Keanu Reeves?! Really...

This morning when I awoke I was struck with irony. Not immediately, but as I sat down to start my day before making my trip home from a tangent in Toronto. A friend back in New York City had sent me a link, I am both reviled and intrigued by this link. It is telling me that because of the believed success that the Dragonball movie has to have, Fox Studios is looking to make a live action Cowboy Bebop. In what I'm guessing is an attempt to compete with Warner Brothers and Columbia House in their successful run with Marvel and DC titles; Fox has decided to get their feet wet with bringing anime to life. Death Note transitioned successfully. Why can't other titles?



This question is answered easily, you don't start with the worst when your studio hasn't been accumulating a reputation for quality. In turn, you don't jump to one of the best.

According to "The Hollywood Reporter" Fox Studios has acquired the rights to film Cowboy Bebop. Shinchiro Watanabe, the series creator and collective genius behind the culture of Bebop, is to serve as an associate producer alongside Kenji Uchida, Sunrise President.

Frightfully, Peter Craig is scheduled to write the script. This is an unknown with a cult classic animated series in his hands. I would prefer if Shinchiro Watanabe were to write the screenplay himself, but if the need for an American Writer is dire, please Joss, please? Your care with "Firefly" has lead me to believe that you're the only english speaking writer who could handle such a thing. Well, you and Kevin Smith, but great New Jersey icon is my answer to everything.

What has me screaming sacrilge as a Cowboy Bebop fan is the signing of Keanu Reeves as Spike Speigal.

What.

The.

Frak.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i4b7a99706a1f6a07e7120ead30352504

How does Keanu Reeves even slightly tempt the tiniest recognition of being Spike Spiegal? Sometimes, there's a little voice inside my head that wonders what crack these casting people/directors/writers smoke before they choose these people? A little research into the anime/Bebop fandom forums and you'll find hundreds of recommendations. Keanu Reeves will not be one of them.

Being a Bebop fanatic, I've had this movie cast in my head for years. Or somewhat cast. Personally, this is what I think Fox should do, this would make me giddy and most likely live in the theater.

Spike Speigal should be played by Benicio Del Toro. (Really.) The husky voice, his hair, his build. Just the onscreen sex appeal and panache of both the actor and the character.


Jett Black should be played by, brace for it... Mickey Rourke. And no, I'm not really kidding. I'm a fan. He really made me believe in Frank Miller's Sin City. Again, we find a gritty voice in an actor that is chiseled by something other than a few classes. The build, the fatherly tone he can take in his style and body language.





Faye Valentine might be consideribly tricky to cast. She's not too complex a character on the surface. Just really needs to be a woman that is both in incredible shape, lanky, and have a certain whine to her voice at times that is unable to completely shred like nails on chalkboard. Nevermind the fact that she would have to believablely pull off that honky tonk attitude and charm. So, I'm throwing this one out of left field, Brittany Murphy. I'm not a fan, but I think she'd fill out the role of Faye Valentine in much of the same way that Jim Morrison filled out black leather pants. Perfection.







I realize now that at this point, I'm looking at a proposal of Sin City veterans. Unfortunately, there is no one from Sin City to be able to tackle the role of Edward. I'm left wondering if there is anyone at all who can. Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV is an interesting character to put it very lightly. Youth, vitality, spontenaity. Considering the mannerisms and the fact the feeding a child actor high doses of mind altering hallucienojenic drugs is highly illegal, I highly recommend looking into CGI.

Super hacker braincase dog, would be a challenging role for any pup. Except maybe a Welsh Corgi. Though, if Fox Studios manages to cast Ein as a german shepard, I will not be surprised.



Viscious. One of the more mysterious characters to ever grace the series and one of the stories that would most likely explode if ever told in detail. I've seen recommendations for Rodrigo Santoro to take up the shawl of Viscious to run in conflict with Spike in a live action reproduction and I can't help but to agree at this point. With his aquiline features and lanky figure, he would show a form of grace that is imparitive to the character of Viscious.



Last, we have Julia. She is the contrast of this series. The piece that it all revolves around yet, the most mysterious detail of it all. In the series she was only a flicker in random flashbacks that was not fully touched upoun until the final two episodes. Yet, she remained engraved in out memories. The beauty of Julia is eternal. She lingers in your memory like that bright spot on the wrong end of a migraine. Julia. As played by Daryl Hannah, maybe? I don't think I could think of anything sexier.



And Fox Studios. Let Watanabe Direct. Or allow him to choose the visionary who can properly capture this. You're playing with a cult following. Its fire.

I'm frightened, yet unexplainably excited about the prospect of the live action film. Just be wary of where you tread and who you cast. It's very easy to take something exceptionally brilliant and ruin it.