Here are some bits and pieces of what the new movie may look like, according to a Japanese lady who currently resides in L.A. Apparently, she was invited to see a pilot of the new Gatchaman movie which was shown at a Warner Bros. studio in Burbank. Actually, her son who is in junior high and is within the target audience age group was invited but since he couldn't make it, she went instead. This is what she had to say. - The movie is scheduled to be released in 2011. - The audience was shown a trailer, some scenes from the movie that were already finished making, and some images explaining a rough storyline. - The story takes place in the future. Dr. Nambu, who seems to be of African descent (wears an Afro), is trying to gather the legendary group of five teenagers to protect Earth from Katse, an invader from outer space, and his organization Gallactor. - Ken, Jun, Jinpei, and Ryu are already gathered, but Joe, who is a street fighter and a maverick, refuses to join in. - After going through some all-too-common mess, Joe finally agrees to join the group, and together the five fight against Katse on a legendary combat machine, the God Phoenix, which turns into a fire bird. - Joe is strangely hotheaded and casual, not at all like the original Joe. - Jun's action scenes are cool, but lack sexiness. - Jinpei and Ryu are a little more noticeable compared to the original series. - Katse's playfulness in the original series is gone, and he is male, not a mutant. - The quality of the CGI is not so good. The movements of humans in the movie are awkward, not very smooth. - At the end of the preview, the audience was asked to answer a questionnaire. Some examples: Which scene did you like or didn't like? Should there be some romance in the storyline? What do you think about a love triangle among Ken, Joe, and Jun? (attention all 'shippers! ) - There seemed to be some confusion about the title--"Gatcha Men." source

These are great info, Minazuki, thank you for sharing them with us. Dr. Nambu with an afro, oh dear Lord, did the people in Imagi actually take inspiration from the awful OAV? The quality of CGI has to be flawless. I mean, if this movie wants to capture audience outside of Japan & US , then they should really sell on high-quality special effects. Only few people in my country here have ever heard of Gatchaman and therefore they don't care much about whether the background story in this movie stick to canon or whether there is a possibility of romance in the story. Now don't get me wrong, I am a shipper , but I am just representing most of the audience here at my place who will definitely prefer gorgeous visual, full-blown action scenes, and a fast-paced movie. Just look at the latest Star Trek Movie, many people said that the love triangle scenario was not necessary at all. Gatcha-Men???? So they are implying that Jun is a man, and they want to create a love-triangle subplot between three MEN : Ken, Joe and Jun. I am not so sure that this movie is intended for kids then,

OMG! I need a moment to digest all of this...Dr. Nambu...from Africa? And I thought they said this was going to be an origins story? I guess it's the origin of Joe? And...what's this? Katse is not a mutant? That is what made him such a shocking villain! Being just a male won't make him as unique... However...romance is always good in my book...and a love triangle? Even better!!

The Afro on Nambu....Springie this would make an interesting drawing...lol Why not make Katse a mutant!!! Its part of it being more orginal and a twist to the story line. I'm all for a bit of romance in it... We do lobe triangles on a daily basis in this forum... Thanks lots of the updates Minazuki!

Originally posted by Minazuki - Ken, Jun, Jinpei, and Ryu are already gathered, but Joe, who is a street fighter and a maverick, refuses to join in. - After going through some all-too-common mess, Joe finally agrees to join the group, and together the five fight against Katse on a legendary combat machine, the God Phoenix, which turns into a fire bird. - Joe is strangely hotheaded and casual, not at all like the original Joe.

Thanks for the inside info, Minazuki! I'm glad that Imagi is making an effort to get some feedback while the film is still in the early stages. I hope this lady in LA expressed her opinions on the questionnaire! This is a really good sign that Imagi is serious about getting this film off the ground. I could maybe handle Katse not being shown to be a mutant, by telling myself that it took many episodes in the original series before that fact was established, but I still would want to see elements of the original Katse's personality, ie. the "playfulness". What's bothering me, reallly, is the lady's comments about Joe's depiction -this is sounding way too much like OAV Joe. Joe is not a street punk!

Thank you so much for this information, Minazuki! It is very interesting to see this. I think everyone has to realize that this is VERY early, and everything could easily change. It's quite likely that the animation wasn't so good because it was 'sketched' in. In other words, they didn't do a lot of work on it, because they didn't know if they'd be 'keeping' or adjusting the scene. I know that Pixar does this a LOT. You can see it in the bonus features of many of their DVD releases. Clearly they are also ready to change a lot if they're asking how the audience thinks the story should go on the questionnaire. That tells me that they're still relatively early in the production stage. But... but... but.... THIS IS AWESOME!!!!!! I had thought for sure that the movie was on the back burner, and that they weren't doing anything with it because of their financing troubles... this proves me so wrong! I'm thrilled that their work on it has gone along to this extent. Yay!!!!!!!!

