I honestly haven't been following the development of this one at all, which is odd considering I really quite like the Wachowski Brothers, but USA Today has run the first eight stills from the siblings upcoming adaptation of classic anime series Speed Racer. And note I did not refer to this as a live action adaptation. Sure, it's not animation either but if these images are any indication this is going to be a blending of techniques that's never been tried before and there is absolutely zero interest in making this appear in any way naturalistic. Looks pretty damn good still, time will tell how well it moves ...
These look pretty cool. I saw the trailer on Entertainment Tonight and it really looks fresh and unlike anything I've seen in a big budget American film, stylistically anyway.
That trailer was more bizarre than the time I found out the guys who did BOUND were doing a science fiction kung-fu movie for Joel Silver with Yuen Wo-Ping, Keanu Reeves and Larry Fishburne. And that was pretty bizarre at the time.
I don't even know how I'd describe that to somebody. "It was exactly like SPEED RACER, only it was live action, only it wasn't." This'll make a fortune unless it's worse than the last two MATRIX installments combined, and that's highly unlikely.
Or as badly written as V for Vendetta.
Thanks Todd for this news. The trailer is online now over at Moviefone and it looks sweet!
http://movies.aol.com/movie/speed-racer-2008/28066/video/trailer-no-1/2033773
I agree with Merrick over at Aint-It-Cool, it does remind me of "Dick Tracy" (all the loud colors) but hopefully it won't be as bad. Matthew Fox as Racer X looks cool. I didn't know K-Pop Idol "Rain" and Sanada Hiroyuki were in the movie.
I have a feeling this will bomb like nobodies business. It's just too weird for the mainstream audiences and I can't figure out who the audience is for this film. People who grew up with Speed Racer, who is now satirised in today's media as having been a really crappy show. They are all now well over their thirties. It can't really be kids today because they have no idea who Speed Racer is and the trailer isn't really that appealing towards the younger audiences, maybe if the trailer was all racing and not the overly dramatic acting that's inter cut with it, knocking it completely off it's balance.
This trailer didn't impress me at all and in fact made me worry about the people who put money in to this.