Live-Action Akira gets script "polish" by Harry Potter screenwriter

Yesterday saw some big potential developments for the live-action Akira film being directed by Albert Hughes(Menace II Society).  The film has been languishing, mainly because of the massive scope of the project. Let's face it, Akira would be a huge undertaking for even somebody like James Cameron. With that would come a fairly substantial financial investment from both Warner Brothers and Appian Way. WB has been insisting on a major A-list superstar to be the face of the film, which is why they reached out to Brad Pitt to take the lead role even though he's way too old for it.  Desperate, much?  James Franco and Mila Kunis were approached also. All three passed, leaving the entire production in the lurch.

But there is some good news. Steve Kloves, who has written nearly all of the Harry Potter movies, has come aboard to "polish" the Albert Torres(Henry Poole Is Here) script. This implies that the studio has some hope of this project getting off the ground, and maybe Kloves can work some of that Potter magic. His goal will likely be to trim some of the story fat in an effort to reduce costs.

I kinda feel bad for The Hughes Brothers here. They've always been two of my favorite directors, but were always relegated to their own little corner as only "African-American" filmmakers, even though they branched out years ago with From Hell. They score a critical and box office hit in The Book of Eli, and now score one of the most iconic anime/sci-fi stories ever in Akira only to fall victim to it's own scope. Albert Hughes is said to be pleading with Warner Brothers to cast whoever he thinks is best suited for the film, but with so much money on the line that will never happen. Hopefully the budget can be slashed enough to retain the most crucial elements(the city really is like another character), and possibly let Hughes cast who he wants.

Thanks to Variety for details on this story.