Keanu Reeves as Spike Spiegel in 2011 Cowboy Bebop Movie

[ExtraSensory]

Sorry if this is old news. But according to MTV News and IMDB, Keanu Reeves will be playing Spike Spiegel in the 2011 live action Cowboy Bebop film.

Dear Hollywood: DO NOT WANT.

original news article:
http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2008/12/17/ke ... bop-movie/

[masamune]

'tis muchos old.
also, who would you want to play him? no one. exactly. who cares. don't watch it. there's already a movie and it's great.

[ExtraSensory]

Exactly. I don't see why they can't leave great things like Oldboy and Cowboy Bebop how they were without americanizing them and destroying the plot.

Garrrrrrr.

[masamune]

Exactly. I don't see why they can't leave great things like Oldboy and Cowboy Bebop how they were without americanizing them and destroying the plot.

Garrrrrrr.

money. i second your garrrrrr.

[Re'ozul]

I have great trouble even imagining Mr. expressionless as Spike.

[ExtraSensory]

I dunno. I agree that Keanu will mess it up bad.
But for the most part, Spike was kind of expressionless anyway.
Unless you count "relaxed" as an expression.

[Re'ozul]

I agree, but its a difference in expressionlessness (huh?).

Both exude a sense of danger.

Keanu has more a sense of "I have no clue whats going on but I might kill you" danger, or a "cold danger".

Spike is more "Tell me what I want and you live."


Keanu is capable of being either clueless, unsure of his own function or psychotic.

Spike is more likely the equivalent of a hired killer. He know what he wants or has to do and violence is simply a necessary part of that.

[Lyinginbedmon]

Is Hollywood trying to get themselves slaughtered?

First they set the precedent of bad US translations of awesome Japanese/Chinese/Korean movies (Ju On, Ringu, aka The Grudge and The Ring)

Then they seem to almost insist on using poor translations and worse voice actors for shipped-over anime ("Dattebayo!" to "Believe it!").

And now they're trashing our anime movie classics. Speed Racer was as awful as I imagined it to be, now we've got live-action Akira, live-action Ghost in the Shell, and live-action Cowboy Bebop.

This coming decade will be A DECADE OF FILM-MAKER BLOOD!

On topic the only person that could really play Spike well would be Steven Blum.

[masamune]

And now they're trashing our anime movie classics. Speed Racer was as awful as I imagined it to be, now we've got live-action Akira, live-action Ghost in the Shell, and live-action Cowboy Bebop.

the worst part about this is cowboy bebop has a serious magic. while i hate the idea of live-action anime, this is a blatant crime. i watch the entire box set+movie around 3-4 times a year, and even hearing some of the soundtracks gets me a bit teary. have you ever seen the dub? that's exactly what this movie will be like: chop socky bullshit without any of the emotion. magic GONE. cowboy bebop is the only new anime that FEELS like old anime, and that is a sacred thing in our world of yu-gi-oh and death note.

this movie does not, and will not ever exist in my mind. ever.

[Lyinginbedmon]

I disagree on the thrashing of the english-language dub, but I absolutely agree on the live-action movie.

[Yukikaze]

Hollywood still exists purely on momentum, and even if the entire world stops watching movies at once, they still have enough cash on hand to churn out 2 or 3 more years of garbage before they feel the pinch.

Not that they'll admit it, mind you.

As for Keanu Reeves as Spike, I'll decide what I think when I see it. I think Keanu's poor acting ability of late is more due to bad directors than a bad actor. His two big hits were Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and The Matrix, and both times, he basically played a confused stoner, so since then, he gets cast as a confused stoner and told to play a confused stoner. Personally, I think Keanu was the best part of Speed(and my whole family was upset to discover that it was Sandra Bullock and not Keanu Reeves who was brought back for Speed 2), and what I saw of Constantine was pretty good.(especially since I've never read the comic to compare it to.)

Personally, I'll probably watch Cowboy Bebop, and I have a few friends who probably will, too. It can't possibly be worse than Dragonball.(admittedly, that's not saying much.)

[King Kool]

http://strikenoir.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/bebop.jpg

Not the one I was looking for. One of them had Stephen Dorff, Cameron Diaz (who might do a good job) and Clancy Brown (and listed Tim Roth as Vicious and Elizabeth Shue as Julia). I think it might be on my hard drive upstairs.

