Live Action Movie Discussion Thread

[Kendamu]

Excuse me for wanting to see more Asian people in a movie adaption of an Asian comic book with a lot of Asian mythology, Asian martial arts, a cast consisting mostly of people with Asian names that are puns of Asian things, which I tend to read and watch in an Asian language.

I'm "anyone in general" and I don't appreciate you acting like I was making a big issue out of it. I stated a preference. That's it. You don't have to turn it into a fucking crime.

[MisterFlashdude]

Seriously though, Toei made Goku's skin color white in the anime (except in GT), there's no denying that. There's also the fact that he comes from outer space. He's a Saiyan, he isn't even a human being. I just do not for the life of me understand, why is this an issue for some people? Some even went as far as to call it racist on Hollywood's part... I would've liked to continue thinking that they were just trolling, but are people really that offended over this? Why in the world?

Y'kno, the "He doesn't have to look Asian because he's actually an alien" argument pisses me off. That's ridiculous. Superman's Kryptonian, but if you cast an Indian to play him, people would throw a fit.
Before he became an alien, Goku was just Son Goku. His very existance derived from Sun Wukong, an iconic character in Chinese mythology.
And wasn't the world of Dragonball said to be Japan before Toriyama started taking the series more seriously?

He's a Japanese icon, even featured as a commentator in that "Greatest People in Japan Awards" special a little while ago.
And as for his "white" skin tone... Uh, what color would you say an Asian character would have to be for you to believe they're Asian?
Take a gander at any anime where the setting is stated to be Japan, and the characters stated to be Japanese. That's just how they draw themselves.
Honestly, with all the obvious details pointing to him being Japanese, I think you need a really good reason to think he's anything else.

But like you, I got over the fact that a white guy was cast as Goku. Really, it's just an irksome detail that anyone can get over as long as the actor does the character justice. Though, Chatwin's going to look really awkward when people address him as "Goku"...

[Gyt Kaliba]

Personally I'm trying to use some of Kaboom's philosophy and try to look at this in a good light, but I'm looking forward to the new Jackie Chan/Jet Li movie based off of 'Journey to the West' far more.

[SaiyaMel]

I think people of Mediterranean (especially ones with black hair) or Native American decent, would make for best choice to pass off as a full-blooded Saiya.. appearance wise anyways.

[Kendamu]

Personally I'm trying to use some of Kaboom's philosophy and try to look at this in a good light, but I'm looking forward to the new Jackie Chan/Jet Li movie based off of 'Journey to the West' far more.

Whoa whoa whoa. JttW with Chan and Li? What's it called? I don't care about the Dragonball movie now that there's that!

[MisterFlashdude]

Personally I'm trying to use some of Kaboom's philosophy and try to look at this in a good light, but I'm looking forward to the new Jackie Chan/Jet Li movie based off of 'Journey to the West' far more.

Whoa whoa whoa. JttW with Chan and Li? What's it called? I don't care about the Dragonball movie now that there's that!

The Forbidden Kingdom.

[Gyt Kaliba]

That be the one. I was just about to Wiki it cuz I forgot the name, but MisterFlashdude beat me to the punch. ^_^

Personally, it's not a whole lot more accurate to either Dragon Ball or the legend as far as I know, but it's gonna be AWESOME none the less.

[MisterFlashdude]

That be the one. I was just about to Wiki it cuz I forgot the name, but MisterFlashdude beat me to the punch. ^_^

Personally, it's not a whole lot more accurate to either Dragon Ball or the legend as far as I know, but it's gonna be AWESOME none the less.

Actually, don't put a whole lot of faith in this movie. Jackie Chan has already publicly stated the movie "Isn't that great".

Edit: Here's an article on it. Apparently, Jeti Li isn't heaping praise on it, either.

