Evangelon Live-Action Primary Sketches

[SQ]

That Japanese webpage might actually have to do with the upcoming digitally restored and altered form of "Evangelion" coming out for it's 10th anniversary. I've heard it will have some serious CGI stuff (hopefully far superior to 'Pilot Candidate', and 'Zoids').

I really just hope the upcoming live-action version doesn't ditch the whole philosophical edge in hopes of not offending the frosted flakes (white Christians). The last thing I want is for those goddamn Christians to mock some good anime (if you can't tell already, I'm kind of prejudice against Christians).

Well, most of America is Christian.....

Hell, you can tell where this movie is going to end up just by the money Bruce Almighty is getting. I bet you if it were about Jews instead of Christians, it would have flopped.

[AtomicWeezleman]

Im hoping that they try to create a whole new storyline with new characters and plot. It would be kinda cool if based on Eva but not cool if its a copy of Eva. In all reality I could not see how they could make this a movie without doing this. The series is too long to scruntch into just one movie. Besides it couldn't really add to the storyline at all. Eva is one of those series that was open ended. I guess I would have to see it to really pass judgement but Im really skeptical about this whole transform animes into movie done by americans thing.

Hmm think of things like crying Freeman....... ughhhhhhh

[the Black Monarch]

Rumor has it that Tokyo 3 is gonna be changed to San Fransisco 3 (but the source is from a friend of Black Monarch )

No, it's worse than that. My friend got it from his friend, who got it from her sister, who got it froma guy she had sex with. So that leaves 4 people, not including myself, who could have pulled it out of their asses. Needless to say, I'm a bit skeptical of this info.

The following is a large chunk of an e-mailthat I sent to ADV.

The Evangelion fan community has some... concerns regarding this project, to put it lightly. As a self-appointed representative of both the Evangelion fan community and the American moviegoing public, I would like to address and discuss many of these issues with you. Given the high artistic and financial stakes involved in this project, and the large potential for the project to go horribly wrong, it is in your own best interests to read and respond to this message.

The first concern is that only a single movie is being planned. The first 24 episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion (the only ones that actually contribute anything to the development of the story and/or characters) and the End of Evangelion, put together, have a running time of over ten hours. The average running time of a movie is one and a half to two hours, and almost never more than three hours. There is absolutely no way that a single movie can be representative of Evangelion. If the entire story is compressed into a single movie, then it will be far too fast-paced, far too many important events would be overlooked, it would suck, no one would like it or watch it, and lots of money would be lost on a box-office failure. If only a small part of the story is told, then the pace would be better, but everything else (including the box office failure aspect) would still happen. If this project is to have any support among Evangelion fans OR the mainstream American public, then the whole story needs to be told. That means either a long saga of movies or a TV series or mini-series. These options carry not only less risk of sucking and losing money, but also the capacity to produce far more income than a single movie could. For example, the original theatrical release of Frank Herbert's DUNE was not popular enough to generate a sequel; however, the Sci-Fi Channel's DUNE mini-series has already spawned a mini-series based on the next two books in the DUNE saga, featuring the same cast. Another good example is the American-made live-action movie based in the Mobile Suit Gundam universe, which never made big bucks. Even Stargate is more popular right now as a TV show (well, two TV shows) than the movie. The lesson is clear: big stories do better financially and artistically when the proper amount of time is spent telling them.

The second concern is the fact that this is a live-action project. This is obviously not going to change, since the animated version has been done before. However, there are some complications in making a live-action movie like this. The biggest one is the budget. Evangelion is not currently popular enough among the general American public to warrant a very large budget for this project. And let's face it, a live-action Evangelion is a very budget-intensive thing to do. I am told that the special-effects studio enlisted for this project will be the same one that worked on the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Although they are virtually unmatched in what they do when given the kind of time and money that were allocated for LotR, what kind of work will they do on the budget that this project is likely to get? I can offer you no suggestions here except to spend your money very carefully without making everything look too fake. Another complication is that Anime characters look white, but the characters in Evangelion have Japanese names and the show takes place in Japan. This kind of thing is very hard to explain without making huge and unpleasant changes. My solution for this is explained in the next paragraph. A third potential (and small) complication is the casting. Three of the four main characters are 14 years old, and the people who play them should be 14 as well. There is a very good reason behind the ages of the characters, and it is not something to be messed with.

