I'm not saying the established fan base of those are anywhere near that of One Piece. The difference is that the majority of their fan base isn't staunchly against the idea of a live action series, with the intent of trying to get it canceled after a season without giving it a chance. OPLA has an uphill battle both in that it's a tougher sell for the average Netflix watcher, but the even tougher ones to win over will be the audience that enabled the original series' success. Sure there is a core who support it, but that only takes you so far when there's a much stronger, louder and more vocal opposition who give potential new fans a bad impression and make sure they don't give it a chance either.
The OP YouTubers I've seen talk about have been hyping it up and telling their viewers/subs to have faith in it or at least an open mind, but go onto any other social media and fans almost exclusively hate on it. That's what I meant by the YouTube numbers not necessarily indicating how much genuine support there is for it.
You clearly haven't read much about this production have you? Matt Owens, originally lead writer and later co-showrunner, is basically to thank for this production even happening. Out of all the pitches to Oda thorough the years, he was the one to convince Oda. And Oda said it was much due to how personal it was - Owens basically opened up on how One Piece saved him when he was severely depressed. Owens is a long time fan, who was active in the fandom years before this series. Heck, after announcement he even took time to participate to the Reverie podcast/stream, to discuss with dozens of Youtubers, wiki admins and others fans. His heart is definetly in the right place with One Piece, and this is a major reason why I am excited. It is not a heartless cash grab - the helmsman is a true professional and passionate fan.
Owens' previous credits include solid episodes of Luke Cage and Agents of SHIELD. He is supported by the other show runner Steven Maeda, who is also a fan, but also an industry veteran who worked on stuff like X-Files and Lost. Directors include Marc Jobst, who directed the best episodes of Daredevil and Witcher. He also recently talked about directing fight scenes in a workshop, and later out it's all about remembering WHY they are fighting and what for in every shot and action. He gets it. Other known director's are Tim Southman (The Good Doctor, Locke and Key) and Emma Sullivan (Doctor Who).
They really seem to hire people who know their shit and/or love the original.
But you are telling me only very little about their vision of it here and I haven't seen anything that makes me think "yeah they definitely got this"
It's all cool that they love One Piece, I'd buy that. It is also cool that they have directing experience on other stuff. Or that they are engaged with the community. All great but what about the series?
The fighting would hardly be what I would start with when explaining my vision of this. I would probably start with the main character. Have they said anything about their perception of Luffy? Who is Luffy and why should I like him?
I'm not saying the established fan base of those are anywhere near that of One Piece. The difference is that the majority of their fan base isn't staunchly against the idea of a live action series, with the intent of trying to get it canceled after a season without giving it a chance. OPLA has an uphill battle both in that it's a tougher sell for the average Netflix watcher, but the even tougher ones to win over will be the audience that enabled the original series' success. Sure there is a core who support it, but that only takes you so far when there's a much stronger, louder and more vocal opposition who give potential new fans a bad impression and make sure they don't give it a chance either.
I am not against a live action, but obviously there are factors that make established readers feel unwell, starting from the fact that it is not even finished yet.
The Sandman comic apparently went from 1989-1996. That's almost three decades after it's original end. Same situation for One Piece and I probably would accept anything.
There's obviously going to be a final blast in popularity for One Piece when it ends, and only then people will truly be capable of seeing how great it is.
This is premature. They would get an even higher budget had they waited for One Piece's cultural significance to peak.
I am not even that much assuming this is going to be bad. But I am afraid it's going to be just mediocre, just "Netflix" you know.
GoT self destroyed, Star Wars is self destroying, Star Trek pff.., JKR is self destroying, DCEU is self-destroying (or already did?), I heard LOTR is self destroying, too, well it's dated anyways...
Most large fiction universes are dieing out. They are no longer occupying people like they used to. One Piece can fill this gap, it has the chance to become a huge pop culture phenomenon imho.
But for that, it must not be just successful, it must be omegalul successful and I a skeptical towards that. Worst case is indeed a cancelation after one season as that would kill the potential of One Piece. For that reason I think it would have been better had they waited.
