'Dragonball' star: 'No one wants to make a movie that people will hate'

Michelle Castillo has a report on "Dragonball Revolution," which, for right or wrong, may be the most-hated film of 2009 that hasn't even been released yet.

Hell hath no fury like an angry fanboy. At least not when it comes to the box office.

"Dragonball Evolution" is set to hit U.S. theaters on April 10 but it's already reaching legendary status as the 2009 film fans love to hate on, at least as far as the Internet is concerned. The makers of the live-action film hoped to tap into a built-in audience by adapting the hugely popular manga epic that had already spawned three anime series, 17 animated feature films and three television specials. Fans all over the world love "Dragon Ball" but, well, it's a thin line between love and hate.

Across the web, fans have been bellowing their anger over the choices made by director James Wong ("The One," "Final Destination"), who was to looking to streamline and mainstream the "Dragon Ball" mythology, which follows Goku, a monkey-tailed Japanese boy, while he trains in martial arts and searches for the seven Dragon Balls that are said to grant the wish of the beholder.

Fans are frothing on YouTube about the casting, missing characters, the fight scenes and even the hair styles. This is serious stuff to devotees who have followed the manga franchise since it began in 1984 and have shown their allegiance by buying up the tie-in card game, the assorted video games, the apparel and other merch. On IMDB, one fan seemed to think a holy crime had been committed: "I could go on for hours about what they did wrong ... may God have mercy on their souls."

One of the stars, Jaime Chung, who plays Chi Chi, in the film, is asking the fans to give the movie a chance by perhaps waiting until it reaches the screen before putting it in the same category as "Catwoman" or "Speed Racer," two other Hollywood movies that took hand-drawn fanboy favorites and turned them into spectacular live-action bombs.  

 “I feel like all movies that adapt some sort of [material], whether it’s a book or a manga or a cartoon, into a film -- you’re going to have to take creative liberty in order to change it so that it works for a motion picture,” Chung said.  “It’s never going to be the same, and you can’t satisfy everyone. What James Wong did was he adapted it in a way where it still stayed true to the 'Dragon Ball' series, with the essence of the characters,” said Chung, who is most famous for being one of the housemates in "The Real World: San Diego."

At 20th Century Fox, the studio behind the "Dragonball" film, there must be some executives missing the old days when fans just waited for a movie to be released before deciding its fate. The studio leadership watched in horror in recent days as a stolen, near-finished copy of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" became a torrid sensation on file-sharing sites. The FBI has stepped in but, like a man watching his gold coins scatter on a crowded street, the Fox team knows deep down that the damage is already done. (In a twist that will have execs groaning, fans claim that they downloaded illegal copies of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" solely to punish Fox for its "Dragonball" folly.)

This is a new era of relationships between fans and studios. Warner Bros. had a muggle revolt last year when it abruptly postponed the sixth "Harry Potter" film for no reason beyond pure profit-positioning; frustrated fans came after Warner chairman Alan Horn and pledged boycotts when the film reaches theaters this summer. Fan debate raged also this year with the Warner film "Watchmen," the Holy Grail of serious comic-book films, but unlike the old days where a controversy might propel a film for weeks at theaters, this time the movie generated more Internet traffic than box-office receipts and second-week grosses plummeted 67%. 

Chung, for one, has put full faith in Wong, who she believes has made some controversial changes in order to make the film a bit more mainstream to new viewers.

Among some of the major twists include setting the story to take place during Goku’s high school years, as well as casting a Caucasian actor in the role. Other facets that faced the chopping board were fan favorite characters such as Krillin, Tien, and Chaouzu, who were removed in order to make the mythology more manageable.

None of that compares to the change that has fans pulling their hair: What happened to Goku’s towering spikes? The hand-drawn Goku is instantly recognizable for his massive black spikes, which jut out from his head like he has an ebony agave plant growing from his head. Wong opted for a somewhat more mundane level of spikes for Justin Chatwin’s ("Taking Lives," "War of the Worlds") natural light-brown hair.

