Latest news with #TheLeagueofExtraordinaryGentlemen
Time of India
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Taika Waititi's Akira adaptation is no more; Warner Bros lets go of the movie rights, starting a new bidding war
Akira, the iconic 1982 manga series by Katsuhiro Otomo that was adapted into a cult classic 1988 anime film, has been struggling to get a Hollywood live-action adaptation off the ground for decades. The process has faced another setback with Warner Bros relinquishing the film rights, effectively killing Taika Waititi's attempt to adapt the series. After the 1988 film's smash success, Hollywood was quick to take an interest in Katsuhiro Otomo's intellectual property, with Warner Bros acquiring the rights from Sony Pictures in 2002 and making multiple attempts at getting a film off the ground. The most recent of these was Taika Waititi's, with him wanting to remain faithful to the original manga plotline and cast Asian-American actors in the leading roles. Akira adaptation rights revert to Kodansha Taika Waititi's live action #Akira film is no longer happening Warner Bros has lost the rights (via @THR) With Warner Bros relinquishing Akira's film rights, they've reverted back to the manga's publisher, Kodansha. This has, per the Hollywood reporter, caught the attention of several Hollywood studios and streaming services aiming to acquire the rights for themselves. The original manga's plotline followed Tetsuo, a teenager in post-apocalyptic Tokyo who's part of a biker gang with his childhood friend and gang leader Kaneda. Tetsuo discovers he has world-ending telekinesis abilities, which brings him to Kaneda's attention as he ropes Tetsuo into his own schemes. Akira's Hollywood adaptation has had a troubled history Akira (1988) While there have been several ambitious attempts at getting an Akira Hollywood adaptation off the ground, none have truly taken off. After Warner Bros acquired the film rights to Akira in 2002, the studio hired several directors to work on the Akira adaptation, with none of them sticking around long enough to see the project to its completion. Stephen Norrington was the first director hired by Warner Bros, but he ultimately fell out of favor after his 2003 release The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen bombed both critically and commercially. Next came Ruari Robinson, who planned to split Akira into two films so that he could cover the entire manga's storyline. He would've changed the story's location to New York and prominently featured Asian-American characters, but he eventually departed the project in 2009. Next came the Hughes brothers, who aimed to market the film to a PG-13 audience, with them departing the project in 2011. Jaume Collet-Sera was assigned to direct the next iteration of the Akira film in October of that year, only to depart the project in 2017. Taika Waititi was the last director to attempt an Akira adaptation under the aegis of Warner Bros, with him being confirmed as a director in 2019. However, Waititi's involvement in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and other projects kept delaying the production until Warner Bros relinquished their rights to the IP altogether.
Hindustan Times
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
How a Hollywood legend lost $450 million as he didn't get the script, was forced into retirement after financial blunder
When Peter Jackson made the Lord of the Rings trilogy, not many supported what was seen as a 'crazy idea'. The books were considered hard literature, and many called them unfilmable. The plan of doing all three films back-to-back was also seen as excessive. On top of it all, the shoot took place almost entirely in New Zealand, thousands of miles away from Hollywood. Naturally, many top stars did not come on board. But the one who regretted it the most was former James Bond star and screen icon Sean Connery. The actor rejected the offer to play Gandalf in the films, and along with it, a multi-million dollar paycheck. Sir Sean Connery was offered the role of Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings. As one of the most recognisable faces in the cast, he was to receive the highest pay as well. But Connery turned down the offer. According to IMDb, he did so due to "not understanding the story and the script". In the end, Ian McKellen came on board and made the role his own, reprising it in the Hobbit trilogy as well. Peter Jackson had offered Connery $10 million per film plus 15% of the trilogy's gross for the role (that is, 15% of the studio's take, or 7.5% of the total gross). In the end, Lord of the Rings trilogy grossed $2.9 billion worldwide. This would have given Connery earnings of $450 million for the film. Sean Connery was in his early 70s at the time. After Lord of the Rings became a global blockbuster, he regretted turning the film down. According to reports, he told his agents that if another IP-based script came in for him, they could say yes even if he did not understand the story. He was, reportedly, trying to avoid repeating a mistake. Through this process, Connery signed Stephen Norrington's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The 2003 release received extremely bad reviews but managed to be somewhat financially successful. However, Connery was so disheartened by the turn of events that he never acted again. He died in 2021, at the age of 90.
