Neon Genesis Evangelion

You must live in Boston.

Most Americans don't think "an important patriotic symbol? Oh yeah, Boston"

Most would probably pick Washington DC first.

New York on the other hand is the major financial and cultural hub of the country, and a huge port city.

edited 10th Oct '12 6:20:12 PM by Sackett

I don't live in Boston.

Also, why would you rebuild an important port when THE PORT DOESN'T EXIST ANYMORE BECAUSE THE ENTIRE THING IS FLOODED?

edited 10th Oct '12 6:22:14 PM by Brushguy

It'd be nice if it wasn't loyal to the source material, I think.

In terms of it being more of an Alternate Universe with similar themes and concepts, I mean. Not a poorly done adaptation, an adaptation that realizes it won't be able to translate everything and instead is inspired by the original, rather than a copy with major differences due to budget restraints.

We don't know how many movies it would take to wrap up the plot in a satisfactory way (Even with liberal amounts of editing done to the overall plot). Rebuild is four movies long, but it couldn't succeed as well here if it were marketed solely to the western audience. The Japanese are familiar with Evangelion—they enjoyed it, and were willing to let the first two movies end without explaining what's going on, because they trust that it's in good hands and is going to be epic. They know some of the plot points that weren't brought up or clarified in the movie, because they saw the TV series or at least heard about it and have a basic understanding of the vocab, technology, and concepts that the movies don't bother explaining for time's sake. They anticipate the third and fourth movies, because they know it will make it all worth it, and that anticipation made up for any confusion. (Well, that and the fanservice, but you get my point.)

Western audiences...if you were to grab a random guy off the streets of New York or something, someone who hadn't seen or even heard of Evangelion, and had him watch Rebuild, he probably wouldn't like it enough to buy the sequel from you. Not because he has bad taste (Or good taste, as the case may be), but because of all the aforementioned stuff. Add to that the high budget a life action movie about Eldritch abominations fighting giant mechas with lots of special effects and set pieces and whatnot, and you have a movie sequel that's not being funded.

I'm not saying that Michael Bay should be put in charge and Shinji should be played by a ripped twenty five year old who beats up Angels with his bare fists and huge chin, but some changes should be made if it's adapted. Some questions answered during the movie rather than at the end, with others implied as sequel hooks. A conclusion that gives closure, so the movie can stand on its own, but allows for future sequels. I'm not sure how old the actors should be, since it's hard to find good child actors out there who can play the leading role, but maybe late teens.

I would like a perfect adaptation, don't get me wrong, but I'm trying to be realistic here (And yes, I realize I could be wrong about a lot of my assumptions. I'm just giving my opinion, I'm not even sure if this would come close to working). Themes and emotions could be preserved, and it could hopefully still feel like Evangelion. I just think it doesn't have to be completely similar, like with the movie adaptions of Hellboy.

NGE tabletop RPG sourcebook, Adeptus Evangelion, actually lists Boston as a base of one of Nerv bases.

And since Angels are so Lovecraftian, the choice would be spot on. Along with fictional Arkham, Dunwich, Kingsport and Innsmouth, Boston appeared in HPL's stories.

Ya, know, you guys are right. An American Evangelion doesn't have to be a totally radical version.

A good team of writers and a director could explore the themes and take a different tack while respecting the source material. They would have to choose a cast that's up to the task. All too often studios hire hack directors who make WTF casting decisions because it's a "Live Action Cartoon".

And that'd happen differently with Eva and they'd completely respect the source material because....?

Meh, I'm actually good with the development hell.

Yeah, I guess Rebuild, being more "upbeat" (as upbeat as Evangelion can be), is better than nothing.

I don't think Evangelion can work in the movie format. If there is a live action adaption it'd have to be on HBO or maybe the Sci-Fi channel, (similar to Battlestar Galactica).

I could see it happening.

It'd have to be made by a fan, though. Eva's not something just anyone can do. Give it to Michael Bay and he'll make the robots aliens and alter the backstory beyond recognition, give it to Peter Jackson and he'll turn it into a movie that's 4 hours too long with unnecessary added drama (THANK YOU KING KONG). Give it to M Night Whatshisname and you'll get The Last Airbender Gaiden.

Only the most dedicated of fans and actors could pull this off, with a higher chance of success if the actors themselves are fans. You've gotta strike a balance between the drama, the action and the pseudo-philosophy, which all 3 above directors would ruin.

edited 11th Oct '12 5:36:16 AM by MrMallard

Casting a Live action Eva, here are my ideas:

• Gendō Ikari: Ken Watanabe, or Jeff Bridges if the character is Americanized
• Misato Katsuragi: Tina Fey, Olivia Wilde,
• Doctor Ritsuko Akagi: Lena Headey
• Shinji Ikari: Michael Cera, Daniel Radcliffe or Garrett Hedlund
• Asuka Langley Soryu/Shikinami: Emma Watson, Sophie Turner
• Rei Ayanami: Summer Glau, Maisie Williams
• Kaworu Nagisa: Cillian Murphy
• Doctor Kozo Fuyutsuki: Sean Bean

Nah, Jeff Bridges is way too chill to be Gendo :P

but he doesn't die early on...

edited 11th Oct '12 7:29:40 AM by ElectricBoogaloo

You know,considering the dynamic they had in the Harry Potter movies, it'd be interesting to see Radcliffe and Watson interact as Shinji and Asuka.

Charlotte Gainsbourg as Yui Ikari?

Brian Blessed should totally be Gendo.

YES.

I could see Bierce Brosnan as Fuyutsuki, under certain conditions. He'd basically have to starve himself to get those cheekbones.

Seriously, Fuyutsuki's cheekbones are the shit. If the live-action actor doesn't have the cheekbones to pull of Fuyutsuki, they do not deserve the role.

Charlotte Gainsbourg as Yui Ikari? Hell YES!

Robert De Niro as the voice/chairman of SEELE, with BRIAN BLESSED being some government/UN official. Or they could be both, government officials on the outside, voices of the SEELE monoliths as well.

Liam Neeson as Gendo is another idea.

Hilary Swank as Misato,

Emilia Clarke as an older Rei.

Nikolaj Coster Waldau as Dr. Kozo Fuyutsuki.

Jack Gleeson as Shinji Ikari

edited 12th Oct '12 3:08:20 AM by TairaMai

"If you are looking for acceptance, I can tell you I don't have love for you. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for you. If you get in that robot now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not need you for long. But if you run away, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you."

So I came across this article today:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/12/opinion/brooks-the-personality-problem.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

I have no idea as to the actual validity of this psychological model, but hot damn, does it perfectly describe Asuka, Shinji, and Rei, respectively. Knowing Anno's interest in Freudian psychology, it makes me wonder if he used it in creating his main characters.

Also, pretty Spergy, but I think I've found out what N2 Mines use :

[1]

... Convergent creativity? Whatever it's called, I'm sure Anno and his team would be very surprised that what's almost certainly a randomly chosen, meaningless term of theirs ended up gaining a Truth in Television foundation.

If N2 mines were chemical explosives, I wonder why they bothered with them! Hydrogenium bombs for the win!

I'm pretty sure it's a meaningless term, but I like sperging about stuff like that.

Like I've discovered what Personality disorder Asuka likely has. [1]

Wow, she fits that description almost perfectly.

Evangelion has broken through reality and bent the rules of psychology to apply to the protagonists.

That, or the Evangelion team really did their homework.