Chang, for one, said sometimes change is good: “I mean you can’t make it look ridiculous,” the actress said. “When you’re doing close-up shots, and he’s wearing a two- foot wig, it just looks ridiculous on film. It’s so different from something that’s from a cartoon to something that’s filming something on film. It’s a completely different world, and it was a huge challenge for James, and I feel like he really overcame.”

Chung also believes the cast was well chosen – despite the fact that they might not look like their traditional Japanese characters. The cast includes Asian superstar Chow Yun-Fat ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") and Emmy Rossum ("Phantom of the Opera").

Chung said there are plenty of reasons for fans to give Wong's movie a chance, whether it's the high-intensity action scenes (shot with a Phantom HD camera for frame rapidity that slows combat for a closer view) or the care given to make sure each character got their own fighting style (Chung's Chi Chi, for instance, uses taekwondo, allowing her to “look pretty on the outside, but fight like a dude”).

In an unconventional move, "Dragonball" was released  first in Asia (as early as March 12, 2008) and the film has done well despite bootleg copies hitting the market. The film passed the $22 million mark at the end of March, according to Box Office Mojo, and that without any screenings yet in South America,  North America or most of Europe.

The reviews by non-believers have also been more kind; Variety's Russell Edwards wrote of the film: A popular Japanese manga series gets a pleasing if paint-by-numbers live-action makeover in "Dragonball Evolution," which half-heartedly tries to keep the faith for its pubescent male fan base."

Chung said "Dragonball" is just beginning its fight to win over fans.

"No one wants to make a movie that people will hate,” Chung said. “We really want people to enjoy the movie for what it really is and to come in with an open mind and to understand where James Wong was trying to come from. Regardless of whether or not the fans will agree with it, they will be entertained. It has so many great elements like a story of love and friendship, and it’s an adventure with loss and sacrifice and finding your inner strength and destiny. I don’t feel like there is a dull moment in this film.”

-- Michelle Castillo

"Dragonball Evolution" images courtesy of 20th Century Fox.

Comments

[007]

Haters are stupid.

The movie is great

i from spain, i see DB in 1989.

Los fans no saben lo que quieren

[Janet Wu]

It's not only fanboys who hate what they have done to the series. I grew up watching the cartoon with my father. Since I was five years old, every day after school, we would sit together and watch Dragonball and Dragonball Z, so it has a special place in my heart. Did the director even watch Dragonball, let alone read any of it?
To me this seems to be just another attempt at making money off of the name of a popular series while giving only a passing nod to the series itself.
How can you even think of making Dragonball without Krillin, Tien, and Chaouzu?
Were you just trying to make an action film? Fine, then don't call it Dragonball. If you can't be true to the series why even bother?

And Ms. Chung, while I can be entertained by your acting, a train wreck can also be entertaining...but I wouldn't pay to go see it, or take my children. If your going to do something...do it right or not at all.

FanGirl
Janet Wu

[Fringe]

to 007, haters are not stupid as your small brain thinking.. if u think the movie is great, than its yours

to janet wu, i honestly have the same condition as your. since that time..too (probably). btw, your opinion will be appreciated. im sure

now its my turn, hmm... where do i start... Well, let say my friends told me about 5 days ago...
I asked how was the movie? he said "worst". Then im curious how bad this movie is... i checked on the internet, many sites. i cant believe it there are so many chaos everytime i saw it..
this movie is really bring flame! thats my thought. i plan to watch it only in dvds, just curious what in the name why did they hate it. thats my opinions, sorry if there's so many misspronounce or bad grammar

[Sam]

Fox, Fox, Fox ... (in a descending tone) ...

I grew up in an age when you didn't sacrifice quality for a quick box-office pickup. The 20th Century Fox logo is, or, I should say, was, iconic. It accompanies many of my most fantastic childhood memories. But somewhere along the line, you lost your way.

Over the past few years, you have released bad film after bad film. It would be funny if it wasn't so pathetic - in reverse chronological order: Dragonall Evolution; X-men origins Wolverine (which I haven't seen but have read reviews of); The Day the Earth Stood Still; City of Ember; The Happening; Babylon AD; Max Payne; Jumper; Meet the Spartans; AvP Requiem; Hitman; FF2: Rise of the Silver Surfer; Die Hard 4; Epic Movie; Eragon; X-men: The Last Stand.

