STACK July 2017 Issue 153

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024 JULY 2017
visit DVD&BD FEATURE
Masamune Shirow’s original Ghost in
the Shell manga (Japanese comic)
was first published in 1989, and
went on to receive its inaugural animated
film adaptation in 1995.
13 years later, producer Avi Arad pitched
his own idea for a live-action adaptation of
the film to none other than Steven Spielberg,
but it was Rupert Sanders instead who
signed on as director. Best known for his
work on Snow White and the Huntsman,
Sanders’ vision for the film was for it to be
as close to the manga as possible.
“I wanted to return to the original world
of Ghost in the Shell,” he explains. “The
visual language of the manga really caught
my imagination, so I used many images from
the original in that rough collage of the story.
“We kept the Geisha as our opening
sequence,” he notes. “We kept the
trash truck. We kept some of the Hanka
Corporation, and many, many little things that
as a fan I was obsessed with.”
Arad believes that the new interpretation
of GitS will resonate with people around the
world, regardless of their familiarity with
the source material or past exposure to the
film. He acknowledges the technological
advancements and how they help to ground
the film in what many predict to be
humanity’s near future.
“[What’s in the film is] not
a huge leap from what a
smartphone, an advanced
hearing aid or state-of-the art
pacemaker can offer today,”
observes Arad. “Technology
to improve our physical
well-being already exists in
medicine. Amazing things
are happening. But if world-
changing technology falls
into the wrong hands, it can
cause a lot of destruction.”
According to the producer,
GiTS is ultimately a story
Based on the manga – and 1995 anime film – of the same name, Ghost in the Shell
stars Scarlett Johansson as Major, a cyber-enhanced human crime-fighter. And its
technological advancements are all too prescient. Words Adam Colby
about humanity’s
eventual and inevitable
augmentation.
“Technology is
already penetrating our
lives in different ways.
Here we are literally
mixing man and machine
together. But however little
of Major’s original physical
self is left, she is still profoundly
human. Rather than a story about
fearing the future, it is a film about
finding a way through a complicated
future.”
Sanders, however, has a more
optimistic outlook for
us and our humanity.
“Technology can’t just
override the soul. Our
self will still exist in
some form. Major’s
character goes through a
subtle metamorphosis, a
process of understanding and
coming to terms with whatever’s
happened to her, the good and the
bad. There’s a really strong message in
that and I wanted to put it out there:
whoever we are and whatever’s happened
to us, that is what has forged us. That is
our strength and that is our power.”
The film was shot primarily in New Zealand
Margot Robbie was considered for the role of Major
It was the first anime film to be released at the
same time in the US and Japan
When the original movie was released, it was the
most expensive anime film ever made
Technology can't just
override the soul. Our
self will still exist in
some form