Dragonball Le Film recently received an email from Ben Ramsey (who wrote an earlier draft of the screenplay). Unfortunately he couldn’t comment on if the leaked script we posted weeks ago was real or not, but he does leave a very nice message.

I haven’t read the leaked script so I don’t know if it was one of my drafts or not. Plus I am not at liberty to comment on it one way or the other.

I have not seen the whole film yet but what I’ve seen looks incredible. It was an absolute honor to be a part of Dragonball history. I am big fan of James Wong’s work and I am confident that he made a movie that will thrill die-hard fans and non-fans alike.

I’d like to thank all the fans for their support and for helping to promote the movie. With your help Goku, Roshi, Bulma, Yamchi, Chi Chi and Piccolo will rule the Universe in 2009.

Kamehameha!

Ben

They also received a comment from Cacey Hotchkiss, a camera operator for the film.

Working on Dragonball was a great experience. Jim Wong is incredible. He knows what he wants and won’t quit until he gets his shots.

And DBtheMovie reader Sean found an interview with Texas Battle (Carey Fuller), who briefly mentions his work on Dragonball.

As far as Dragon Ball, all you’ve got to do is say Dragon Ball and there it is. It’s supposed to be one of the biggest adaptation movies over sees in Asia, as well as in the States. It’s a huge budget, and from Twentieth Century Fox. I’ve been in their movies since I started my career. We’re looking for that to blow up, and definitely there’s going to be sequels, and a trilogy if everything goes right. I’m looking forward to it. I play a character named Carey Fuller, and me and Goku, who is played by Justin Chatwin are going to get into it a little bit, because I don’t like him and he tries to steal my girlfriend, Chi Chi. And I’m not going to go out without a fight.

And finally, Dragonball-Live interviewed Dan Fraga, one of the films storyboard artists. Here are some of the highlights:

Did you inform yourself and get inspiration on the anime to create your story board ? Were you inspired by Akira Toriyama’s style ?

Before being asked to work on Dragon Ball, I was already a fan of the Anime. I had maybe around 20 issues of the manga, but it was in Japanese, so I really could only look at the pictures. The first time I had ever heard of Dragon Ball was in 1993 when a fellow comic book artist showed me the Anime on a VHS tape. It was a bootleg from Japan. What inspired me most about Dragon Ball Z was the level of energy and dynamics that was put into the action sequences. If anything, that’s what I tried to bring with me to my work on the film.

A lot of rumours are saying that the film will be a PG, Will it definately be a PG and not a PG 13 ? or even an R rated movie ? In our opinion an PG13 or R rated movie is more appropriate for the dragon ball universe ?

While I can’t comment on the Rating of the Dragon Ball film, I will comment on that I’d personally prefer an R rating. My first job on a film was on The Transporter 2. Originally, we filmed an R rated movie, and unfortunately, Luc and Fox wanted more “butts in seats” so it was brought down to PG-13. I really feel that the film suffered because of it. As far as Dragon Ball is concerned, I think that Jim directed an incredible film. I’m sure if his intended cut makes it to the screen, you’ll be happy.

Gregory Charles, Chow Yun-Fat’s dialect coach, talks more about his experiences with the cast and crew of Dragonball here on his blog.

On the Dragonball set, I was surprised to find that rehearsals and interaction between the director and actors were very similar to that at TVB. I think the significant time or rather lack of it had something to do with it. Dragonball’s schedule was extremely rushed. Rehearsals were quick, and involved more acting and less blocking which did not really happen until the cameras were turned on. Furthermore, there appeared to be little discussion between the director and the actors. Most of the discussion that I heard on set seemed to be ‘I should do this’ and’ I should go there ‘, ie, strong recommendations from the cast rather than sincere suggestions and then discussions with the director thereof.

James was a remarkable director. Quiet, patient and tolerant, he was aware of the casts’ abilities and limitations, and also very aware of what the story itself could offer. If the cast neglected the chance to consult with him or learn from him, then they missed out big time! On more than one occasion, James reminded me of Henry; they share similar admirable qualities. Given the chance, I would definitely make the most of being able to work with such a director.

It is of course true that I only saw some of what happened on-set, and I did not see anything of what happened off-set. Perhaps James discussed the story with the cast behind closed doors, or over the phone. Perhaps the cast asked him for direction when they encountered difficult scenes within the story. I hope so, because nothing could be so wrong as a talented artist who ignores their director, or believes that they no longer need to improve their craft.

Read the rest here.

The same source who sent me the Weekly Young Jump scans has just recently sent me these exclusive new scans from the July 7th issue of Roadshow magazine. Click to enlarge.




You can also view the characters individually by clicking the images below.



My source also translated the magazine article in detail. Included in the translation is our first quote from the director, James Wong!
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Chelo248 informs us of a comment left by Lucille of Emmy Rossum Fan. She states she met James Marsters at Collectormania, and learned the director was only allowing stunt doubles when absolutely necessary.

Random tidbit, but I gained a new appreciation today for how hard Emmy would have worked on Dragonball. I was talking to James Marsters (he plays Piccolo) and he said that it was the hardest job he’d ever had in his life because the stunts were simply so demanding and the director wasn’t letting anybody (including Emmy) fall back on stunt doubles unless it was desperately necessary. I don’t know the extent of Emmy’s stuntwork, but if it’s even half as much as James’ she worked her butt off.

I’ve been asked recently what the fighting style in the movie will be like. Without seeing any footage it’s hard to say, but since some films have fight scenes similar to that which can be found in the Dragonball series, we can assume this movie will have similar. The following are a few examples of fights that the crew involved in this movie have done. Which would you prefer?

“The One” - James Wong (director)

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James Wong has a habit of directing guilty pleasures that contain sci-fi, special effects, and sometimes a good laugh. The good news is, Dragonball isn’t a dead serious anime, and could use humor. Dragonball is the highest budget film he has done.

Final Destination (1)
Runtime: 98 minutes
Rated: R
Budget: $23,000,000
U.S. Gross: $53,302,314
Worldwide Gross: $112,802,314
Opening Weekend Gross: $10,015,822
About: An R-rated horror film in which dumb kids get killed one by one.

Final Destination 3
Runtime: 115 minutes
Rated: R
Budget: About $25,000,000
U.S. Gross: $54,098,051
Worldwide Gross: $112,798,051
Opening Weekend Gross: $19,173,094
About: James Wong returns (he did not direct the second), for more of the same.

The One
Runtime: 87 minutes
Rated: PG-13
Budget: About $54 million
Box Office: $43,905,746
Opening Weekend Gross: $19,112,404
Worldwide Gross: $72,689,126
About: A simple, futuristic movie starring Jet Li. Doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is good because the story is lacking.

Dragonball
Runtime: Estimated 100 minutes
Rated: Most likely PG-13
Budget: $100,000,000 +
About: Based on the manga “Dragonball.” Story revolves around Goku, his friends, Piccolo and his henchman.

He wrote all of the above. He has also produced “Black Christmas,” “Willard,” and wrote and produced many episodes of “The X-Files” and “Millenium.” As you can see, his movies are pretty unusual.