This bittersweet gallery of concept art for the failed Akira movie is pretty damn cool

I loved Akira, so it may seem odd to hear me say I'm glad that Warner Brothers pulled the plug on the full-scale movie adaptation of Akira. I had my reasons though, mostly attributed to the fact that it was taking place in America and they were going to cast American actors in the roles. I spoke about that on a blog post located HERE.

Anyway, I present you with a bittersweet gallery of conceptual art I found online courtesy of Screen Crush. When I see this kind of stuff, I want the project to be alive again, only under the helm of a director that understands the importance of the incredible source material. I also wish that cyberpunk was a more popular genre, because these pictures are very exciting in much the same way Tron or Neuromancer excites me.

I know what you're thinking. This bittersweet gallery of concept art for the failed Akira movie is pretty damn cool, right? And if you're not thinking that, well...I never said I was psychic. But answer me this: why can't we get a genuinely awesome Akira movie instead of rebooting the Terminator franchise? And yes, in case you haven't heard, all new Terminator movies have been scrapped. Hollywood is returning to square one and rebooting Terminator and starting anew with a trilogy. This is my "grrr" face ==>

"GRRRR. WE DON'T NEED A TERMINATOR REBOOT!"

Speaking of art (shameless self plug for attention) I finished a new painting. If you want to view it, click on the "My Artwork" tab above. It's the very top two pictures on the page. If you do take the time to go and look, be sure to shower me with compliments. I love compliments :)

Hollywood is screwing up Akira

Akira is one of my favorite movies. It's also one of the first movies that I saw that made me proud to say I was half-Japanese. Godzilla, though cool, just never gave me that feeling.  The Hollywood adaptation for it is gaining steam. I originally was excited to see the movie, but the casting is ridiculous.

1) The kids in Akira are all just that...they're KIDS. Like sixteen at most. That includes Tetsuo, the uber-hero Kaneda, and their girlfriends/friends.  So they go and hire Garret Hedlund of Tron Legacy to play Kaneda. I'm sorry but he's WAY TOO OLD.  Then they hire Kristen Stewart as Kaneda's girlfriend and she's TOO OLD AS WELL.

2) The kids should be Asian. Kristen Stewart and Garret Hedlund ARE NOT ASIAN. They're not even close. This is like old Hollywood hiring Mickey Rooney to play a Chinese man in Breakfast at Tiffany's. I feel insulted.


I think Kristen Stewart gaining the lead female role is the straw that really breaks the camel's back for me. This movie adaptation is going to suck big time. She's like the male version of Keanu Reeves...completely wooden, can't act, is terrible.

I'm feeling so disappointed right now. >,<

For those of you out there that love YA...just so you can relate, this would be like casting Tyra Banks to play Katniss in the Hunger Games.  Imagine that and maybe you can sympathize with how I feel.