And now I have to be honest: If you say that he directed Luke Cage and Agents of Shield then ughh. I don't like the MCU at all. I also always wished for One Piece to become a counterpoint to the overamericanization of media. Back when I was young you could either watch American toons on Super RTL, Japanese anime on RTL II or German-Japanese anime coproductions on the Kinderkanal (tax funded). Nowadays the kids are solely occupied by American stuff, can't be too healthy for a European society in the long run.
I don't really like the core concept of Superheroes as it is inherently capitalist. Then you also have this overuse of cgi, making everything look like it's video game port rather than a movie. Also way too many Superheroes I find incredibly stupid in character design like Thor or Captain America (or Aquaman and Superman, just to be fair).
But you are telling me only very little about their vision of it here and I haven't seen anything that makes me think "yeah they definitely got this"
It's all cool that they love One Piece, I'd buy that. It is also cool that they have directing experience on other stuff. Or that they are engaged with the community. All great but what about the series?
Well I don't know what more you want. You can go thorough those sources yourself to get a more detailed picture. It's not my job to write you a synopsis. Besides, what do you actually expect? They don't really go talking about their visions and ideas in public in any TV production until like 2-3 months before release. That over an year from now.
All you can do this early on, is to check what the people have done, what they've said (it's probably much under NDA what they can even say in public) and get a general vibe. Just need to trust, wait and see.
The fighting would hardly be what I would start with when explaining my vision of this.
That's strawmanning. I didn't say Jobst was talking about OP specifically, I said that he just shared his philosophy on directing action scenes. You can search that up if you want more on it.
I would probably start with the main character. Have they said anything about their perception of Luffy? Who is Luffy and why should I like him?
Somebody read a screen writing guide. That's indeed the whole point of a story - who is this guy, why do I care, what is the need, what is the want, how do they proceed to overcome their antagonist. So why would they give this out before release? Their whole job revolves around these to questions - of course they are not going in great detail to spoil it all. The creative process is never 100% open to public. How much does Oda talk about upcoming characters and their functions and arc? That's right, never.
If you want some tidbits, you can Google for the casting call description of the characters. As always, they are not that detailed, but give a pretty straightforward description.
And now I have to be honest: If you say that he directed Luke Cage and Agents of Shield then ughh. I don't like the MCU at all. I also always wished for One Piece to become a counterpoint to the overamericanization of media. Back when I was young you could either watch American toons on Super RTL, Japanese anime on RTL II or German-Japanese anime coproductions on the Kinderkanal (tax funded). Nowadays the kids are solely occupied by American stuff, can't be too healthy for a European society in the long run. I don't really like the core concept of Superheroes as it is inherently capitalist. Then you also have this overuse of cgi, making everything look like it's video game port rather than a movie. Also way too many Superheroes I find incredibly stupid in character design like Thor or Captain America (or Aquaman and Superman, just to be fair).
How does this even relate to this topic? You don't like MCU. Okay... millions of people do. And this relates to the fact that this OPLA production fails because? This guy did his bit in the universe, and his episodes were good within what they were done for. But I can correct you a little - Owens wrote episodes. Didn't direct.
Honestly, what more do you really want? These people have fitting resumes, the helmsman is a true fan who engages with the fandom, the concept art and sets looks amazing and cast promising. They are not going to go and explain their creative thought process in full detail two years before release. They might open it up a little a promo or two before it airs, but that's it.
Do you have any examples, where they went to detail to talk about their vision before or in middle of shoot?
I can get that OP is important to you and you are vary, but I honestly think you are demanding things that don't just apply to any series production.
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Josef Wladyka highly likely seems to be one of the directors for the series. A hair stylist updated their CV, citing him as a director in Project Panda. Wladykas previous credits include Tokyo Vice and Narcos.
And no, he didn't direct the Sad Pablo/Pablo Waiting meme scenes, unfortunately. That's the first thing I googled.
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Okay, so it seems pretty likely now, that season 1 is just 8 episodes. Apparently in a interview director Southam refered to Project Panda as 8 episode project.
This is the first red-ish flag for me. 8 episodes just feels pretty damn tight for doing East Blue properly. It might just work, depending on how they cut and streamline the original, but still seems rather risky.
But with that, it's probably something like
1. Romance Dawn
2. Orange Town
3. Syrup Village
4. Baratie 1
5. Baratie 2
6. Arlong Park 1
7. Arlong Park 2
8. Logue Town
I'm afraid it's gonna feel a lot like villain of the week + nakama of the week show for first half of the season.