The third concern is that Americans are involved in this project, and it is being made for American audiences. This is probably what most of the worry is about, since it is the most likely factor to bring about the largest number of the most drastic changes. Fans of Anime, who are the demographic most likely towatch this movie, absolutely HATE the "Americanization" of things that come from Japan. They hate the "Americans save the world" attitude that many American productions (like Independence Day) take, and they especially hate when this is done to the anime that they watch. Mainstream American audiences, conversely, don't seem to mind movies that take place in other countries, as demonstrated by the success of the Harry Potter movies and the inexplicable popularity of dubbed Godzilla sequels. If you wish to avoid alienating your core audience, you must not "Americanize" the project. The setting must NOT be moved from Japan to the United States. The characters must NOT be given English names. At the same time, it's okay for white actors to play the roles, since the characters look white in the original series as well. The only solution that I can think of is to have a half-white, half-Asian cast. This would allow for proper casting without raising too many questions. And as an added benefit, mixed-race people generally tend to look good, too.

The fourth concern is whether or not the show's primary creator, Hideaki Anno, will be involved in the project. At the moment, this appears very unlikely, since he officially "retired" from Evangelion in order to work on other things. It is good to know that some of the original show's production team will be working on this project. You should be warned, however, that much of the original production team doesn't know what the hell they're talking about. Some of them only wrote two or three scripts; others just helped design the way the characters look. A very large portion of the team has not even seen all, or even most, of the finished episodes! Prior to the theatrical release of End of Evangelion, they came together without Anno and wrote what is now known as the "Red Cross Book." It was intended to be the official say-all, end-all, and be-all of everything in Evangelion that people were still confused about. Unfortunately, many of the entries are vague, saying something "appears" or "seems" to be. Worse, some of the entries have absolutely nothing to back them up, or even contradict the events that actually happened (or were scripted to happen but never animated)! If you're interested in "getting things right," you need someone on the project who is a true Evangelion expert; someone who has watched and rewatched the whole thing and has spent many hours analyzing minor details and putting them together logically in the hope of solving major mysteries, not just someone who blindly points to the Red Cross Book for answers. It would also help if this person knows both the show's strengths and its weaknesses, and knows how to make the most of those strengths and repair those weaknesses without making radical changes. An analysis of anime- and Evangelion-related internet forums will show that very few such people exist; most are at the opposite extremes of either not fully understanding (or often times grossly misunderstanding) Evangelion or thinking that the Red Cross Book explains everything. Hiring such a person, or even asking for one as a volunteer, would tremendously help the project without making a dent in the budget.

[MAS PRODUCTIONS]

Rumor has it that Tokyo 3 is gonna be changed to San Fransisco 3 (but the source is from a friend of Black Monarch )

No, it's worse than that. My friend got it from his friend, who got it from her sister, who got it froma guy she had sex with. So that leaves 4 people, not including myself, who could have pulled it out of their asses. Needless to say, I'm a bit skeptical of this info.

The following is a large chunk of an e-mailthat I sent to ADV.

The Evangelion fan community has some... concerns regarding this project, to put it lightly. As a self-appointed representative of both the Evangelion fan community and the American moviegoing public, I would like to address and discuss many of these issues with you. Given the high artistic and financial stakes involved in this project, and the large potential for the project to go horribly wrong, it is in your own best interests to read and respond to this message.