ALL of these movies were big budget releases, and all of them underperformed, from a fan's point of view, either critically or commercially, or both. I, as the movie going viewer, have become so fed up of your attempts to peddle what is, in my opinion, for all intensive purposes cinematic filth that I find myself moving to the point where I will REFUSE to go and see anything made, produced or distributed by you.

A small look at some of those films, and the problems they encountered at release, will tell you what's wrong. Stories of how you interfered to no ends on the set of Babylon AD; Tom Rothman's petty prejudices DICTATING the direction of a story, i.e. I don't want robot men on screen so no robotic-humanoid Galactus and no Sentinels in X-men; Die Hard 4 and the whoring out of a great adult franchise to a pg-13 rating; AvP films with virtually no discernable plot (or if there is one a miserable one at that).

It all reminds me of a story told by Kevin Smith, about a producer, Mr Peters, and his rantings on about how he didn't want Superman to wear his iconic suit, or fly; his desire for meaningless set pieces (the giant spider) that in NO WAY whatsoever advance the plot; or maybe a complete misunderstanding of the nature of the storiy (i.e. We need Sean Penn for Superman - a f*cking k*ller). From my position as a consumer, Fox is run by a group of Mr. Peters. You are, in effect, releasing Wild Wild West after Wild Wild West; and now that people are becoming savy too it, you moan on about how it's unfair that such tripe draws such widespread and unanimous criticism. From my externalist perspective, you are a bunch of greedy men in the company office talking about how they can screw me over. You don't care about me - actions speak louder than words. Your action of releasing consistently low quality or largely disappointing films speaks far louder than your P.R. "We are always committed to producing high quality entertainment" nonsense.

If you hurt you consumer base, or if you disrespect it, the respect you have garned for yourself over the previous 3-4 decades will only last on reserve for so long. But, hell, you don't care do you. If you did, things would have chanegd a long time ago.

[Miquelo]

Chung: have you seen the MOVIE?????

I mean, the fight are so short and the ending is totally confusing and anticlimatic.

This movie sucks and no one would be talking about it if it didn't have the tilte of "Dragon Ball".

Besides, the plot line is so rush, so full of holes, I mean, just because Wong try it doesn't mean he got it right.

[D.Z.]

"One of the stars, Jaime Chung, who plays Chi Chi, in the film, is asking the fans to give the movie a chance by perhaps waiting until it reaches the screen before putting it in the same category as "Catwoman" or "Speed Racer," two other Hollywood movies that took hand-drawn fanboy favorites and turned them into spectacular live-action bombs. "

At least Speed Racer made most of its money back, and was considered an underdog. I doubt people will feel that way about DB: E, though.

"Fans are frothing on YouTube "

Bah, I got better links than that. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tGc8m4vk5c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brTuZ3HUneY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kHW8EYGH8Y

'“I feel like all movies that adapt some sort of [material], whether it’s a book or a manga or a cartoon, into a film -- you’re going to have to take creative liberty in order to change it so that it works for a motion picture,” Chung said.'

Too bad it's been changed to the point that it doesn't work for anyone but the execs at FOX.

" “I mean you can’t make it look ridiculous,” the actress said."

Yeah, the acting and writing look ridiculous enough already.

"Chung said there are plenty of reasons for fans to give Wong's movie a chance, whether it's the high-intensity action scenes (shot with a Phantom HD camera for frame rapidity that slows combat for a closer view) or the care given to make sure each character got their own fighting style (Chung's Chi Chi, for instance, uses Tae Kwon Do, allowing her to “look pretty on the outside, but fight like a dude”)."

Try to sugar-coat it all you want, it still looks like crap.

"and the film has done well despite bootleg copies hitting the market. The film passed the $22 million mark at the end of March, according to Box Office Mojo, and that without any screenings yet in South America, North America or most of Europe."

Whoopee. Only $80-$100 million to go!

