Rumors: Cowboy Bebop Live Action Movie?
Keanu, is that you?
I know this seems out of place in this news blog, but I have to talk about it anyway. Recently (and too late at that), I caught wind of rumors that there is a live action adaptation for Cowboy Bebop planned by Fox Entertainment. After taking in the rumors about the Dragon Ball movie with skepticism and watching it unravel as true before my eyes, the devil on my left shoulder whispers that I shouldn’t dismiss this one too easily. Cowboy Bebop does have that “live action” feel to it, and besides, it’s my favorite animation and I’d be very happy if they do justice to it. The question is, does the “live action” feel of Bebop translate well in real live action?
And Keanu Reeves? Oh goodness, no. Spike is supposed to be serious at times, but I doubt Keanu can pull of that classic nonchalant smile and humor that endeared me to his character!!!
Anyway, no new news since the date those rumors were published, so I wouldn’t hold on to it 
What do you guys think?
November 2nd, 2008 at 8:02 pm
I have a very bad feeling about this. Am I alone?
If they got Kanno to do the soundtrack and if it was a Japanese production (Watanabe where are you?) there is hope. Come on, it isn’t Bebop without a Kanno OST, it would be like Macross without valks or Azumanga Daioh without schoolgirls.
But an American attempt, especially given the history of bad movies based on games and comics. A “degree of faithfulness” does not sound good. Its either faithful to Bebop or its not. And I’m not so thrilled about the Fox thing too.
For me Bebop ended with Blue (well technically it ended with Gotta knock a little harder but you know what I mean).
November 2nd, 2008 at 8:19 pm
I disagree, if it’s anywhere near as enjoyable as Transformers or Iron Man I’d be happy >_<VVVVV Kanno isn’t the only person who can do jazz in the world either. I don’t want it to be made into a live action, but there are some good films out there based on animation/comic material.
November 2nd, 2008 at 8:20 pm
If they want me to buy a ticket for it Spike just must be played by J. Depp
November 2nd, 2008 at 8:52 pm
I’d probably approach it with the same cautiousness I use with Dragonball LA lol. I’d like it if YK returns for the LA (if it is in the works, of course) but I suppose she wouldn’t be involved in this if it were a Hollywood production.
I like Transformers or Iron Man, but I just don’t see CB getting the same treatment (and budget) as those two adaptations, to be honest. If anything you’d just have to take a look at Dragonball and see what they’re doing to that adaptation. Looks corny as heck, lol.
That said, I’d probably still watch it anyway.
November 2nd, 2008 at 9:18 pm
If it’d be as enjoyable and well-written as Iron Man, it’s sure to be a hit, and I’d die a happy fan (Bebop is partly comedy anyway)
But if it gets the Dragon Ball treatment, oh, no, please don’t even start producing it… but I’m basing this on the DB posters only and have yet to see how they butchered *ahem* I mean delivered it.
I’m also on the side of people who think Kanno isn’t a make or break for this, for some reason. However, I would really, really, really want to see the intro sequence with the song Tank! in live action, but the rest should be made to fit whatever the new director has in mind.
November 2nd, 2008 at 11:40 pm
I just saw the trailer/posters for the Dragonball movie XD
November 3rd, 2008 at 2:57 am
Wow! Thanks for the info.
BYE! ^^
PD: I like very much the new cd of Maaya Sakamoto.
November 3rd, 2008 at 4:42 am
1) I highly doubt they will use any Yoko Kanno music for this, even though it would make fairly obvious sense (her music would just as well fit a live action Cowboy Bebop movie as it would the original anime). 2) I don’t think it would be a problem that this would most likely use American actors. 3) I highly doubt they would make an even vaguely good movie though.
November 3rd, 2008 at 9:10 am
For everyone interested in the official trailer of Dragon Ball:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEb-wspXAw4
Well? Eek. That boy did not remind me of Goku. And Master Roshi?
I think Bebop would translate better into live action, but they need a good actor to fill in Spike. They can screw up the rest of the crew, it’s easy to find a Jet, a Faye, and they can bastardize Ed for all I care, but please, keep the cool funny anti-suave Spike! I’d like to see Keanu pull of that classic “HUH?! WTF?! …S#!!!+!!!!” look that Spike always gives when he’s surprised.
I bet they’re looking into a serious adaptation, still having the 80′s jazzy feel. The setup will be the same with the gang being poor and everything they own is beat-up, the air slightly noir-ish… It may work. Now the story. I seriously don’t think that compiling the “Vicious” episodes would make a good story in itself. Bebop had that random thing going on, because you had to feel that Spike was willingly being swept along with the tides. He didn’t care for his life, he only cared and lived for Julia. Now how to pull that off in less than 2 hours?
November 3rd, 2008 at 11:40 am
@Mai, short answer: they can’t.
I’m not really in to comic book movies so didn’t really like Transformers, Iron Man was ok but the best for me was Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.
Maybe they should just skip the character developement and most of the story and focus on action. Get John Woo to do the fights ,the fight scenes were already John Woo style anyway, complete with white doves.
Adn how could you say “bastardize Ed”? You are a Kanno fan aren’t you?
November 3rd, 2008 at 12:10 pm
@Kai – I really don’t mind them bastardizing Ed (by changing her character to look more Hollywood-like, or even removing her from the script), because she’s the one who would translate the worst on a live action film. While Ed is designed partially with Kanno in mind, I do not equate them with each other – one is a musical genius who dances here and there, the other is a computer genius who dances with her computer balanced on top of her head, a parody of the original.
