Warner Bros has turned to Director Jaume Collett-Serra to direct the anime live action adaptation Akira. Previously, the relationship estranged between the movie giant and directors Ruairi Robinson and Albert Hughes due to creative differences, causing WB to search for a new face to bring this anime cult classic to the big screen.
Spanish director Serra experienced surprising success with two previous Warner Bros movies, Orphan and Unknown. Variety's Jeff Sneider reports on the exclusive:
WB acquired the project for a seven-figure sum from Japanese manga publisher Kodansha in 2008. Ruairi Robinson and Albert Hughes were previously attached to direct the adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo's graphic novel, with Hughes exiting the project amicably in May as a result of "creative differences."
Serra's reputation for adhering to deadlines and budgets, plus his previous successes, had undoubtedly resulted in these early negotiations to direct Akira. In addition to Serra targetted for directing the film, Steve Kloves, writer of the Harry Potter movies, has already written the most recent draft adaptation of the graphic novel. An insider has revealed to Variety, WB is re-invisioning Akira to be a $90m tentpole film.
Akira's original story takes place in the post-war, futuristic community of Neo Tokyo in the year 2019. When a member of a biker gang, Tetsuo, is exposed to radiation that gives him special telekenetic powers, everyone pursues him. The movie is held in high regard as the landmark in Japanese Anime filmmaking. With WB's re-imagining of the story, it is expected several changes will be made, such as Manhattan will replace Neo-Tokyo.
"This story is a cult classic. I've seen [the original movie] and read the graphic novel. They may change the manga, but it is still Akira", says Phoenix resident,comic book and graphic novel fan Randy Andre. "I, for one, am looking forward to seeing this in the theatre."
Producing the film is Leonardi DiCaprio (Appian's Way), Jennifer Davisson Killoran (also Appian's Way), and Andrew Lazar (Mad Chance). Executive Producer is Katsuhiro Otomo, who wrote and directed the popular 1988 Japanese anime movie Akira.
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