Okay, before you have a heart attack, note this is a rumor, and frankly it smells like an April Fools Day joke that’s still kicking around (and don’t think it’s not possible — Clint Eastwood directing a Stompin’ Tom Connors biopic made Canadian newspapers yesterday). But the folks at Twitch usually know what’s going on, and wouldn’t throw this out there unless they thought it might have some veracity to it so, here we are: Hayao Miyazaki‘s beloved “Kiki’s Delivery Service” might be getting a remake.
The story is, apparently, “Kiki’s Delivery Service” is getting a big budget, live action remake with none other than Takashi Shimizu — the guy behind at least five different “The Grudge” movies” — directing. Of course, there are all kinds of red flags, starting with Studio Ghibli even agreeing to such a thing. And then there’s the choice of Shimizu, who usually toils in horror/genre fare, which seems highly unlikely. That said, Twitch trust their source enough that somewhere in here could be a kernel of truth.
As for the flick, it recently made our list of 10 Memorable Movie Witches, centering on young Kiki whose supernatural powers enable her to ride a broom (and not much else). She moves to the big city, starts a delivery service and looks to prove she can do it on her own. If you love Miyazaki you’ve already seen it (and if not, you should) and so, you can see why this rumor seems so odd. And since we’re talking about Shimizu, what’s going on with his airplane horror “7500“? It got a trailer in January 2012, was delayed until this year and is still not on the calendar. Is it really that shitty? And yet another reason this rumor sort of makes no sense….
"Of course, there are all kinds of red flags, starting with Studio Ghibli even agreeing to such a thing. "
Well, that's 'cus, like Earthsea, it's not their original source material. It's an adaptation. So I'm not sure Ghibli would have any input in the decision, anyway.