 [ A R C H I V E D N E W S ]
June 09, 2003:
New Script!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The new script has been accepted by the director. I have a detailed description of it on the Info page so check it out. You will find that some major changes still remain, mostly for the better, and some they threw out the window. Master Roshi will be called Master Roshi and not Master Lee. They've decided to stick to all the correct names.
A few new actors are aboard now too. Guy Pearce has also tired of FOX's jerking around and dropped out. They gave the role of Vegeta back to Ray Park. Sounds good to me. Also, everybody's favorite bald screaming lunatic wrestler, Bill Goldberg, will play Nappa. Who didn't see that coming? Other wrestlers are also up for a few parts but who they will play is unknown. However I think it's pretty obvious they will play Saiyans. The two wrestlers are Paul "The Big Show" White and Brock Lesner.
And here's the best news I've heard all year: FOX is finally ready to spill the beans on the movie. On July 14-18 FOX will have a special release of pictures, info, and the new poster at an anime convention. What's the convention called and where is it, you ask? I'll get back to you on that. I know that's such a douche bag thing to do but I really don't know where it is. But I will know within a matter of days, that I can assure you of. My info never comes in one large lump. I get small pieces of it at a time. But if anybody knows of any anime conventions going on July 14-18 chances are it'll have the DBZ info release. I'm sure photos and info will litter every web site and magazine the otakus come across but just remember who gave it to you first.
One more quick note on DBZ. The small bit of info on the Official DBZ Site that they took from Saiyanz Rage, which got it from here, has apparently made FOX very nervous. As I've said before FUNimation has very little to do with the movie and are just as much in the dark about it as us. Well once they got a hold of that information they asked FOX about it. After the big wigs threw a fit they told FUNimation that it is true but not to release any information they may come across unless it's from them. FOX now knows that someone has been telling secrets and are very pissed off. So now I must ask you to please keep whatever info you find here on the down low. Spread info by word of mouth and try to stay away from posting on too many web sites. Forums and chat rooms are okay but as long as FOX doesn't find out everything will be cool. Since they didn't notice anything before until FUNimation went to them directly then they probably won't catch on this time if we are really careful. This means that above all you must not e-mail FUNimation or FOX with any information on this site. We don't want them finding out whats been going on and then start firing people. Let's try to keep everyone employed.
Just one more thing before I scoot. Many of you have probably already heard that a live action Neon Genesis Evangelion is also in the works. This was announced about two months ago and the company in charge of the art production (WETA) on the movie has already released concept art to the puplic. Click here to see it at Ain't It Cool News. It only took the Evangelion guys two fucking months to show us the goods! Meanwhile it's been over a year since DBZ was announced and all we get is one shitty banner that wasn't even official! FUCK YOU, FOX!!!
Anyways the art looks really cool. The first one is the head of Eva Unit 00, the second is the sexy German girl Asuka, the next two are from the labs of NERV, and the last one is a flooded city which I'm guessing is during the Second Impact or during an Angel attack. Only two months for them to crap those out... FUCK YOU, FOX!!!
June 04, 2003:
Crappy Script Rejected
That awful script that had Bulma as a fighter and Gohan being only two years old has been rejected by the director and a new script has been accepted. Mr. Z didn't know much about it except that it is much more like the story on the show. Good news for all!
Seems that Paul Walker will not be playing Yamcha. He got tired of FOX jerking everything around I guess and doesn't want to wait anymore. I also got the name of the actor playing Piccolo. His name is Sam Wheeler. He's a 6'7" black guy with a deep voice. Don't bother looking him up. He's a new guy.
Another mistake has been made. The new teaser banner will not be released in June but in July. But I will probably have it within a couple of weeks. That's all I have for now.
May 25, 2003:
Mr. Z Returns!
After weeks and weeks of being in the dark Mr. Z finally got back to me to clear up the whole fake concept art thing and throw some new info my way. I've also got an interesting theory about FOX covering up production of the movie. But first thing's first.