"The reviews by non-believers have also been more kind; Variety's Russell Edwards wrote of the film: A popular Japanese manga series gets a pleasing if paint-by-numbers live-action makeover in "Dragonball Evolution," which half-heartedly tries to keep the faith for its pubescent male fan base."

How is that kind? That's more like a concession than praise!

"Regardless of whether or not the fans will agree with it, they will be entertained. "

Entertained in a so-bad-it's-good way, maybe.

[Dragonball De Evolution]

what i don't get is how people can be sheep. I could make a movie where goku is a female and then say he's transexual because I want to please everyone. I could make him fall in love because he should not have any of those lovebable quirks he had in series and for some reason thats not realistic. 20 minutes can't save this film. Boot leg comparison can't save it. If you read the script it is an insult to the fans an the intelligence of the non fan. Its racist in that it strives to be as westernized as possible. I fear hollywood will never let go of the caucasian protagonist in a foreign big budget movie.
Ok forget the other characters and judge this movie as a whole Yes we know the movie shows no effort on our part. FOX ARE GENIUSES AND SHOULD BE SUED FOR FRAUD FOR FALSIFYING INFO ON THE MINISCULE BUDGET. USUALLY U SACRIFICE STORY FOR SOMETHING BUT NOT THIS. In the age of twilight we are like robots that will accept anything as a form of . Truth is I don't get this realism mantra . Dragonball is a fantasy REALISM IS CODE FOR DIRT CHEAP. FOX NEVER HAD ANY FAITH IN THE SERIES SO THEY MADE IT IN THE CHEAPEST WAY POSSIBLE. DARK KNIGHT MAY HAVE RUINED ALL THE OTHER ANIME MOVIES FOR US ALL I'VE SEEN THE MOVIE IT SUCKS. g

[Doritos]

Some people waste their time creating blogs, forum and websites to HATE a movie, and they do daily updates, and if you go in one of them you'll see how immature they are and stupid, i'm a fanboy of dragonball, i know they could have done a better movie but it is NOT as bad as tthese ''haters'' say, they overreact too much, ''oh goku is not an asian'', come on....

Watch the movie ON THEATERS, its worth, its a fun and entertaining movie, go with ur friends, family and have fun....

[David A. Leon]

I dread this movie with every fiber of my being. It is absolutely and categorically impossible to turn Dragonball Z into a live-action movie. This movie is going to be a catastrophy.

[AmbroseKalifornia]

Eh. I think the movie looks worse than the anime. And that's saying something.

[ShadowWing Tronix]

Janet, you do recall that the characters you just mentioned don't appear in the first few story arcs, right? At first all we have are Goku and Bulma, with the other characters filtering in. Krillin is probably the last of the DBZ holdovers to even show up in the first series.

That's not to say that some of the fan complaints aren't legit, and it they may have taken too many liberties with the source material (which tends to bother me about these transitions, and I fully accepted the changes in Transformers) but Chung has a point about the hair. Personally, a line that Goku's namesake ancestor was the one from the cartoon, and this Goku's recessive Sayan (yes, I used the American version--deal with it, fanboys!) genes can be tapped might fix many of the problems, just by setting the movie many generations after the original series.

Still, I'm curious to see this movie. It looks interesting at any rate.

[Kame]

This was the worst movie I have ever seen. As a standalone film, it's terrible. As a Dragon Ball adaptation it was a slap-in-the-face.

Do this idiots think that everyone has realised that you can stick closely to the source material and still have a good movie? Just look at movies like 300. These morons need to stop making excuses and trying to swindle everyone. Sorry, but the 'wait until it comes out in theaters and judge it' ploy isn't going to work, especially since they're hungry to make sequels. It's not about pleasing people, it's about the money. Cold, hard, cash.

Goku never went to high school. He's not a skinny boy who chases after girls and cheats at his training.

Bulma isn't the reincarnation of Laura Croft.

Chi-Chi isn't the popular high school 'it-girl' straight off The Real World.

Roshi's not a middle-aged clean-cut man who's embarrassed and afraid to be a pervert.

Piccolo is not some random alien who wants to take over Earth for no reason. He never controlled the Oozaru in the manga/anime.

