In the special Japan premiere of Alita: Battle Angel last February 15, GUNNM author Yukiro Kishiro was reported to have been very satisfied with the film and showering the staff and cast with praises. GUNNM is the title of Kishiro’s work on which Alita was based on.
During the special premiere which was attended by director Robert Rodriguez, producer Jon Landau and stars Rosa Salazar and Christoph Waltz, Kishiro told reporters that it was his fifth time to see the film. He was quoted as saying, “Thanks to the great staff, it has become the greatest movie in the world. Every time I see, I can find something new. The composition is amazing. All scenes are special and there are no unneeded ones. It is so exciting that I can’t believe that I created the original story.”
He has consistently shown support for the live-action adaptation of his work, even creating an original poster for the movie along with the comment: “The core part of the manga was brilliantly passed on to the film. Including the characters’ emotion and raison d’etre, they were perfectly reflected in the film, so I was very happy.”
Alita: Battle Angel is set to open on February 22 in Japan, a week later than the US. The movie earned $27 million in its opening day and is currently holding the top spot in the US box office, with The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part at a close second. Despite being number 1 at a rather slow box-office week, the movie is reported to still have a long way to go to earn back its estimated $150 million budget.
Source: Crunchyroll, Variety