How Many Countries Does It Take To Make A Live Action Bubblegum Crisis Movie?

Written By: Ken Hulsey

Sources: The Hollywood Reporter / Avery Guerra

The title of this article may sound like some sort of bad racial joke, but it is really appropriate. Indeed, several countries will have their hands in the production of the live action, English language, movie adaptation of the popular Japanese 'cyperpunk' anime, "Bubblegum Crisis."

Oh, and the answer to the question is six.

Yesterday at Cannes, producers from Singapore, Japan, Canada, Australia, China and the UK sat down and signed the paperwork to begin work on the $30 million film.

Apparently new international treaties paved the way for the production, including the Singapore-Australia, Australia-Canada, Canada-Singapore, China-Australia and China-Canada co-production treaties. Not only do these treaties open the door for international production, they also will provide for the financing of the film through grants provided by the numerous governments. It is estimated that 70% of the films budget is already in place.

The massive multi-national production will be overseen by Benjamin Toh of Singapore's Axxis International, who will act as the movies executive producer. Before him is the daunting task of managing a production that will utilize several different film companies in several different countries, including Japan's Anime International Company, Australia's Arclight Films, Canada's Wizzfilms, China's Infotainment China Media Co. and the U.K.'s Latec International.

At this point it is planned that principal photography will take place in Australia and post production will take place in Canada.

The Director and cast have yet to be decided. A spokesman for Axxis stated that "Crisis" will feature two male leads and a quartet of females as the infamous "Knight Sabers" from the original animated series, with two being Caucasian and two Asian.

Here is some history on the original "Bubblegum Crisis" animated series (1987-1991):

The eight-episode series begins in early 2032, seven years after an earthquake has split Tokyo in two. During the first episode, disparities in wealth are shown to be more pronounced than in previous periods in post-war Japan.

Genom is a fictional corporation, shown to have immense power. Genom's main product are Boomers: artificial beings used for manual labor. While Boomers are intended to serve mankind, they become deadly instruments in the hands of ruthless individuals. The AD Police are tasked to deal with Boomer-related crimes. A recurring theme of the series is the inability of the department to deal with threats due to political infighting, red tape, and an insufficient budget.

The Knight Sabers are analogues of the all-female sentai fighting teams, and as such were depicted as having tremendous combat abilities using powered armor suits. Throughout the OVA series, they battle against long odds to overcome grave threats and preserve the overall safety of Megatokyo.

Look for "Bubblegum Crisis" in 2012.