In Bebop, they had to have episodes that focus on Ed to get us accustomed to her wild, out of this world behavior and looks, and without those, she’d stick out from the rest of the cast. Imagine how they’d portray her within 2 hours…
But I wouldn’t mind if they kept her either. Just do the best to keep Spike as Spike, because he’s probably the hardest character to portray, and yet he’s the most important and most loved character in the animation.
…all this assuming that the film is indeed in the works
November 3rd, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Assuming… I heard rumour of a GITS and an Eva live action movie too. It seems hollywood has run out of ideas.
I can’t think of anyone who could do a convincing Spike and Keanu would be near the bottom of the list of rejects.
And I cracked up reading the comments on the Dragon Ball trailer. Especially the guy screaming rape.
November 3rd, 2008 at 1:21 pm
@Kai – I think I heard the Eva live action is going to be a Japanese production isn’t it? GITS has lots of potential, the Matrix did turn out well
I think a younger Johnny Depp or Robert Downey with some kung fu training would do the trick for Spike…
November 3rd, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Slight correction, the first Matrix movie turned out well. I heard Eva was going to be an american production, one source suggested Elijah Wood as Shinji.
I can’t complain about the americans too much, even the japanese don’t always get it right. I’ve been watching the Mugen no juunin anime and it isn’t as good as the manga. Bebop is in my top 5 list of anime so I feel that if they can’t do it right they shouldn’t do it at all. I would feel a lot better if they got Watanabe to direct.
November 3rd, 2008 at 2:06 pm
@Kai – Funny thing, I also only liked the first Matrix and not the sequels
I’m acually relieved that Americans are handling GITS. I can’t imagine who they’d cast in Japan for Batou if they were to get an all-Japanese cast. Hollywood also has better special effects 
November 3rd, 2008 at 3:53 pm
Not so strange, most people I talked to only liked the first Matrix. Even my friend who raved about it and made me go and watch the series.
November 3rd, 2008 at 9:53 pm
Hmm….. historically when Hollywood try their hand in converting Japanese pop culture animes or movies, they lose their iconic and cultural references. If those are lost, the message is lost as well.
Cases in point:
1. Godzilla. It became God-Awful.
2. The Ring. The CGI was amazing but the story was totally washed out.
3. Street Fighter… Do we really need to mention it? One word: Crap.
I would rather, they had put the money into the hands of a Japanese crew with some Hollywood actors. That would have made things a lot more interesting than the tiresome old Hollywood formula.
Dragonball is going to suck big time, I’m very very sure.
November 4th, 2008 at 12:37 am
it seems the news about cowboy bebop is real enough to be listed in IMDB for a 2011 release.
November 4th, 2008 at 1:08 am
John Cusack as Spike…Perhaps a bit old, but hitting the gym a bit, he’d have the right delivery.
November 4th, 2008 at 8:30 am
Huh. Well, I’ll be keeping close tabs on that page then. I want to see the castings.
November 4th, 2008 at 8:32 am
My stomach just did a backflip. Out of excitement or out of skepticism I’m not sure.
December 19th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Oh god. Not Keanu……..ugh. They might as well have casted a wooden plank with a face drawn on it in marker pen for all the versatility Keanu has.
December 19th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
^ Hahahaha XD
December 19th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
I0m wondering if now “to like anime” is a kind of excuse for make live-actions in Hollywood. Because DiCaprio said he’s a huge fan of anime, and now, Reeves too.
Well, in Reeves case, he is a great scifi/comic-a-like actor, but he is in trouble for show emotions in his pretty face. So, maybe the Spike in CB’s live-action will be another Neo.
December 19th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
huge LOL @ Pippa’s reaction
look at it this way, at least ppl will watch the movie because there’s Keanu Reeves in it. his movies sure seem to be able to sell movie tickets
December 20th, 2008 at 10:54 am
I’m heavily concerned about Edward’s performer now o.o”
December 20th, 2008 at 10:58 am
My guess: They’ll replace her with a cat… to accompany Ein.
December 20th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
@mai ~ If they do so, I’ll be very grateful xD
December 21st, 2008 at 11:57 am
Just saw The Day the Earth Stood Still with Keanu in it and while he wasn’t that bad, his character doesn’t require a lot of emotions from him, so yeah
I don’t know, I’ll watch this, but only wearing shades & bandanna covering half of my face lol.
December 23rd, 2008 at 2:09 am
I hope they don’t wreck this.
Could be interesting to see this happen, but while Keanu Reeves may look acceptably Spike-ish I don’t think he can pull his nonchalant mannerism easily.
As for Eva movie – it’s long since dead. My friend @ Weta says that the japanese producing the movie haven’t contacted them in long time, so…
Well, they might have found another CGI firm, but I sooo loved Weta’s concepts and can’t imagine anyone else doing Evangelion LA.
December 23rd, 2008 at 8:27 am
@ Kirby :
i heavily concerned for the whole movie ^^
March 16th, 2010 at 6:21 pm
Um, Did you all forget about “Johnny Mnemonic”???? It had gun play and some fighting! It was alright in my eyes! I think Keanu can pull this off. but what about every body else??? You need that right mix and chemistry like Jet do you go with Mr. T, or Bruse Willas?? Miss valentine, Anglia jolie, or Megan Fox?? ED<–I got no IDEA for ED! Julia, Jeri Ryan?, or I don’t know I think Jeri Ryan is hott! There is still a hand full of others maybe George Tikai and James Hong as leaders of that triad gang thing was going on. um what about dohan (Not sure of the name but the guy that gave spike the swordfish) T.C. and “zeros”??? It has been a while so I may be a little off but Keanu is in so let us stop fussing about it and do our best to help fox….um for lack of a better word NOT SUCK, maybe even the “REAL-D” company involved make the space seens in 3-D? something to think about?