Name.'”

Executive producers of the original “Your Name” were Minami Ichikawa, Keiji Ota, and Yoshihiro Furusawa for Toho Co. and Noritaka Kawaguchi for CoMix Wave Films.

“Your Name” grossed $303 million in Japan and held the top spot at the box office for 12 weeks. It’s also the highest-grossing Japanese film to release in China with $85.6 million.

Link: http://variety.com/2017/film/news/j-...nt-1202574994/

Also, if you haven't watched the original anime film... you're doing yourself a disservice.

[Chaotic]

That was fast. It took 22 years for Ghost in the Shell to get a live action movie.

[MechaGodzilla]

Dafuq?

[gundamcero]

Lol. No. Just no. Hollywood being idiots again. Will they ever learn.

[GLaDOS]

Originally Posted by Chaotic

That was fast. It took 22 years for Ghost in the Shell to get a live action movie.

This could work, but Paramount and Bad Robot need to be smart about this.

Personally, I don't mind on whether it takes place in Japan like the original with Asian actors or if it's completely westernized, so long as film's narrative and emotional core remains intact.

Following from that, I'm cautiously curious as to how JJ will tackle this. Who's gonna direct, who's gonna be Taki and Mitsuha, etc.

[cinemaphile]

Well, at least now I can watch this story. I can't stand watching anime. Every few years I decide to give it another shot with the latest "must see" anime, and every time I'm like, "nope. still hate it."

[Creed]

Not sure about this. Heard great things about the film..

[Shingster]

Just watch Tenkousai (I Are You, You Am Me), it's Your Name without most of the sci-fi elements (Shinkai borrowed heavily from it).

I don't know why I'm quite surprised by this news as it makes sense, the film being eminently adaptable to live action on a relatively modest budget and all... I guess it's just odd to think of all those Studio Ghibli classics that had high-profile western releases and no-one really sought to adapt any of them, perhaps Ghibli were running interference on that shit though?

[Arawn]

Originally Posted by GLaDOS

Personally, I don't mind on whether it takes place in Japan like the original with Asian actors or if it's completely westernized, so long as film's narrative and emotional core remains intact.

I don't want any part of a westernized, whitewashed Akira.

[DanTheMan]

Originally Posted by cinemaphile

Well, at least now I can watch this story. I can't stand watching anime. Every few years I decide to give it another shot with the latest "must see" anime, and every time I'm like, "nope. still hate it."

Even the work of Miyazaki?

[cinemaphile]

Originally Posted by DanTheMan

Even the work of Miyazaki?

Oh man I have tried. Watched 3 different Miyazakis and didnt care for any of them

[CyberpunkCentral]

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!

[Monterey Jack]

Originally Posted by cinemaphile

Well, at least now I can watch this story. I can't stand watching anime. Every few years I decide to give it another shot with the latest "must see" anime, and every time I'm like, "nope. still hate it."

This is amusing, given your avatar.

[mysticwaterfall]

I'm cautiously excited about this, since I think it could translate very well to a film. Don't really know if JJ is the right man for the job though, most of the anime really isn't his style except for the ending arc.

[cinemaphile]

Originally Posted by Monterey Jack

This is amusing, given your avatar.

Animated =/= Anime

[Shingster]

I suppose the risk with this property is that Hollywood are gonna produce something that appears on surface level to be yet another boring old body-swap comedy. IMO much of Your Name's success in the west came from the asian-american/british-asian community turning out en masse at the cinema for it (I know at my local showing there were relatively few white dudes at the screening I went to, we got a good asian community nearby and the film was obviously better known within that community back in the early days of screenings before the hype of the initial release pushed it further), so I think there's an argument to be made here that keeping the asian setting on a modest budget might be more lucrative. In fact, if you set it across both the US and Japan (ABJ guy from the US and woman from small Japanese town) it would still make sense.

[imsounoriginal]

Can't wait for another round of casting controversy.

[Monterey Jack]

Originally Posted by cinemaphile

Animated =/= Anime

There is NO DIFFERENCE between animation produced in different countries. It's all the same basic art form the world over.

[cinemaphile]

Originally Posted by Monterey Jack

There is NO DIFFERENCE between animation produced in different countries. It's all the same basic art form the world over.

Wrong. Anime has a very specific style of animation, and I really dislike it

[Monterey Jack]

Originally Posted by cinemaphile

Wrong. Anime has a very specific style of animation, and I really dislike it

There are MANY different styles within the general "genre" of anime. I don't like a lot of anime tropes myself, but many of them look quite beautiful.