Ghost in the Shellis not coming to the live-action arena in the most appealing way, but there’s nevertheless plenty to look forward to in the justifiably criticized retelling. Though there are, indeed, dozens of Asian actresses who could have played the role of The Major, I’m at least vaguely fascinated to see whatScarlett Johanssondoes with the role, though she always tends to do her best work when she more, not less, animated.Snow White and the Huntsmanwasn’t particularly entertaining or insightful butRupert Sandersdefinitely has a vision and the movie already looks like a visual delight. In short, I’m going to grin and bear it and try to save judgment until the movie gets into the theater.
Speaking of suffering in the hopes of discovery, Entertainment Tonight recently did a set visit to the New Zealand set ofGhost in the Shell. The good news is there’s some brief bits of footage and some behind-the-scenes shots of The Major and Batou (Pilou Asbaek) getting into a gun fight in their pretty sleek cars. The bad news is that you have to suffer the ET reporter ask Johansson about her “wig” and how she thinks her daughter will look upon her roles. Johansson plays along ably, making this marginally less painful to watch, and for that, I thank her. For those who haven’t given up on the project already, it’s worth the wincing.
Here’s the ET video from the set ofGhost in the Shell:
For more onGhost in the Shell, check out coverage from Steve Weintraub’s set visit:
Here’s the official synopsis forGhost in the Shell:
Based on the internationally-acclaimed sci-fi property, “GHOST IN THE SHELL” follows the Major, a special ops, one-of-a-kind human-cyborg hybrid, who leads the elite task force Section 9. Devoted to stopping the most dangerous criminals and extremists, Section 9 is faced with an enemy whose singular goal is to wipe out Hanka Robotics advancements in cyber technology.
