Subscribe to our news feed Newsfeed   Follow on Twitter Follow on Twitter   Our YouTube channel channel  Facebook page  
Tuesday, 9th February 2010   |   Science Fiction and Fantasy Media
SFFMedia

3D SF thriller! Spielberg and Ghost in the Shell

The original animated Ghost in the Shell movie poster

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.



blog comments powered by Disqus
Last Updated on Tuesday, 14 April 2009  
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 >>
Next James Bond in 3D, but no 3D Robocop remake for Aronofsky
By John Howell   Wednesday, 13 January 2010  
A couple of days ago we told you that the next James Bond film was looking uncertain due to financial difficulties at MGM (the studio is apparently being sold). However, now The Age... 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 >>
District 9 director wants a prequel not a sequel - and maybe Monty Python?
By John Howell   Monday, 11 January 2010  
According to the Los Angeles Times, District 9 director Neill Blomkamp is planning a prequel to District 9 rather than a sequel (which we reported to you earlier). He's definitely not... 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 >>
Director Pierre Morel replaces Berg in Dune adaptation
By John Howell   Tuesday, 05 January 2010  
The upcoming Dune remake is still moving along, but with Pierre Morel instead of Peter Berg, according to Variety. Paramount Pictures has announced that Pierre Morel will direct the latest... 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 >>
Harold Ramis confirms Ghostbusters 3 2011 release date
By John Howell   Thursday, 31 December 2009  
There’s been a lot of speculation and contradictory talk about the new Ghostbusters 3 movie, both from original stars Bill Murray (Ghostbuster Dr. Peter Venkman) and Dan Aykroyd... More >>
Inception trailer 2: Leonardo DiCaprio in Christopher Nolan's psychological sci-fi thriller
By John Howell   Tuesday, 29 December 2009  
An excellent second trailer from Christopher Nolan's upcoming psychological science fiction thriller, Inception, has been released. The US$200 million film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and is... 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 >>
First Iron Man 2 trailer: humour, politics and Whiplash
By John Howell   Friday, 18 December 2009  
The first Iron Man 2 trailer has been released and looks sensational. It begins with Tony Stark (actor Robert Downey, Jr. as Iron Man) in front of some type of congressional hearing being... More >>
Google Phone, Nexus One, annoys Philip K Dick's daughter
By John Howell   Friday, 18 December 2009  
The announcement that Google's first phone would be dubbed the Nexus One has apparently annoyed the family of Philip K Dick. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Isa Dick Hackett,... 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 >>
Green Web Hosting
SFFMedia
Send us a story we've missed | Email
Editors
John Howell | Email | Blog
Gerard Wood | Email | Blog

Advertising | Email

Report a bug | Email

RSS Feed | Subscribe

Find us here too
SFFMedia Follow on Twitter

SFFMedia More about SFFMedia


Watch SF and fantasy clips