Anime, Film Commentary
Akira adaptation moving forward with a possible re-write
Russ Fischer of /Film:
We know that Warner Bros. is aggressively moving forward on a live-action adaptation of Katsuhiro Otomo's classic manga Akira. Albert Hughes will direct the film from a script that has passed through the hands of several screenwriters, most recently landing on the desk of Harry Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves. He'll rewrite and then casting can get underway in earnest. (There have been many casting rumblings already, and we don't know if this rewrite is motivated by failed attempts to land big names, as has been suggested.)
Meanwhile, a few pages from an earlier draft have been sent out to casting agencies, and have also ended up on the web. Hardcore Akira fans will liekyl find the contents to be a mixed bag.
io9 got the pages, and later verified that, yes, they are from an early Akira draft, but that "the version of the script that Kloves is rewriting is reportedly a lot different, although it's possible that some of these ideas still remain."
So think positive. There is some bad stuff here, but also the very good possibility that it has all hit the wastebin; with luck these pages went out to casting agencies just to get across the idea of the world and the characters.
This is a nightmare.
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