Robert Mark Kamen Writes Gatchaman
Karate Kid, Fifth Element Scripter Brings 1970's Anime to Screen
Imagi announced that Robert Mark Kamen (Lethal Weapon 3, The Transporter) will script their version of Gatchaman. Kevin Munroe (TMNT) will direct.
(Source: www.aintitcool.com)
Longtime readers of this site will remember that Imagi Studios, after putting the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise into CGI as TMNT, is currently adapting the classic 1970's anime Gatchaman for the silver screen. Now Imagi has announced that Robert Mark Kamen will write the script for the flick, due sometime in 2008.
This will be Kamen's first foray into scripting for animation. His previous credits include all three Karate Kid movies, both Transporter flicks, the Luc Besson sci-fi flick The Fifth Element, and the Penelope Cruz/Salma Hayek actioner Bandidas. Co-writer Kevin Munroe (TMNT) will direct the flick, and Lynne Southerland (Mulan II) is the producer.
Gatchaman was originally called Kagaku ninja tai Gatchaman when Tatsunoko Productions released it in October of 1972 (Science Ninja Team Gatchaman is the literal English translation). It is Tatsunoko's most successful sentai anime (an anime that follows a team of superheroes), and is generally conceded to be the first of its kind.
Gatchaman followed a quintet of teenaged ninjas whose costumes and mechas had bird themes: Ken Washio (Eagle) led the team, Joe Asakura (Condor) was the hot-headed second-in-command, Jun (Swan) the female electronics and demolitions expert, 11-year-old Jinpei (Swallow) did reconaissance, and Ryu Nakanishi (Owl) piloted the team mecha, the God Phoenix. The team fought the evil Galactor, who used his animal-based mecha to wage a war of conquest and terror against Earth.
According to Munroe and Imagi founder and co-CEO Francis Kao, this version of Gatchaman will be faithful to the original anime, not the watered-down North American versions. It focuses on the origins of the team, and it will have a PG-13 rating.
The good folks at AICN managed to get some pretty rockin' concept drawings, some of which you can see below. To see the entire set, click here. Imagi has more Gatchaman art, which you can scope by clicking here.
The original Gatchaman ran from 1972 to 1974, but was followed up by Gatchaman II, which ran from 1978 to 1979 and Gatchaman F (1979 - 1980). It was a dark, environmentally-themed show which took major risks, even going so far as to kill off Joe Asakura at the end of Season 2.
In 1978, Sandy Frank Entertainment repackaged Gatchaman as the successful Battle of the Planets, a child-friendly outer-space show. Although it was relatively faithful to the original anime, Battle of the Planets edited the darker themes, graphic violence, profanity and transgenderism (Berg Katse, the major villain was a hermaphrodite) that characterized Gatchaman. Sandy Frank added the controversial 7-Zark-7 (a cross between Star Wars' R2-D2 and C3PO) to fill the plot gaps caused by the intense editing, and to provide light comic relief.
In 1986, Turner Broadcasting revamped Gatchaman as G-Force: Guardians of Space. Although this series was less edited than Battle of the Planets, wince-inducing moves like renaming Ken Washio as Ace Goodheart, plus the lacklustre voice acting and music, won the new series few fans. Undeterred, Turner repackaged Gatchaman II and Gatchaman F as Eagle Riders in 1996.
I'll give you more details about Imagi's CGI version as they develop
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