[Gyt Kaliba]

From what I heard, he said that to Chinese viewers/readers/whatever, and it was because the film was made 'with an American audience in mind'. I might be wrong, but that's what Wiki had at one point, and I believe there was an article link but I never clicked it to verify. So if it is true, it should be great for us. Besides, Jackie Chan AND Jet Li - what's not to love? ^_^

Here's a YouTube link for the trailer for anyone interested. YouTube links are allowed here right?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE7ny2bfXF0

[FindKenshi]

Excuse me for wanting to see more Asian people in a movie adaption of an Asian comic book with a lot of Asian mythology, Asian martial arts, a cast consisting mostly of people with Asian names that are puns of Asian things, which I tend to read and watch in an Asian language.

Have you been keeping up with news on the movie? I'm sorry, bro, but this Dragonball movie is based in a modern city, and Goku is a high school student. (Most likely in America, although I will not jump to conclusions on this one) There really is no point to casting a lot of Asian actors if the movie is supposed to take place in an American City. This movie does not equal Akira Toriyama's story.

At some point people are going to have to accept that Chud.com's character synopsis were not trolling-lies, they were authentic.

I'm "anyone in general" and I don't appreciate you acting like I was making a big issue out of it. I stated a preference. That's it. You don't have to turn it into a fucking crime.

I wasn't talking to you, nor did I read anything you had said. Maybe you missed the part where I said I was not calling any one person out specifically. I only saw that conversation had arose about the subject, and wanted to put my 2 cents in. I can already see that was a big mistake, but no, I beseech you. Lets not turn this into a flame war. I'd rather not get banned, I've only been here for such a short time.

I did not mean to offend anyone. I'm just saying, there is no continent called Asia on Dragonball Earth. For that matter, this movie is SET in (presumablly) an American city, since Hollywood is obviously trying to make Goku more relatable to the audience. (I'm sorry, an unpopular high school student?)

I have MANY problems with this movie, I absolutly hate how they are butchering Akira Toriyama's story here. I'm just saying with so much to complain about, Goku being casted as a white kid is far from being a valid complaint.

Y'kno, the "He doesn't have to look Asian because he's actually an alien" argument pisses me off. That's ridiculous. Superman's Kryptonian, but if you cast an Indian to play him, people would throw a fit.

Kingpin is white in all the comic books, but in the Daredevil movie, he was African American. Guess what. No one threw a fit. And why didn't you respond in any way to the comment I made about Toei giving him "white skin" in the anime? That holds significance.

Now please guys if we're going to continue discussing this, can we keep it civil? I'd rather not get banned for sparking a flame war.

[MisterFlashdude]

From what I heard, he said that to Chinese viewers/readers/whatever, and it was because the film was made 'with an American audience in mind'. I might be wrong, but that's what Wiki had at one point, and I believe there was an article link but I never clicked it to verify.

That would explain why it has another white kid in the lead.

[Chuquita]

And "Jason" though? Really?
Aside from the Bourne series, that name makes me think too much of self-insert characters.

I like that Mt. Paozu feel the scenery in Forbidden Kingdom's got to it though.

[MisterFlashdude]

And why didn't you respond in any way to the comment I made about Toei giving him "white skin" in the anime? That holds significance.

Now please guys if we're going to continue discussing this, can we keep it civil? I'd rather not get banned for sparking a flame war.

I did.

And as for his "white" skin tone... Uh, what color would you say an Asian character would have to be for you to believe they're Asian?
Take a gander at any anime where the setting is stated to be Japan, and the characters stated to be Japanese. That's just how they draw themselves.

And there's nothing uncivil in an opposing opinion.

Kingpin is white in all the comic books, but in the Daredevil movie, he was African American. Guess what. No one threw a fit.

First of all, Kingpin isn't the icon that Superman is in America and Goku is in Japan.
Second, Isn't the popular opinion that Daredevil sucked anyway?
Third,

Really, it's just an irksome detail that anyone can get over as long as the actor does the character justice.

Honestly, did you even read my post beyond the first sentence?