The first concern is that only a single movie is being planned. The first 24 episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion (the only ones that actually contribute anything to the development of the story and/or characters) and the End of Evangelion, put together, have a running time of over ten hours. The average running time of a movie is one and a half to two hours, and almost never more than three hours. There is absolutely no way that a single movie can be representative of Evangelion. If the entire story is compressed into a single movie, then it will be far too fast-paced, far too many important events would be overlooked, it would suck, no one would like it or watch it, and lots of money would be lost on a box-office failure. If only a small part of the story is told, then the pace would be better, but everything else (including the box office failure aspect) would still happen. If this project is to have any support among Evangelion fans OR the mainstream American public, then the whole story needs to be told. That means either a long saga of movies or a TV series or mini-series. These options carry not only less risk of sucking and losing money, but also the capacity to produce far more income than a single movie could. For example, the original theatrical release of Frank Herbert's DUNE was not popular enough to generate a sequel; however, the Sci-Fi Channel's DUNE mini-series has already spawned a mini-series based on the next two books in the DUNE saga, featuring the same cast. Another good example is the American-made live-action movie based in the Mobile Suit Gundam universe, which never made big bucks. Even Stargate is more popular right now as a TV show (well, two TV shows) than the movie. The lesson is clear: big stories do better financially and artistically when the proper amount of time is spent telling them.

The second concern is the fact that this is a live-action project. This is obviously not going to change, since the animated version has been done before. However, there are some complications in making a live-action movie like this. The biggest one is the budget. Evangelion is not currently popular enough among the general American public to warrant a very large budget for this project. And let's face it, a live-action Evangelion is a very budget-intensive thing to do. I am told that the special-effects studio enlisted for this project will be the same one that worked on the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Although they are virtually unmatched in what they do when given the kind of time and money that were allocated for LotR, what kind of work will they do on the budget that this project is likely to get? I can offer you no suggestions here except to spend your money very carefully without making everything look too fake. Another complication is that Anime characters look white, but the characters in Evangelion have Japanese names and the show takes place in Japan. This kind of thing is very hard to explain without making huge and unpleasant changes. My solution for this is explained in the next paragraph. A third potential (and small) complication is the casting. Three of the four main characters are 14 years old, and the people who play them should be 14 as well. There is a very good reason behind the ages of the characters, and it is not something to be messed with.

The third concern is that Americans are involved in this project, and it is being made for American audiences. This is probably what most of the worry is about, since it is the most likely factor to bring about the largest number of the most drastic changes. Fans of Anime, who are the demographic most likely towatch this movie, absolutely HATE the "Americanization" of things that come from Japan. They hate the "Americans save the world" attitude that many American productions (like Independence Day) take, and they especially hate when this is done to the anime that they watch. Mainstream American audiences, conversely, don't seem to mind movies that take place in other countries, as demonstrated by the success of the Harry Potter movies and the inexplicable popularity of dubbed Godzilla sequels. If you wish to avoid alienating your core audience, you must not "Americanize" the project. The setting must NOT be moved from Japan to the United States. The characters must NOT be given English names. At the same time, it's okay for white actors to play the roles, since the characters look white in the original series as well. The only solution that I can think of is to have a half-white, half-Asian cast. This would allow for proper casting without raising too many questions. And as an added benefit, mixed-race people generally tend to look good, too.

The fourth concern is whether or not the show's primary creator, Hideaki Anno, will be involved in the project. At the moment, this appears very unlikely, since he officially "retired" from Evangelion in order to work on other things. It is good to know that some of the original show's production team will be working on this project. You should be warned, however, that much of the original production team doesn't know what the hell they're talking about. Some of them only wrote two or three scripts; others just helped design the way the characters look. A very large portion of the team has not even seen all, or even most, of the finished episodes! Prior to the theatrical release of End of Evangelion, they came together without Anno and wrote what is now known as the "Red Cross Book." It was intended to be the official say-all, end-all, and be-all of everything in Evangelion that people were still confused about. Unfortunately, many of the entries are vague, saying something "appears" or "seems" to be. Worse, some of the entries have absolutely nothing to back them up, or even contradict the events that actually happened (or were scripted to happen but never animated)! If you're interested in "getting things right," you need someone on the project who is a true Evangelion expert; someone who has watched and rewatched the whole thing and has spent many hours analyzing minor details and putting them together logically in the hope of solving major mysteries, not just someone who blindly points to the Red Cross Book for answers. It would also help if this person knows both the show's strengths and its weaknesses, and knows how to make the most of those strengths and repair those weaknesses without making radical changes. An analysis of anime- and Evangelion-related internet forums will show that very few such people exist; most are at the opposite extremes of either not fully understanding (or often times grossly misunderstanding) Evangelion or thinking that the Red Cross Book explains everything. Hiring such a person, or even asking for one as a volunteer, would tremendously help the project without making a dent in the budget.

