January 3, 2011
Some cyberpunk moives to Look for in 2011
Source: IMDB, with links to individual movies.
Welcome to 2011! With the new year upon us, let’s take a look at some movies expected to come out in the next 12 months… At least, according to the IMDB they’re expected to come out. As always, some will get pushed back to 2012… or later, some may end up direct-to-video, and some may never see a theater or home screen. If you feel up to it, you can check out IMDB’s Feature Films (to be) Released in 2011 and see how many of the 5744 you might want to watch and/or have reviewed here. I should warn you, most of the films listed are categorized as in development, that is, they’re still working on stuff like cast and script and haven’t started shooting yet, and may be canceled outright if such details cannot be ironed out. Better bookmark those links if you want to follow them.
Haven’t I seen this movie before? Chances are you have. 5700+ films may sound like a lot, but there’s a lot of movies based on other materials, including numerous remakes of movies like Short Circuit, Scanners, Videodrome, and Brave New World (to be directed by Riddley Scott). Even anime gems are getting live-action makeovers: Be ready for Cowboy Bebop, Technotise, Ghost in the Shell, and Bubblegum Crisis to go from pen-and-ink to flesh-and-blood (and CGI).
Comics are serious. The wave of comic-book based movies continues, and for cyberpunks some good choices are waiting in the wings. The coming year will see the likes of Y: The Last Man, Aphrodite IX, Ex Machina, and Deathlok make the jump from the comic pages to the big screen.
It’s in the books. Several novels are slated for 2011 movies, including two from cyberpunk godfather William Gibson. The seminal Neuromancer is on the in development list. That means another change of director, another change of script, another delay… Maybe we should forget Neuromancer for now and concentrate on Pattern Recognition. It’s in active development, and looks like it will be in theaters long before Neuromancer.
Also in development is How To Survive A Robot Uprising, which is about… something. Currently in post-production is Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand’s epic about a railroad tycoon facing a culture of self-destruction all around her. People say that the novel closely resembles the current economic situation. Not cyberpunk stuff, but I might see it just to give myself a laugh… or cry.
Movies to watch for? With all the apparent rehashes, prequels and sequels, TV spin-offs, and what could be best described as Hollywood’s continued loss of originality, I have found some movies that I would like to see and review this coming year. Your mileage will vary:
That’s just my shortlist. Plus some videos of past years yet to be viewed and reviewed, along with the other media to check, and 2011 looks like it’s going to be pretty busy.
As always, stay tuned…
Comments
January 3, 2011
PArtMusic said:
Just read over the article, and let me tell you, you just made my freaking night by letting me know there’s going to be a Pattern Recognition movie. The instant I saw that, I almost yelped with joy.
I’ve always been a massive Gibson fan, and I had read that over the summer. Amazing book, and I can’t wait to see how the film adaptation turns out.
SSJKamui said:
A Bubblegum Crisis movie will be released 2011? Wow. Yeah. I didn’t know about that. Thanks for the info.
Mr. X said:
Somehow, I don’t expect GITS and Texhnolyze to better in live action than they are in their current form.
What I do look forward is Despera ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Despera ) anime series - anything that was created by the same people as Serial Experiments Lain and Ghost Hound must be good.
Icarus said:
Thanks for the short list, you really got me pumped up there for a few minutes. I sort of don’t want to see Atlas Shrugged turned into a film though. That book is really dear to me, as is the Fountainhead. I don’t want to see it immortalized in a bastardization, and only known by its hollywood make… As is true for Pattern Recognition, and Neuromancer…
January 4, 2011
shumbapumba said:
Always get nervous about anime–>live action. Are Bebop, BBC and Ghost in the Shell going to be remade in Hollywood or Japan?
January 5, 2011
Mewler said:
@Mr. X: The anime being remade isn’t Texhnolyze, its Technotise… Yea I don’t know what’s up with that either. http://www.firstshowing.net/2010/06/10/legendary-nabs-technotise-rights-inspired-by-faux-trailer/
Also to look out for this year is Deus Ex 3, its not a movie but its 110% cyberpunk!
January 10, 2011
Pikmintaro said:
Some of those sound interesting, but the Cyberpunk movies I am looking forward to the most are, Ghost in the Shell, and Battle Angel Alita (Gunnm in Japan, and in the Japanese version her name is Gally instead of Alita), I just hope that they don’t get screwed up TO INFINITY AND BEYOND if they ever actually get made, but especially Ghost in the Shell because it’s my #1 favorite anime.
Out of that list the only ones I have heard of before are Real Steel (Saw a trailer for it at a movie) aaaaaand… that’s it, never heard of the others.
January 11, 2011
Anonymous said:
Supposedly Testsuo 3: The Bullet Man, will be released this year as well.
African Mango said:
Deus Ex Machina looks like it’ll be amazing, I really hope they don’t screw up Ghost In The Shell extract.
citizen said:
Lets hope they work out, agent/actors and studios only care about the money..
January 12, 2011
Stormtrooper of Death said:
Mister Roboto, you made a type in the title.
It says “Moives”, but should be “Movies”. just to mention.
January 28, 2011
DrPretto said:
I have just found about an Indian Sci-Fi movie called “Enthiran” or “Robot” the theme is cyberpunk in my opinion, and the effects blew my mind, it is the most expensive movie ever made in India.
9 min sample clip here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=svOlz2ei4Yk
Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvB9-TJe_lI
Please Review this movie.
February 2, 2011
doctor woot said:
It might just be me, but I get a sinking feeling about a Neuromancer movie ever being made…
February 14, 2011
Omar said:
Im going to start off by; I love the blog/site, its amazing!
I am a huge fan of cyberpunk and everything science fiction and robots and aliens.
I also would guess that a cyberpunk themed movie called Source Code with Jake Gyllenhaal is going to come out.
That movie can be considered cyberpunk right?
Thanks!
February 20, 2011
Sci-Fi said:
Cheers for the list! Will bookmark this then go off and check each one. Am really picky with films so will probably only watch two or three at most, but hopefully there’s something decent here.
March 12, 2011
Zeke said:
agents and studios care for only money, but any actor worth mention works out of passion for their art. it’s just not acting unless you have faith in and a connection with the characters you portray.
March 20, 2011
Mr. X said:
Fractale ( http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=7873 ) - highly recommended ongoing anime series.
June 16, 2011
Dedcex said:
I agree. When it comes to anime, I find it a little insulting when Hollywood hops on the project, when they lack the cultural understanding of the material that the Japanese creators have. Usually things like this end up botched and cheesy, or unoriginal, dumbed down and just plain obselete.
Dragon Ball Z was shot in the balls a few years back. And when I checked out the Evangelion live-action supposed-official website, I was disgusted by even their baby steps when it came to characters and whatnot. They chose a token Asian to play Rei, and guess what? No blue hair, no cold, callous stature, justa plain, token Asian. I have a bad feeling about this. Texhnolyze is Japanese, and should remain Japanese. Remember what happened to Speed Racer and Astro Boy?