--- Double Post Merged, ---
^ Confirmed by director CV that the episodes are about 60mins each. That makes it a bit better!
Not exactly OPLA news, but interesting interview on Netflixs attempt to build/find their own "Star Wars", multi-million multi-media franchise that can go on for decades.
Long story short, they currently have three "hopeful tentpole productions" produced that in mind: Three-Body Problem (Chinese sci-fi novel series), Last Airbender, and, you guessed it, One Piece.
That meaning, if the series is a hit, we might get a lot more new OP content. Spin-offs, games, merch. They already have all that in mind while developing the series. Good indication they are not half-assed about OPLA.
The one piece live action seems like a lose lose IMO. To me these are the most likely scenarios:
1.- It's every bit as awful as anyone can imagine, a cringefest of DB evolution level or worst.
2.- For some ungodly reason it's anywhere upward of decent but after x number of seasons it gets cancelled for no specified reason and the series ends with a massive cliffhanger.
While both scenarios are plausible, I think I'll be happy even if it is cancelled after some seasons. Good OP content, is good OP content. Luckily the arcs have usually clear endings, so atleast the seasons will be concise. Better that than a LA original ending after milking it too long (ala Game of Thrones).
While both scenarios are plausible, I think I'll be happy even if it is cancelled after some seasons. Good OP content, is good OP content. Luckily the arcs have usually clear endings, so atleast the seasons will be concise. Better that than a LA original ending after milking it too long (ala Game of Thrones).
Milking it too long? The problem with GoT is that they rushed the ending so much they became incapable of telling anything close to a coherent story. Realistically speaking they could have gone on 5 more seasons. The story will start with luffy wanting to be pirate king and there's a 99.99% chance that we will never see that on the live action series even if its amazing.
Stuntmen can also get injured, they have rights for save working conditions as do actors. Besides, it would look stupid if stuntmen had more screen time in action sequences than Inaki.
Superimposing sandals on Luffys feet would be ridiculous use of money and time. Doable? Yes. Worth it? No. Just look up the story on how they had to CGI bare hands on Bond in Skyfall, when Craig was wearing gloves he shouldn't have. That was ridiculously expensive and slow.
The sandalgate is stupid. Whether series works or not has nothing to do with Luffys sandals. People are clearly just looking for any reason to complain and clearly have no realistic idea on what filmmaking is.
MCU didn't fall on changes in costume design. When it fails, it fails due to writing and direction. Same will be true for OPLA.
I feel like the "great sandal scandal of 2023" has been a good indicator of how many people will jump on any little change as a "SEE, TOLD YOU IT WOULD BE TRASH" because they've already made up their mind about it.
It's not like they've got him wearing Yeezys, the shoes are pretty fitting for Luffy imo... it'll take some getting used to but people are making it out to be a total destruction of Luffy's character...
Also, I've seen so many people say their biggest worry is that CGI for Luffy's power will look garbage and that'll be the deciding factor for whether they can stomach the series or not (and I pretty much agree)... so I'm fine if they don't spend their time and money CGI-ing sandals onto Luffy's feet in every action shot as well.
(Also they have a stunt team, obviously, but the same goes for them as for Iñaki.)
(EDIT: I swear me and Riku are different people... we just happen to post the same thing at the same time... a lot...)
Yup, focusing on Gomu Gomu is way more important. It's a hard effect to pull off without going full body-horror or disturbing uncanny valley range.
Mr. Fantastic was pretty good in Dr. Strange 2, so it can work. Luffy has the extra challenge that it's skin that is stretching, and not a fantastic supersuit texture.
Stuntmen can also get injured, they have rights for save working conditions as do actors. Besides, it would look stupid if stuntmen had more screen time in action sequences than Inaki.
The purpose of stuntmen is to be unnoticed. Thats their job. Its actually not smart to have your starring cast perform the more dangerous stunts themselves as this can impede or outright end production. Being a stuntman means you are fully aware of the risks of your job. Everyone should have safe working conditions as best as possible, but stunts are never going to be 100% safe and the people who carry them out know.
The screentime thing doesn't exist. Most of Count Dooku in Star Wars is a stunt double rather than Christopher Lee, didn't matter in recognition anyways. And this here is Luffy, the main character who will have the most lines of dialogue and the most non-action scenes, which are ultimately the ones that qualify you as a big actor in public recognition.
