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April 18, 2012
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Rant: Why won’t James Cameron let someone else direct “Battle Angel”?

— Posted by The "Superior" Anthony


James Cameron is a visionary. The man is a phonomenon when it comes to his directorial craftsmanship and has not yet disappoint me with anything that he’s directed. I’ve been beyond excited about his interest and commitment to creating a lush 3D Battle Angel trilogy not only because he’s known for great visuals but also because he’s not too shabby a writer and seems really familiar with the work. When previously probed by Collider on how he wanted to approach the movie he offered the following:

What I’m going to do is take the spine story and use elements from the first four books. So, the Motorball from books three and four, and parts of the story of one and two will all be in the movie

He read the books! This alone is almost unprecedented approach based on some recent Hollywood attempts for a faithful adaptation of a manga, let alone the thought of being faithful to the source material. This is great stuff. I love that. He wasn’t a fan of Manga in general but something in that book attracted the attention of a deep sea diver and famed film director. My problem is that this interest started waaaaay back in 2009. MTV recently caught up with the director and wisely asked Cameron for an update on the project and… welll…

I see the good the ‘Avatar’ franchise can do in terms of keeping a world audience cognizant of our relationship with nature, but doing it in an entertainment context…

Keeping in mind that Cameron is a very environmentally aware individual this implies that he feels obligated, at this point, to continue with the Avatar franchise. I get that. It doesnt hurt that it’s a proven multi-billion dollar earner either. I get it. That’s fine. But what about guys like me who wanna see cybernetic steampunk bounty hunter action?

But with his commitments to “Avatar 2″ and “3″ stretching out over the next half a decade, Cameron has often been asked if he would be willing to give “Battle Angel” over to a new director. His answer to MTV News was an emphatic no.

“It would have to be pried out of my cold dead fingers…

…But on the other hand, I don’t want to take it to my grave either. [We want to see it] at some point, yeah.”

Alright. He’s enthused. Again I like it but dammit I’m anxious! The first Avatar film came out at the tail end of 2009 with the next film in the planned trilogy not expected until 2016 according to producer Jon Landau. Sure if he films them both back to back then its possible that he could begin working shortly thereafter but with the man’s meticulous approach to film making I’m guesstimating a 2020 release at the earliest. You know what’ll happen by 2020? Me either but that seems waaay too long to have to wait. It’s already been 3 years and I might have to wait another 8? Why won’t he produce and let someone else oversee direction?! There’s plenty of talented people he could tap for a project like this. He’s got half of the best ones on speed dial. Michael Bay would add his own style and touch to the film but at least he’d get the movie out this decade! Steven Spielberg? Guillermo DelToro? Alfono Cuaron? Hell even a newbie if he’s talented enough! Neill Blomkamp took the world by surprise when he unleashed District 9 on us. And what’s this about prying it from his cold dead fingers? I’d love to see you make the movie Mr. Cameron but you’re busy diving into the Mariana Trench and developing technology to make this film. BTW James Cameron is currently 57 and would be a tender 69 in 2020. YEAH, I SAID IT! Good greif. </rant>

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JungHo
JungHo

I don't know man, I'd like to see a Battle Angel movie sometime soon (I haven't seen any of the anime/manga, but it's cyberpunk), but I think James Cameron is the essential piece. Nothing against Michael Bay -- he's an incredible visual director who's obviously handled big-budget material (concerning robots) before, but the Cameron shine has yet to fail science-fiction (concerning robots. I didn't really dig Avatar).

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