Edit: And as far as white Marvel characters going black, I'm looking forward to Sam Jackson as Nick Fury in the Ironman movie.

[Gyt Kaliba]

From what I heard, he said that to Chinese viewers/readers/whatever, and it was because the film was made 'with an American audience in mind'. I might be wrong, but that's what Wiki had at one point, and I believe there was an article link but I never clicked it to verify.

That would explain why it has another white kid in the lead.

True, but that doesn't bother me in either instance. I don't mind that Goku is white, I just mind that he's in High School. And please, lets not start the whole 'its a small point' thing, cuz it probably is. Still rubs me the wrong way, but I can deal with it.

The plot is what's getting to me the most. In all honesty I'm gonna see the film (and hopefully enjoy it) no matter what, but I'd still prefer a more truthful adaption.

[Sedorna]

They could've at least made Chatwin's hair black.

They still could. They don't begin shooting until January, right?

No they already started filming in the mexico set. They move to the durango set on jan 2nd. There is also gonna be a set in L.A.

Forgive any ignorance I might have, but I thought the Durango was a part of Mexico, so the Durango set *was* the Mexico set. Kinda like the L.A. set is also the United States of America set.

Durango is also a city in Colorado (and possibly other places), but I do believe the filming's taking place in Durango, Mexico.

[Anonymous Friend]

For some reason I find that this topic as well as the Sparking Meteor topics have a lot in common. One thing that really comes to my mind is that a lot of people are getting really upset about things that I personally find really superficial that has strong ties moreso to the source material than to these items as individual works. Albeit, it's these items of contention are more warranted for the Dragonball live action movie than for the Dragonball fighting video game.

While everyone else bickers about those things, I feel that I'm the only one that seems to care about same exact thing in both instances: The Fighting. You can have all the backgrounds, characters, and situations transported from the manga/anime to a video game or movie but the true selling point of the series is the action and fighting.

I've been somewhat disappointed in the a lot of action sequences from the recent comic book/video game/cartoon adaptions that have been released. Even though a lot of them have great special effects and certain sequences have been amazing, I haven't really been wow'd like I have with their animated counterparts. They just seem to be missing the large-scaleness of it all and a lot of the collateral damage and destruction. I loves meself some destruction.

I still feel that the fight sequence from Superman 2 is THE best live meta-human fight I've ever seen. The closest to what I'm looking have been the "Burly Brawl" from Matrix: Reloaded (while it was live action and they haven't switched over to complete CGI) and the final sequence from Transformers, from the highway to the city and where it's transformer vs transformer. A nod does go out to "Kung-fu Hustle" because those were some awesome sequences but the subpar (only when compared to what a Hollywood would have gotten it) pulled me out of the action a lot of times. Although if the Dragonball movie looked and played out just like that I wouldn't complain at all.

In the end (and after what I'm guessing is a pretty long post) what I'm getting at is that when I go to see a movie that I know is based of of something that I know have some destructive potential and amazing action, I expect but never truly get it. But I'm hoping Dragonball won't disappoint me.

p.s. For amazing fighting on the small screen, nothing beats Buffy, Angel, and Power Rangers ... yes, I said Power rangers.

[MisterFlashdude]

While everyone else bickers about those things, I feel that I'm the only one that seems to care about same exact thing in both instances: The Fighting. You can have all the backgrounds, characters, and situations transported from the manga/anime to a video game or movie but the true selling point of the series is the action and fighting.

I'd say the only reason no one cares about that at this point is because we don't know anything about the action. People, myself included, get upset about details that have been confirmed. The plot outline, character descriptions, casting calls, first glimpse at Chatwin's character...

p.s. For amazing fighting on the small screen, nothing beats Buffy, Angel, and Power Rangers ... yes, I said Power rangers.

If you feel weird saying 'Power Rangers', you can say 'Super Sentai' instead. After all, it's the fight scenes that are the only parts left over from the Japanese series.

