Park Joon-hyung of G.O.D fame will be part of the big budget Hollywood adaption of the super popular Japanese based manga Dragonball.
“Joon Park”, as he is called in the U.S., will play bad boy Yamcha, a thief turned Z fighter. Also, Emmy Rossum recently signed up to play Bulma, a scientist and inventor whose father’s Dragon Ball is stolen by the villain, Piccolo. And Eriko Tamura, the popular Japanese actress who depicted Yaeko in popular TV series “Heroes”, will play the character of Mai.
The cast also includes Justin Chatwin, James Marsters and Jamie Chung.
Park Joon-hyung also has a part of the upcoming movie with fellow Korean singer, Rain, in Speed Racer (2008) where he plays a Yakuza driver. (see below)
Credits: Hollywood Reporter
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How much do you need to pay a guy to do this?
the whole idea of a live action dragonball movie is insane.
Emmy Rossum could do better than Dragonball — heck, anyone could do better than Dragonball!
This is either going to flop which it most likely is or it’s gonna be great which I doubt it is HOLLYWOOD we’re talking about here. And I haven’t seen much ADAPTIONS where it was actually good. I mean the original was done by the Japanese. The fact that they cast a non-asian as the title role of goku you know they’re trying to pull another laughable movie. Not saying white people can’t act or anything but at least the roles of the black hair should be left for the PEOPLE with actual black hair aka asians. Jeez it’s not like everyone in the DBZ universe has black hair. Take bulma she could be played by a white girl or whatever. But goku? that’s just racist. period.
I don’t see the point of the liveaction too!!!
Just too silly to be true.
And I thought this anime was pure JAPANESE~~~or at least Asian.
Yeah… probably… I do not have to say more to emphasize on my thoughts on this!
this should be interesting seeing 2 korean singers in a U.S made movie
White guy playing Goku.
Why does it matter? All characters are white in DBZ anyway.
DBZ live movie’s old news, but this is new!
Everyone’s newb on this movie ~__~ (Picollo vs Goku ~__~)
This movie is a joke.
This is a travesty…someone should pay for this disaster in the making.
WTF?! this movie movie is going to suck hard. they are just picking ramdom ppl to play these parts.
exciting!
he looks good in that speed racer still with the white hair.
hehehe…he looks so hot with the bleach blonde hair and the muscles. not sure if it would have the same effect if his hair went black.
O.O
And I thought D-war was the worst movie ever… but seriously… DRAGONBALLS!?
Seriously, PJH gets a role in a movie - I feel sorry for the guy -_-”
Initial D was made into a movie; it’s the same idea…
As bad as this all sounds, I still get the feeling that everyone here is gonna go and watch it.
@Asia: Yup! At least for me…. I’m not a Dragonball fan, but I’ll bear with it only because of the fact Park Joon Hyung is in it ^_______^
haha i love the white hair, looks good on him although i’m no fan of his.
does white people even watch dragonball? isn’t it more of an asian thing? -.-
good for Park Joon Hyung… regardless whether this will be a flop or a hit. I’m happy to see him branching out.
If that cheeseball movie Transformers can be a hit..why not DBZ? I’m not a DBZ fan but I know there is quite a lot of DBZ fans all around the world..and I betcha they’ll come out to see if the movie.
BTW he looks really good in the Speed Racer pic..he can rock the silver hair.
dbz movie ~lawl~ for nerdy asian boys!
pjh is one scary lookin dude- i think he’d be awesome!
I’m looking forward to it since I LOVE DRAGONBALL Z back in the days but I’m also kinda on the fence that, it might flop.
I’m not that back on the guy playing Goku, but I love James Masters who is playing the villian.
So I’ll watch it to support it.
It’s cool to see Joon Park in TWO US Hollywood movies. It’s cool his playing Yamacha..I had a crush on Yamacha back then..lol but Emmy as Bulma..I’m sorry I SO CAN NOT see her as Bulma.
@Suga: Actually, I know alot of white people (well. They were all kids…) who watch Dragonballs. I babysit these kids once in a while whenever their mom wont be coming home ’til late, and their favorite show is Dragonballs. It was on cartoonnetwork, and they’d be like zombies, just sitting in front of the tv O.O
They said it was popular at their school.
Damn. You know, the movie-making is getting out of hand. IMO, sometimes cartoons should be left as CARTOONS. It’s gonna be so cheesy, and I know many fans of DBZ is gonna be so disappointed.