And I've never meant anyone should do anything neckbreaking. But especially with East Blue arc Luffy, what stunts are we even talking about?
Superimposing sandals on Luffys feet would be ridiculous use of money and time. Doable? Yes. Worth it? No. Just look up the story on how they had to CGI bare hands on Bond in Skyfall, when Craig was wearing gloves he shouldn't have. That was ridiculously expensive and slow.
Luffy's stunt scenes would be way faster than anything James Bond can pull off and all of his legs and probably feet too for realistic physics and proportions would need to be edited for the rubber properties in action scenes anyways.
The sandalgate is stupid. Whether series works or not has nothing to do with Luffys sandals. People are clearly just looking for any reason to complain and clearly have no realistic idea on what filmmaking is.
The Watergate affair was one of the biggest political scandals in American history, with lasting consequences towards the trust in the system.
We are talking about Inaki Godoy wearing shoes.
I don't know what group you've put me in; as I've time and time mentioned I don't engage with other One Piece communities aside from this one. I got the information from random google feed on my phone.
I feel like the "great sandal scandal of 2023" has been a good indicator of how many people will jump on any little change as a "SEE, TOLD YOU IT WOULD BE TRASH" because they've already made up their mind about it.
I don't know about any great sandal scandal. I haven't even ever conciously searched for information about the live action, and any I received, aside from the visually stunning main character cast was to my dismay, its also not what I am looking for with One Piece, I need the Manga and the "behind the Manga".
It's not like they've got him wearing Yeezys, the shoes are pretty fitting for Luffy imo... it'll take some getting used to but people are making it out to be a total destruction of Luffy's character...
Luffy does not wear shoes. Changing anything about Luffy is a change in characterisation and Luffy is the lynchpin of this story, so criticism on any change towards the original is justified.
(Also they have a stunt team, obviously, but the same goes for them as for Iñaki.)
No it goes not. Obviously its part of a stuntmens job to take greater risks than irreplaceable actors. The real question is what stunts are we even talking about, ones that injure your feet or those that can break your neck? Obviously the latter you don't want to account for in any scenario, while the former would halt production if it affects the main cast, but a stunt double? Eh whatever, and that is part of their job and the reason why they exist, and it is a job never free from risk of injury.
And, yes, I can see sandals just being improbable to carry out stunts...then how about barefoot? The lack of shoes on Luffy is obviously going hand in hand with his free spirited personality, so barefoot would be better, he could just drop them midway in combat.
Or have a floor safe for falling that you'll edit out...
There is also wirework. You put the actor or stuntmen on wires, and then he you can do all sorts of crazy stuff with minimal risks if done right.
And lastly, not every shot of Luffy's action scenes showcase the feet, but those that do will turn the entire legs into rubber so they just have to edit that frame by frame anyways.
All they do here is showcase lack of production skills and hinting at questionable decisions and that's sad. Like the more I think about it, this should have been something that they even could have convincingly done in less digital eras. The rubber body, not. Doing stunts seemingly in sandals? Come on, this is something you already have to solve in pre-production. "How can I perform stunts in character X's outfit, and which ones?" - for this kind of series absolutely crucial. Having to come up with a "How to" to make the freaking main character work during production itself does not shed such a good light on the producers, but leans more in the "yolo cashgrab" direction, with an emphasis on teen catching action scenes in favor of plot.
The purpose of stuntmen is to be unnoticed. Thats their job. Its actually not smart to have your starring cast perform the more dangerous stunts themselves as this can impede or outright end production. Being a stuntman means you are fully aware of the risks of your job. Everyone should have safe working conditions as best as possible, but stunts are never going to be 100% safe and the people who carry them out know.
The screentime thing doesn't exist. Most of Count Dooku in Star Wars is a stunt double rather than Christopher Lee, didn't matter in recognition anyways. And this here is Luffy, the main character who will have the most lines of dialogue and the most non-action scenes, which are ultimately the ones that qualify you as a big actor in public recognition.
And I've never meant anyone should do anything neckbreaking. But especially with East Blue arc Luffy, what stunts are we even talking about?