[Snail]

Excuse me for wanting to see more Asian people in a movie adaption of an Asian comic book with a lot of Asian mythology, Asian martial arts, a cast consisting mostly of people with Asian names that are puns of Asian things, which I tend to read and watch in an Asian language.

I'm "anyone in general" and I don't appreciate you acting like I was making a big issue out of it. I stated a preference. That's it. You don't have to turn it into a fucking crime.

Exactly what I have in mind whenever somebody takes a stab at those who state their preference, in regards to the cast of this film.

*edit*

This just in! According to 'The Hollywood Reporter', Chow Yun Fat will be Master Roshi for the upcoming Dragonball film. Woot! Finally, something to look foreward to.

[Xyex]

While everyone else bickers about those things, I feel that I'm the only one that seems to care about same exact thing in both instances: The Fighting. You can have all the backgrounds, characters, and situations transported from the manga/anime to a video game or movie but the true selling point of the series is the action and fighting.

Because people like to rant, rave, and complain about things but they can't do that until they have information to expand in their minds into the worst possible thing imaginable to claim as what will happen, and the basis of their complaints.

I've seen a lot of complaints in this thread, and only a few of them I've found even remotely valid. And fewer still perfectly valid. As I've said before, it's fine to be in doubts about some things with the movie. It's fine to think you proably wont like it. But when you start complaining about things we don't even know about yet (Goku being a 'geeky emo kid' comes to mind) you're crossing the line into fanboy nonsense.

Yes, this movie could be horribly awful. No, just because it's being made doesn't mean it will be horribly awful. No, just because it's a Hollywood movie doesn't mean it will instantly suck (since when were Dragonball fans sheep, anyway?) or anything. No, just because there are changes that you don't agree with doesn't mean it wont feel like Dragonball.

Once the movie is out and you've seen it and you have a real basis on which to make you complaints, go ahead and rant and rave about it all you want. Until you're blue in the face if you want to. But doing so now just makes you look... superficial, arrogant, and snotty. Why? Because we have a vague notion of the movie but not enough to draw opinions on.

You don't like the idea of a live action Dragonball movie just because it's a live action Dragonball movie? Alright, that's fine. Don't watch the movie. Don't look up information about the movie (why are you if you don't want to see it?) and just ignore that it exists. Forget about it and go on with your life, you'll be happier that way.

Is the movie faithful to the series? Well, at this point, no one can say. Sure, Goku goes to school. Sure, Piccolo's the reason Grandpa Gohan is killed instead of Goku. Sure, Piccolo is the one to reveal that Goku's a Saiya-jin. But if that's what makes this not feel like Dragonball than Dragonball didn't start feeling like Dragonball until Raditz came along.

There's a spirit to the series. Something much, much, much deeper than just these minor details. There is so much more to Dragonball, as a whole, than how and where Goku grew up, who kills Gohan, how Goku learns he's an alien, who can or can't shape shift, and so on. The series is just so much more than any of those things and changing any or all of them doesn't just instantly change the entire feel of it all.

Comics have gotten away with adapating and altering things for decades. Yes, I know, 'that's comics, not my precious manga!', I've heard that rant before. My point is things can be changed and modified in ways you don't think will work and it can still feel the same. It can still feel like Dragonball even with Goku in school, growing up with Chi-Chi, Piccolo killing Grandpa Gohan, and Goku learning from Piccolo about being an alien.

I don't think I'll be back in this thread again. It's just getting too depressing to come in here and read the generally baseless complaints and worst case scenario fears being presented as unavoidable facts. Go ahead and have your doubts, just reserve judgement until you've at least seen a trailer.

Hey, if Duke Nuke'em Forever can actually get released, anything's possible, right?

EDIT: Chow Yun-Fat as Roshi

[Dark Vegeta-Sama]

I guess that some of the people bitching about there being "not enough Asian actors" get a win with Chow Yun-Fat being cast as Roshi.

Although at the same time, the guy's about 50. He certainly isn't an old man.