The Pokemon Thread vol. 2: Gotta Catch 'Em All!

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CHRIS. CHRIS.

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A Bidding War Has Erupted Over Live-Action ‘Pokémon’ Movie Rights

A story over at The Hollywood Reporter has the details: Nintendo has been wooing Hollywood studios to make a live-action Pokémon movie and they’ve received bites from a few major players. Warner Bros., who distributed the animated Pokémon: The First Movie back in 1999, emerged as an early favorite. THR also describes Sony as “very interested” in the property.

However, this secretive auction is nearing its grand conclusion and a new frontrunner has emerged: Legendary Pictures, Thomas Tull’s production company that has had a hand in everything from The Dark Knight and Watchmen to Pacific Rim and Godzilla. Although Legendary has worked extensively with Warner Bros. and Universal in the past, it is now owned by China’s Wanda Group…and this is where the troubles begin.

On paper, the consistently geek-friendly Legendary feels like a good match for Pokémon. This kind of thing is their bread and butter. However, it’s easy to imagine many people balking at a Chinese-owned company securing the rights to a beloved Japanese series – tensions have never not been high between these two nations. Japan has been critical of Chinese activity in the South China Sea. China banned Japanese movies for three years, a ban that was only recently lifted. And that’s only recent history. The seeds of distrust between the two countries go back to World War II and beyond. The Pokémon movie ending up with a Chinese-owned company isn’t going to ignite an international incident, but it could rub a lot of people the wrong way.

This puts Legendary is an especially sticky situation, since they produced Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla with the approval of Japan’s Toho Co. years before they were bought by the Wanda Group. Tull’s company is standing center stage at the future of studio moviemaking, a future that will involve navigating an often unpredictable international landscape.

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[Fearless Agent Orange Find all posts View Profile Close Fearless]

^That's brilliant.

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+ YouTube Video

[Booster Beetle Will break before he bends Find all posts View Profile Close Booster Beetle]

Is it just me or do those starters suuuuuuck?

[Hypo Lil' Leaguer Find all posts View Profile Close Hypo]

It's just you.

[Gray Lantern Senior Corps Member Find all posts View Profile Close Gray Lantern]

I like the owl, but the others look lame.

[Fearless Agent Orange Find all posts View Profile Close Fearless]

Barn owl is first ups, then the circus sea lion!

[Hypo Lil' Leaguer Find all posts View Profile Close Hypo]

The Penny Arcade guys pitched some work to The Pokemon Company though it didn't go anywhere:

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Pitched for what? A comic? A webcomic?

[Hypo Lil' Leaguer Find all posts View Profile Close Hypo]

Pitched for what? A comic? A webcomic?

Gabe doesn't specify:

Last year I had the opportunity to pitch some work to the Pokemon company. It didn’t end up coming to anything but it was a real honor just to be considered. They wanted to see my take on some starters, a trainer and a Pikachu. I’m really proud of the work and even though it didn’t turn into anything, I wanted to share the illustrations. You can click on any of these for a large version.

Probably something related to the 20th anniversary.

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