Paul Dini To Write 'GATCHAMAN'
Batman: TAS vet will indulge his "dark take on animation" with the CGI feature Gatchaman.
"We are excited to have Paul on our talented Gatchaman team," said Francis Kao, Imagi's Chief Creative Officer. "His extensive background in animation and superhero comics will contribute greatly to this ambitious action movie."
"The original series was one of the classics of early anime, and the film will be very true to the Japanese source material," said Dini. "As a studio, Imagi is constantly breaking the boundaries of animated adventure. Not only are their action sequences amazing, but their characters are driven, complex and play for life-or-death stakes. It’s a great environment for a writer with a rather dark take on animation."
The Hong Kong-based Imagi is best known for producing Dreamworks' short-lived CG TV series, Father of the Pride
and is producer (with Madhouse) of the anime Highlander: Search for Vengeance, as well as the CG version of TMNT.
Imagi aquired the rights to Gatchaman from Tatsunoko Productions (Speed Racer, Robotech).
Writer-producer Dini’s work includes Batman: The Animated Series, Lost and "Detective Comics."
Gatchaman is based on the successful Japanese franchise created in the early '70s by anime pioneer
Tatsuo Yoshida. Aired in the U.S. (in kid-friendly form) as Battle of the Planets and G-Force, it became
one of the top syndicated TV shows.
The series focused on five teenagers, with a remarkable genetic code, who are recruited by the International Science Organization to form the bird-themed "Science Ninja Team Gatchaman" and use their vehicle-based mecha to stop a group of technologically advanced villains known as Galactor from taking control of the earth's natural resources. The show's imaginative action and its serious sense of consequence have maintained its respectability
over the years.
An unedited version of the Gatchaman DVD has been released to DVD in North America by ADV Films.
Gatchaman will be "a big, effects-rich movie set in a future world grappling with environmental and technological issues." It is purported to feature some of the most ambitious action sequences ever seen in animation.
Lynne Southerland will produce for director Kevin Munroe (TMNT), who came out of animation, where he worked on
TV shows, features, comics and video games.
Gatchaman is scheduled for release in early 2009.
[Thanks to twitchfilm.net, Active Anime, and Scott Green at Ain't It Cool News for additional info.]