Cowboy Bebop

Martial Media, Culture and Other Arts Martial Media and Popular Culture
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I only watched a little of one episode of this ever. But this should get some more discussion going. We so love Keanu here.

Keanu Reeves Eager To Do Something Good With Cowboy Bebop Movie
Published by Larry Carroll on Wednesday, December 17, 2008 at 1:05 pm.

'Cowboy Bebop’Its no secret that Keanu Reeves loves anime a main influence on the Matrix series. Its also common knowledge that the actor holds a place in his heart for sci-fi, as evidenced by films like A Scanner Darkly, Johnny Mnemonic and the currently-tops-in-theaters The Day the Earth Stood Still. Its no surprise, then, that Reeves latest passion project revolves around his desire to make a live-action Cowboy Bebop.

Oh yeah, cool, he said when I asked him about the flick recently. Were trying to do that.

As fans of the Japanese classic TV series know, Bebop follows a crew of bounty hunters traveling around the universe in the year 2071. Reeves hopes to play Spike Spiegel, one of these futuristic cowboys forced to pick up the slack after a population crash and hyperspace gateways have left law-enforcement unable to capture many of the galaxys most ruthless criminals.

Its got a Western quality, a Western film noir aspect to it, Reeves said of why hes such a big fan of Shinichiro Watanabe and Keiko Nobumotos groundbreaking series. Its got so much style to it, and thats part of its appeal. That kind of Old West, bordertown, low-tech science fiction aspect.

Take a look at this clip and youll get an idea of why Reeves is not only a perfect-looking fit for Spiegel, but also why he thinks the most important person on the set will be the one trying to translate the series unique look. I think that would be a production designers dream, Reeves said of the flick. I think you just need a good production designer.

The flick is currently being put together by Erwin Stoff, a producer who has spent the last two decades working almost exclusively on Reeves projects, and recently set the film up at 20th Century Fox. Weve got the rights, weve got a writer, Keanu explained. Hes putting together a scene outline.

Reeves revealed that this outline for the flick is currently focusing on the origins of the fictional Bebop drug developed by the military, which provides its users with a brief surge of superhuman reflexes and awareness. Were taking the Red Eye [story], the beginning part of the series, he explained, and then well deal with the end of the series. Were trying to figure out [the time frame]. Were looking at the story right now.

Since the beloved 26-episode show (as well as the feature film) didnt necessarily maintain a linear style of storytelling, Reeves said that somewhere between the Red Eye origins and the Bebop conclusion, theyll be picking out various highlights for their own use.

Yeah, its so episodic and so disconnected. Were trying to figure out what pieces to put together to tell one story, he explained. Because its such a short form, to make a 2 hour version [will be tough]. And its got so much of an origin-story obligation; youve got to get people up to speed, but you dont want to do much of that. There are a lot of things to take into consideration, but we think we can do something good.

With devoted fans all over the world, and a complex universe to depict on screen, Reeves knows that it wont be easy to make a Cowboy Bebop movie. Yeah, he grinned when reminded of these facts. But thats why you want to do it.

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Noooooooooo!

It tastes like burning!

Please, Hollywood, at least leave Samurai Champloo alone…

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i think i posted something about this way way way back. keanu looks a bit like spike all he needs is the bob delon afro and it might work. as for the acting we’ll see we know he has the ability but the ****er needs a director who is going to push him there. just remember devils advocate.

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doug, post up the picture of kr as ss.

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here it is

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I thought you posted something too, Doug

It didn’t pop up on the search engines, so it’s probably buried in another thread. So I thought I’d start a new one, since the 47 Ronin one is doing so well. :stuck_out_tongue:

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do you guys know what bloody tears taste like? I can tell you because they have been falling into my mouth ever since i read this thread.

:frowning:

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That’s a normal reaction to any non-Bill and Ted Keanu Reeves movie.

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agreed on the bill and ted thing. and keanu reeves is an odd choice for this film. but its fox and fox doesnt cast films by who’s right they cast by who does box office.and all thou the world over knows keanu reeves doesnt act(im not saying he cant we’ve seen that he can, im saying he doesnt) they keep going to to his movies. so what you going to do.

