Live Action Robotech movie in the works

[JRL3001]

Well, hot damn, this is an interesting development!

I love Robotech/Macross. They better do good!

Maguire attacking big screen in Robotech | Entertainment | Film | Reuters

Maguire, WB attack the big screen with 'Robotech'

[Tovette]

...OMG.... I lived that cartoon as a kid. I have scale models of the the Valkyrie fighters... CG Veritechs, battlepods... I think.. I'm gonna faint...

[JDR]

Hopefully it doesn't suck ass like Transformers...

[Tom Grays]

Hm strange, that people know only Robotech (name used for this universe in USA, where they changed it a bit).
Originaly it is Macross. Funny is that Macross isn´t dead, cos in 2004 aired Macross Zero. That contains not bad 3D graphics for these Valkyrie fighters.
But true is, that original series The Super Dimension Fortress Macross is from years 1982-1983.
The Super Dimension Fortress Macross - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In 1984, Harmony Gold licensed the first Macross series from Tatsunoko and planned to dub the series on home video. In 1985, Harmony Gold edited and rewrote the series with The Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross and Genesis Climber Mospeada into Robotech, to syndicate on weekday television and to promote a Revell model line. Robotech's credits listed only the English adaptation's production crew and two Tatsunoko producers.

[MadKoiFish]

if I remember the original article or press release it was the "robotech" name what what little you could call story plot that was sold. No mention of the seprate licences for the property of the original 3 series is mentioned.

case in point

In 2000, Big West and Studio Nue took Tatsunoko Productions to the Tokyo District Court over who had the rights to the first Macross series, due to Harmony Gold's attempt to bar Japanese Macross merchandise in North America the previous year. During production, Big West hired Tatsunoko to assist in the production of the series. Before the series premiere, Tatsunoko was given the license to distribute the show worldwide (i.e., outside of Japan), as well as earning some royalties to the merchandise. Tatsunoko then sub-licensed Macross to Harmony Gold USA for the production of Robotech.

In 2002, the Tokyo District Court ruled that Big West/Studio Nue is the sole owner of the original character and mecha designs for the first series,[3] while that same court ruled in 2003 that Tatsunoko owned the production rights to the first series.[4][5]

So dont expect any of the original designs to appear. Anything not related to the original productions from HG has been horrible.

Better exerpt of the original exerpt lol:

The Hollywood Reporter writes that Warner Bros. Pictures and Maguire Entertainment, the production company of actor Tobey Maguire (Spider-Man), have acquired the film production rights for the Robotech military robot franchise from Harmony Gold USA. Maguire is considering playing the lead role for what the newspaper calls a "tentpole" franchise, or a property for which the studio expects will support it financially for much of a particular movie season.

Robotech was an edited and dubbed adaptation of three separate anime television series: The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, The Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross, and Genesis Climber Mospeada. Due to a copyright dispute that has Studio Nue and Big West, the creators and sponsor of Macross, facing against Harmony Gold's partner Tatsunoko Production, elements from Macross, the most popular of the three series, have not been used in recent and planned Robotech works onscreen.

Supercool Hollywood BigTime Prods' Drew Crevello and Kickstart Productions' Jason Netter will be producers, and Harmony Gold's Frank Agrama will be an executive producer. Craig Zahler (The Brigands of Rattleborge) has been assigned to write screenplay. Other executives overseeing the projects are Warner's Matthew Reilly and Maguire Entertainment's Daniel Shafer.

Macross has had its own tabled attempt to make an American live-action film in the 1990s, and a new Macross Frontier television series, the latest of several animated spinoffs, in currently in production. An animated Robotech movie sequel, The Shadow Chronicles, came out in 2006 and a second one is planned. Other American giant robot movie efforts have included Altar Productions' Robot Jox (1990), PoleStar Entertainment Group's G-Saviour (2000), Dreamworks SKG's Transformers (2007), and New Regency Pictures' tentatively planned Voltron.

I personaly groan at this one because its just some hacked up story, second because it is yet another rehash of something old.

[RonH]

Well so much for my enthusiasm about a Robotech movie. . . I hope it's better than Robot Jox ::shudder::

[Tom Grays]

It only looks to me, that they noticed, that Transformers-mecha can earn money, then they decide get some money from this mecha interest.

[Shadowman99]

Robotech is like taking Star Trek and splicing Star Wars and Buck Rodgers into it, and then saying they changed it just a bit. Or Taking The new Battlestar Galactica and cutting Stargate into it.

This project will either need to partner with Big West/Studio Nue (they own Macross) or this thing will wind up in court. The other option is WB will make Robotech in name only.

Since Warner Brothers is partnering with Harmony Gold they will need to change damn near everything if they want to distribute to Japan. Harmony Gold only has the rights to the Macross story, characters, and designs within the US (HG asserted in '99 they have all international rights outsite Japan). If WB wants to distribute to Japan (yes, they do. It's the number 2 grossing movie market in the world) then they will need to re-invents EVERYTHING in order to make this movie.

No Macross characters
No SDF-1 Macross
No Protoculture
No Zentradi
all new ships, costumes, robots...
the list goes on.

You will barely recognize this by the time they are done.

Harmony Gold have been major @ssholes over the years. They stripped all of the credits for the three cartoons they mashed and only included the American staff. They have stopped virtually all Macross stuff from coming into the US, including the sequels Macross Zero and Macross 7. Big West/Studio Nue's lawyers will watch this like hawks and there will be no tolerance for copyright infringements. In 2002 the Tokyo District Court ruled that Big West/Studio Nue is the sole owner of the original character and mecha designs for the first series.

And Tobey Maguire... WTF?!?!

[JRL3001]

Oh I know very well what Macross is and the dealings that have gone on between the original series creators and HG. I have been slowly collecting all of the Macross series and sequels (Currently having Macross, Macross Do You Remember Love, Macross II, Macross Plus, Macross Zero) which has not been terribly easy to do.

BTW if anyone knows of a good place I can get ahold of DVD's for Macross 7, Macross Dynamite 7 and Macross Flashback 2012? I would love to know!

Originally Posted by Tom Grays

Hm strange, that people know only Robotech (name used for this universe in USA, where they changed it a bit).
Originaly it is Macross. Funny is that Macross isn´t dead, cos in 2004 aired Macross Zero. That contains not bad 3D graphics for these Valkyrie fighters.
But true is, that original series The Super Dimension Fortress Macross is from years 1982-1983.
The Super Dimension Fortress Macross - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In 1984, Harmony Gold licensed the first Macross series from Tatsunoko and planned to dub the series on home video. In 1985, Harmony Gold edited and rewrote the series with The Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross and Genesis Climber Mospeada into Robotech, to syndicate on weekday television and to promote a Revell model line. Robotech's credits listed only the English adaptation's production crew and two Tatsunoko producers.

[Dravt-A]

Anyone seen shadow chronicles? Some people say that you only see the alphas, and that any mention of macross stuff is avoided as much as posible. If it is true, then expect no valkyrie or original sdf1 in the movie, just the name. As far as I know, HG is owner of the rights to distribute macross in USA, and has no power to use the original designs in derivative films.