As for Speedracer, I am actually anticipating it. People say it looks cheesy and cartoony, but the work done on it looks amazing. Plus it’s the Wachowskis trying to make a movie for the kids! It looks good to me, especially when they have big stars playing the characters appropriately. John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Matthew Fox, Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci AND add Asian Mega-popstar Rain? BRILLIANT.
Emma Rossum for DBZ? Lame. What a waste.
suga what you said is dumb as hell…all types of people love DBZ if anything its Japanese before its Asian.
It think he would do a good job with his role, and look! He can actually speak english!
But what does Dragonball have? The man who directed the Final Destination movies? The X-Files? I’m very negative about the Dragonball film, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
One thing for sure… it’s gonna be CHEESY (just like Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). We just need to decide if it’s “awesome” cheesy or “shameful” cheesy.
news-flash to Saga,
i am Latina and i watched dragonball Z lol!
not only is Dragonball Z big in the US…it is also big in Latin American countries…well, in Mexico it is…
i am looking forward to this movie but at the same time i am dreading how much they are going to butcher it..and the cast does not sound so promising…
i know they casted some japanese actors, but they also casted american actors, including the guy who played a vampire in Buffy the Vampire Slayer **rolls her eyes**…so does that mean the japanese actors will have an english dialog?
i hope the special effects kick ass cause otherwise i really dont know how they are going to make this work…
^oops! i misspelled your screen name..i meant SUGA ^___^
A Dragonball movie? Really? Wow.
I don’t watch the cartoon(my younger brother does), but I am interested in seeing how they can make it work. Honestly, I think it IS gonna be cheesylicious.
What’s next? Naruto? LoL. A live-action Pokemon movie? The possibility is endless, people!
I must say, Park Joon-Hyung definitely has the Yamcha body down! Damn, boy is built.
oh noes…I LOVE Dragon Ball…is the movie gonna take place around dragon ball or dragon ball Z? I am so afraid for this movie. It can be good or bad. and honestly I think James Masters needs to bulk up a little to play the part of piccolo, my favorite character. PJH is working that white hair…;)
Pros: Stephen Chow is producing the film.
Cons: http://www.whedon.info/IMG/jpg/james-marsters-dragon-ball-movie-piccolo-manip-mq-01.jpg
A fan manip of what James Marsten might look like as Piccolo. (thrown in purely to lighten the mood)
As much as I’m excited about Park Joonhyung being in another US movie, WHY FOR THE LOVE OF GOD are they making a Dragonballl movie?!
I was kind of excited to hear about it, but as soon as I read the storyline, my heart sank.
…….i’m …speechless. *shakes head in dismay*
no way.. NO WAY! lol a real live action movie performing/acting BY HUMANS??? and not hand drawn?? oii~
I can understand Initial D being an an live-action(?) movie, ut DBZ???? There is going to be a lot of .. animated effects to this movie.. and what’s going to the happened to the hair.. o__O!! especial when they turned super saiyan.. lol I guess that’s why an American is being the main lead (so i’ve read) and not an Asian person since normally asian doesnt really matches with straight blonde.. -except for jejung (TVXQ) that i could think of at the moment.
I remember watching DBZ as a chinese version in real live action.. They had Yoshi and everyone.. except everyone had plain black hair and not hair-defying-gravity type of hair as how the anime was portrayed. The dragon even looks real but.. overall the movie sucks! (This was back in.. 1997? or 1998 i forgot) .. Omg i hope someone know what i’m talking about ~__~
I guess I’ll be expecting for this release despite what i said..
Park Joon Hyung is close friends with JYP. I guess gorillas flock together. Oh man, that’s mean, but it’s true.
^ahh not Yoshi.. but .. i forgot the Master turtle’s name >__<! Yuroshi? *shrugs* dbz was a really long time ago for me..
yeah @ Yeli– All my nerdy latin friends love DBZ. Nerdy Asians, Nerdy whites– Just nerds in general, but with Asians it’s on a whole nother level. Theres some hott asian boys on my street and they never leave the house and we all wonder why– We presume it’s those dang DBZ marathons on the cartoon network! damn you DBZ!!!!!Oh well I’ll see the movie to hit on guys…
http://www.dragonballmovieblog.com/
thanks california for that link…
i went on the blog and OMG **speechless**
apparently they are filming it in Durango, Mexico…
and the pic of the guy in front of the yellow car…THAT is supposed to be Goku??? **cries**
oh boy…this is going to be BAD
OMGOMGOMg DRAGONBALL Z!!!
I don’t think any live action adaption of dragonball z will ever do it justice, because 1)there’s no way the actors can look like Goku or Gohan
2)Saiyan hair is neigh impossible to do
3)Unless it’s really well executed, kamehameha will just look cheesy.
