I am awaiting the nerdrage that will follow this story, but I don’t think its nearly as bad as some will suggest.
WB wants the Albert Hughes directed live action adaptation of the cult classic animated masterpiece Akira to be PG-13.
Yes, we are most likely getting a PG-13 adaptation of Akira. My reaction and everyone else’s will be a bit similar to Albert Hughes‘s response when asked about it possibly being rated-R.”You would think,” said the director, who (along with his brother) became attached to the project earlier this year. If you’ve read the series or seen the excellent 1988 anime then you know this isn’t material you’d associate with teens. It’s very hard-R. Warner Brothers, on-the-other-hand, apparently thinks it has to be PG-13.
Now I know this will be unpopular, but I say this as a die hard fan of the original.
IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE RATED R!
Yeah they name drop The Dark Knight as the example of pushing the PG-13 rating, but honestly do you really expect them to adapt this cult classic with a limited built in audience, and then further limit the audience?? Of course the studio is going to want to make it PG-13.
But aside from the financial concern, there is no real reason to make Akira R anyways. What? Swearing? Easily subverted. Violence? The biker gang violence is the most graphic in the film, and that is easily done without having to do a slow-mo face crushing scene. The rest is just amazing visuals candy coating a deep intriguing storyline. There is a lot of violence and language you can offer in PG-13 and still be pretty gritty. And there was no sex in Akira. Just sayin.
So exhale. This isn’t shocking news. Studios want their films to have broader appeal so they can put asses in the seats. It doesn’t mean it will be ruined or that they are going to adapt this into some weak mess not deserving of the story. A bad adaptation can come from it being R too. Remember that.
What is encouraging as that when asked about adapting Akira, Albert Hughes is looking forward to the challenge. Hughes admits that he is going to have to simplify the script and while that sounds bad, Akira is a pretty heady story and will likely need some adapting to keep the attention span of the North American audience. However he is just not into sequels, so while they planned more than one Akira, Hughes may not be involved.
So I don’t think its the end of the world that its likely going to be PG-13. Something like Akira doesn’t need excessive graphic violence to maintain its story, the flashy action and the feel of the original.
I am just holding out hope that the adaptation doesn’t go too Hollywood and lose the spirit of the source material. That’s what I am waiting to see.
While I initially thought “No you can’t do that to Akira!” your arguments make sense. Especially when you look at Watchmen (and I loved both the graphic novel and the film, though box-office results proved that to be a failure). I think Akira CAN be done PG-13…but I really don’t want to see it done at all. I love the anime, haven’t read the manga. I’m just thinking about the recently awful anime to live-action Dragonball movie…but they really just set that one up for failure. I hope this one is handled much better.
this movie will not happen
I have no reason to think it wont. Are you just hoping it doesn’t?
Really my main concern is how they are going to tackle all six volumes into two films. I can see three films working with two volumes each, but I guess it all depends on their adaptation and how well it will be recevied by general audiences and fans. I’m not too concerned about them going for an PG-13 rating and losing the edge and gritiness of the manga and animes. Hell Die Hard 4 was PG-13 and it rocked with plenty of violence and language that was satisfying. But who knows how it will turn out.
I think it is obvious Rodney has not read the original Akira comics. PG-13 is doable but will be impossible to keep the same feel of the manga in doing so. The story involved abundant use of drugs and it did have parts of a sexual nature including rape. There was far worse than the biker fights in both the book and the ’88 film, including people being instantaneously crushed to a bloody goop and police/military brutality.
Again, it can be done with a pg-13 rating but it will be very hard to pull off and please the audience that will want to see it. I wonder if this has anything to do with Watchmen being ‘R’?
Read all six of them. And yes they are lengthy.
But no, there is nothing in them that cannot be adapted to a PG13 rating if handled right.
And yes, I believe it does have something to do with other niche market films further reducing their audience with a restricted rating – Like Watchmen.
This is very sad. For any action film or drama, a PG-13 is a limitation. Certain concepts cannot be discussed or portrayed. Certain realities of violence or sex cannot be explored. This is disheartening news.