The lady had a bit more to say about the movie on another page of her blog. - (story) Since Nambu needed a fifth member to complete the team, the other four hunt down Joe, whose parents were killed by Gallactor. Joe wants revenge. Because Joe is stubborn and refuses to join the team, the four gang up on him and beat the hell out of him at a construction site. Joe is then taken to the base, but his arbitrary actions put Nambu in the hands of Gallactor. - (story) The team (including Joe) reach the Poseidon base at the bottom of the sea. Joe, feeling responsible for what happened to Nambu, goes off on his own to rescue the doctor. Meanwhile, Ken tries in vain to start the God Phoenix, which won't budge. But all of a sudden, he realizes that putting together all five communicators may do the trick. So he breaks into Joe's room (since he's not around) and ransacks it. He finds an old photo of Joe as a little boy with his parents, and is convinced that Joe will indeed come back to the team. - (story) Finally, Joe joins the team, and together the team beat Katse's giant robot with the God Phoenix that had turned into a firebird. - Photography inside the studio was prohibited. - The images they showed to the audience seemed to maintain the atmosphere of the original show. (She's not very specific, so I'm not sure what she means by this.) - The team's civilian clothes weren't the numbered T-shirts, and had more of a modern design. - Joe looked more like the OAV Joe. - Jun's Birdstyle is a miniskirt. - Jun blushes when she sees Joe go off on his own to rescue Nambu. (I have no idea what this means...) - Ryu is a bit more good looking compared to the original. - Some more things they asked in the questionnaire: Which character did you like? Did you think the car chasing scenes had impact? - They seemed to be confused about the title--some were Gatcha Man and some were Gatcha Men . But all the posters had Gatcha Man on them.

I think the only negative if you can call it that for me is that their target audience is teens. I dont mind that they want new fans but maybe they should also use the opportunity to reignite or encourage the original fandom too? Of course I could just have misunderstood their intentions

Thank you for the information Minazuki. I had thought this film was put on the back burner. I am very surprised to learn that the film has come far enough that they are showing screening to people. I agree with TJ that the movement in the preview maybe because the film is not completed, is still in the drawing stages. When they know the film is gonig through THEN, I hope, they are able to make the human movements smoother. As for Katse being a mutant or not, I am not much bothered by that. After all we did not know until until part way through the series that he was one. *shrug* if you base this on an origins (Joe's origin) then they would not realize until much later that Katse is a mutant.

I would've preferred to have Square Enix to work on visuals due to the cult success of Advent Children.

It doesen't sound like the Gatchaman or even BOTP team at all and Nambu having an afro.....could be worse, could have been a mullet or the Gatchaman OAVs fashion sense. I don't know about the film now and the title......Gatcha Men, wha the heck?

Originally posted by Minazuki The lady had a bit more to say about the movie on another page of her blog. - (story) Since Nambu needed a fifth member to complete the team, the other four hunt down Joe, whose parents were killed by Gallactor. Joe wants revenge. Because Joe is stubborn and refuses to join the team, the four gang up on him and beat the hell out of him at a construction site. Joe is then taken to the base, but his arbitrary actions put Nambu in the hands of Gallactor. - (story) The team (including Joe) reach the Poseidon base at the bottom of the sea. Joe, feeling responsible for what happened to Nambu, goes off on his own to rescue the doctor. Meanwhile, Ken tries in vain to start the God Phoenix, which won't budge. But all of a sudden, he realizes that putting together all five communicators may do the trick. So he breaks into Joe's room (since he's not around) and ransacks it. He finds an old photo of Joe as a little boy with his parents, and is convinced that Joe will indeed come back to the team. - (story) Finally, Joe joins the team, and together the team beat Katse's giant robot with the God Phoenix that had turned into a firebird. - Photography inside the studio was prohibited. - The images they showed to the audience seemed to maintain the atmosphere of the original show. (She's not very specific, so I'm not sure what she means by this.) - The team's civilian clothes weren't the numbered T-shirts, and had more of a modern design. - Joe looked more like the OAV Joe. - Jun's Birdstyle is a miniskirt. - Jun blushes when she sees Joe go off on his own to rescue Nambu. (I have no idea what this means...) - Ryu is a bit more good looking compared to the original. - Some more things they asked in the questionnaire: Which character did you like? Did you think the car chasing scenes had impact? - They seemed to be confused about the title--some were Gatcha Man and some were Gatcha Men . But all the posters had Gatcha Man on them.