Apparently the guy that sends the stuff to Mr. Z made a little booboo. Dr. Doom's Space Station and The Saiyan Mothership were similar files and in the same folder. The guy clicked on the wrong one and didn't bother to look over it before he sent it to Mr. Z. An honest mistake. Hopefully the REAL one will be sent soon.
Now some of you might be thinking to yourself about how much of a retard I am for believing him. That must be the lamest excuse ever! But something is coming up that will prove all of you nay-sayers wrong! Wrong I say! Word is that FOX will be releasing another brand-spanking-new teaser banner next month on their official web site! It will show Goku from behind and have a big ol' DBZ logo at the bottom. And maybe, just maybe I will have an advanced copy of it on the site before it's released officially. Oh goody!
Remember when I said that FUNimation was just as stupid about the movie as all of us were? Well, it's true. FUNimation has very little to do with the movie. However... voice actors from the show have been hired to do the voices for the CGI characters on the movie. So expect King Ki and Oolong to have the same voices from the show. Personally I think that's a very stupid idea. It's cartoon character voices for crying out loud! And if that's not bad enough I heard that the guy that does the music for the show, Bruce something or other, has also been hired to do the music for the movie. Mr. Z wasn't able to confirm this so lets hope it's not true.
It doesn't end there. Hugh Jackman has just signed on to do X-Men 3 which will interfere with production of DBZ and most likely push it back even more. FOX is considering dropping him and getting someone else. If that would help them get this movie done quicker then by all means do it, FOX. I think he would make a great Goku, a better Vegeta, but if he's gonna slow things down like that then boot his ass! They should also boot the damn writers because the new script was just rejected by the director and they have to write it again! Ahhhhh!
Okay... Now here's my little theory about the cover up. A couple of months ago Moviehole reported that Orlando Bloom and Jessica Alba have been in talks about staring in a trilogy about the end of the world that will most likely start production at Sydney in 2004. If you've been keeping up with things on the site you would know this sounds much like what DBZ is supposed to be. Orlando Bloom and Jessica Alba, the end of the world, Sydney in 2004. You can read that article here. Now I know it says it's a horror film about God's army and stuff like that and that it's from a new company called 35Central. But it is possible that FOX owns this company and has been promoting DBZ as a horror film about the Armageddon. Mr. Z tells me that it wouldn't be the first time FOX has done something like that. It might also mean that the two stars are probably just trying to shoot the two movies at once since they're in the same place. I doubt Tein and Bulma will have too much screen time to where they couldn't work on other movies at the same time.
If my writing seems a bit off today it's because I'm not feeling well. I've been getting way too much sleep and not enough activity lately. Now I get winded when I turn on the computer.
May 23, 2003:
"News" From FUNimation
Click here to read the latest news on the movie from FUNimation. But those of you who come here often will notice that I posted this exact same thing here about a month or two ago. This is what I was talking about in my last update. People are taking things from here almost word-for-word. FUNimation got this info from Saiyanz Rage, like most of the other sites. I talked to the guy who posted it on SR and he took it down.
I've said this over and over again: I don't care if you post things from this site on message boards, other sites, etc... just make sure you tell people that's it's not official so they don't get confused. You can see that FUNimation makes that very clear with the giant UNCONFIRMED at the top, which I am glad for.
This just goes to show you that FUNimation is just as in the dark as we are and the real big wigs are FOX. This kinda pisses me off. Months ago when I was going from forum to forum trying to whore this site I was told things like "You're a lying asshole!" and "If it's not on the official site then it's false!" Well now it is on the official site and even though they got it from Saiyanz Rage it all started here. Now we know how "official" the official site really is. They're no more official than any other DBZ site out there, movie wise. Nothing against FUNimation. I'm just pissed that there is still no REAL source of info that can be considered official and confirmed. Oh well.
I have still not heard a damn thing from Janicke which is understandable. He's probably a very busy man. But it's never taken this long for Mr. Z to reply. I think there's something fishy going on here, but like I said before I'm not going to jump to conclusions.