Luffy's stunt scenes would be way faster than anything James Bond can pull off and all of his legs and probably feet too for realistic physics and proportions would need to be edited for the rubber properties in action scenes anyways.
The Watergate affair was one of the biggest political scandals in American history, with lasting consequences towards the trust in the system.
We are talking about Inaki Godoy wearing shoes.
I don't know what group you've put me in; as I've time and time mentioned I don't engage with other One Piece communities aside from this one. I got the information from random google feed on my phone.
I don't know about any great sandal scandal. I haven't even ever conciously searched for information about the live action, and any I received, aside from the visually stunning main character cast was to my dismay, its also not what I am looking for with One Piece, I need the Manga and the "behind the Manga".
Luffy does not wear shoes. Changing anything about Luffy is a change in characterisation and Luffy is the lynchpin of this story, so criticism on any change towards the original is justified.
No it goes not. Obviously its part of a stuntmens job to take greater risks than irreplaceable actors. The real question is what stunts are we even talking about, ones that injure your feet or those that can break your neck? Obviously the latter you don't want to account for in any scenario, while the former would halt production if it affects the main cast, but a stunt double? Eh whatever, and that is part of their job and the reason why they exist, and it is a job never free from risk of injury.
And, yes, I can see sandals just being improbable to carry out stunts...then how about barefoot? The lack of shoes on Luffy is obviously going hand in hand with his free spirited personality, so barefoot would be better, he could just drop them midway in combat.
Or have a floor safe for falling that you'll edit out...
There is also wirework. You put the actor or stuntmen on wires, and then he you can do all sorts of crazy stuff with minimal risks if done right.
And lastly, not every shot of Luffy's action scenes showcase the feet, but those that do will turn the entire legs into rubber so they just have to edit that frame by frame anyways.
All they do here is showcase lack of production skills and hinting at questionable decisions and that's sad. Like the more I think about it, this should have been something that they even could have convincingly done in less digital eras. The rubber body, not. Doing stunts seemingly in sandals? Come on, this is something you already have to solve in pre-production. "How can I perform stunts in character X's outfit, and which ones?" - for this kind of series absolutely crucial. Having to come up with a "How to" to make the freaking main character work during production itself does not shed such a good light on the producers, but leans more in the "yolo cashgrab" direction, with an emphasis on teen catching action scenes in favor of plot.
Honestly, no point in arguing with you. You've clearly made up your mind about it even before the sandals (or either you are trolling, which is very likely true because you earlier argued that the LA can't be good because a real woman can't be a hugely boobed as Nami). Most of what you write is silly and full of ignorance on the production and making film/tv in the first place. You have zero credentials to criticize anyone's production skills. Also you are not in anyway to preach me about not remembering your use of the internet, since you clearly didn't look up to anything I told you about last time. Anyone saying Matt Owens is a heartless cash grab in this is clearly ignorant and rude and hasn't checked netiher of his appearances in the Reverie. Anyone who thinks the taking care that the actors and stunts don't break their ankles is a sing of poor production is simply wrong. It's good production that cares about the people working in it, and uses the money in smart ways.
Also, as much as I love Lee, the stunt double was awfully obvious and Lee clearly struggled acting in almost full chromascreen set.
Matt Owens has talked at great length and on many, many occasions about how much the manga and anime means to him, and how it was that Oda "accepted" him as writer and showrunner because of this passion for the manga and specifically because Oda (after a long talk the first time they met) recognized that he truly gets the series. He is also an active part of the One Piece fandom/community, and spent 8 hours just diacussing the series with most of the biggest One Piece YouTubers at the latest Reverie (a long collab stream between OP YTers).
I suppose that's what Riku meant. Matt actually cares about doing this right, capturing the essence and the important aspects of the series, not just about making it a cool consumable money-maker.
Plus Oda actually reviews every script and the casting, and any changes they make have to be okayed by him as well. Oda is an actual executive producer who works closely with the show-runners, not just a name attached to it like with some other adaptations.
What Orgz said. Already talked about all that to Nuss the last time he decided pre-trash the show without even a poster at that point. You can probably find all that in this thread, or just searching for "Matt Owens Reverie" on google. Understand might sounded weird, but Nuss should already know all this, but he just still chooses to ignore or dismiss. Sandals are more bigger cue on production decisions in his eyes, that how the showrunner talks about the series.