Ok, this is GOOD news! A couple of years ago I saw an AMAZING Asian film called “Battle Royale“. It is one of the most violent and brutal things I’ve ever seen, but the brilliance of the film is not in it’s brutality… if all you see is the violence in this film then you’re not paying attention. This film is character driven and obscenely engaging!
Basically, a class of students are taken to an isolated Island to fight to the death until only one remains. But there is a time limit, and if there is more than one surviving student by the time limit, the collars around their necks explode Killing everyone. Kill or be killed.
The good folks over at Filmjunk give us this:
It now looks like there is an American remake of this movie taking shape… what I want to know is, what the heck took so long?? It’s still in the early stages, so there’s no writer or director on board yet, but New Line have announced that Neal Moritz and Roy Lee will be producing. Lee is a logical choice (he’s produced tons of Japanese remakes including The Ring, The Grudge, Dark Water and Oldboy).
Personally I totally welcome this news. I think (if done right) a remake of this classic will expose a whole new audience to a masterpiece that otherwise would never have seen it. I give this news a big thumbs up.
Now, the question on if it will be done RIGHT is a whole other issue. Let’s hope they do. New Line doesn’t seem to be an inept as some other studios out there… so there is hope. Personally… I’m THRILLED at this news.
This is horrible. I remember reading the book a few years back and seeing the movie. The book was great and the movie did it no justice.
What I’ve so far is that they’re going to be prison inmates and they’re just going to kill each other randomly while ignoring the plot.
Hmm, sounds like 300.
I guess there’s one good thing coming out of this and that’s media for the original movie, though the original will never be released to the US because of the age requirements for the movie, though the movie isn’t that great anyway.
I do agree that this film will probably be toned down a lot and will be no way near as good as the original, but I don’t think it matters all that much. If the remake sucks, don’t watch it.
The original is still amazing whether they make a rubbish remake.
Are you all kidding me?!!! The idea of a movie for battle royale sounds awesome! I mean, hello?!! It sounds like another Saw Moviee, another Host movie!!! Another masterpeice!!!
You all need to give credit.
Anyways, All I’m doing is alread counting the days for them to announce the actors playing what role!!
YIPEEEEEEE
They will market the movie as a horror film. Like the upcoming film Vacant.
1. It’s the only way they can partially sidestep the torrent of convtroversy (and there will be controversy)
2. It’s a popular film genre (japanesses horror). Just look at Dark Water, The Ring, The Grudge ect.
I am also guessing that the cast will be slightly older, 12th graders (as opposed to 9th graders in the original film) or collage students.
I agree with SDB. The American remake might be good too. It all depends on who does it, the script itself will be the most important part. In my opinion, I believe we should make the movie as a kind of “tribute” to the original. My ideas are that it takes place even further in the future after the time in the novel/movie…. say around….. 2010’s or 2020’s???? And that all of the world is breaking down just as Japan was in 2000. America, the strong-hold governmental and completely “amazing” country, is also being destroyed, and we can’t let that happen can we!? So the government researches the BR Act and decides to Americanize it and make it a new law, to stop the youth (whom they fear the most, for the youth is the future) from spiraling out of control. They pick a random school, impartial lottery :), a random class, and then 42 students at random…. 21 g, 21 b. The story will of course run way deeper than that in the sense of the govt., and will convey all of the student’s emotions and friendships/love lives/ and all that good stuff. I believe we could do this right if we actually put thought into it, instead of using all of our time on figuring out ways to soften it up, or make it appropriate for American audiences. In fact, me and my friend Trace, are very obsessed with BR and are making a comic series featuring that idea. (and all of the students are from our school, with their permission of course!!!) So I dont think we should have a “remake”. That would be IMPOSSIBLE!!! We should have a “tribute”. It is the best we can do, and to get American audiences interested in the original movie/novel as well!! Well, thats my idea!!!
