Cyberpunk discussion

Hmmmm, I'm concerned that a Neuromancer movie, even in the best of hands, will turn into another Johnny Mnemonic. I liked JN, but it was schlocky as hell.

Ok, this comes up every couple of years here or there... Let's cast the movie! Here's my picks, unduly influenced by who's performances I've recently seen:

Case: Edward Norton / Jared Leto / Clive Owen
Molly: Michelle Yeoh / Famke Janssen / Milla Jovovich
Armitage: Ving Rhames / Rutger Hauer / Edward James Olmos
Linda: Olga Kurylenko / Rosario Dawson / Natalya Rudakova
Julius Dean: Morgan Freeman / Anthony Hopkins / Powers Boothe
The Finn: Steve Buescemi / John Hannah / Christopher Walken
Peter Riviera: Michael Biehn / Gary Busey / Benicio Del Toro
Lady 3Jane: Carla Gallo / Indira Varma / Kerry Condon
Dixie Flatline (voice): Woody Harrelson / Bruce Willis / Chris Rock
Wintermute (voice): Catherine Keener / Judy Dench / Helena Bonham Carter
Neuromancer (voice): ?? I don't know any child actors

It's been way too long since I read the book to be able to offer any casting on anyone other than Case or Molly. Ziyi Zhang would be a better choice than Yeoh. The latter is too old for the role (at least for Neuromancer). Clive Owen would be perfect for Case, though.

Ziyi Zhang is an excellent choice for Molly. I had to look her up on IMDB; once I recognized her I could totally see her in the role.

Ugh I dread a Neuromancer movie. But, to offer my thoughts:

Case: I like the idea of Edward Norton, he is such a great actor, but a bit old? Clive Owen??? No way. WAY too manly. Case isn't a nebish, but he never exercised a day in his life, and Clive Owen has an accent he can't shake. Richard Armitage might work, if he can de-accent. Better yet: an unknown.

Molly: Molly isn't as delicate as Ziyi. IMO there's only one candidate for Molly, the girl who played Lisbeth Salander in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Noomi Rapace. I thought that the second I saw her in that film, and I wasn't even surmising anyone would make Neuromancer. http://www.sentieriselvaggi.it/file/1... If you've seen that movie, you know what I mean. If you haven't, SEE IT. :D

I haven't seen The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, I've added it to Netflix but it doesn't look like it's out yet.

I really want to be optimistic about the movie. I wasn't a big fan of The Cube; but I understand Splice is faster paced. I'm definitely going to see it when it comes out.

I was certain Hollywood was going to ruin one of the icons of my adolescence, V for Vendetta. The first few minutes of the movie were totally different than the comic, and I was pissed off. But about thirty minutes into it, I was totally onboard with how the adapted the graphic novel.

Movies are a different medium, and as VfV shows, it's possible to remain true to the original while going in a few different directions. Possible, anyway...

As a fan of both Splice and Cube, I'm suddenly hopeful for this. Thanks for the link, Vlad!

I just don't think a Canadian film maker will do it justice. Chris Cunningham would have been perfect... but I could see it taking a decade to shoot it and it going into production hell. to be honest I didn't like Cube very much and have yet to see splice. I think because Cunningham was originally attached to the project I was thinking it would be effects heavy... like Tron: Legacy. one could only hope for quality effects and production like in that film but seeing as how they'll be working with a lowly Canadian budget... we'll just see. at least it isn't James Wan. but I would rather have the movie blow people's minds in a thoughtful way than make some made for TV-esque feature. so here's hoping for the best... and that people don't compare it to The Matrix. ugh.

This could go wrong is so so many ways... ah and we leave it in the capable artistic hands of hollywood. I know for 1, I sure hope to God and pray they don't pic Clive Owen for Case or some ridiculous random boy-band type kid with curly blonde hair or something. I also pray they don't over do action and CGI, I pray Molly is comes out as close to trinity as possible, yet at the same time I pray people don't go "oh look it's a matrix copy" I also pray it isn't like a mega-blockbuster, with ridiculous camera effects. Wow, I have a lot of concerns... perhaps I should just pray they don't make it all.

I was thinking the same thing... they probably just shouldn't make it at all. when they mentioned Chris Cunningham I was already imagining some sort of stylized lighting and sets... stuff that you just know you can't really even begin to imagine if he's directing. so that would have been perfect because they'd be setting the bar high! I think the best part about it is that most people have seen the Matrix so they probably wouldn't have to explain how jacking in to the Matrix and all that works... people will already have a pretty common knowledge of how it works. They can toss in all the cyberpunk techno-jargon in and hopefully come off as something slick or fresh without compromising it's intellectual integrity. I kind of want it to confuse people--not to the extent of the end of The Matrix: Reloaded (all that goddamn philosophy) while also not playing out like a Michael Bay film.

isn't Finn supposed to be kind of chubby? i always pictured him that way but i don't quite remember if he was as actually described as such.

Gibson talks about the movie. It's real and in development.
http://io9.com/5946779/william-gibson...

How about Maggie Cheung for Molly?

Kate Bekensale? Or even Gong Li? Frankly, I don't think that Zhang Ziyi has the 'oomph' to do justice to Molly...

If this happened, you could be fairly certain that JJ Abrams would end up directing it ...

I'm always hesitant to watch a movie about a book I've read. Usually they screw something up or leave out things I think are important and change the feel of the story.

And sometimes they just make a horrible mess out of it. But if this movie does make it to the big screen, I hope it will be awesome. It's one I don't think I would be able to pass up.

JJ Abrams would be fun but maybe too slick... Same with James Cameron... Would be epic, but maybe not rough enough. How about Danny Boyle? 28 Days Later and Sunshine certainly prove him a master of texture. Thoughts?

Norton for Case, he's potentially skinny enough, the others are a little too mature.
Buescemi is perfect for the Finn.
Directors...David Lynch? Might not be too technologically minded but he did do ExistenZ.

David wrote: "David Lynch? Might not be too technologically minded but he did do ExistenZ. "

David Cronenberg did eXistenZ. Lynch has done sci-fi => Dune.

I like Lynch but his work is about his own obsessions, not sure he could keep with another artist's vision... Cronenerg could be cool, but could he overcome his own chaos? I'm sticking w Danny Boyle for now...

David wrote: "David wrote: "David Lynch? Might not be too technologically minded but he did do ExistenZ. "

David Cronenberg did eXistenZ. Lynch has done sci-fi => Dune."
GASP! Totally blew that one. Chalk it up to lack of sleep and caffeine. Thanks for the catch.

Andy, yeah... even if for the lens flare. Maybe Chris Cunningham would help him?