May 17, 2003:
Too Many Rumors
No real news today. I'd just like to address a few issues. Lately a lot of sites out there have been taking things from this site almost word-for-word and saying that it's from sources inside FOX. They don't bother to tell anyone where they got their information from (here) which is fine. I don't really care. My only problem is this: I think I make it very clear that most of the information on this site DOES NOT come from official sources and HAS NOT been released by FOX themselves. I don't want people getting confused. Most of the sites are getting it from Saiyanz Rage. I've e-mailed the guy who posted it twice and asked him to change it so people don't get confused. He still hasn't done so yet. So remember, if you should happen to see anything about the movie on other sites check here first before you go off telling people then they beat you about the head and testis for spreading lies.
Still no word yet from Mr. Z or Janicke. I think I may have found something very interesting concerning the production of the movie. FOX may be covering up the movie by giving it a false name and reporting it as such. I'm not sure so I want to get all of my facts straight before I post anything here. But if it's true then a certain someone who's been a very respectful figure in Hollywood in the past few decades may have something to do with it. But I'm not saying anything yet.
I've noticed a lot of people fighting on the Polls lately. I would make a message board for you guys to fight on, it would be so much easier. But there is an official forum for the movie that I go to all the time. Just click the Official Forum link at the bottom of the page and you'll be well on your way to spitting insults at your peers and have them spitting back.
Did anyone else want to rip all of their hair out after seeing The Matrix Reloaded? I felt like I was watching a David Lynch movie toward the end. I wanted to run down the aisles screaming and punching random people, I was so confused. I had to go home and watch cartoons so I'd feel smart again. And the manager of the theater decided it wasn't appropriate to show the Freddy Vs. Jason trailer even though she had the poster plastered all over the damn place. Who does she think she is?! God?! Anyone who knows me knows that I HATE the manager of my local theater. Always have and always will. Enough personal ranting.
May 14, 2003:
Very Bad News, Concept Art Is Fake
This is the worst news yet. I almost don't want to post it, it's so bad. But I must, for the good of the people. As many of you might already know, I posted a picture here a few months back that I got from Mr. Z saying that it was concept art for the bridge of The Saiyan Mothership. It was the biggest news in the DBZ world since new episodes began airing on Cartoon Network all those years ago, or at least it was in my mind. But recently Scott from Internapse sent me a URL that would shatter all my hopes.
If you click here you will be brought to the web site of artist Patrick Janicke who has done concept art for movies like Spider-Man, The Cell, Batman and Robin, Blade, and many others. You will also notice the he did the art for the upcoming Fantastic Four movie. If you click on that puppy you'll see, THAT'S RIGHT, the so-called "Bridge of The Saiyan Mothership"! That picture is actually part of Dr. Doom's Space Station and has nothing to do with DragonBall Z.
I became very disappointed when I saw this and immediately e-mailed Mr. Z. He assured me that he is just as confused as I am and will try to get to the bottom of it. At this point most of you are probably now reconsidering just how reliable Mr. Z's information is. Please, don't jump to any conclusions. I've e-mailed Patrick Janicke about the subject and hopefully this is just a small mix up. For now I've taken down the picture because of copyright issues but don't worry. I'll figure this out.
Just to turn that frown upside down: Everyone seen X2 yet? Boy I sure did! I was very unimpressed and disappointed with the first one but the second one more than makes up for it. Check it out if you get a chance. And be sure to get your Matrix Reloaded tickets! I did and I'm going tomorrow night. It's been getting a swarm of bad reviews but it can't be too awful. At least there will be a trailer for Freddy Vs, Jason!
April 26, 2003
It was a real bitch changing everything around so I hope you like the new style. I know it's been a while since I've updated the place and there is a reason. Production of the movie has been pushed back to Summer 2004! And because of this pre-production has been slow and there hasn't been much news. The big wigs running the thing have been dragging their asses so the suits at FOX made them push it back so they could concentrate on movies they actually want to do I guess. This mean it will be another year before filming actually starts then there's post-production. Who know how long that will take!