Just for the record, there is no ban on the movie here in the US. They can’t ban it. It’s goes against the First Amendment (freedom of the press). Here’s the real reason:
“It failed to find the necessary distributor, failed to meet Toei’s conditions for sale and also the MPAA general standards. The nature of the film – not the violent aspect, but the fact that the main characters are so young – also created much controversy and slowed down any possibility of a US release.”
Do some research next time before saying that it’s banned.
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Also, I guarantee you, a lot of you are Americans as well. You’re calling Americans stupid. Good job. Just called yourself stupid. No matter. Why don’t you all get your heads out of your asses and stop complaining? The movie is in production, it’s going to be here. You can whine and complain all you want, but it’s still going to be made. Accept it as is. All you can do is place your faith in the writing, directing, and castings (granted, I wouldn’t mind them putting in a crappy actor who no one likes and having him/her getting killed. It’d make my day.). Is that too hard for you? So they screw up. So they did. The only killed the remake, not the original. You can’t kill the original. Only the original can kill itself.
Don’t knock it before watching. For all you know, this remake will turn out good. Not saying it will, but it could. Such an argument was over Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie; it wasn’t even a remake of the Gene Wilder version. Charlie was based off the book, yet it was treated as a remake. People kept making all of these nasty retorts about the movie way before it was even released, saying it’d never live up to the Wilder version. And in all honestly, Charlie was a very good movie. Just proving, don’t judge a book by it’s cover.
Oh, and you try coming up with an original idea that will do well. A lot of movies today you can *almost* link back to some movie with some types of similarity.
oh p.s. i sadly ¬,¬ HEARD that one of the actors (ill us turm VERY!! losely) is *shigh* Britny spears
im not sure just wat i heard, im gonna go a cry now
*Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaa*
ok i am a TOTAL and utter Jap geek and proud, and i love Battle royale i got movie and grapic novals wich both ROCK and now the Americans twats who love to distroy all CLASSIC movies are gonna ruin it just like(here comes list) the ring trilogy, the gruge, dark water, not to manshion all comic to movies eg x-man, ghost rider, marix and HELL BOY so now theres a total and mager lack of ideas or wat for thes idots to remake everything now? has hollywood ran out of origanal thought and idears aswell.
Basicly i NOT paying good money to see this film im SO boycotting
and im with sarathiZZle it will b a dissappointment no doubt
no fuckin way dude. They r gonna destroy this movie. Dont get me wrong, i loved in california all my life and i love american films. But there is no american director that can even come close to makin this movie as food was its original asain version.
im already preparing myself for major dissappointment
Is there anyone besides methat read the novel, then watched the movie and thought it was complete and utter disgrace? The movie, to me, seemed like it was written by someone who simply skimmed through the novel…they changed everything, including the plotline, the reason the BR program was enacted, and even the ending(!!!). I’m expecting the remake to at least be true to the novel seeing as they can’t possibly change it more than the original film did.
Does anyone agree with this or am I crazy?
I think it would be dumb to remake it, it’s no point to it. They’ll probably fuck it up! I hope they have some new actors to play these roles or someone who was in the original film. Seriously, do you see Lindsay Lohan or Frankie Muniz in this film? No no no no no, But it is true that it’ll be released in America. But I’ll watch it to see if I’m proved wrong or right. I just think they should create something as good as the original or not at all. Who knows in America they’ll probably put sex scenes that are not really called for. Or make it less violent.
This is sad as hell. Why can’t Hollywood come up with a decent idea on their own? I loved this movie, and many other asian movies, and so many of them are being remade. And the saddest part is that most americans won’t have a clue where the movies originated, therefor the creators get no appreciation. This is pathetic, I’m not gonna see this garbage.
