Fans of William Gibson repeat after me: Woosah. Is the famous cyberpunk author’s 1984 masterwork Neuromancer finally headed to the big screen with Darth Vader himself, Hayden Christensen, in the lead role? That’s what sources are telling Joblo. Christensen would star as Case, a talented hacker whose poisoned nervous system reduces him to hustling Japan’s dystopian streets before he gets the offer of his lifetime. Joseph Kahn, who helmed the Fast and the Furious biker knockoff Torque as well as Britney’s “Toxic” video, is attached to direct the $70 million independent production.
The general consensus seems to be, “It’s not perfect casting, but let’s wait until February’s Jumper to bring out the pitchforks. And yeah, the director’s past work is obnoxious, but the fat budget and the indie status hold promise.” I liked Christensen in Shattered Glass but that’s about it. While he has the “vacant-eyed replica” look down to a science, he’s not right for this film, especially if it keeps the novel’s love interest intact as reported.
And it’s spilt milk, but Gibson has admitted that Chris Cunningham, previously attached, was the only suitable director for this project. From Wikipedia: The novel examines the concepts of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, genetic engineering, multinational corporations overpowering the traditional nation-state, and cyberspace long before these ideas became fashionable in popular culture. This is difficult material that can be easily be mistreated like an MTV Blade Runner. Let’s hope Gibson doesn’t have the notoriously shoddy luck of Philip K. Dick when it comes to film adaptations.
January 7th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Wait wait wait wait wait, a Chris Cunningham feature film was in the works and ain’t happening?!?!?! *gouges eyes out*
January 7th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
This can only end in tears.
January 7th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
[gouges her eyes out too!]
January 7th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
This is sounding worse than Johnny Mnemonic. I love William Gibson’s vision and I believe that it could be possible with today’s F/X, but if the movie is made anything like Torque it will be an abomination that should not be viewed by anyone.
January 7th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Hayden Christensen?? Neuromancer? Noooooooooo!
January 7th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
This latest news was about casting. Who knows what is in the works. Maybe a new director and big studio involvment as well. I’ve never read the books but what first sounded like a Matrix type story to me is sounding more and more like a Bladerunner type story. That kind of treatment would be cool.
January 7th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Jesus christ in heaven, why did you have to tell me that Chris Cunningham was ever involved? It’s like you’ve given me a christmas pony and then murdered it with my own severed penis. Now I must be like the lemming and follow suit. *gouges eyes out*
January 8th, 2008 at 12:18 am
Great Leaping Moses, I saw the words Neuromancer and was exuberant.
Then I Hayden Christensen and I had flashbacks of all my suppressed memories of Johnny Mnemonic.
I think my eyes are starting to bleed.
January 8th, 2008 at 5:04 am
Why did Chris have to leave :( One of my favorite books will now raped by the man responsible for making Kid Rock believe he could act..
January 8th, 2008 at 8:02 am
dude gets a lot of work considering the way critics bash him…
January 13th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Gibson’s writing cannot be directly transfered to the screen - New Rose Motel was a very faithful adaptation of the text but it made a very difficult story to follow as a movie. Johnny Mnemonic was clearly a ‘hollywood’ version of a story from the same book but was (Reaves over the top acting aside) infinitely more watchable while still staying true to the basic plot of the story. Wait until you see the movie to pass judgment.