Live-action Robotech Movie

[Strumvogel]

Until the money for it is secured that means very little. Things get dropped all the time in the movie industry. The last big one I know of was for an adaptation of "At the mountain of Madness" which despite having a good director on helm with Guillermo del Toro and secured a interest by Tom Cruise to star, the thing just fell thru because no one was willing to put up the money to finance it. (Granted, movies by both the director and actor has been perceived as under performing of late at the box office, so that has to be factored in)

It's most likely why the live-action Evangelion movie is in development hell as well.

[azrael]

Until the money for it is secured that means very little. Things get dropped all the time in the movie industry. The last big one I know of was for an adaptation of "At the mountain of Madness" which despite having a good director on helm with Guillermo del Toro and secured a interest by Tom Cruise to star, the thing just fell thru because no one was willing to put up the money to finance it. (Granted, movies by both the director and actor has been perceived as under performing of late at the box office, so that has to be factored in)

It's most likely why the live-action Evangelion movie is in development hell as well.

More like, until they are actually filming, things mean very little. We all know people can leave because they don't get along with the studio, or it never gets greenlit, schedules change forcing people to back out, blah blah blah. Until they're actually filming, it's all still in play. And RT looks so far down the road with that schedule that I wonder if he'll still be on board by that time.

[redpapermen]

I don't know guys - I'm going to be the voice of dissent here. I thought Wan did a pretty decent job with Furious Seven, I like the franchise from FF4, and onwards to be honest - and I never thought I'd say that. FF6 is just a brilliant popcorn flick - two words; Flying Headbutt! If you haven't seen it reserve judgement until you have, and F7 was an entertaining romp - not an intellectual excersise.

Whether or not Robotech makes it out of development hell, give it a chance. No serious director would likely tackle the subject matter/genre, and Wan knows how to direct action and melodrama: Macross/Robotech has always had a heavy dose of the two so there is a chance it will be good. If Michael Bay was directing it would be very ordinary, but give the Aussie a chance is all I'm saying. I just hope the mech designs are cool - I don't want to see resemblance to the Transformers films, give me throw back Studio Nue designs with a new school flavour. Pacific Rim worked, maybe Robotech will work too!

Nima

https://www.facebook.com/ThreeFoldComics

[Kelsain]

I foresee Rick Hunter & Khyron playing a game of chicken. Veritech vs. Battlepod, both survive the mid air collision and continue the fight using wreckage from the vehicles as weapons

Didn't they kind of do that in the show?

Perfect. Wan is great at directing disposable, melodramatic box office fluff that is forgotten a month after it's released. I couldn't have hoped for a more ideal marriage of IP and director. Please hire Damon Lindelof to write Robotech. Let that come to pass

Ooh, or Roberto Orci!

[Einherjar]

More like, until they are actually filming, things mean very little. We all know people can leave because they don't get along with the studio, or it never gets greenlit, schedules change forcing people to back out, blah blah blah. Until they're actually filming, it's all still in play. And RT looks so far down the road with that schedule that I wonder if he'll still be on board by that time.

There will be one immediate effect with this; probably a new excuse fit for convention panels for why production on Shadow Rising and Academy will be stalled for the next few years.

[Mr March]

I don't know guys - I'm going to be the voice of dissent here. I thought Wan did a pretty decent job with Furious Seven, I like the franchise from FF4, and onwards to be honest - and I never thought I'd say that. FF6 is just a brilliant popcorn flick - two words; Flying Headbutt! If you haven't seen it reserve judgement until you have, and F7 was an entertaining romp - not an intellectual excersise.

Au contraire, I actually defend the FF film series. But only for what the series is. As I've written before, the Fast and Furious films are some of the best of their ilk; the big, fun, stupid, disposable summer action flick. And they epitomize standard Hollywood action filmmaking. No risks, standard action set pieces, easily digestable, giving you exactly what you want without any art. I couldn't ask for a better fit for Robotech. At least with Wan at the helm, the Robotech film might be a dumb fun distraction like the FF films. But it won't be anything memorable and - if they really must make this film - that's what I'd want for Robotech

[Gubaba]

The new Macross series is (probably) coming at the beginning of next year.

I think that's the biggest news from yesterday.

[Strumvogel]

The problem with Hollywood is that you're really only as good as your last film, as they say. So Wan has two other films lined up as part of the deal and if he does any of those first and they seemingly underperform, backers are going to pull out. The people with the money are understandably risk adverse.