OMFG, I CAN’T BELIEVE THEIR GOING TO MAKE AN AMERICAN REMAKE FOR BATTLE ROYALE….it’ll probably suck…but i’m gonna hope it won’t!! btw, “oldboy” is korean remake not japanese, it’s also crazy movie!!! =D
I was finally able to read the book last summer and I immidiately fell in love with it. So far, I have yet to see the original (grrr), but I’m hoping to get hold of a copy soon. That being said, I can’t say anything about the remake other than two things: 1) If there’s any indication in what I’ve heard about the original and read in the book, the remake will no doubt be made “softer” here in America. There’s no way the “violence against children” thing will make a good impression here. 2) Even if it is a dumbed down version of the original (which I hope to see by the time the new one is released here), I’d still like to take a look at it. I’d like to compare the two and see how they’ve treated the film. As many mentioned before, I am slightly apprehensive, but we’ll just see what happens.
thats stupid the americans cant make there own films they have to take other peoples films like the english’s war of the worlds and multiple japanese films. why cant they just make there own films. btw im not haveing a go at the americans i think there great but they just annoy me when they remake films that are all ready good to start with.
i think that with movies like saw out they might be able to get it done almost right and get a huge fan boost with a americans who havent already saw the movies or books i have the set with br1 and 2 and extras there arnt anymore in my WHOLE STATE -LAUGHS- BUT I SCARED THAT THEY WILL TURN AWAY FROM IT MAKING IT LOSE ALOT OF ITS FANBASS IN THE STATES AND GAINING A BUNCH OR RETARDS WHO WILL FORGET ABOUT IT IN A WEEK I THINK THEY SHUOLD JUST MAKE BIGGER NEWS ABOUT THE ORIGINAL AND GET IT IN THE MOVIES NOT REMAKE IT IF U DONT WANT TO READ THE BOOK OR WATCH THE MOVIE IN SUBTITLES THE MOVIES TO DEEP FOR THEM TO GET IM SCARED THIS WILL SCAR them for life if they fuck it up
lol Carl.
Want something even better? Put Doug in it and give him a broadsword-MAKING scene.
Bitchin’.
This is HORRIBLE HORRIBLE news. A remake of this done right? Sure, when pigs will fly and hell will freeze over. They will butcher it.
put doug in it and give him a broadsword.
Ok I have been singing the praises of most Asian Cinema for a while now (except for you Ichi). I wish to God they were not remaking this but they are and there is nothing we can do except not see it. The book was TREMENDOUS. John, if you have not read the book, I promise to send you a copy. The book goes even DEEPER into the characters and goes much further to explain the amalgamated Asian union of countries. It explores all (well mostly all) the nooks and crannies of political unrest taht cause the government to start the Battle Royal program. The thing is, in the book, these kids were in Grade 7. THAT is something even Kenji Fukasaku didn’t approach, making the kids closer to the 16-17 range.
Sadly, Kenji Fukasaku is no longer with us, he died before BR2 was finished, and his son took it over, which really didn’t work. Bigger, Louder, Bloodier? Yes. Better? No.
Going from Asian film to American movie they probably wont even keep the wishful thinking of the poor teacher in there.
As much as I might hate the movie when it comes out, I will still be interested in what they will do to it.
How is this a good news? The film was already perfect and there’s no need for remake.
You know , for me personally, the real appeal of the original is that it was a japanese film. I love Asian cinema. The favorite scene in BR was the over-the-top tokyopop raver-girl explaning the rules of the game to the kids, there is NO American equivalent. And Kitano!
PG-13!! This will suck .
Or we could just release the original in the States and leave it the fuck alone.
fap fap fap fap fap fap fap fap fap fap fap fap fap fap *whew*
I can’t wait.
*cough* gonna be awful *cough* gonna be fucking awful *cough* there is another sky…walk…oh, god this is going to be awfullllllll
… but its already been done right with the Japanese movie, there‚Äôs nothing new to add, so the only thing this will be is watered down cash in on the brand name.
Themarina, you have to see it!
The original is crazy good, just as John said. It’s one of those films where you can’t believe what you’re seeing. Brutal, gripping and ultimately a guilty pleasure as you wait to see how the death toll rises.
