Robotech live action movie

[Uraniun235]

If they take the same direction with a Robotech movie that they took with the new Battlestar Galactica (that is, eliminate the campy shit, take the overall plot and make a grittier, militaristic version), then it could be very good. Granted, not every character has to be an alcoholic, but a movie could do without the "In order to defeat our enemies, we must broadcast pop music" shit.

Here's the rub; with Battlestar Galactica, even after all the changes, at its core was still the basic premise of "the last surviving fragments of humanity are running away, trying to stay alive, and praying they manage to run into Earth some day".

The premise of Macross seems like it is itself basically campy... so if we take that away, what exactly is Macross going to be about besides transforming F-14s and teenaged lovers?

...oh, shit, they really can make a movie out of it.

[CycloneRider052]

The premise of Macross seems like it is itself basically campy... so if we take that away, what exactly is Macross going to be about besides transforming F-14s and teenaged lovers?

...oh, shit, they really can make a movie out of it.

They only way it could be fucked up is if they decide to just not put in the giant robots.

[mr friendly guy]

And there no actress on this Earth good enough to make Min Mey likeable.

Min Mey was supposed be likable? Well I supposed at the end when she gave up on Rick she became half decent, but wasn't she just spoiled or something?

[CycloneRider052]

Min Mey was supposed be likable? Well I supposed at the end when she gave up on Rick she became half decent, but wasn't she just spoiled or something?

Quite. Minmay, or Minmei was a whiny, egotistical brat who thought the world revolved around her. Next to her cousin Kyle/Kaifun; she was probably the most irritating character in the whole god damned show.

[Ghost Rider]

If they take the same direction with a Robotech movie that they took with the new Battlestar Galactica (that is, eliminate the campy shit, take the overall plot and make a grittier, militaristic version), then it could be very good. Granted, not every character has to be an alcoholic, but a movie could do without the "In order to defeat our enemies, we must broadcast pop music" shit.

Here's the rub; with Battlestar Galactica, even after all the changes, at its core was still the basic premise of "the last surviving fragments of humanity are running away, trying to stay alive, and praying they manage to run into Earth some day".

The premise of Macross seems like it is itself basically campy... so if we take that away, what exactly is Macross going to be about besides transforming F-14s and teenaged lovers?

...oh, shit, they really can make a movie out of it.

It'll be a non gay Top Gun, with Tobey instead of Tom.

Oh wait, Roy and Rick always were too chummy...hmmm. Guess it is Top Gun again.

[SAMAS]

Well, when you're trying to put 3 un-related shows together, there's not a whole lot you can do.

Then don't do it.

Like hell! Robotech was one of the shows that introduced me to anime, and I'd rather take it, warts and all, than not know Macross at all.

[SAMAS]

Well, when you're trying to put 3 un-related shows together, there's not a whole lot you can do.

Then don't do it.

Like hell.

[VF5SS]

Like hell! Robotech was one of the shows that introduced me to anime, and I'd rather take it, warts and all, than not know Macross at all.

Because clearly, the internet or the anime boom in America would have never happened without Robotech. Yep. Sure.

[CycloneRider052]

Because clearly, the internet or the anime boom in America would have never happened without Robotech. Yep. Sure.

Please, enlighten me how you got that...out of...

Like hell! Robotech was one of the shows that introduced me to anime, and I'd rather take it, warts and all, than not know Macross at all.

How about you stop attempting to insult something you obviously know nothing about. It just makes you look like an ignorant fool. Unless that's what your going for?

[VF5SS]

Sounds like the nostalgia line to me.

[Knife]

Sounds like the nostalgia line to me.

*Points and laughs again*

Sounds like bitter jealously. I've also noticed you've pretty much kept your argument against robotech purely on the connection parts of the plots that connect the three shows, rather than anything else. Lets face it, you can't or you critisize your own show, since Robotech is a knock off.

lol, like I said, I'm going to love watching this development.

[Ford Prefect]

Like hell! Robotech was one of the shows that introduced me to anime, and I'd rather take it, warts and all, than not know Macross at all.

Robotech was the show that got me into anime when I was younger. It was the first anime I ever saw. It doesn't matter that it started the anime boom in the west - it's still terrible, and a terrible example of 'translation'. Taking three different series and trying to make them one, inserting ridiculous plot elements and so on is a poor thing to do. 'Then don't do it' is a perfectly reasonable thing to say when considering it.

[rhoenix]

I quite honestly hadn't seen much than one part of the show; I came upon the Robotech universe through the Palladium RPG's, so I certainly wouldn't call myself a purist. On the other hand, what I did see of that show, as well as seeing Transformers as a cartoon are two strong pieces of nostalgia for me.

That said, this could be interesting. I'll rent it on DVD when it comes out.

[Darwin]

The premise of Macross seems like it is itself basically campy... so if we take that away, what exactly is Macross going to be about besides transforming F-14s and teenaged lovers?

...oh, shit, they really can make a movie out of it.

They only way it could be fucked up is if they decide to just not put in the giant robots.

That's as unlikely as a DOOM movie without demons and hell.

O SHI-

[CycloneRider052]

The premise of Macross seems like it is itself basically campy... so if we take that away, what exactly is Macross going to be about besides transforming F-14s and teenaged lovers?

...oh, shit, they really can make a movie out of it.

They only way it could be fucked up is if they decide to just not put in the giant robots.

That's as unlikely as a DOOM movie without demons and hell.