Thank you for the update, Minazuki, It seems that Joe will have a lot of screen time in this movie, definitely they really try to please the fans, after all, Joe is the most popular character in Gatchaman. I am not so sure about Joe looks more like his OVA version though, I actually always prefer the 70's version of Joe, Jun blushes when she sees Joe go off, well, I myself definitely love romance and do not mind a love triangle subplot, just hoping that it won't be cheesy,perhaps Imagi should really ask for advices from all talented writers in this board, Ryu is much more good-looking, hmm, to increase his fan base I guess. CD will be pleased to hear about this, now she can have gorgeous Eagle and Owl for herself, Just wondering, there was no mention about Sosai X at all, is Katse the ultimate villain in this movie then?

Oh, I will be happy as long as they do not make the Owl look like the incredible Hulk with arms the size of bulldozers like they show in the images we have seen. And I really want to know who decided Joe was the most popular? All those people who like the "bad boy" look. Me, I want the "boy next-door look". He does not always have to follow ALL the rules but he does not need to look like he is ready to fight, all the time. I do know the producers found Joe took more and more focus from Ken, but I will not belive that is so. I am sticking to my Eagle. Cloud covers her ears so she can not hear others try to persuade otherwise.

You tell them CD.

Interesting. Anyone else think of Wolverine in the X-Men movies with all the talk of bad boy, reluctant Joe? And I hope the mediocre animation is still a WIP, they've got 2 years to polish it up.

Originally posted by Metaliant You tell them CD.

*Chuckle* Thank you Met, I will try, but very few people listen to us Owls. They expect us to sit around and follow orders not to issue them.

You have forgoteen about taking care of space burgers, sweets and chocolates. Also, at least you can fly the phoenix unlike a certain .

I love the update Minazuki, it gives us even more hope. Not sure on how I feel about the story line. Still anyway you look at it, I know I'll be there watching and buying the thing when it comes out.

Originally posted by Metaliant You have forgoteen about taking care of space burgers, sweets and chocolates. Also, at least you can fly the phoenix unlike a certain .

Space burgers was for Tiny, not for Ryu. And other than cakes and sugar I always associate "sweets" (or candies) with Jinpei. Chocolates and deserts, I will agree, are an Owl treat. I am trying to remember do the British call deserts, like cakes and puddings, sweets? Here in NA *I* think of it as referring to candies, as I said. As for flying the Phoenix, I am not sure that will help me persuade people that the Eagle was the most popular in the series. I guess I could buzz their homes until they relent from the noise.

Hi all! Well, this is interesting. I had figured we wouldn't start hearing anything from Imagi regarding Gatchaman until work on Astro Boy was getting closer to completion this Fall. Anyway, from the descriptions, it sounds like what they showed for their audience reaction test was nothing new. Virtually all of this material sounds exactly like what Imagi had prepared back by late 2007, sometime before Kevin Munroe left the film. That included character designs, story outlines, and some animation tests, including the footage they showed at Comic Con last year (Such as the "car chase" referred to in the blog entry). I suspect that all they have done is to dig out what was in their archives. Perhaps there was some new material in there somewhere, but I doubt that they have much of anything that's been created since 2007. All of what they showed is very familiar. I can see several reasons why Imagi decided to do this test. An obvious one is that they are finally going to start prepping Gatchaman now that Astro Boy is wrapping up, and wanted to see if anything from what they already prepared could be salvaged. They could also be testing to see if the reaction from their target audience is positive enough to warrant proceeding with the project, as well as to discover what areas that audience liked and what needs to be changed. A strong positive reaction could also be used to help sell the film to potential licensees, so I wonder if this test was done in time for Imagi to have any of that data available for the International Licensing Expo? Regardless, it also sounds like they might be a bit concerned that the title could be a bit confusing for American audiences, and want to see what gets a better reaction. If Jerry bruckheimer hadn't snapped up "G-Force," they probably would have been testing that as a title too! By the way, if you're wondering what their "African-descent" Nambu design looks like, he looks to have been inspired by Samuel L. Jackson's Afro Samurai character. It makes me wonder if their hope was to get Mr. Jackson to do the voice. James

Interesting...the other four beat up Joe to try to convince him to join them? Hmmmmm... Jun should blush...from what I've seen (at last year's ComicCon) Joe is a hottie! I'd blush, too! *grin* Thanks Minazuki for your insight! And James, did you see this footage? I know Wendy got a preview from Imagi (didn't she?) Were you there, too?