But there is some good news to come from all of this. Piccolo, Yamcha, Vegeta, and Raditz have been cast. Piccolo will be played by an unknown, Paul Walker will be Yamcha, Guy Pearce will be Vegeta and Jason Bateman will play Raditz. I could give you all of the updates right here but I'm lazy so you'll just have to skim through the site to see what's new.
I would like to address one thing though. On the last polls I asked you guys who you think should play Trunks. One of the options were Keanu Reeves. I only put him there as a goof because I didn't know who else to put. I didn't think anyone would actually vote for him but OH! He got 21 votes. It's those 21 folks I would like to do a favor for me: Take a big knife, and stab yourself in the head. He's in his 40's and can't act to save his life!
March 20, 2003:
Concept Art of Saiyan Mothership!
Well folks it looks like it's all true. I was a little worried at first that Mr. Z was yanking my crank but he's really come through. Take a gander at this!!!:
 This is official concept art for the bridge of the Saiyan mothership, courtesy of the stupendous Mr. Z! The artist's name is unknown but if anyone can read the handwriting at the bottom then it should be in there.
This proves everything Mr. Z has told me. I've got a butt load of super secret info to put up on the site so look around and see what's new. Some of it might not surprise you but some of it will make you scream out in joy/pain/confusion, however you want to take it. FOX must be shitting themselves right now. The best part is... there's more on the way!!! Stay tuned!
March 18, 2003:
Akira Gets The Boot And Other News!
My mystery informant, who I will now refer to as Mr. Z, has delivered me some more super secrets about the movie that clear up the whole "Hugh Jackman/Max Stanley" thing. (Remember, there is no real evidence supporting this right now so believe what you want to believe.) Apparently since we will see Goku in four different times then there will be four actors playing him. Baby Goku, teen Goku, early 20's Goku, and adult Goku. Jackman will play adult Goku and this Max Stanley is one of the top 5 candidates to play early 20's Goku. I'm still skeptical though. Any of you other movie buffs out there have probably been reading up on the soon to be released X2 (X-Men 2) and Jackman's next project Van Helsing. With all the hype being spread around about these two movies in which Hugh Jackman stars in you would think that there would be even the slightest bit of info leaked about him doing DBZ inbetween the two films. But nothing.
Mr. Z has also informed me that DragonBall Z creator Akira Toriyama was given the axe as the films consultant. Apparently he wanted too much control over it including having all Asian actors and the entire movie being filmed in Japanese. It sucks that they booted him but all Asian actors? Japanese? Come on, he was asking for it! This is supposed to be an American made movie. Who wants to watch it when it's full of Japanese actors with either subtitles or bad dubbing? Keep in mind that they didn't really fire him. He just signed a new contract that is basically keeping him out of the way. That's why it's been taking so long to get this thing started.
Mr. Z has promised me photos of the bridge of the Saiyan Mother Ship and the Saiyan armor as soon as he gets them scanned. I can't wait for these! It will defiantly confirm everything Mr. Z has told me so far. And guess what else... DBZ is filming in Sydney just like I said! (I hope your not jerking my chain Mr. Z, or I will look like a real jackass right now.)
March 15, 2003:
(Possible) MEGA NEWS!!!
