Dragonball Evolution
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Dragonball | |
---|---|
Directed by | James Wong |
Written by | Screenplay: James Wong Ben Ramsey Manga: Akira Toriyama |
Produced by | Stephen Chow James Wong |
Starring | Justin Chatwin James Marsters Jamie Chung Emmy Rossum Chow Yun-Fat Joon Park Eriko Tamura Randall Duk Kim |
Cinematography | Robert MacLachlan |
Edited by | Chris G. Willingham |
Music by | Brian Tyler[1] |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release dates | April 10, 2009 |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $100 million+[2] |
Dragonball is a 2009 live action film adaptation of the Dragon Ball franchise. The film follows Goku, played by Justin Chatwin, and his quest to obtain the mystical Dragonballs before the evil Frieza, played by James Marsters, does. The film began development in 2002, and is directed by James Wong and produced by Stephen Chow. It is scheduled for release on April 10 2009. There are current plans for two sequels.[3]
Cast
- Justin Chatwin as Goku: a powerful warrior who protects the Earth from an endless stream of rogues bent on dominating the universe and controlling the mystical objects from which the film takes its name.[4]
- James Marsters as Piccolo: The villain of the film.[4] Marsters explained that this incarnation of the character is "thousands of years old and a very long time ago he used to be a force of good, but [he] got into a bad argument and was put into prison for 2000 years. It got him very angry, and he finds a way to escape and then tries to destroy the world. The cool thing is, anybody who has seen Dragonball knows that Lord Piccolo transforms into a character named Piccolo, and that is a whole other ball of wax. [...] Heroic wouldn't be the wrong term by the end, but it's a long journey." He also confirmed Piccolo will retain his physical appearance from the anime. Marsters is a fan of the television series, which he described as being "the coolest television cartoon in the last 50,000 years [because] it’s got a Shakespearean sense of good and evil."[2] He admitted, "When I got the role I had doubts. The more I live with it I realize that I am going to rock this harder than I have anything in my life."[5]
- Jamie Chung as Chi-Chi: Goku's love interest.[6] Stephen Chow had been interested in casting Zhang Yuqi, whom he worked with on CJ7, in the part.[7]
- Emmy Rossum as Bulma: She aids Goku after her father's Dragonball is stolen by Piccolo.[8]
- Chow Yun-Fat as Master Roshi: Goku's mentor.[9]
- Joon Park as Yamcha.[10] James Kyson Lee auditioned for the role.[11]
- Eriko Tamura as Mai: She is a chief enforcer of Piccolo's and a shapeshifter.[10][12]
- Texas Battle as Carey Fuller: A high school bully. He is an original character created for the film.[13]
- Luis Arrieta as Weaver[14]: A classmate and friend of Goku. He is an original character created for the film.[15]
- Randall Duk Kim as Grandpa Gohan: The adoptive father and grandfather of Goku who teaches Goku everything he knows about martial arts.[16]
- Ernie Hudson as Master Mutaito: Master Roshi's former sensei and the one who sealed Lord Piccolo away for centuries. [17]
- Shavon Kirksey as Emi[18]
- A misnomer for Kargo, brother of Dende, previously used in Dragon Ball Z: Super Saiya Densetsu.
The singer Mario was turned down for a part in the film.[19]
Though other characters such as Kami will have a cameo in the film, it is still unknown who will portray him. There is also a supposed cameo of the Oozaru which is going to be all Cgi but this has yet to be confirmed.[20]
Production
In March 2002, 20th Century Fox acquired feature film rights to the Dragon Ball franchise.[21] In June 2004, Ben Ramsey, who wrote The Big Hit, was paid $500,000 to adapt Dragon Ball Z.[22] In 2007, James Wong and Stephen Chow were announced as director and producer respectively, and the project was retitled Dragonball. Wong rewrote the script.[4] Chow was a Dragon Ball fan, citing its "airy and unstrained story [which] leaves much room for creation", but explained he would only serve as producer because he believes that he should only direct stories he had created.[7] 87Eleven, the stunt performance company that worked on The Matrix and 300, is working on the film.[4] Ariel Shaw, who worked on Wong's entries in the Final Destination series and 300, is visual effects supervisor.[23] Robert MacLachlan, who also worked on Wong's Final Destination films, serves as cinematographer.[24]
Shooting began on December 3, 2007[13] in Mexico City, Mexico. Locations included the Universidad Tecnológica de México.[25] From January 2, 2008[25] the crew will shoot at Durango. The crew will move to Estado de México in March for some shots at Nevado de Toluca.[23] Shooting is also scheduled at Los Angeles, California.[9] In adapting the Dragon Ball manga, the futuristic cities were kept, however, the anthropomorphic creatures and talking animals (such as Turtle, Oolong and Puar) were dropped.[26] Many of the locations are very Oriental,[27] and there will be some Aztec influence too, particularly from their temples.[28] It was thought that Rossum would wear a blue wig to resemble her anime counterpart, but due to some leaked photos, it was turned out that she would not be wearing a blue wig. Instead she would have her original hair, which is all brown.[29] Chatwin will not wear a wig as the director felt Chatwin's hair resembled Goku's.[27] A large amount of Dragonball was shot in an abandoned jeans factory, also located in Durango, Mexico.[30] Filming wrapped in March and is now in post-production.[31]
Effects
Dragonball special effects are being done by Amalgamated Dynamics, while the visual effects are being done by Ollin Studios, Zoic Studios, and Imagine Engine.[32] The film will also have the anime style of fighting in Dragon Ball, such as chi energy blasts and the auras. It is unclear if signature moves, such as Goku's Kamehameha, Piccolo Jr.'s Special Beam Cannon or Yamcha's Spirit Ball, will be used in the film.[33] Other special effects, such as Piccolo's green skin, will also be in the film. The makeup is being done by Ed French and requires four hours of application.[34]
