Nerd News for Your Inner Geek
Sure enough, in typical Kunal coding fashion and as a fan of the show, he went out and actually made the app. You can read more about the project here. The app is still under development, and hopefully soon enough you'll all be able to have your own Ghost in the Shell moment.
The new release will feature a new 6.1 remix courtesy of Skywalker Sound, new voice-acting (some by the original actors), and CG and digital effects inserted into select scenes. This whole endeavor is eerily reminiscent of what George Lucas did with the original three "Star Wars" films, and so, of course, I have the same concerns. I am all for old films getting digital clean-ups and better transfers, but don't see why directors want to go back and digitally meddle with their works. "Ghost in the Shell" was already a great film, and I hope that these "enhancements" don't ruin a classic by over-engineering it.
- news courtesy of Anime News Network
There has been a spat of announcements in the past several months about anime rights being bought up by U.S. companies so they can get the film treatment stateside. Leo Dio picked up Akira and Dreamworks will be working on Ghost in the Shell. The latest claim comes from Vertigo Entertainment, who has procured the rights to Death Note, a psychological supernatural thriller series. I just devoured this 12-volume manga series, and will probably post a review later. The print version has been suceeded by an anime series (currently airing on Adult Swim) and also live-action movies.
Vertigo Entertainment isn't new to the adaptation space, having already worked on remakes of Asian works that became the films The Grudge, Dark Water, The Departed, and others.
I believe that anime and manga remakes will become increasingly common as a source of content for american studios. In the same way that we have seen a flurry of comic book adaptations, I think that this trend complements the increasing number of films stemming from graphic novels (V for Vendetta, Sin City, The 300, Watchmen). It could be incredibly cool to see many of my favorite works come to life, but I think I will also be in for my fair share of disappointment.
The first season's story arc dealt with "The Laughing Man", a cyber criminal who inspires a slew of copycat crimes. The hacker is capable of inserting his logo into people's minds so that the victim sees the image superimposed onto the real world. This logo becomes a dominant visual theme, and has even bled out of the show into the real world.
What I didn't know into more recently was that the logo was not crafted by the show's staff, but instead by british designer, TERRATAG. He was doing work for Frognation, a Japanese game developer and record label. He had sent over a bunch of stickers, and it happened that an employee at Frognation was also working on the production of the first season of the show. The director of the series, Kenji Kamiyama, saw the stickers, and sought out TERRATAG to create the design. You can read an interview with him about how he wound up involved with the production here. Also, you can find some great merchandise from TERRATAG here. Finally, If you want to bring the "Laughing Man" into the real world, pick up some stickers and put them over all of the faces of people in your photographs.
According to this article on Anime News Network, DreamWorks has optioned "Ghost in the Shell" and will be turning it into a live-action film. This was something I joked about when I heard that "Akira" would be getting a similar makeover. It seems that as Hollywood runs out of comic book plots to maim they are turning to seminal anime films.
DreamWorks, I implore you, please do not make this another "Ultra Violet". Do this film justice. Restore my faith in mankind. Seriously.
"The current state of the net, which wasn’t around before humanity established its existence, loosely forms a subconscious mind; one which is split off from mankind’s consciousness. This mental level net and the electronic network now cover most of the world. The subconscious mind they give rise to is done so in the form of the general consensus of the whole." - Ghost in the Shell, Stand Alone Complex: Season 2, episode 15
If it isn't obvious through the limited exposure you may have had to me through this blog, I am a fan of anime. Specifically, of philosophical anime with sci-fi themes. One of the shows that struck a chord with my mind is "Ghost in the Shell, Stand Alone Complex." The series is built around the idea that a collective subconscious can give rise to copycats that are mirroring each other while lacking a singular shared source to mimic. In other words, since the near-future society of the series is a place where the internet enables people to constantly share information with each other, multiple people arrive at the same conclusion simultaneously.
