Battle Angel Producer Wants More Manga Titles in Hollywood

Film producer and manga authority Northrop Davis, who arranged 20th Century Fox’s acquisition of film rights to Yukito Kishiro’s GUNNM (“Battle Angel”) manga, has revealed that he’s currently trying to interest Hollywood studios in several other manga titles. Specifically, Davis revealed that Phil Rosenthal, producer behind the Everybody Loves Raymond television series, is interested in launching an American re-make of the Japanese Densha Otoko (Train Man) franchise. Furthermore, Davis has been close to negotiating a deal for American film rights to Kentarou Miura’s fantasy action manga Berserk. And Davis has revealed that he’s involved in efforts to interest American film studios in Keisuke Itagaki’s martial arts manga series Grappler Baki, and Keiji Nakazawa’s acclaimed manga depiction of the Hiroshima bombing Barefoot Gen.

While it’s interesting to know that these four titles are being shopped around Hollywood, there’s no certainty that any of them will ever get picked up or produced as American film projects. Barefoot Gen may be particularly difficult to transition to America because, while it’s certainly a moving and important story, it may be too unpleasant to appeal to mainstream American audiences.

Source: Anime News Network

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