Respect Your Local Priest

I went to the movies last night and saw Priest. It was pretty freakin AWESOME O_O

The movie is based on the 1998 manhwa(korean manga) Priest by Hyung Min-woo. It is about a world were there has always been vampires. The best hope for humanity lies with the church who has special priests who have the skills to combat the vampires. I to want saw more but I don't want to spoil the movie.

Paul Bettany was amazing. His action sequences had you on the edge of your seat and the slow motion was just right. I would just freeze every time there was a fight scene. Some scenes are gory and others remind me of a horror film. The first vampire I saw scared the crap out of me. I think I spilled slushy on my shirt. Along with Bettany, Maggie Q was great. I would have like to see her fight more. She has some great skills.

This movie has more to offer than just great action sequences. There is a great story about sacrifice, using God to control people and trying to have a good life in a crappy world. I found it to be a little short.  The movie is only 87 minutes but I think that was due to all the production problems. It is my hope Priest becomes a series. The manhwa ran from 1998-2007 so there is plenty of material. It also faired well in the box office this week coming in 4th on its opening weekend. Over all, this movie proved it is possible to turn a manga into an entertaining and well made film.

What Does Akira, Bleach, Ghost in the Shell and Ninja School Have in Common?

What's up world!

I was reading about Bleach today when I came across some amazing news! Warner Brothers bought the movie rights to Bleach and is in the talks of making a live action movie. I did more snooping and found out there are talks about live action movies for Akira, Ghost in the Shell, and Ninja Scroll.

Akira is closest to becoming an actual movie, so I know most about it. According to The Hollywood Reporter(THR) and Anime News Network (ANN) Leonardo DiCaprio is producing Akira. The writers on this project include Gary Whitta who worked on Eli Stone. Also, a writer from Harry Potter is working in the project.

Im really excited for this. The issue now is who gets cast into this and other anime/manga movies. Do you use an American cast, international,or a Japanese cast? I think Priest is a good example of cast for a live action manga movie. I haven't seen Priest but the cast is international and the trailers look great(I need to see this movie!) They are moving the setting of Akira to New York, which in my mind means its okay to use an American cast. ?_?

Bleach is really in the first stages. So far it is said the Peter Segal is going to produce the movie. Segal has produce Anger Mangement, 50 First Dates, and other comedies. He hasn't done any thing dark or action packed. I am a bit concerned he isn't really right for this. I don't want his first try at something different to be  with Bleach.  I have some high hopes for this movie(because I am in love with bleach <3).
 
Anime and manga are really about to get some A-list attention. Everyone should be worried that this is going to turn out like DBZ but Priest looks promising. I believe Preist could be the blue print to taking manga and anime and making it accessible to the world in a way the works for the general population. ^_^

*Sidenote Leonardo DiCapro is also supposed to produce Ninja Scroll but I don't know who is producing Ghost in the Shell(When I know more I will let you know).

The Hollywood Reporter Article
Anime News Network Article
Geekosystem Article