I’ll send you my copy. lol
I see absolutely NO POINT in making another version of this film. What else is there to achieve from a remake of the same story?
I can just see it now…STIFFLER from American Pie in BATTLE ROYALE with CHEESE!
No thanks, I’ll stick with the classic that is the Original.
I have MAJOR concerns about this. Hollywood remakes of Asian films have been mediocre at best and I’d hate to see another good movie be butchered. I’m adding the original to the list of movies to watch. Can’t see them all!
Oh bloody hell.
Another American remake of an excellent Japanese film. Lets not fool ourselves here – it’ll be crap and no doubt filled with dumb teen stereotypes. It will also replace the Japanese bleakness with an American gloss. I’m a fan of the US Ring, but I still think the original is a way better film in the sense of creating an unbearable feeling of dread.
Any sense of identity Battle Royale had will be lost. It is a perfect example of the new wave of great movies coming from Japan and to constantly re-release the titles under US studios because Hollywood is noticing the audience has started shifting from their shores is simply irritating.
For a start the insane Anime based instructional vid will no doubt be ommited. Son of a bitch . . .
Generally speaking, I hate remakes. The Wicker Man, The Wild Bunch, Oldboy and now Battle Royale… is nothing fucking sacred!?
I am incredibly pessimistic about this – for one thing, there’s no way the American censor will allow anything close to the level of violence directed at schoolchildren that made the original so controversial and powerful, so you can be sure it’s going to be pretty severely toned down and lose a lot of its impact.
Why don’t they just direct all that effort into publicising and re-releasing the original movie in the first place? If people are put off by its ‚Äòforeignness‚Äô then it‚Äôs their loss‚Ķ
The good news is it’ll finally get a DVD release. The bad news is that in post 9/11 and Columbine America, they’ll tone it way down to make the conservatives less pissed off.
Oh and does anyone think they will release BR2 in America? (titter titter…)
To those who do not get this reference, kindly watch the opening scenes of BR2, and while yo are at it just read the damn novel, it’s a true masterpiece in every sense of the word.
It will end up being a watered down version of the movie and will end up sucking. I was dreading the upcoming release of Old Boy and now this.
Why can’t they just release the original here? Of course I know why because in general the North American audience has to have everything dumbed down for it or else it won’t be a success. Bah I hate it.
No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no
(catches breath)
No no no no no no no no no no!!!
The film was one of those rare treats, transending it’s own faults to become an engrossing and captivating exploration of the violent theme of the original novel. The “Lord of the Flies” motif works well in Japan, where the youth versus adult tension is much higher than it is here in America.
That and there is no way. NO WAY, that an American company will allow the level of carnage this film needs, and still claim that this is a bunch of 13-14 year olds being massacered.
I’m putting this on on my “Really Bad Idea” list, along with the remakes of Oldboy, and A Tale of Two Sisters, and the casting of Nic Cage as Ghost Rider…
Hey, at least this means there’ll probably be an American DVD release of the original.. Finally.
Yeah, aintitcool said that it’s gonna be PG-13. Booo!!!!! The only reason I know of this flick is because the girl who played Gogo in Kill Bill was in it, and I love Gogo. American remakes of Asian cinema are ALWAYS weaker than the original. Hell, even Godzilla sucked when we got our hands on him. Enough is enough.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
*breathes*
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
That movie is going to get murdered! The movie was fantastic because it exploited the kiddie-orientated Japan and Takeshi Kitano! It will be IMPOSSIBLE to remake this! This movie was a lovechild of Lord of the Flies.
Oh my God, I rue the day someone thought this movie could be remade…
-This movie is going to be lame. A Hollywood studio will never make a violent movie like the original. amd they will probably make it PG-13.
I would like to think it will give more exposure to the original but in most cases Americans will either have no clue it’s a remake or think the remake is better.
The film already has one strike against it, though
And this mighty strike’s name is Neal Moritz: http://imdb.com/name/nm0605775/