Steven Spielberg even back in the 90's says that even with his track record still gets turned down for his projects.

It is true that even when they do get the filming running that there's a chance that things can still go awry but by then most of the involved are more commited by then and tend to double down and hope for some return for their invested money.

[skullmilitia]

This will end up being the greatest train wreck of a film ever...

[Old_Nash]

The Macross ins't more a spaceship, but a space train!!!!

And Zentren are a alien A.I from other dimensional future distopic world.

Edited June 6, 2015 by Old_Nash

[Keith]

The only real question, will this, or Independance Day 2 be worse.

[Chronocidal]

Honestly, you want to reboot the franchise? Make them the same movie. Humanity builds their first spaceship out of the plentiful captured wreckage from ID4, they name whatever fuel the ships ran on protoculture, and start building fighters with captured technology that wind up resembling transforming spaceships instead of cold-war era fighter planes.

They try to launch the big ship and get surprised by a race of aliens who are trying to hunt down and eradicate the race from ID4, and capture their fuel source to use for whatever purposes suit the plot.. cue SDFM-style warp-out sequence, and you're well on your way to repeat most of robotech.

You could even cut to the chase, have the flower of life seeding happen as the SDF-1 leaves, and skip the masters saga entirely.

[Dynaman]

You could even cut to the chase, have the flower of life seeding happen as the SDF-1 leaves, and skip the masters saga entirely.

One of the few ideas that would make everyone happy!

[Keith]

Pretty sure any director with common sense will immediately eject everythimh telated to "flower of life" super fuels.

[skullmilitia]

You guys realize they can't do anything that even remotely resembles SDFM right? They only had the animation rights.

It's going to look completely not Robotech, and only maybe things from Mospeada or Southern Cross. Outside of that. It's going

to use the RT names, and lingo.

There won't be any VF-1's or SDF-1's. Just a bad Minmay, and a terribly done Hunter. Maybe an over the top Fokker played by Ben Affleck.

[EXO]

There won't be any VF-1's or SDF-1's. Just a bad Minmay, and a terribly done Hunter. Maybe an over the top Fokker played by Ben Affleck.

With Josh Harnett as Rick and Kate Beckinsale as Lisa? Wait a minute... I already saw that movie!

[danth]

You guys realize they can't do anything that even remotely resembles SDFM right? They only had the animation rights.

It's going to look completely not Robotech, and only maybe things from Mospeada or Southern Cross.

Why can they release video games (Battlecry) and little models (Robotech RPG Tactics) using the Macross designs but not movies?

[jenius]

Games, models, and comics are merchandise.

[danth]

Games, models, and comics are merchandise.

Oh. So their rights only extend to merchandise and not using the designs in new shows? I guess I need to hit up the Harmony Gold license thread...except I don't really care that much.

[Zinjo]

Since the fan favorite Macross component won't be featured the only properties left are Southern Cross and Mospeada.

SC is not worth even trying to adapt, it was a mediocre show that was cancelled. Mospeada would be more intereseting. I always felt that show never really lived up to the potential it could have and so a cinematic adaptation could be cool.

We'll have to see if RT can escape the development black hole it has been in since HG first sold the option to WB and now Sony. Though i truly wonder if a studio like WB can't make it work, I am not terribly confident Sony can. WB has produced some of the most successful adaptations in the last decade, so they have a good sense if a property is viable to spend the money to make a movie.

RT would require a tent pole budget and after the Disney fiascoes, I would expect most executives would be reluctant to put money into a project they were not sure about or was not helmed by a director / producer with a consistent money making history. SF war movies are effects heavy and very expensive, which is a huge gamble that can cost an executive his job.if the film doesn't make enough money.

With RT's focus on fights over energy, it can be relevant to the market, but that story focus was found more in the SC and Mospeada adapted series chapters.

Edited June 10, 2015 by Zinjo

[Dynaman]

Oh. So their rights only extend to merchandise and not using the designs in new shows? I guess I need to hit up the Harmony Gold license thread...except I don't really care that much.

No need to look up the other thread, you are 100% correct.

[Marzan]

With Josh Harnett as Rick and Kate Beckinsale as Lisa? Wait a minute... I already saw that movie!

I saw it too! Didn't it have Alec Baldwin as Captain Global?