...And how the heck is 'Goku' the same Oozaru that helped Piccolo 2000 years ago if he's only 18? Seriously, Wong is a no-talent hack. All of these people, all of 20th Century Fox needs to STAY AWAY FROM DRAGON BALL!!! Don't believe me? look at the number of signatures in the petition against this movie and any possible sequels. See how much the signature count has risen since the movie's release.

http://www.petitiononline.com/dblam444/petition.html

[Ian]

I did "give it a chance", and watched it. It was absolutely awful. I'm not even a fan of Dragonball, and even I could tell it was an insult to the franchise. Fans, you have my sympathy.

[Boog]

They don't want to make a movie people will hate?

Then why make this one?

This movie looks like someone worse than Uwe Boll made it.

[John Nouel]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGlywxd2qLw

Read First. Forget the haircuts, the lengh, some styles. Stop excusing that "You can't make a movie with those haircuts without looking silly!". It's not that. You know what you did wrong. The story is wrong (No characters, Dragonball "prophecy matrix scheme", Roshi pervert, Bulma pervert doubleface), goku is a innocent guy, and it is all about how in the story they join him. There is no "EVIL ONE", just one army who wants the dragonball. Afterwards is all about training with Roshi, who only agree to train them because of Goku's grandpa. And the training is all about how it is not a common one (Looking for ONE rock in a jungle, planting seeds, wearing heavy cloth, etc). And afterwards come Piccolo, and not even the DBZ one, but the father.

But, worse than all that stuff. Let's forget all the story mistakes and changes. You TOOK AWAY AND KILLED the "Escence" of the characters. Those 3 examples are in this Video. Goku would never say "I am not prepared", that is why fandom is so angry. They didnt read or preserve anything from the original series. Goku was all about just fighting and big opponents, until they killed his best friend (who was erased from the movie), and then things get bad.

Goku would never say "COOL!", he is a innocent dumb kid, cmon.

And like everyone has said. We could talk for hours of everything that is wrong in this movie. And forget the hairstyle complaints, or setting, or story. Hours just on the escence thing.

Is like they saw AMV videos from the series. And took all the things they thought looked "cool" (Lets add the piccolo guy, then the monkey yeah!, oh the fights), then read the book synopsis on wikipedia and in the end, OF COURSE "But let's make everything really EXTREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEME, they will LOVE this!".

DONT WATCH THIS MOVIE. DONT GIVE THEM MONEY. OR THEY DO THE SECOND ONE.

P.S. English dub sucks. Japanese and Spanish one are not that "cartoonish".

Also. I'm a film student. Wouldnt you love a DB Movie that mix all that action with the "MAGIC REALISM" (Yeah, Garcia Marquez) found in the original series and manga. It would work perfectly in the screen. I mean, it is so hard to make a "100 years of solitude" adaptation, but with DragonBall, you had the perfect excuse to make a great action movie, with a retelling of a known story (Because DB use so much from other folk tales, and even movies) in a fresh way, and with a new Magic Realism universe, you could have created.

I hate you Fox.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2009/04/dragonball-star-no-one-wants-to-make-a-movie-that-people-will-hate.html <--- That did it.

[Josh]

I live in Japan and this movie has been out for awhile here and I've seen it.
It's fun, it's not great, but ti's entertaining and has a level of nostalgic charm.
I'll never understand American fanboys. My Japanese friends who are fans of the series don't even say they hate this movie. They simply smile and say it's different but entertaining. So everyone should chill out

[farid wajdi]

worse quality than any movies.so sad.goku is NAIVE and love to fight in manga.its all bout money!

[Brian H.]

Alright I am going to see it because the people I know and have talked to said it was entertaining. Stop complaining about it not following Dragonball perfectly. It's a totally different take on the DB story. I'm just tired of all these half ********* complaints when half if not more of you haven't even seen the damn thing. I'm american and im ashamed at how fans here treat any retelling of a childhood show like crap.

[Mahdi Kassam]

GOKU WAS NEVER ASIAN!!!!! HE WAS AN ALIEN!!! GET IT RIGHT AND DO YOUR HOMEWORK MICHELLE CASTILLO!!!

