Dragonball is a 2008 live action film adaptation of the Dragon Ball franchise. The film follows Goku, played by Justin Chatwin, and his quest to obtain the mystical Dragonballs before the evil Piccolo, played by James Marsters, does. The film began development in 2002, and is directed by James Wong and produced by Stephen Chow. It is scheduled for worldwide release on August 15, 2008.
Justin Chatwin as Goku: The hero of the film. James Marsters as Lord Piccolo: The antagonist of the film. Marsters explained that this incarnation of the character was "thousands of years old and a very long time ago he used to be a force of good, but (he) got into a bad argument and was put into prison for 2,000 years. It got him very angry, and he finds a way to escape and then tries to destroy the world. The cool thing is, anybody who has seen Dragonball knows that Lord Piccolo transforms into a character named Piccolo, and that is a whole other ball of wax. Heroic wouldn't be the wrong term by the end, but it's a long journey." He also confirmed Piccolo will retain his physical appearance from the anime. Marsters is a fan of the television series, which he described as being "the coolest television cartoon in the last fifty thousand years.
Production
In March 2002, 20th Century Fox acquired feature film rights to the Dragon Ball franchise. In June 2004, Ben Ramsey, who wrote The Big Hit (1998), was paid $500,000 to adapt Dragon Ball Z. In 2007, James Wong and Stephen Chow were announced as director and producer respectively, and the project was retitled Dragonball. Wong rewrote the script. Chow was a Dragon Ball fan, citing its "airy and unstrained story (which) leaves much room for creation", but explained he would only serve as producer because he believes that he should only direct stories he had created. 87Eleven, the stunt performance company that worked on The Matrix and 300, is working on the film. Ariel Shaw, who worked on Wong's entries in the Final Destination series and 300, is visual effects supervisor. Robert MacLachlan, who also worked on Wong's Final Destination films, serves as cinematographer. Shooting began on December 3, 2007, at Mexico City, Mexico. Locations included the Universidad Tecnológica de México. From January 2, 2008, the crew will shoot at Durango. The crew will move to Estado de México in March for some shots at Nevado de Toluca. Shooting is also scheduled at Los Angeles, California. In adapting the Dragon Ball manga, the futuristic cities were kept, but the anthropomorphic talking animals (such as Oolong and Puar) were dropped. Many of the locations are very Oriental, and there will be some Aztec influence too, particularly from their temples. Many of the female leads and extras will have unique hairstyles, including Rossum, who will wear a blue wig to resemble her anime counterpart. Chatwin, however, will not wear a wig as the director felt his hair resembled Goku's. it’s got a Shakespearean sense of good and evil." He admitted, "When I got the role I had doubts. The more I live with it I realize that I am going to rock this harder than I have anything in my life."
In March 2002, 20th Century Fox acquired feature film rights to the Dragon Ball franchise. In June 2004, Ben Ramsey, who wrote The Big Hit (1998), was paid $500,000 to adapt Dragon Ball Z. In 2007, James Wong and Stephen Chow were announced as director and producer respectively, and the project was retitled Dragonball. Wong rewrote the script. Chow was a Dragon Ball fan, citing its "airy and unstrained story (which) leaves much room for creation", but explained he would only serve as producer because he believes that he should only direct stories he had created. 87Eleven, the stunt performance company that worked on The Matrix and 300, is working on the film. Ariel Shaw, who worked on Wong's entries in the Final Destination series and 300, is visual effects supervisor. Robert MacLachlan, who also worked on Wong's Final Destination films, serves as cinematographer. Shooting began on December 3, 2007, at Mexico City, Mexico. Locations included the Universidad Tecnológica de México. From January 2, 2008, the crew will shoot at Durango. The crew will move to Estado de México in March for some shots at Nevado de Toluca. Shooting is also scheduled at Los Angeles, California. In adapting the Dragon Ball manga, the futuristic cities were kept, but the anthropomorphic talking animals (such as Oolong and Puar) were dropped. Many of the locations are very Oriental, and there will be some Aztec influence too, particularly from their temples. Many of the female leads and extras will have unique hairstyles, including Rossum, who will wear a blue wig to resemble her anime counterpart. Chatwin, however, will not wear a wig as the director felt his hair resembled Goku's. it’s got a Shakespearean sense of good and evil." He admitted, "When I got the role I had doubts. The more I live with it I realize that I am going to rock this harder than I have anything in my life."
As shown on Dragonball Z Online
