James Cameron + anime = ???

Seriously? James Cameron at helm wouldn't be such a bad thing.

I'm a bit skeptical about most anime/manga that gets Americanized after SONG OF SAYA (Ugh.) and the notable flops list on the bottom link, though. Almost every western adaptation of an anime or manga to this date has been at helm by someone who honestly give two damns to see the project succeed and do truly well, with the sole exception of Speed Racer. Speed Racer didn't really fit the bill with the critics nor a mainstream audience, but I heard that it really wasn't so terrible from people who were hoping to see a good adaptation of Speed Racer than look at it as a stand-alone work. And even with a director who does care, exactly how does the director take the idiosyncrasies of anime and manga found in things like character design, environments, and faces to a realistic approach?

I just hope he did a good job with this. I've only been familiar with Battle Angel Alita in name, but seeing this movie and what Ken and Throes have had to say on the series, it looks like it's at least worth picking up. So far at chapter 5, it's pretty decent.

Bleach (2012)
Warner Bros. is bringing the massively popular Bleach series to live action. Might be difficult, with the art style and protective fan base.
Production: Callahan Filmworks
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Producers: Michael Ewing and Peter Segal

My initial reaction:


After re-reading it twice to see if I wasn't going crazy:

Cowboy Bebop (2011)
Inspired by popular cult series about bounty hunters in the future. Starring Keanu Reeves…
Production: 3 Arts Entertainment
Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox
Producer: Erwin Stoff
Spike: Keanu Reeves

Ugh, I was hoping that this would stay in development purgatory, but unfortunately, it seems that it really will happen. How unfortunate. I wish that this project were dropped altogether. I would never live it down if this movie gave one of my favorite series a bad name. With Bleach and Dragonball, I wouldn't care because they honestly get enough bad rep and for the movies to happen, it wouldn't really matter. Rumors I've heard is that they've totally done away with Yoko Kanno's music and any involvement from Yoko Kanno, CG animation for Ein, and Keanu Reeves as Spike. The last of which is the one that seems confirmed, and the first seems rather likely. I'm kind of skeptical of how Keanu Reeves might do as Spike.

I'd really like for Quentin Tarantino to have picked it up, though. If that had happened, this movie might have had a chance to be amazing; and from what I understand, I think he was a fan of Cowboy Bebop and even used it as reference material for the actors for Kill Bill. He would have made at least a good effort on it, and not to mention: he's Quentin Tarantino.