The ill-fated live-action remake of 1988 anime classic 'Akira' has hit another speed bump, and this time it's a big one. Warner Brothers has shut down the production office in Vancouver and has instructed a vast majority of the crew to cease working. Sources close to the project say this shut down is a response to casting, script, and budget issues. The plan is for producers and director Jaume Collet-Serra to spend the next couple weeks locked away in an attempt to fix the script problems. It has been suggested that should they not be able to iron out the wrinkles in the screenplay, the project could be permanently shelved. At this point, the film only has one star officially signed on ('Tron: Legacy's Garrett Hedlund) with several others, including Kristen Stewart and Helena Bonham Carter, in various degrees of deal limbo. There are conflicting reports that the purpose of this script doctoring session is to reduce the budget, which was already halved since its last major pitfall, yet again. 

I officially wish I had a nickel for every problem this film has faced. This is the fourth time this film has faced "death," but for some reason this project simply will not go away. In fact a source at Warner Brothers was quick to assert that this "resilient movie" is not dead yet. It may not be dead, but the shutting down of the production office is not what you would call a good sign. What strikes me as odd about this is that Warner Brothers is valiantly fighting this uphill battle to save a movie...that nobody freaking wants. Fans of the original anime have been more than vocal about their displeasure with both the prospect of a live-action remake and the woeful Americanizing of the story. And I'm sorry, should it really be this hard to come up with a script for a remake whose story already largely exists? So at this point, I say let the movie go, you won't hear any mourning from us.

What do you guys think? Anyone holding out hope for this project? Anyone ready to see it die?

Source: THR