Death Note (2017 American film)

[I REALLY HATE POKEMON!]

http://collider.com/death-note-movie-filming/

Simultaneously highly anticipated by its fans and under-the-radar as far as the general movie-going audience is concerned, Adam Wingard’s Death Note movie adaptation is one of the more interesting Hollywood productions out there today. Based on the manga written by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, Death Note has already been adapted into three live-action films, a live-action TV series, and even a musical. There are plans for a fourth film subtitled “Light Up the New World” due out in Japan this October, but Wingard’s adaptation would be the first Western adaptation.

Netflix announced today that principal photography has begun on Wingard’s version of Death Note and will be shooting in Canada and the U.S. It stars Nat Wolff (The Fault in Our Stars) as Light Turner, Margaret Qualley (The Leftovers) as Mia Sutton, Keith Stanfield (Straight Outta Compton) as “L,” Paul Nakauchi (Alpha and Omega) as Watari, and Shea Whigham (Boardwalk Empire) as James Turner. The film will be produced by Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Jason Hoffs, and Masi Oka.

The first thing that fans of the manga/movies/anime will probably spot is the name change of the main characters. Wolff’s character Light Turner is the protagonist, a high schooler who’s long been named Light Yagami in the source material. When he finds a powerful notebook, which has the ability to kill people just by writing their name in it, his good intention of ridding the world of crime through murder soon draws the attention of the local authorities. One of them is the world’s greatest detective, known as “L,” a name which carries over from the manga. His assistant Watari keeps that character’s name consistent in this new movie, as well. Light does have some support other than the supernatural variety, however, in the form of Mia Sutton, who’s presumably stepping into the role of Misa Amane from the manga. This is a solid cast so far, but what’s more interesting to me will be the casting decision for the supernatural entity known as Ryuk.

Here’s what Wingard had to say about the chance to adapt this decidedly original piece of fiction:

“I am honored to be working with this great cast and I look forward to bringing Tsugumi and Takeshi’s unique story to a global audience.”

And despite some name changes, producers Lee and Lin are looking forward to introducing new audiences to this story while being mindful of having a diverse cast:

“Our vision for Death Note has always been to bring this captivating story to the screen for its longtime manga fans and to introduce the world to this dark and mysterious masterpiece. The talent and diversity represented in our cast, writing, and producing teams reflect our belief in staying true to the story’s concept of moral relevance — a universal theme that knows no racial boundaries.”

No release date has been announced for the film just yet, but with production just now getting into gear, we should be expecting an announcement within the next few months.

Are you excited to see what Wingard comes up with for Death Note? Let us know in the comments below! In the meantime, get caught up on our latest Death Note coverage with the following articles:

• ‘The Predator,’ ‘Death Note’ and ‘Okja’ Filming Dates and Locations Revealed
• ‘Death Note’ Movie Heads to Netflix After Being Dropped by Warner Bros.
• Exclusive: ‘Death Note’ Movie Rating and Tone Revealed
• ‘Death Note': Nat Wolff to Lead Adam Wingard’s Manga Adaptation
• YOU’RE NEXT and THE GUEST Director Adam Wingard to Helm DEATH NOTE

I was looking forward to this movie ever since I learned about it, and now it's already s*** before it even releases. They changed the names and made L black because "diversity." F**k diversity. It's ruining everything. It's also a Netflix movie now so it can't even be saved by movie theater popcorn. R.I.P.

Anyone interested in it regardless? Willem Dafoe is going to be Ryuk, I can see his voice being a good match, and he's also a good actor. He's played crazy people before so I feel like that might help him here.

[CaptHayfever]

Based on the manga written by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, Death Note has already been adapted into three live-action films, a live-action TV series, and even a musical.

...And an anime series. In fact, the anime is possibly the best-known format of it. Why would they leave that off the list?

It stars Nat Wolff (The Fault in Our Stars) as Light Turner

Light Turner

Turner

...the hell?

Paul Nakauchi (Alpha and Omega) as Watari

Paul Nakauchi (Alpha and Omega)

Alpha and Omega

If Alpha & Omega is the thing people best remember you from, then you are not an actor worth being excited about.

I was looking forward to this movie ever since I learned about it

I haven't, because

Death Note has already been adapted into three live-action films, a live-action TV series, and even a musical.

L's race has nothing to do with the plot, & he isn't a blood relative of any other non-black character, so I genuinely don't care, & neither should you.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[I REALLY HATE POKEMON!]

...And an anime series. In fact, the anime is possibly the best-known format of it. Why would they leave that off the list?

Ignorance, probably. I read a couple other articles on the site regarding this film and they're not very good at getting information right.

If Alpha & Omega is the thing people best remember you from, then you are not an actor worth being excited about.