O SHI-

Oh...my god. Let us hope it doesn't come to that.
Speaking of which, after the SSL podcast with Mckeever the other day; several RDF-HQ'ers came up with a list of things the movie 'needs' to have and still be Robotech:

1) It must take place in the future.
2) Initially the story must take place on Earth, or at least in our solar system.
3) It must have humans creating and piloting robotic military vehicles.
4) The humans must be fighting aliens that use robotic military vehicles.
5) There must be an interspecies romance.
6) There must be references to "Protoculture" (whether the explanation for it makes sense or not).

So long as it hits those core ideas, they could pretty much do what they want with it. I personally would prefer it if they went with an all new cast, if only because 20 years of hearing about the same characters over and over again kind of gets old, and if this IS going to be a reboot of the franchise as has been suggested; what better way to do it than completely recasting it and making a new story that just follows the same core themes as the original?

[Nephtys]

This is going to be ugly.

Macross: DYRL was a great movie for people who already knew the story. For anyone who didn't, it was a trainwreck of what-the-hell-is-happening, protoculture, giant men fighting women(huh?), and planes that turn into robots that turn into half-planebots. And a lot of stuff was totally rushed (such as why Breetai's fleet turn on Bidolza).

I can't see how it can be any better, while trying to make it accessible. Why, it's like having an Alien vs Predator movie that has nothing to do with Aliens or Predators or the Colonial Marines, but a bunch of modern people running around undergr----

... or a Resident Evil movie that doesn't have anything to do with the games, and features an evil AI shaped after a little girl and---- uh.

Yes. Like before. Doom. Without Demons or Hell. Given how CLEAR CUT all of those last three examples could be for a movie, a 'Robotech' Movie with all the confusion of Macross, it's own plot, and so on... it's going to be ugly.

[Vendetta]

The problem with doing a Macross saga movie is that the story really does need about 26 half hour episodes to get finished. (There's a bit of filleritis in the original series, at least twice because the series length was extended partway through it's run and they had to suddenly cook up several more episodes)

You can't do that story in two hours. Ain't gonna work.

[CycloneRider052]

The problem with doing a Macross saga movie is that the story really does need about 26 half hour episodes to get finished. (There's a bit of filleritis in the original series, at least twice because the series length was extended partway through it's run and they had to suddenly cook up several more episodes)

You can't do that story in two hours. Ain't gonna work.

Not sure if I'm remembering it right, but wasn't the original plan for like 47 or 49 episodes, then the budget got chopped and it went down to 26; then about midway through the run the ratings were so good they kicked it up to 36?

Telling the entire story in a two hour; or even 2 1/2 hour format would indeed be next to impossible. The best bet would either be an all new story designed to fit into a movie's run time; or a series of movies about each of the generations. Which is more likely though?

[Darwin]

Not sure if I'm remembering it right, but wasn't the original plan for like 47 or 49 episodes, then the budget got chopped and it went down to 26; then about midway through the run the ratings were so good they kicked it up to 36?

Something like that. Looking at the series today, the number of clip recap episodes is almost criminal, we're talking Gundam Seed levels of recycle. (I think Gundam Seed had 4 clip episodes out of 50, which is at least 3 too many)

[Vendetta]

Not sure if I'm remembering it right, but wasn't the original plan for like 47 or 49 episodes, then the budget got chopped and it went down to 26; then about midway through the run the ratings were so good they kicked it up to 36?

The first company that greenlit it, Wiz, had budgeted for 48 episodes, but before anything beyond preproduction happened they went out of business, and Big West picked it up for a 23 episode run. The meat of the story was written on the assumption it was going to be 23 episodes long, but it got so many viewers they weren't willing to let it go that easily, so it got extended twice during the run. The clip shows (there are two of them, episodes 14 and 17) were due to that, and so is the extended length of the aftermath story, which could have done with a bit of tightening up.

[montypython]

Min Mey was supposed be likable? Well I supposed at the end when she gave up on Rick she became half decent, but wasn't she just spoiled or something?

Quite. Minmay, or Minmei was a whiny, egotistical brat who thought the world revolved around her. Next to her cousin Kyle/Kaifun; she was probably the most irritating character in the whole god damned show.

Min Mei in the original Macross wasn't quite as flighty and was more mature than her Robotech counterpart, and could sing much better to boot.

[Vendetta]

Her character progression is repeated over and over in every instant overnight pop princess. Though again, it needs time to develop that way, so you can't do her in a film.

The difference in singing ability is quite easy to explain as well. Mari Iijima was cast because she was a singer songwriter, so she could do the entire role, singing and speaking parts.

[VF5SS]

The difference in singing ability is quite easy to explain as well. Mari Iijima was cast because she was a singer songwriter, so she could do the entire role, singing and speaking parts.

You forget that she was also young, pretty, and exploitable. Haha.

[CycloneRider052]

Her character progression is repeated over and over in every instant overnight pop princess. Though again, it needs time to develop that way, so you can't do her in a film.

The difference in singing ability is quite easy to explain as well. Mari Iijima was cast because she was a singer songwriter, so she could do the entire role, singing and speaking parts.

No argument there. Mari Iijima's performance was much better over-all than Reba West's. I like her Macross version much better actually since she comes more as the naive girl thrown into stardom as mentioned above; rather than just a spoiled little bitch. In her Macross incarnation it is much easier to see why Hikaru was so stuck on her, despite the consistent snubbing.

[The Dark]

You know, the movie doesn't have to tell the whole story. Going up to the Battle of Saturn's Rings or the Battle of Sara Base would be plenty to fill a movie, tell a relatively complete story, and leave room for a sequel (arguably the weakest point on the plan ).