Spielberg’s DreamWorks studio has acquired the rights to the Japanese animated science fiction classic Ghost in the Shell, a cyberpunk police thriller that tells the story of Motoko Kusanagi, a member of Section 9, a covert section of the Japanese National Public Safety Commission. Section 9 specializes in fighting technology-related crime.
"Ghost in the Shell is one of my favourite stories," Spielberg told Variety, "It's a genre that has arrived, and we enthusiastically welcome it to DreamWorks".
This is excellent news for fans of 3D and science fiction alike.
Ghost in the Shell's setting is cyberpunk, similar to that found in William Gibson's novels Neuromancer (1984), Count Zero (1986) and Mona Lisa Overdrive (1988).
First released as a manga comic book by Masamune Shirow in 1989, Ghost in the Shell has already spawned two additional manga editions, three animated movie adaptations, an animated TV series, and three video games. The second animated movie, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, was released by DreamWorks in 2004, which makes sense given Spielberg’s enthusiasm for the original story. Apparently Spielberg had to fight off Universal and Sony for the adaptation rights.
Masamune Shirow's work delves into the ethical and philosophical ramifications of merging humans with technology, artificial intelligence, corporate dominance, and the true nature of human identity.
Inspired by James Cameron's upcoming science fiction epic Avatar, Spielberg is already an advocate of 3D movie technology, teaming up recently with Peter Jackson to create a trilogy of 3D movies based on the famous Belgian book series The Adventures of Tin Tin. Hopefully, like Zemeckis' 3D Beowulf released last year, these upcoming 3D movies will give the movie going public another reason to leave their living rooms and step into the cincema. Beowulf was the most visually stunning movie I've ever seen.
There's no official release date for Ghost in the Shell, but we're likely to see a Tin Tin movie first, as they've already started selecting the cast for the first part of the trilogy.
New Iain M. Banks Culture movie By John Howell Tuesday, 02 February 2010 Iain M. Banks' Culture universe is finally heading for the big screen, with Empire Online reporting that his short story, A Gift From The Culture, is to be filmed by British production...
More >>
The Road: A Post-Apocalyptic Road Trip By Gerard Wood Friday, 29 January 2010 For the most part, director John Hillcoat's adaptation of The Road is hard going, almost unbearably tense and unremittingly grim. And yet it is a profoundly moving portrait of a father...
More >>
Asimov Foundation trilogy in 3D? By John Howell Tuesday, 26 January 2010 The last we heard about Roland Emmerich’s Foundation trilogy adaptation was that Oscar nominated writer Robert Rodat, the screenwriter of Saving Private Ryan and The Patriot, had been...
More >>
Star Trek 2 in 2012 By John Howell Monday, 11 January 2010 While J.J. Abrams' Star Trek reinvention wasn't the best science fiction movie of 2009 (that would have to go to the excellent District 9) it was pretty close, so it's good to hear that a...
More >>
Third Daniel Craig James Bond film uncertain By John Howell Tuesday, 05 January 2010 Bad news if you're a James Bond fan. The third James Bond film to star Daniel Craig (number 23 in the franchise) is on hold because of finance concerns at MGM. MI6 (the website, not the...
More >>
Avatar makes 1 billion with a crap script By John Howell Monday, 04 January 2010 You may have heard recently that Fox’s science fiction spectacular Avatar has reached worldwide box-office takings of over US$1.02 billion. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Variety...
More >>
Cameron planning Avatar trilogy By John Howell Tuesday, 22 December 2009 Now that his SF visual feast Avatar has been released (you can read our review here), director James Cameron is already discussing how he plans to continue the story (spoilers follow so...
More >>
Avatar could have been so much more By John Howell Sunday, 13 December 2009 After finally getting a chance to experience James Cameron’s science fiction epic Avatar, my feelings are entirely divided. On one hand James Cameron’s extravaganza is a visual...
More >>
Our 