I agree, seeing as I don't even know what that is.

Arbitrarily switching around gender, race, and such just to push an agenda is contemptible. People were mad that Ghost in the Shell has white actors portraying Asian characters (despite the fact that most anime characters look white so it makes sense) yet everyone is always okay with making non-black actors suddenly black, especially if they were white to begin with (it's actually been a praised move in the past). In light of these issues, yes, I should care, and so should you.

[Deepfake]

They're not retconning the anime and refusing fans access to it like George Lucas would or something. You're not exactly the kind of person who would be upset that Light isn't Japanese so you should probably drop it.

Live action western adaptations of eastern entertainment is pretty destined to fail short of employing the same director as the Grudge did.

[I REALLY HATE POKEMON!]

[QUOTE="He Who is Without Skin, post: 1609642, member: 25415"]They're not retconning the anime and refusing fans access to it like George Lucas would or something. You're not exactly the kind of person who would be upset that Light isn't Japanese so you should probably drop it.

Live action western adaptations of eastern entertainment is pretty destined to fail short of employing the same director as the Grudge did.[/QUOTE]

You can conveniently pretend that many anime characters don't look Japanese, and that it is sometimes done on purpose by the creators, and that it's a known fact everywhere, including Japan, if you'd like. Whatever works for you, I suppose.

[Apollo the Just]

I'm gonna make this point once and then drop it because I don't have the energy for this debate -- the vast majority of anime characters are Japanese, intended to be Japanese, and are perceived by Japanese audiences as being Japanese. The reason white audiences perceive them as white is because we see ourselves as the default. It's the same reason why if we were to look at a stick figure, we'd likely perceive it as being caucasian, but a Japanese person living in Japan would perceive it as being Japanese, because they see themselves as the default. There are proportionately very few white people in Japan, and those that do live there are definitely viewed as more of a spectacle than members of their society, so it's incredibly self-centered to think that this racially homogenous society would base their characters after white people. (I literally know 4 different American people - 3 of them white - currently living in Japan who have conversed with me and with Japanese friends they have made about this at length). Also, Death Note takes place distinctively in Japan, at a distinctively Japanese high school and Japanese setting, and the characters wear clothes and styles that are distinctively Japanese - school uniforms, lolita, etc.. so you may perceive characters as being white, but they are really obviously intended to be Japanese.

Want to know what an anime character who is intended to be white is? Maximilian Pegasus and Jodie from Detective Conan come to mind. They are voiced with intentionally awful accents, throw English around in their speech, and generally are featured doing very sterotypically American things. They're rather ridiculous caricatures.