Hi all!

And James, did you see this footage? I know Wendy got a preview from Imagi (didn't she?) Were you there, too?

No, Wendy and Katharine went to Imagi when Kevin Munroe was just starting work on the film, but I was not with them. Since I wasn't at this event, I don't know if they showed any test footage I haven't seen, but the descriptions sounded like what I've seen before, most of which was what you saw at Comic Con last year. James

How did that Imagi preview happen? Did Imagi just know that they were big fans? Or did they just march up to the studios themselves and ask about it?

Hi all!

How did that Imagi preview happen? Did Imagi just know that they were big fans? Or did they just march up to the studios themselves and ask about it?

They found Wendy's "Home of the White Shadow" website and contacted her. When they found out that she was going to be in Southern California for Comic Con, they invited her to come to the studio. Katharine was able to go along because she was the one driving Wendy up there from San Diego. James

That is just so awesome... I wish you could give them advice on where to go with this movie, James!

I think James' knowledge would really help the movie, if they would accept it. I suspect the directors and company feel they are already going in the direction they want. The negative side of me also feels like they really do not want "our" advice since we are not the target audience, we are much older and so are "out of touch" with the audience they want to attract.

I kinda know what you mean CD. Some of the proposal intrigues me and while I dont mind some of the alterations to the story line I am more than a littel curious about how it is sounding at present with the focus on Joe rather than the Eagle especially with the Gatchaman title.

Originally posted by clouddancer I am trying to remember do the British call deserts, like cakes and puddings, sweets? Here in NA *I* think of it as referring to candies, as I said. As for flying the Phoenix, I am not sure that will help me persuade people that the Eagle was the most popular in the series. I guess I could buzz their homes until they relent from the noise.

Cakes, puddings, ice-cream, cheese and biscuits can be desserts for us British after the main dinner or it's a Christmas dinner, then it involves, Christmas cake, Christmas pudding, triful (can't spell it I am afriad), a dessert with 3 layers, cheese and bscuits and anything else to fill you up if you got any room left

Thats lucky isn't it, I bet she jumped at the chance who wouldn't! (Wendy and Katharine.)

So.... Nambu really is black? I had thought from Minazuki's description that he just had afro-like hair. I was thinking OAV-style Nambu who sort of looks the same but with weird hair/clothes. Samuel L Jackson? I don't see his general character type as being Nambu-like... not even Mace Windu. I didn't realize that Imagi had done so much before. Still, I know you like to be on the negative side, James (and I completely understand why) but I'm excited by this! It shows that Imagi is working on a project that we all feared had been abandoned!

So.... Nambu really is black?

Yes, she does say he's black. Maybe that's why David Oyelowo is doing the voice of Nambu. She also says in her blog that Jun's face looks like one of the characters in Square Enix, and Joe looks like someone from Grand Auto Thief (Maybe she means Grand Theft Auto. I'm not into video games, so I'm not really sure.) Jinpei is cute looking, and Katse has a macho body. She says maybe Ken's face is yet to be determined, since there weren't any decent shots of his face. (And he's supposed to be the lead character... )

Thanks again, Minazuki, for keeping us posted about this lady's blog! Regarding the emphasis on Joe, is it possible that the lady who saw the footage is something of a Condor fan, and she's just describing the plot points that involve him more than those that involve Ken? (I could see myself doing that...) It does sound like it's too early to really know how the story is going to go, as Imagi seems to want feedback in order to possibly make big changes. I wonder what ever happened to Jun Falkenstein? Early in '08 she all but admitted on her blog that she was the new director, but then as far as I can tell, nothing more was ever said about it by her or Imagi.

Originally posted by clouddancer I think James' knowledge would really help the movie, if they would accept it. I suspect the directors and company feel they are already going in the direction they want. The negative side of me also feels like they really do not want "our" advice since we are not the target audience, we are much older and so are "out of touch" with the audience they want to attract.

I agree, James should the expert consultant on the film. It's strange that with other films and TV series remakes that have been made, Battlestar Galactica, the new Star Trek film, comic book heroes, etc, the studios try to attract not just a new audience and non-fans but fans of those films and TV series.

Originally posted by Transmute Jun So.... Nambu really is black? I had thought from Minazuki's description that he just had afro-like hair. I was thinking OAV-style Nambu who sort of looks the same but with weird hair/clothes.

That was my first thought when a afro style was mentioned, "it can't be any worse can it?"