The author thought Goku was Asian? He's not even HUMAN!!!! He was an alien sent from Planet Vegeta!!!!

[Popo]

I wish Uwe Boll had directed. It would be legendary

[Masato]

i cant believe idiots are defending this movie. i have seen it but i didnt hate it because it isnt like the anime,i hate it cos its just such an awful movie. people that defend poor lazy fillms piss me off.its because of people like you guys that keep paying year after year to see shit and then defend it by saying..'it wasnt THAT bad' that these bastards can keep getting richer and richer from making actual film turd. how can hollywood try to make people guilty for buying pirate copies of crap films like these?

[Stubbz]

There really are tons and tons of problems with this movie. Krillin, Tien, chaozu, and emperor pilaf. Even Oolong should have had is role in there. you cant have missing chracters. This movie should have been flawless and done right. Its spanning over 20 years of content. Goku should have been cast japanese and then you wouldnt have had a problem with the hair..for there hair can do wicked things...and yamcha should have been american...and tien russian and it just would have helped with there look. master roshi is old not chow yung fat..even jackie chan has been using old suits for his movie roles where he plays an old man. it shouldnt look so not gritty and should be more earthy. the crazy asian leader child from tropic thunder could be a better goku cast choice. i knew this movie was coming and it was destined to fail with a studio being so money grubby. he better have fucking nimbus too cuz so far i see no damn nimbus. should have shot this in a styul;e compared to 300 sin city and the sprit. at least they went back and made piccolo green. sorta. i am pissed cuz dragionball is my thing and always will be. ive spent oodles and boodles on collectibles, comics, shirts, games, dvds, and hours trying too catch the whole seasons in countinue on cartoon network, i would watch it every sturday...where is advisors too these damn movies...like just some nerd like me who gets paid too say well thats not even close go another way. there really is so much too say about this movie being made the way it has been. end of F---in story

[Stubbz]

its like someone redoing f****g star wars and not having hans solo...chewbacca...or yoda in it...and having darth vader painted white and talking with a lisp.

[Nubcake]

First off, I hate the crack on Speed Racer. That movie was incredibly entertaining.

As for Dragonball, the problem is simply that it doesn't feel like Dragonball at all. For one thing, the personalities are just off. Whether Goku was a kid or a teenager or an adult, he always had the same personality, which the movie fails to deliver. And you can basically apply this to every other character.

Furthermore, what's with the argument about Krillin, Tien, and Chiaotzu being left out because they aren't realistic? Krillin is human, for one. All they had to do was hire a midget/dwarf to play the role. And Piccolo, who IS in the movie, just happens to be a GREEN ALIEN in the anime. If they can make a green alien "realistic", why can't they put Krillin in? He's not just a side character, he was Goku's best friend. In fact, I think most would agree that prior to DBZ, he was the second most important character in the entire series.

If they had at least TRIED to stay true to the story, I'd probably enjoy it even if it wasn't that well made or acted. It's the fact that they basically took the name Dragonball, along with a few character names and vague themes, and tried to act as if it has any actual relation to the anime. It simply doesn't. It would be like making Peter Parker an action-hero tough guy, Mary Jane a slut, and Harry a gangster, all while deciding Parker shouldn't live with his aunt and uncle and instead giving him parents that play little to no role whatsoever. Oh, and the Green Goblin is a corrupt politician looking to start a war in the Middle East. It simply wouldn't be Spiderman...and that's the sort of thing "fanboys" have every right to complain about.

[Jsung]

PLEASE DO NOT MAKE SEQUELS!!!! This movie is a disaster!!! from what ive heard he does a kamehameha and flys while doing it..it had me laughing in a bad way when i heard...Ill watch it when it comes on Nickelodeon or something. Oh and advice to whoever creates dvds and blu rays...don't waste your time on putting it on those wonderful discs...this movie might save VHS tape Sales or actually bring vhs back. And Whats with the PG rating? im sure the fans of this AMAZING show are all grown up to at least have a pg-13 rating..maybe thats just me..Some will Love and Some will buy the dvd for a frisbee then use it for a nice Coaster.. Good Luck DB...Good Luck