Id like to know exactly what about this NEEDS to be a Rated R?
I can appreciate that you might perfer it to be R, but you haven’t said anything that this would be “limited” by if it was a PG13.
So they can’t show in graphic slow motion detail the refrigerator gently pushing through his nostril. How does that take away from the film?
Do you deny that a PG-13 can delve into adult concepts like an R rated movie can? Do you think the scene where the biker punks brutally beat Kaori and degrade her by ripping off her shirt, exposing her breasts, fully intending to rape her, only to be saved by Tetsuo, who then nightmarishly hallucinates his own guts falling out – do you really think that a PG-13 rated film could really explore the trauma of this scene? Do you honestly believe it could be near as powerful?
Yes I do.
As ANY film student will tell you, the power of what you DONT see is often far more impacting than shoving it up your nose.
There is no reason this film MUST deliver such graphic imagery. As long as it translates well, there is no reason they cannot use other methods to deliver the same message.
Rodney,
Of course what you don’t see can be just as powerful as what you do – if not more so. But if you think that a PG-13 rated Akira could even APPROACH these concepts – in modern day American Hollywood no less? – I’m sorry, but you’re in some pretty serious denial.
Sorry jeff, you are basing your argument on what you haven’t seen them try to do.
Should they fail to gain the same impact, that would be your opinion, but you cant claim its impossible to do before they have even done it.
You are assuming.
Come on Rodney, it’s not like I’m assuming with no prior knowledge of what PG-13 means. You’re hard-lining you’re argument, buddy.
PG-13 – according to the MPAA, means: parents are strongly cautioned to give special guidance for attendance of children under 13 – Some material may be inappropriate for young children. I’ve seen hundreds of PG-13 rated films. I know there are certain issues they simply cannot touch without receiving an R rating. The movie Spawn got itself an R for having a “dark atmosphere”. They had to evicerate that film to get it PG-13-a-fied.
Yes, I’m assuming, but not without good reason. Much of what I like about Akira is, frankly, restricted material. You honestly believe they’re going to touch sexual violence against women in a PG-13 Hollywood blockbuster? Are you nuts? I bet you my life savings they skip it.
i thought the same thing after reading the title, i dont see why it needs to be rated R
Akira doesn’t need a live adaptation. I hope it’s not the same guys that messed up Dragon Ball.
Fuck this! I want this to be the hard “R” Sci-Fi thriller adapted from the original Manga. If they are not going to stay faithful to the source material they can go fuck themselves. This isn’t Dragonball! The Matrix was rated R and that did great bank! Blade Runner is considered AKIRA’s American companion and that is rated R.. Hello?? This is just bullshit!
I can see it now, Tetsuo blows people up with his mind, but in a PG-13 manner.
I think the problem people have with it being PG-13 and not R stems more from their idea of what AKIRA is based upon what we’ve already been given. If this is a literal translation to live action, then they should go for a hard R. But if this is just an adaptation where they’re borrowing here and rearranging there, then it certainly could work as PG13.
It all depends on what the director does with it.
Are they going to adapt the anime movie or the manga? The Akira manga has 6 volume and each volume is 360 pages long. I don’t mind if it’s a pg-13 movie. I just want quality.
I believe they are adapting the Manga as they have already said it will deal with the broader story than just what was found in the classic animated feature.
They planning at least two films.
Yep, it’s the manga. It’s supposed to got like this: The first film will be the first three volumes and the second will be the final three. I wouldn’t count on them making a quality film out of a manga, because there has yet to one come close.
I official give up ANY hope i had regarding this project.
It took you this long? I gave up all hope a while ago.
To be honest, I don’t think Akira is adaptable at all. Other than visually, I consider the 1988 anime a failure in comparison to the manga.
I gave up hope back when it was first announced. Hollywood’s has made a mockery out of it’s adaptations of manga, and I suspect this will be the same. I can only imagine the horror that would come if they actually went somewhere with their live-action NGE film.