Blahs

[feuervogel]

I haven't written a damned thing yet today. I played a good bit of Bejeweled Blitz, and I quit when I got a score of 360,000 points. I don't think I can beat that any time soon.

I'm also nerding about the upcoming Tekken movie, thanks to a post at racebending. They list a Hwoarang now! *is totally gonna see it, even though it'll probably be stupid* They don't have any pictures of him on IMDB, but google images gives me this adorably saucy kid, and I approve. Though they'd better bleach his hair; he ain't Hwoarang if his hair ain't orange. And this cheerful fellow is Jin. The actor has apparently studied wushu, even.

The plot looks like it takes place around Tekken 3 (Ogre killed Jun Kazama; Jin goes to find his grandpa & learn karate), but there are characters in the movie who weren't introduced then: Raven (5), Dragunov (5DR), Miguel (6), Dean EarwickerSteve Fox (4). Then there are the "who the hell?" characters, probably added as bullshit love interests or something.

But, in a move that's pretty damn amazing, the cast reflects the actual ethnicities of the people in the game. Holy shit, eh?

I need to focus in on this writing thing...

(Also, why the hell didn't I upload my Tekken icon to DW? :P )

Comments

[kirin]

Yeah, that casting is looking pretty decent. My main worry is that trying to fit 20-odd game characters into a single movie is gonna result in most of them being shoe-horned in with cameos that make little to no sense plot-wise (not that I'm expecting a lot of the plot, but it's nice when characters who actually *have* backstories don't just get relegated to "henchman #3"-type roles). OTOH, if they actually end up showing a bunch of a proper tournament, you could just have everyone not plot-involved show up there I guess. A few of these guys are actually UFC dudes, so that'd make sense for them - stick to what they're good at.

Did you image-search Lee too? I can dig it. Give him a silver wig and make him say "Come ohn..."

Now go get some writing done. ;P

[feuervogel]

The actor is a little too young for Lee, though, since he's supposed to be Kaz's age. But he's *adorable*!

The promo materials focus on the Mishima clan and a few side characters (http://community.livejournal.com/racebending/133852.html). I'm digging the US magazine ad, because it reminds me of the video game copy, especially with Anna & Nina back to back in the corner.

Can't focus XP Antsy and tired at the same time.

[kirin]

From you in the other thread: "But I didn't see Lei Wulong, either. Where's Bryan's nemesis, eh? (I'd die laughing if they actually cast Jackie Chan for him.)"
Man, I really doubt there is any way this production could afford Jackie, unless he happened to be a Tekken fan and agreed to cameo for super-cheap.

Also, the Lee dude apparently starred in what looks like a B-grade ripoff of Initial D. The plot evidently revolves around his car's tires being stolen. :D

[feuervogel]

Oh god, that's hilarious.

Which reminds me, I still need to see Ong Bak. Hey, do you think VisArt has it? Any chance you want to run into Carrboro tonight?

... didn't think so.

[smarriveurr.livejournal.com]

I think that's the big danger of adapting any fighting game to film. When you play the game, you're choosing a protagonist and supporting cast every time, and the game can just tell the one story, develop the main character and maybe a few others. The movie, on the other hand, is going to be under pressure to develop all the characters to satisfy fans, and it just doesn't work.

Now, what would be kind of cool, even if also completely infeasible, would be to actually turn a fighting game into a series of films about the characters... but that would require plotting actual adaptations to new stories, and committing to multiple films. Plus, it would probably be weird to make a series of films that cover the same event with different outcomes...

[kirin]

Interesting; you might be able to get away with that structure as an animated series. I've seen a few other anime pull the "different version of events repeated" trick with sequential episodes. Could be cool, but you'd have to find some way to make a fight against the same final boss interesting 13 times... or loosen up your continuity so not everybody's story includes that.

I believe there was a Street Fighter anime series, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't that interesting.

[smarriveurr.livejournal.com]

You might, if a series got greenlit - but I think, if you had a series, nowadays, you'd look toward the option of having it be an ongoing, so you'd have to adapt the game story to a better episodic storytelling engine.

The big thing with film is that you have a limited span and need to tell a satisfyingly complete story, and even your average "action" movie is 60% people walking and talking (http://xkcd.com/311/), and if you try to introduce more than the usual two or three meaningful characters, that percentage will go up.

Plus, of course, the storytelling engine of a good game isn't going to translate well, since the best games are matters of character immersion and interactivity, which a film simply can't emulate.