I wasn’t that much of a James Marsters fan back in the Buffy the Vampire days. For some reason, that character never worked for me (although to he honest, I was never that much of a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the first place). But for some reason, when he switched over to the spin off, Angel, I just loved the character (Spike) and started to really appreciate the screen presence Marsters has. His short stint on Smallville was also amazing.
At any rate, I’ve always been a little baffled by that lack of quality roles Marsters has been offered since his Angel days ended. He was pretty much considered a heartthrob, had s solid screen presence and seemed to be ready to break out… but that big break never came. How sad for the rest of us.
Then came news that Marsters landed the role of Piccolo, the villain, in the upcoming Dragonball Z movie. He recently talked just a little about the project and our friends at Cinimatical offer us this:
The actor told TV Guide: “Oh, Dragonball is the coolest television cartoon in the last 50,000 years. It’s got a Shakespearean sense of good and evil. The movie has incredible action scenes with characters with unbelievable powers. It’s going to be really visually exciting.”
Sadly, even the addition of James Marters, Chow-Yun Fat (Master Roshi), Justin Chatwin (Goku), and Emily Rossum (Bulma) doesn’t change the fact that I think this movie is a mistake. That’s not a knock on the TV cartoon at all… it’s actually a compliment. That show can not be turned into a live action film with any sense of the spirit of the original because the original was so perfectly suited to its medium (animation). Putting that show on the big screen in a live action adaptation is going to either:
1) Seriously break with the spirit of the show and piss off all the existing fans. Or…
2) Stick to the spirit outside its original medium (animation) and look totally ridiculous.
And for the record, I still don’t think this film will have a following large enough to make this into a franchise.
this movie is going to be ASS!
I bet this movie is just going under as soon as people see the trailer. Instead of getting people to the cinemas it will only spur people on a boycott
I personally don’t think this movie will be a flop at all, and I was also a huge Dragonball fan at one time and I think the fans of the show need something different. Also, of course there is a strong possibility that it will suck( Like Badly ) but we don’t need to get ahead of ourselves and at least wait for a teaser trailer to come out before completely under-rating it at this point.
I heard that Marsters currently is a regular in the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood.
this movie is gonna be a disappointment to fans no matter what….there is no way they can simulate the main aspect that makes dragon ball z great…….the fighting and the characters……unless stephen chow directs i doubt an american director can create the explosive martial arts battle this title demands……a good fight choerographer (i suggest donnie yueng) is also needed…..
if the movie is a retelling the original dragon ball series i highly doubt they can channel the subversive, weird, japanese humor that made the manga great……i really fear the outcome of the movie especially with the casting decisions…..the turtle hermit (master roshi) shouldve been sammo hung, but they prolly couldnt get him…..
but john i agree 100%……transformers has a larger fanbase because the baby boomer generation and many people who grew up in the 80s know about transformers……people do know of dragon ball, but unless they are fans they think the show is stupid…..even people who arent fans of transformers new the characters and wanted to see the flick…..this thing has disaster all over it……shame too, in the right hands this wouldve been groundbreaking
ya it has a bigger fan base than transformers and a much more active and involved fan base. theirs a lot more dbz web sites than transformers and more video games.
John i disagree with you DB series has a much larger fandom then transformers!!
The rest of the article,im with you a 100%.
AND SOME OF THOSE PRODUCTIONS STILLS I SAW MAKE ME SERIOUSLY AFRAID!!
“I think this movie is a mistake. That’s not a knock on the TV cartoon at all… it’s actually a compliment. That show can not be turned into a live action film with any sense of the spirit of the original because the original was so perfectly suited to its medium (animation).”
John, you hit the nail on the exact thoughts I have for this movie. There is no way this movie will work in the live action world. I think the movie is going to be an embarrassment and this is coming from someone who was a big time DBZ fan even before the animation was introduce to North America.
i guess itll be good but- blah. i mean look at wat they did to speed racer i used to love speed racer- now they kiled it, im scared theyre going to f-up DBZ now so hopefully they DO NOT mess it up
as long as they dont kill it god please
wen i 1st heard about transformers i sayd it was going to suk and lok at wat happened- the fing movie was great and i loved it so i was wrong i hope the same thing happens with DBZ
it sure is going to be hard making all of those special effects (i sayd the same thing about transformers)
I too was a big DBZ fan back in the day and personally this is going to flop but who knows it might suprise us (though thats a Big Might).
This had better be a good movie. I know I’ll end up watching it, so I might as well get a good movie for it.
Time will tell.
James was great as Spike in Buffy and Angel, and it’s great to see him currently in ‘Without a Trace’. Always wondered why he didn’t break into movies. He did try out for Anakin (just because Lucas’ kids were fans). I have no interest in this movie because I have no idea what Dragonball Z is LOL.
I was a massive Z fan back in the day. I question this idea greatly. While I think the cast is soild, I fear how much of the Z world they will give us. I’m expecting over the top action and what not.
I’m guessing this film will follow the show when Goku faces Piccalo for the first time.
I hope the film does earn a lot of money because it would be a shame not seeing Super Syian, Vegeta etc on the big screen.
This project could go either way.
The reason why i think this could end up being surprise hit is because fox knows how to market action + superhero+ sfx movies very well regardless of the quality of the movie.
I do know that they are making some changes and fans already know about that so they are not hiding any dark secrets from the fans. I also know what characters will be omitted completely from this flick and so do other fans.
I will wait for the trailer.
To be honest it is hard to make it exactly like the cartoons but as long as the action is solid and it is entertaining, i will be happy. My expectations are extremely low though.