[Evil Jim]

That reminds me. I still need to watch the Cowboy Bebop movie!

[Matt]

For the record, I believe it is Keanu Reeves himself that is spearheading the production of the film - and the planned plot is a feature length version of the first episode of the series.

Apparently he's a big fan, and while i'm luke-warm on having him play spike, I'm actually pretty optimistic about the film as a whole. Their head is in the right place. They even spoke in an interview I read about getting the aesthetic right for the series, because it wouldn't work if it didn't look exactly right.

-m

[AeroCmdr]

For the record, I believe it is Keanu Reeves himself that is spearheading the production of the film - and the planned plot is a feature length version of the first episode of the series.

Apparently he's a big fan, and while i'm luke-warm on having him play spike, I'm actually pretty optimistic about the film as a whole. Their head is in the right place. They even spoke in an interview I read about getting the aesthetic right for the series, because it wouldn't work if it didn't look exactly right.

-m

That does make me feel a little bit better about this.

Although if they do mess it up bad things are going to happen.

[AlexanderDitto]

I think, if he grew his hair out, he'd kind of look like him, so I'm OK with it. As far as getting the character right... meh, I don't know.

No, Keanu Reeves is not Mr. Expressionless. Nicholas Cage is Mr. Expressionless. Terrifying.

If they mess it up, it will still gross a decent amount. It's not like it's going to bomb, every weeaboo nerd youth is going to go see the thing whether it's good or not.

It should already be abundantly clear, Re: Twilight, that the youth these days has no taste.

[Matt]

I think, if he grew his hair out, he'd kind of look like him, so I'm OK with it. As far as getting the character right... meh, I don't know.

No, Keanu Reeves is not Mr. Expressionless. Nicholas Cage is Mr. Expressionless. Terrifying.

If they mess it up, it will still gross a decent amount. It's not like it's going to bomb, every weeaboo nerd youth is going to go see the thing whether it's good or not.

It should already be abundantly clear, Re: Twilight, that the youth these days has no taste.

lol, I haven't heard weeaboo used in a while.

-m

[Society]

I wonder if the Japanese view our remakes of their classics the same way we view their remakes of ours.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGxde2a2_iQ

[Brad]

Who can blame him. Hell, I want to play Spike.

[King Kool]

Who can blame him. Hell, I want to play Spike.

That video would be WIN.

[Jillers]

Reeves revealed that this outline for the flick is currently focusing on the origins of the fictional “Bebop” drug developed by the military, which provides its users with a brief surge of superhuman reflexes and awareness. “We’re taking the Red Eye [story], the beginning part of the series,” he explained, “and then we’ll deal with the end of the series. We’re trying to figure out [the time frame]. We’re looking at the story right now.”
Since the beloved 26-episode show (as well as the feature film) didn’t necessarily maintain a linear style of storytelling, Reeves said that somewhere between the Red Eye origins and the “Bebop” conclusion, they’ll be picking out various highlights for their own use.

I always considered Firefly to be a kind of live action version of Cowboy Bebop, personally.

I don't truthfully know how I feel about this. I think I'll reserve my judgment until I find out who is writing and directing it.

the article

[JesterJ.]

It should already be abundantly clear, Re: Twilight, that the tweens these days have no taste.

I need to make that clear. I could be considered "Youth", but no one in my age range would like Twilight. Youth =/= Edward-loving tasteless tweens.

[Yukikaze]

http://strikenoir.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/bebop.jpg

I take it back.

[masamune]

i think you guys are missing the point here. no matter who writes/directs/acts the thing, it won't be bebop. bebop exists in a world that can only be achieved by a certain group of artists and writers. they specifically said they didn't want to make another movie or series because it would lose that special something.
all i say to this movie is: "... bang."

[Yukikaze]

I seem to remember on Wikipedia that Watanabe said "Expect more bebop in 2009" or something very much like that.(Don't remember the exact year.) Also, remember that there are not one, but two manga series, at least one of which, I believe, is still running.

And then there was Episode XX which ends with "This is not the end, you will see the true 'Cowboy Bebop' someday."