Seriously, what is wrong with Hollywood? (1 Viewer)

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crosswatt

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Whilst on a Wikipedia walkabout of sorts, I stumbled upon the entry for a new film based on the story of the 47 Ronin. This new adaptation will be staring Keanu Reeves, but that isn't the real clincher. He will play Kai, a part English part Japanese outcast who joins the group of samurai as they seek revenge. A bit of a head scratcher, but I'm still on board. It is a super cool story, and I can tolerate some literary liberties when telling a story. But this is the part that just sunk me.

While the film is based on the true story of the forty-seven Ronin, it is a fantastical take, being set "in a world of witches and giants". The studio Universal Pictures first announced the project in December 2008 with actor Keanu Reeves attached to star. Variety reported, "The film will tell a stylized version of the story, mixing fantasy elements of the sort seen in The Lord of the Rings pics, with gritty battle scenes akin to those in films such as Gladiator."
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Seriously, why? WHY? I mean what in the world is wrong with these people? The story is an incredibly awesome tale. It doesn't need anything added to make it compelling. Do the people who produce films these days really think that a freakin' samurai film, one of the absolute most enduring and popular genres in film making history needs added geek appeal? Are they that out of touch, or stupid, or do they just think that we are? I'm seriously downtrodden over this discovery today. Crap. If I were Japanese, I'd be even more ticked. This is one of their national legands, and a huge part of their national identity. And this movie is just taking a huge Chipotle fuled style dump right on it's chest.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/47_Ronin_(2013_film)
 
I don't know, it sounds like the same strategy as 300 and I really enjoyed that movie.
 
gwballin said:
I don't know, it sounds like the same strategy as 300 and I really enjoyed that movie.
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Right. 300 was not my kind of movie and I probably won't like this take on The 47 Ronin either, but you can't really blame the producer and studio for responding to what's been working in the marketplace.
 
crosswatt said:
Whilst on a Wikipedia walkabout of sorts, I stumbled upon the entry for a new film based on the story of the 47 Ronin. This new adaptation will be staring Keanu Reeves, but that isn't the real clincher. He will play Kai, a part English part Japanese outcast who joins the group of samurai as they seek revenge. A bit of a head scratcher, but I'm still on board. It is a super cool story, and I can tolerate some literary liberties when telling a story. But this is the part that just sunk me.



Seriously, why? WHY? I mean what in the world is wrong with these people? The story is an incredibly awesome tale. It doesn't need anything added to make it compelling. Do the people who produce films these days really think that a freakin' samurai film, one of the absolute most enduring and popular genres in film making history needs added geek appeal? Are they that out of touch, or stupid, or do they just think that we are? I'm seriously downtrodden over this discovery today. Crap. If I were Japanese, I'd be even more ticked. This is one of their national legands, and a huge part of their national identity. And this movie is just taking a huge Chipotle fuled style dump right on it's chest.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/47_Ronin_(2013_film)
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It's not just Hollywood that does this. All movie industries do. There is an anime version of "The Seven Samurai" called "Samurai 7" in which the story is set in a futuristic world with Mechs. It's not really unusual to take an old story and give it a new twist. Sometimes it is done well, "Samurai 7" and "The 300" and sometimes it is done poorly, "Troy" for example.

By the way, there are several Japanese versions of the 47 Ronin story that were very well made and more faithful to the real story.
 
Go watch "The Player". While fictional, the scenes of pitching films to producers by making the scripts look more like the latest blockbusters is straight out of reality and the reason why so many good scripts end up being reformed into the kind of trash you're looking at with the "re-imagined" 47 Ronin.

I remember seeing an interview with the author of the books that were turned into the "True Blood" series on HBO. She had this look of misery on her face and would barely look up at the camera or interviewer. When you compare the excessively trashy series to what she wrote, it's obvious why she was so miserable (I realize a lot of people liked that series, but it wasn't anything close to being true to its source material). She'd signed away control of the scripts and ended up with something that barely resembled what she'd written. It happens a lot.
 
Seriously, there's a lot more wrong with Hollywood than genre-painting movies for "bling".

I can understand reacting to it, but not as if it's that new or significant. JMO.

cat-funny-jump.gif
 
gwballin said:
I don't know, it sounds like the same strategy as 300 and I really enjoyed that movie.
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300 didn't have giants or wizards or be compared to "Gladiator meets Lord of the Rings". I get what you are saying, but this seems to be outside of that type of graphitization.

guidomerkinsrules said:
hollywood produces the movies that the pubic pays to see - i think the target op your question is misplaced
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That's why they have complete flops like "Speed Racer" and "Prince of Persia" and "Avatar: The Last Airbender", because sometimes they don't know when to stop, and completely bastageize a perfectly good childhood memory.

St. Widge said:
It's not just Hollywood that does this. All movie industries do. There is an anime version of "The Seven Samurai" called "Samurai 7" in which the story is set in a futuristic world with Mechs. It's not really unusual to take an old story and give it a new twist. Sometimes it is done well, "Samurai 7" and "The 300" and sometimes it is done poorly, "Troy" for example.

By the way, there are several Japanese versions of the 47 Ronin story that were very well made and more faithful to the real story.
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I know. I just hoped that a big budget Hollywood attempt at this story would fall more along the epic saga rather than the modern fantasy. Japan has had this story for centuries; this to my knowledge is the first time many Americans not obsessed with Japanese culture will be exposed to it.

Domefan504 said:
If you don't like what Hollywood puts out then you don't have watch it. You know.
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I know. That isn't the point. I WANT to see it. But I don't want to see it necessarily in this incarnation. When the "Lone Ranger" movie rights were being shopped around, one production team wanted to make Tonto a female love interest for him. That is just ridiculous. It wouldn't even be close to true to the story that was an extremely important part of my childhood. Now, I'm sure I'll have some issues with the Pirates of the Caribbeanization of the story, but that is tolerable. It can open the story up to a broader audience without changing the entire spirit of the original.
 
I hear it's actually going to be Bill and Ted part 3: Bill and Ted's Adventure Most Honorable

not sure if that makes it better or worse for you, cdub.
 

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