So, L is clearly intended to be a Japanese character. So if you wouldn't mind him being played by a white actor in this American adaptation, you really should not mind him being played by a black actor. Especially since white actors already get the vast majority of roles here. So if you wouldn't have issue with an opportunity for an Asian-American lead (there are already so few opportunities here for Asian-American actors) to be given to a white man, as if they don't get enough opportunity already, then you shouldn't mind it being given to a black man instead. And with that, I'm done.

~~~~~~

That said. I would gladly make an exception with this grievance of whitewashing in American live action film adaptations if Light was played by Zac Efron. They have the same hair and that would be hilarious and incredible. Unfortunately, since that is not the case and this is very likely to suck, I probably won't be seeing it.

[I REALLY HATE POKEMON!]

I disagree, CL. Also, at least some Japanese people would disagree with you. In this video, when asked "Some Japanese anime such as Naruto have blond characters with blue eyes even though the story takes place in Japan. What do you think is the reason?," one Japanese woman speculated "Because we are fascinated by white people?" I don't know why you would think all Japanese people would think as you suggest, because that line of thinking is illogical. Nobody is going to perceive this as Japanese:



For the record, if I look at a stick figure I perceive it as a raceless representation of a generic human being, or super-scary featureless stick demon. Maybe I'm alone in that and everyone else is just imprinting aspects of themselves onto everything like a bunch of narcissists, though. Pretty sure it's that last one.

But there's evidence that they do base their characters after white people. It's rather obvious and pretty much undeniable, it can be observed that white people and Asian people have different physical configurations from each other, a child can deduce this in an instant. However, here's something more visual to show that the designs are a conscious decision:







To deny this is to deny the reality that anime characters are drawn to resemble white people, even the ones intended to be Japanese.

A character intended to be white and a character intended to look white are not the same. It makes no sense to try to cast a Japanese person as Edward Elric if a Hollywood film version of Fullmetal Alchemist ever comes to fruition, and that's all there is to that, really.

Actually, that is not true. L is intended to be mostly white, he is only 25% Japanese. And no, I didn't need to look this up, I'm just that much a nerd. L being played by a black actor makes literally zero sense whether he is a white or asian character anyway, it's just diversity for diversity's sake, nothing more, nothing less. Nobody with any sense will bat an eye at Scarlett Johansson playing Motoko Kusanagi because, even as Japanese people acknowledge (see the video above), it makes sense. What sense does it make to take a predominately white character and arbitrarily cast him as black?

I wouldn't approve of making black character white either so it isn't like I'm being biased.

[Random User]

Death Note's creator has noted that he thinks of L as "a quarter Japanese, a quarter English, a quarter Russian, a quarter French or Italian, like that."

That said, most anime characters are certainly intended to be Japanese. Blue eyes and blonde hair might not be biologically possible for a Japanese person, but neither is red eyes and purple hair so. I tend to just ignore that lmao.

[I REALLY HATE POKEMON!]

[QUOTE="Random User, post: 1609673, member: 35827"]Death Note's creator has noted that he thinks of L as "a quarter Japanese, a quarter English, a quarter Russian, a quarter French or Italian, like that."

That said, most anime characters are certainly intended to be Japanese. Blue eyes and blonde hair might not be biologically possible for a Japanese person, but neither is red eyes and purple hair so. I tend to just ignore that lmao.[/QUOTE]



are you trying to tell me this isnt biologically possible ru

try again

[Deepfake]

L is meant to be foreign to Japan in the context of the show, at the very least.

Light is meant to be 100% Japanese in a show based in and around a Japanese setting, though. It is petty to complain about a character's visual genetics when their entire background and the root of the story (shinigami lore) is Japanese yet likely to be hand-waved. The notion of changing those qualities already removes the story so very far from its place of origin that it is bizarre anyone would consider the story anything remotely like a proper adaptation.

[Apollo the Just]

[QUOTE="I REALLY HATE POKEMON!, post: 1609675, member: 18119"]

are you trying to tell me this isnt biologically possible ru

try again[/QUOTE]

CHECKMATE, ATHEISTS

[I REALLY HATE POKEMON!]

[QUOTE="He Who is Without Skin, post: 1609676, member: 25415"]L is meant to be foreign to Japan in the context of the show, at the very least.

Light is meant to be 100% Japanese in a show based in and around a Japanese setting, though. It is petty to complain about a character's visual genetics when their entire background and the root of the story (shinigami lore) is Japanese yet likely to be hand-waved. The notion of changing those qualities already removes the story so very far from its place of origin that it is bizarre anyone would consider the story anything remotely like a proper adaptation.[/QUOTE]

Good point but I still think there's some merit in trying to at least put effort into making actors resemble their characters. Otherwise you end up with Dragon Ball Evolution and nobody wants that.

[Apollo the Just]

we dont talk about dragon ball evolution, irhp

we just dont

[I REALLY HATE POKEMON!]

[QUOTE="CuccoLady, post: 1609680, member: 30977"]we dont talk about dragon ball evolution, irhp

we just dont[/QUOTE]

[Deku Tree]

[QUOTE="CuccoLady, post: 1609680, member: 30977"]we dont talk about dragon ball evolution, irhp

we just dont[/QUOTE]
I saw that pop up on SyFy once. I asked my sister why the Shameless cast was DBZ.

[Deepfake]

Character visuals were the least of Evolution's problems. The film was so bad it made Toriyama angry and he was motivated to actually get involved with the franchise out of sheer ire.

[Apollo the Just]

^ Wait......... so you're saying it was so, unbelievably, disgustingly awful that something good actually came of it?

Impressive.

[Deepfake]

[QUOTE="CuccoLady, post: 1609699, member: 30977"]^ Wait......... so you're saying it was so, unbelievably, disgustingly awful that something good actually came of it?

Impressive.[/QUOTE]
Yes. His words:

"Dragon Ball once became a thing of the past to me, but after that, I got angry about the live action movie, re-wrote an entire movie script, and now I’m complaining about the quality of the new TV anime, so it seems that Dragon Ball has grown on me so much that I can’t leave it alone."

[CaptHayfever]

[QUOTE="I REALLY HATE POKEMON!, post: 1609641, member: 18119"]I agree, seeing as I don't even know what that is.[/quote] Crappy 3-D CGI kiddie movie about wolves. Mediocre box office return, 16% Tomatometer.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[ScottyMcGee]

lol all these images of studying anime character facial features. all we need is to add some graphs. It's just an adaption - meaning it's another vision of the source material. All they did was Americanize it, so whatever. I personally only get irked when they cast white people as non-white historical figures, or when a fictional character is meant to be X nationality and they still want to use that specific nationality in the movie but instead cast a white person and just alter them a bit to make them look more like X nationality. That's just like using blackface.