With yesterday’s iPhone post listing some merits of game development, there is a seedier side to owning what amounts to a GPS handheld computer wherever you go. A lawsuit has been filed with Studio8, makers of the popular Vampires Live, Ninjas Live, Racing Live, and a number of other (insert noun) Live games. The suit alleges Strom8 knowingly inserted an electronic backdoor to farm phone numbers from downloaders.

Is it all worth the fervor? Some would say no, I mean everyone has access to your telephone right? You give your number to universities, pizza chains, and a number of other businesses. Whether it be an error in judgement, although Storm8 notes it’s a bug, the point of contention for me is a privacy issue. As a business decision recording phone numbers may be a way just to track who is downloading it, but as a marketing decision I see a way to profit by selling my private information to 3rd parties. If you take my information tell me. If I find out later you’ve done it secretly, I’ll be none too pleased. Wouldn’t you be upset if Domino’s and PizzaHut sold your information and home address to telemarketers or am I just being crazy?

[BoingBoing]

Hoping to catch Blood: The Last Vampire in all its live action goodness this summer? We’ll you may just be out of luck. Samuel Goldwyn Films is only doing a very limited theatrical release of the film in the US. When it debuts on July 10 of this year the movie will only be showing in 9 theaters in the US Check the list to see if you’re in luck.

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Yet another trailer for the live action movie adaptation of Blood: The Last Vampire and the movie just keeps looking better each time. This trailer delves a bit more into the plot of the movie and while there are significant differences with the manga, the OVA and the anime series, there’s also quite a bit of reference to these original works. In fact there’s quite a few shots taken directly from the OVA.

The general public will most likely find it cheesy and juvenile but it also might just be the most faithful Hollywood anime adaptation in quite a while.

[TrailerAddict]

While summer of 2009 isn’t a solid release for the U.S., Blood: The Last Vampire will open internationally in Japan on May 29, June 12 in the U.K., June 17 in France, as well many other European countries.  We’ve been following Blood since the teaser was first posted and it’s nice to see they plan to release it across North America. This is one of many anime adaptations, getting the Hollywood treatment. Recent reports also hint that Warner Bros. plans make an American version of Death Note. 

[KungFu Cinema]

An anime adaptation of Twilight? Could it be? The adaptation that could potentially reach fangirl-ism critical mass and engulf us all in a black hole of glomps and gleeful screeches? Apparently its more likely than you’d think!

On the DVD director’s commentary of Twilight there’s a small conversation between director Catherine Hardwicke and male lead Robert Pattinson. Pattinson jokes that on one scene he looks ”like an anime character”, to which Hardwicke replies "Hey, I think there’s going to be an anime version of this in Japan. So you will bean anime character."

Oh god, I can see it now, the bishonen look, the yaoi fanart, the doujins, OH GOD THE DOUJINS! I guess this is Japan’s revenge of Hollywood adapting their stuff into shitty movies and you know what? It’s working.

[Sci Fi Wire]

Unlike other less reputable anime live action projects, the long awaited Blood: The Last Vampire live action movie actually looks fucking awesome and… you know, looks like the original. It looks amazing to say the truth, Jeon Ji-hyun knows how to don the schoolgirl outfit. The film will see a May 29 release date in Japan, so you can expect a subbed version within the week. No US release date has been announced for this film, but with schoolgirls kicking ass with katanas in a skirt well, it wont be long until there’s one.

[ANN]

After a few centuries too long, everyone’s favorite gun-slinging vampire is going into retirement. Young King Ours, the magazine that saw Hellsing from its humble beginnings just published the last of the manga. Hirano Kohta is already planning his next project, which will begin early next year. No word on if his new project will contain supernatural creatures and breasts that randomly change in size, Kohta’s trademarks.

The 9th volume of the manga in America comes this month after over a freaking year since the release of the last one. Fans, good luck avoiding spoilers for a couple of years.

[ANN]

Back in November we heard of Production I.G. intentions to make a Blood: The Last Vampire movie starring Korean actress Ji-hyun Jun. You might also recall I was none too pleased with that casting decision. Today I stand corrected, a few unofficial photos from the shooting of the movie have made it online through Japanese site joins.com.

Miss Ji-hyun Jun looks as close to the real (fake?) thing as one can get. Sure she’s smiling a whole lot more than Saya would on those pictures but she’s out of character. Now that I’ve been turned I will be counting the seconds to the release of the movie.

[Joins.com / Via ANN]

At last, after a small delay, the trailer for the third Hellsing OVA episode is here.

For Hellsing conosieurs, this episode will feature Alucard’s trip to Brazil and the beginning of the Nazi undead attack on London. The battles and key story scenes in this part of the story are so epic they hurt. So far the trailer doesn’t seem to equal those qualities in motion, hopefully the final product will be better. Good news is we only need to wait 8 days until its released in Japan on April 4 and thus only some extra days for a fansub. Bitching. 

Production I.G. has just released news that ‘Blood the Last Vampire’ will undergo the Life Action treatment by french movie company French Pathe. Blood was an experimental project which won best animation at the 4th Japan Media Arts Festival, with is dark and brooding themes and detailed animation it captured the hearts and jugulars of thousands (see what I did there? cuz shes a vampire, yeah I thought you did).

Saya, the lead character, will be played by korean actress Ji-hyun Jun (above), who with equally plump lips, lacks the badass attitude to play the role of Saya’s socks. Even with a 25 million dollar budget and the backing of France’s biggest independent film studio, I cant fathom this being anything more than decent.

[ANN]