I completely agree with all the stamtents made in the email. This are all my concerns as well.

[MAS PRODUCTIONS]

Damn I really had problems typing that last comment. This is what I meant to say:

I completely agree with all the statments made in the email. These are all my concerns as well.

Atleast you somewhat understand what I might have been trying to say.

[B3]

If I may speak on the subject, does it really matter that ADV is making a live-action Eva? For all those Eva fanboys out there, who are spazzing out about this, why does it matter so? I mean its just a movie. And if it flops, or sucks, then it flops or sucks. Its not like ADV is breaking your arm to watch it. But I will agree that Anime-turned-LiveAction does suck. In my opinion on this movie is not needed. Eva should just be left as is. But still I find it funny all these Eva buffs are cryin' and whinin' like 3 year olds saying "NO!!! Don't do this to Eva!!! Eva is the 'greatest anime' of all time!"
Which is another matter that I would like to argu. Evangelion is, in my opinion not God's gift to the anime world. I cannot see why everyone loves the show so much. In essence its just another giant mech/monster of the day show. Not saying that that is a bad thing, but it is nothing new to the anime world. Now I know that everything I've said will probly have me get flamed out the ass, but this is just how I feel about Eva and the whole movie thing. I'm not forcing my beliefs on anyone, I'm just stating my opinions. In fact, I'm not saying that Eva sucks, I like Eva, I even own it. But I don't think that it is the greatest of all time. No anime yet has had me say that. But thats just me, like I said before... Anywho, flame me if you wish...

[MAS PRODUCTIONS]

I also dont think that eva is the greatest anime but I have say that I am really starting to get annoyed at Americans trying to make other countries things their own. It really pisses me off. I dont care what anime they try to do this to, I would be pissed no matter what. Its a stupid concept for americans to AMERICANIZE anime.

[Otohiko]

Plus, remember - to the mainstream public, a bad movie based on anime will make anime look bad (again). In any case, having an anime series grossly misrepresented in a movie is just wrong. So, if they're gonna do it, they better do it right. Thus, I'd gladly sign on to that letter.

[Daio Kaji]

Plus, remember - to the mainstream public, a bad movie based on anime will make anime look bad (again). In any case, having an anime series grossly misrepresented in a movie is just wrong. So, if they're gonna do it, they better do it right. Thus, I'd gladly sign on to that letter.

exactly
btw B3, i would like to flame u, but flaming gets old, plus a forum is not for flaming, that's what pming (personal messaging) is for
j/k, but i do agree that eva is not the best anime in the world, but in my world, simpsons rule!! 8)
and i better say it before i explode, in essense, eva is not a mech/monster, that's the exact opposite, that's the literal view, in essense it is about self-acceptance, i won't say any more, because it might turn into a flame

(bak to topic)
i too am worried about this movie, but i get worried about every movie that comes out about whether it will suk donkey or not, but i usually do the most worrying when they start doing sequels [thinks about "Scream" movies and shivers] most of the worst american movies, are just that, american. i'm sure there are a bunch of anime turned american movies out there (for example the gundam live-action which i did not know about) and i haven't seen a lot of them, but from all the talk, i'm sure they're pretty bad

i usually try to keep my mouth shut until i actually see the movie or at least the trailer, but i guess that's because i never used to have a forum to go to

the e-mail that the black monarch sent seems to address the biggest problems, did they respond to you yet?

[pyro_256]

what exactly is a live action movie?