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On July 12 a surprise is coming to Japanese theaters. The original Ghost in the Shell movie is playing in 5 theaters throughout Japan. But this isn’t just a re-run of the movie; Mamoru Oshii’s masterpiece is being remastered.

A whole new voice acting track will be laid down by nearly all of the original actors, and all sound and music has been remastered by Skywalker Sound (of Star Wars fame). Most important of all, some of the animation is being replaced for new, shiny CGI. Below is a promo video for the event and 3 before/after images comparing it to the original.

If you ask me the original animation still holds ground and most of these “after” shots just seem darker and browner. Hell, add some bloom lighting and you can slap a Gears of War sticker on the cover!

Watching this has made me realize that the exotic aura surrounding older movies like GITS and Akira is missing from today’s productions. I remain excited. Expect a DVD of this remastered version to come out in a couple of months and hit the torrents a couple of weeks after that.

Production I.G., the company behind both Ghost In The Shell films and the Stand Alone Complex series, is meeting with Hollywood studios who are interested in producing a live action film of Ghost In The Shell. Yes, a live action GITS. Apparently they want to take advantage of the popularity of the franchise with Hollywood types and its huge american fanbase to make this a success. Success? They cant be serious, this smells of failure from a mile away!

What made Ghost In The Shell so popular cant be redone in Hollywood, just imagine a Tachikoma Hollywood style, either a soulless killing machine or with voice dubbing by Dakota Fanning. While many of you may be excited about this I’m crying to the heavens so that this doesn’t get made. Masamune Shirow, say it isn’t so.

[ANN]

A short update, in a recent interview with Tom Rothman, Fox Chairman, IESB asked him about James Cameron’s Battle Angel Alita project. Apparently its still in order, from the interview:

IESB: You are doing Battle Angel and Avatar with him, what’s going on with those two projects.

TR: Yeah, both of those movies are on his plate. I could tell you everything but then I would be killed and no one would be able to feed my family.

So, yeah, trilogy or not, its still getting made.

[IESB]

James Cameron is getting serious about taking Battle Angel Alita into Hollywood, actually he’s planning a trilogy. In an interview with MTV Cameron stated that his working on two sci-fi trilogies, Battle Angel being the later. While the plan is to make a trilogy its still not set in stone, Cameron is quoted saying “Battle Angel’ is actually designed as a three-film cycle. So the logic there is to make one and, if it hits, boom-boom on the other two.”. The future of both, Movie and director are at stake here, Cameron has been in hiatus for quite a while and fans worry that his magic might be gone with the wind.

When I think of what Cameron’s rendition of Battle Angel would be like I cant stop thinking about Dark Angel. I loved that series (and I swear Jessica Alba only accounted for half of that). How awesome would it be if they had that same atmosphere? The two stories share many elements so its a very likely thing.

[MTV]

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At last! This episode brings us two great things, first we finally get to see an opening, its grungy and the music is mid tempo, nothing too interesting but its not radiohead! Also the name debate is over, in this episode we see a scene where Real’s name is spelled out she’s Real Mayar… I know, go figure!

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Romdeau is a peaceful city, perhaps too peaceful. In this city ,where human and androids, known as auto-raves, coexist; people are encouraged to leave behind their possessions, feelings and thoughts. But this peace is interrupted as a mysterious figure declares a vendetta and a series of murders begins.

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