Either someone out there is kind enough to give me the low down on the movie or they're playing me for the fool I am. I just got a rather interesting e-mail from someone claiming to know what's going on over at FOX Studios. Before you read it just know that this is very likely the mad ravings of some fan boy but if it's true then this contains MAJOR SPOILERS! I'm blocking the sender's name because if he's telling the truth then he could probably get into a lot of trouble. Here ya go:
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From: XXXXXXXX
Subject: Dragonball Z The Movie
I've been reading some of your rumors and you have some right. I have a friend who work for Fox Studios and I think Dragonball fans deserve to know that the first movie starting production in October. The banner was released to see what hype the movie would bring. Hugh Jackman is in the movie but not as who you think he is. He is Goku. I can tell you that the cast is fully white and there are no asian actors in major roles( you had said Jet Li and Jackie Chan) due to this movie being more aimed at North America and less than Asia. The movie starts off on Goku's homeworld where a great disaster distroys it(alot like superman)Goku is put in a capsle and sent to the sayan mother ship. On his way there the ship is hit by an asteroid and sent in a differnt direction. He crashes on Earth and is trained from an infant by an old master of martial arts. THe movie than skips ahead to when Goku is a teen. At the same time a older alien from another planet lands on earth,
Goku has a huge fight against this alien which Goku finally shows his strenghth and wins at the end. The alien tells Goku who he is ,Picollo, and offers to train him. They have a period where Goku is being trained to harness his powers and creat energy blasts from his hands. They also show Picollo taking 7 balls from his space ship, he tells Goku that they are Dragonballs and that you can make wishes with them. He throws them up in the air and they fly in different places all over the Earth. They skip ahead to when Goku is in his 20's. Picollo does not age in this movie and is the same actor from start to finish. There is a big tournament that Goku enters and he wins the tournament easily. This is where he meets friends like Krillin, Tien,Yamcha, and Bulma. The sceen than goes onto the sayan mother ship where they show King Vegita killing a larger sayan who has rebeled against Vegita. They than go to the bridge of the ship where they tell him they have found the generals son. He than says "dispatch his brother". Than 5 capsels leaving the ship and heading for Earth. They than go back to Earth where they show a now slightly older Goku and his friends training. They than all sense a force and look to the sky to see 5 pods entering Earths atmosphere. They all fly to where the pods crashed and see the sayans. A huge battle happens and all the sayns but Goku's brother is killed. Goku and his brother have a huge fight when Goku creates a huge energy blast that almost kills his brother. With his last once of strenghth he shots an energy bolt that goes past Goku but kills Krillen. Goku is out raged but Picolo tells him to use the dragonaballs to wish him back. While they were having this conversation it was being transmitted to Vegita. He hears about these Dragonballs and decides to go get them. Then Goku's brother says with his last breath that his name is Raditz and that he is his brother. He tells him that Vegita will be coming and they have no chance. Than goku, tien, yamcha, picillo, and bulma go and search for the dragonballs. They show the hard ships that they go through but finally they get them all and summon the Dragon. They wish Krillin back and start there training. While they are training Goku is shown falling in love and having a child which he names Gohan. Goku is also summond by a great trainer named Kai. He traines Goku and he learns new techniques.It takes 2 years for Vegita and another sayan to reach earth. When they reach Earth they face off aginst each other in a huge battle that lasts longer than the first one. In the end many of Earths hero's are killed and Goku is badly injured. One of the bad guys escape. I will have some images of the movie set soon so I'll keep you posted.
Also they have blue uniforms instead of orange.
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Well, there you have it. Hugh Jackman is Goku, he wears a blue uniform, the story is very different from the show, and FOX is protecting this information like it was the Holy Grail. OR... it's all a big lie. Either way I look forward to hearing from this person again, especially if he has set pictures.
I looked at Jackman's profile on The Internet Movie Database and of course DBZ is no where on it. I've been waiting for IMDb to put up the DBZ page for months but still nothing. I guess they don't have enough info yet. I know Van Helsing starts shooting in a few months, which Jackman stars in, and he recently finished X-Men 2 so I don't know how much time he has inbetween these two movies to do DBZ. Eh.
A Few Hours Later!
I just got an e-mail from another guy that gave me a URL to some old news that I had no idea even existed. Shows how close to the pulse my finger is. Anyways, apparently they were holding auditions for the part of Goku back in December. 17 actors were chosen as finalists and whoever ran this site stopped updating after that so we never find out who got the part but he says the best guy was some dude named Max Stanley. I did a search for his name. He was in a few movies, nothing I've ever heard of though. I coulden't find a photo of him anywhere so if anyone knows anything about this guy let me know. Click here to read it for yourself.
This completly fucks up everything I posted above. WHICH ONE IS REAL?! Hopefully we will find out soon.
March 06, 2003:
E-Mail From FUNimation!