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I’ve only seen the Cowboy Bebop movie when it came out some years ago, otherwise I’m not familiar with the series. However, believe it or not, I actually think Keanu might do fine playing the main guy. And if they get Yuen Woo-Ping to choreograph it, he could certainly pull off the action, too.

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ehh… watch the series and then come back. honestly idk if he can or cant. it will be considerable work on his part. he has the ability that i do know.

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he definately has the dronish absence of emotion that spike has. but for me keanu doesnt quite pull of the, im deadlier than thou vibe.

i actually enjoyed point break back when it came out.

i am a big cowboy beebop fan, own it all and definately one of my fav anime, series or movie. ill have to wait and see on this one.

i tend to like things like this regardless of how bad the movie is. because at the heart of it, the people making the film are trying to do a good job and obviously are making a movie based on the anime because somewhere someone in the works loves it and got it into the live action area. so even if its not that great, ill enjoy it if they can capture any of the beebop essence.

im sure they will do SOMETHING well in the film that will make it worth while.

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lets hope it doesnt go the dragon ball route. :frowning:

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Who’s playing Fay?

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nobody as of yet. this film is not even being made till 09, there isnt even a script or a writer. in the movies to gt a film green lit, a producer will usually get a star attached to it, even if the star ends up dropping out, it seems that keanu has some invested interest in the movie so i dont think that thats gonna happen in this case, but his name is an automatic green light.

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[QUOTE=Jimbo;902888]I’ve only seen the Cowboy Bebop movie when it came out some years ago, otherwise I’m not familiar with the series. However, believe it or not, I actually think Keanu might do fine playing the main guy. And if they get Yuen Woo-Ping to choreograph it, he could certainly pull off the action, too.[/QUOTE]

Exactly. The only people who think Keanu Reeves would be good for the role are people who’ve never watched the series.

Anyone familiar with Spike’s personality, for the most part, don’t think Keanu reeves can handle this. He lacks spike’s personality and ability.

As for Yuen Woo-Ping, I disagree.. Cowboy Bebop’s not a kung fu movie, its action is usually really quick and basic. The final episode of the anime has a beautiful, very quick battle between spike with his gun, and vicious with his katana. Its short and sweet, like almost every fight scene in the anime - most of the action is shootouts and such though. Not hand to hand combat. Though really, It’d take a miracle to make Keanu look anywhere near as good as Spike did in any of those scenes.

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[QUOTE=AdrianK;903728]Exactly. The only people who think Keanu Reeves would be good for the role are people who’ve never watched the series.

Anyone familiar with Spike’s personality, for the most part, don’t think Keanu reeves can handle this. He lacks spike’s personality and ability.

As for Yuen Woo-Ping, I disagree.. Cowboy Bebop’s not a kung fu movie, its action is usually really quick and basic. The final episode of the anime has a beautiful, very quick battle between spike with his gun, and vicious with his katana. Its short and sweet, like almost every fight scene in the anime - most of the action is shootouts and such though. Not hand to hand combat. Though really, It’d take a miracle to make Keanu look anywhere near as good as Spike did in any of those scenes.[/QUOTE]
dude you do realize its acting right? anybody can pull a rabbit out of the hat, fact is keanu is making so, you can uck up and wait for it to come out, or ***** and moan to the cow comes home. just be happy anybodys, making it. and choreagraphy yuen woo ping would be hot.

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Am I the only one here who thinks that Wu Ping isn’t that great?

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yes. wu ping is great. but he’s not the best. sammo hung is better then him imo.

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i think most agree keanu is kind of over rated much of the time. and a little dull. im part of that camp.

however, i sit here and think to myself ‘who would be a good spike’

the answer i came up with is, one guy has about as good a chance as another of pulling it off. keanu probably has a better chance than most. plus hes got the name. i cant think of any famous hollywood guys that would be able to totally nail spike.

the thing is, the character is so developed, it would be hard for anyone to nail it exactly.

i always loved the hand to hand in bebop. throughout the entire series, there is a good deal. and yep, they are short but oh so very sweet. quick, vicious and to the point. spike dont mess around.

im really looking forward to some fly scenes though, could be very beautiful.