[EXO]

They can make Southern Cross because they don't have to use the look or even the storyline... that's assuming they'll get passed the first trilogy or even the first movie, or pre-production.

[Keith]

Pretty sure Big West owns Southern Cross too, which only leaves Mospeada.

[areaseven]

Pretty sure Big West owns Southern Cross too, which only leaves Mospeada.

I thought I read somewhere that Big West gave up their rights to Southern Cross.

[Keith]

I thought I read somewhere that Big West gave up their rights to Southern Cross.

Haven't heard that, but who knows.

Think I'll watch Shadow Chronicles tomorrow, 'cus masochism!

[jenius]

The Lone Wolf clarified this for me a while ago:

Regarding SDC Southern Cross, I believe the confusion began because Big West is credited as one of the production companies involved, and Big West stickers appear on some of the Japanese Southern Cross model kits. But just because Big West was a production company, doesn’t necessarily give them full or permanent rights to SDC Southern Cross. Big West’s rights appear to be limited to the plastic model kits, and those rights may well have expired decades ago.

For example, Mainichi Broadcasting Station (MBS) was one of the production companies behind SDF Macross. MBS and Big West jointly held the Japanese merchandising rights to SDF Macross, and as such, you can see both of their logos on classic Macross merchandise from Japan. However, MBS’ rights were only for a limited period of two years, which is why their logo no longer appears on modern merchandise. I suspect that Big West’s rights over SDC Southern Cross were limited in a similar vein.

Furthermore, SDC Southern Cross characters (ie: Claude Leon\General Leonard) and mecha (ie: the Bioroids) appeared completely unaltered in Robotech II: The Sentinels, indicating that Tatsunoko Production and Harmony Gold hold unfettered rights to their animation. In contrast, all the SDF Macross characters had to be altered in order to legally appear in The Sentinels.

I believe Harmony Gold’s reluctance to reuse Southern Cross designs stems more from vanity rather than legal restrictions. Southern Cross’ designs were mostly unremarkable and have aged poorly

[areaseven]

Ah, that clears things up. So HG can do whatever they want to do with Southern Cross; they just don't want to do anything with it at the moment.

[mecha2241]

...or ever, apparently, since Tommy Yune seems to hate SC...

[boinger]

The potential Robotech movie is 5 years away from being made through Sony Entertainment.

Isn't that just in time for Tatsunoku productions to renew the sub-licence

for the international Macross copyright for Harmony Gold?

There is an awful precedent for Harmony Gold to maintain their international Macross licence (without

actually having any Macross elements in the movie).

This Robotech movie situation sounds a lot like how and why the 1992 unreleased Roger Corman's

Fantastic Four movie was produced.

The 1992 Fantastic 4 movie was made just to secure the film copyrights to the comic characters and then

the movie was never actually released publicly.

I wonder if Harmony Gold would buy out a movie like the uncompleted fan made "Valkyrie Project" for

further development to justify the renewal for the international Macross licence rights from Tatsunoko?

HG could then develop the fan film into a completed movie that is barely watch-able like those

wretched The Asylum knock-off movies or even not release it at all.

It's a good thing that Macross in Japan keeps on going!

************

Addendum:

AX 2015 Robotech Conference with Tommy Yune & Kevin McKeever

No script written, no pre-production art, no special effects production company selected,

no firm commitment from a director for at least 3 years, and no actors enlisted for a movie project initially started in 2008!

I more expect a live action Macross movie from Japan for the Japanese market than a Robotech live action

movie to be ever made by Harmony Gold.

Edited July 6, 2015 by boinger

[Einherjar]

There will be one immediate effect with this; probably a new excuse fit for convention panels for why production on Shadow Rising and Academy will be stalled for the next few years.

Confirmed at Anime Expo. The future of the franchise is really up to their new Hollywood overlords while they pimp out "new" merchandise and struggle to stay relevant.

Edited July 7, 2015 by Einherjar

[UN Spacy]

What a cringe fest.

[505thAirborne]

What a cringe fest.

That... was... painful.

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

in for a finesse skateboard. i'm finally get to ride on top of a battlroid artwork on wheels.

robotech is back!

[azrael]

That... was... painful.

Care to summarize? Or was it the same as all their other convention panels ("Look, we're still relevant! Here's a tribute to Carl! This is was Carl would want!").