Like any self-respecting movie fan I bombard studio inboxes with e-mail if I want to know something about a certain movie, dammit! This is no exception. I've sent a couple to FOX but they gave me the cold shoulder. FUNimation, however, answered in three days. Check it out:
****************************************
Name: Brandon
Email: [email protected]
Property: dbz
Subject: Live Action Movie
Comments:
I run a website dedicated to the live action DragonBall Z movie. I try to deliver the latest news and rumors because despite being the "offocial site for the movie news" you don't have squat. What's the deal? Fans are going insane trying to figure out why you haven't released any news since the right were bought. That was almost a year ago. There's been a teaser banner floating around the internet for a few months and it still hasn't been confirmed as real or a hoax.
I e-mailed FOX but they're no help. If there is ANYTHING you can tell me, no matter how small, please e-mail me. The fans are waiting.
Oh, and no matter what fans say DO NOT let any of the following people be cast:
Jet Li
Jackie Chan
Vern Troyer
Dana Carvey
Danny Divito
Thanks
--------------------------------------------
From: Feedback Manager
Subject: RE - Feedback - dbz - Live Action Movie
Information is posted as soon as it becomes available. The movie is in the very early stages right now, and there is not much information available to the public at this point.
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So what does this mean? It means that the project isn't dead, it is still happening, but it sure as shit isn't on a fast track. It also means that they are holding back information from us just like everyone suspected. Those bastards. We deserve to know exactly what's going on over there. We have to make sure they don't screw it up. But I have a feeling they will come forward soon.
One more thing before I go... I've had a few visitors coming here and writing things in Spanish on the Guestbook and in the polls. They're probably Mexican and can't type in any other language, but still... I HAVE NO FUCKING CLUE WHAT YOUR SAYING.
February 10, 2003:
Official Site Coming Soon?
If you type in www.dragonballzmovie.com in the address box it takes you to the FUNimation home page. This doesn't really mean anything right now except that FUNimation bought the domain name. But it COULD mean that they might finally be ready to release some real information about the movie. They gotta put something there! Only time will tell.
As of right now there isn't much on the offocial DBZ anime site about the movie except a director poll that has been up there since September. Im really starting to doubt this movie will ever be made. It's been almost an entire year since the first news came and there still has yet to be any real information about it released. And FOX said they want it on the fast track? Some fast track.
January 26, 2003:
DBZ filming in Sydney?
Heard through the grapevine that the local FOX studio in Sydney, Australia is in the process of building a set for a "live-action cult Japanese cartoon." This is just a small rumor that's going around Down Under right now. They're saying it could be DragonBall Z.
I dunno. DBZ is pretty mainstream. But then again, how many other live-action versions of Japanese anime could FOX be doing? Keep in mind that this is just something I heard from a friend in Australia. It could very well be a steaming pile of bullshit but if it isn't, just remember you heard it here first.
Be sure to check out the new Rumor Control section and vote for your choices on the Polls!
January 23, 2003:
FOX searches for director!
The offocial opening day of the site. Hooray! I apologize for Fortune City. I know they suck but it's the only place I could get to work with my FTP. So mind the banners.
Now on to the news: The latest is that Alejandro Amenabar was offered the directing position for the movie but he wasn't interested. I can understand that. DragonBall Z isn't just some other movie. It's friggin' DragonBall Z! That's a big responsibility. If someone screws it up then they will be looked down upon by all in shameful pitty. You can't just offer DragonBall Z to any director and expect him to take it even if he is a hardcore fan. Amenabar knew that it was major and didn't want to take the risk. Or he just doesn't like DBZ.
If you didn't know, Alejandro Amenabar directed The Others and several Spanish thrillers. His movies are not really made for the action or sci-fi buffs. Which tells me that FOX prehaps what's a more suspenseful movie rather than constant beat-em-up action.
This is actually old news that was reported back in October but it's all there is for now. So far there has been no other sign that FOX is trying to get this thing going. Rumors say that they've secretly been producing the film since late October right under everyone's noses but taht's very unlikely. SOMEONE would have gotten hold of information and put in on the net somewhere by now. But we can always hope.
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