Release
20th Century Fox originally announced Dragonball would be released worldwide on August 15, 2008.[4] In March, they announced they were delaying the film to April 3, 2009 as the original release date put it in competition with four other films plus there was no time for post-production.[35]The release date was once again changed to April 8 2009 as it was an Easter Holiday.[36] The release date was changed for the third time, and is now set to hit theaters for a Friday release on April 10, 2009.[37]
Sequels
Dragonball has been announced as a planned trilogy with Marsters already signed up for two sequels.[38]
References
- ^ Dragonball - The Movie » Blog Archive » Brian Tyler is Dragonball Composer
- ^ a b Illeane Rudolph (2008-01-30). "James Marsters on Fame, Family and Life After 40". TV Guide. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
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(help) - ^ "Wendy's Borerline Report with James Marsters". Livejournal. 2008-05-01. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
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(help) - ^ a b c d e Tatiana Siegel (2007-11-13). "'Dragonball' comes to bigscreen". Variety. Retrieved 2007-11-14.
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(help) - ^ "Monthly Question & Answer". James Marsters's official site. 2008-01-15. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
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(help) - ^ Carly Mayberry (2007-12-06). "Chung goes live with 'Dragonball'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
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(help) - ^ a b "Dragon Ball to become live action film". China.org. 2007-12-15. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
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(help) - ^ Tatiana Siegel (2007-12-16). "Emmy Rossum set for 'Dragonball'". Variety. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
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(help) - ^ a b Leslie Simmons (2007-12-19). "Chow rolls to Fox for 'Dragonball'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
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(help) - ^ a b Leslie Simmons (2007-12-15). "Rossum roars onto 'Dragonball' cast". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2007-12-15.
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(help) - ^ "Heroes' Lee Auditions for Dragon Ball Z Movie". Anime News Network. 2007-11-11. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
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(help) - ^ "James Wong to direct Dragon Ball movie". Japanator. 2007-10-08. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
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(help) - ^ a b "High schoolers" Cite error: The named reference "shootingdate" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Dragon Ball Movie Blog » Blog Archive » Weaver?
- ^ "Teto, el mejor amigo de Goku es Mexicano"
- ^ Randall Duk Kim's official site
- ^ "Ernie Hudson joins Dragonball."
- ^ Dragonball (2009)
- ^ Gary Graff (2007-12-14). "Mario Already Conceptualizing Next Album". Billboard. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
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(help) - ^ http://dbthemovie.com/2008/06/17/more-information-on-jump-sqs-set-visit/
- ^ Chris Gardner (2002). "Fox draws deal for 'DragonBall' live-action pics". The Hollywood Reporter. 372 (28).
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ignored (help) - ^ Claude Brodesser, Claude (2004-06-24). "Ramsey rolls 'Dragonball Z'". Variety. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
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(help) - ^ a b "Dragon Ball Z to Shoot in Durango, Mexico". SuperHeroHype.com. 2007-11-06. Retrieved 2007-11-07.
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(help) - ^ "Credits & Awards". Robert MacLachlan. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
- ^ a b "First Dragon Ball Z Set Photos Online". SuperHeroHype.com. 2007-12-19. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
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(help) - ^ Cesar Huerta (2007-12-16). "Filman 'Dragon Ball' en escuela de Tlalpan" (in Spanish). El Universal. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
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(help) - ^ a b Minerva Hernández (2007-12-18). "Justin es un Goku 'nato'" (in Spanish). El Diario. Retrieved 2007-12-19.
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(help) - ^ Cesar Huerta (2007-12-19). "Se suma a 'Dragon Ball'". El Universal. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
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(help) - ^ DBTheMovie.com Exclusive: Weekly Young Jump Scans
- ^ Durango's non-traditional incentives - Entertainment News, Film News, Media - Variety
- ^ Dragon Ball Movie Blog » 2008 » March
- ^ Dragonball (2009)
- ^ James Marsters has Ki
- ^ Dragonball Movie Podcast
- ^ "No Dragonball Movie this Year". Superhero Hype!. 2008-03-05. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
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(help) - ^ ""DragonBall Movie"". Fox Japan. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
The release date was changed again for a Friday release on April 10, 2009.
- ^ Welcome to Foxmovies.com
- ^ Marsters Signed for Trilogy
External links
- Offical Website (redirects you to Fox website)
- Dragonball at AllMovie
- Live Action Anime
- Dragon Ball Movie Blog
- DB The Movie Blog
- Wikipedia articles needing copy edit from June 2008
- 2009 films
- 2000s action films
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