That doesn’t mean I’ll still watch it though, even if it’s to make fun of it XD
thanks for the link!
this is gonna be a total flop judging from the pictures on that site. how is that twig gonna be goku?!
i find this really funny..
like its all a joke
OMG Justin Chatwin as Goku, that’s not a good idea, this is not going to go over well, the prob is not the color of skin it’s the etnicity, the DBZ characters are supposed to be asian, the only exception would be Bulma and some others.
A movie like DBZ is not going to go well, but some how i just know i’m going to watch it.
EMMY ROSSUM’S GONNA PLAY BULMA???
omgosh, that is like the last person i would ever think would play bulma
Wooo. Big fan of Dragon Ball. and to be honest, white people acting in Dragon Ball? Dosen’t that sound a bit weird? Should be the Japanesse, no? Not trying to be races or anything but u know what I mean? Oh well, I shouldnt be judging much til I watch the film. Can’t wait..
Jeez. Dragon Ball used to be cool when it first aired in the early 90’s. It’s like the “X-men” for the Asian kids. But ever since anime became trendy in the US, it became “nerdy”. I think the Japanese were wise when they decided not to make Dragon Ball liveaction. It should be kept that way, I mean, Sailormoon liveaction is enough of a lesson, nobody is going to take it seriously as Hollywood film.
COOL..I wanna watch this and LAUGH. Who could make DBZ a REAL thing? Like wat abt the power bombs and the blasty thingy? I still want to watch it even though it looks hysterically funny instead of action-like. DBZ is awesome!!!
“OMG Justin Chatwin as Goku, that’s not a good idea, this is not going to go over well, the prob is not the color of skin it’s the etnicity, the DBZ characters are supposed to be asian, the only exception would be Bulma and some others.” -Hail
“Wooo. Big fan of Dragon Ball. and to be honest, white people acting in Dragon Ball? Dosen’t that sound a bit weird? Should be the Japanesse, no? Not trying to be races or anything but u know what I mean? Oh well, I shouldnt be judging much til I watch the film. Can’t wait..” -Naqiyyah
THANK YOU!
YES! They’re supposedly asian although of course NO REAL ethnicity really LOOKS like those characters in Dragonball but I’m sure the original author wasn’t going for a white person either. Bulma yeah she’s just whatever no one in this world has blue hair so that could possibly be anyone. But I’m sure the original author had all asians in mind specifically japanese but at least if other asians played the characters it wouldn’t be as bad. I guess it’s a LITTLE of a step up least they didn’t cast all them all white. But I’d rather some asian guy that is buff be goku not some random white dude that no one knows whose a twig. I mean if were gonna go by characters at least LOOK the part. The white part is already wrong, and he’s quite skinny too ain’t that the purrrty detailing?
woot woot* don’t watch dragonball but the movie sounds interesting~
Hollywood is making Dragon Ball. I used to watched DBZ as a kid but I am not enthusiastic about the movie version.
I don’t think anyone remembers this, but there was an “unofficial” Chinese Dragonball live-action movie that came out back in like 1989. I only know this b/c I saw it in dubbed in Spanish late at night a few months ago. It was really bad and so cheesy.
http://www.amazon.com/DragonBall-Magic-Begins-Eddie-Chan/dp/6305884862
A Dragonball live-action movie? LMAO.
It’s gonna be so horrible… how can I NOT watch it? I can’t miss the cheesiness that will go on.
I remember when I was middle school, DBZ was a big thing, including sailor moon. But now, I don’t hear about it anymore. I’m skeptical about the guy that is going to play Goku. He looks too skinny. Wasn’t Goku buff?! At least put some good looking Asian dude w/a buff body to play his part. I’m not trying to be racist or anything but it seems strange to see a live-action of it. (scratch head) But then again, it’s Hollywood. I haven’t seen a movie that has an Asian guy as a main guy. Wait. I think Mortal Combat count as one. Well, anyway, at least Park Joon-hyung looks hot in that picture! I thought silver hair doesn’t work for anyone, but apparently it works for him. ^__^
this movie is going to suck so much.
How they can even HAVE goku played by a white guy with a plastic nose is beyond me.
And w/ chi chi being asian (korean), I see this as yet another “Yellow Fever” tribute played out for all the *white* fanboys of DBZ (back when DBZ was slaughtered by Funimation & cartoon network).
If you can’t get the Japanese raws, at least settle for the mexican version. Everything else is just trashed down for US audiences
I would have been thrilled if it was a japanese movie that will be released internationally.
I like Stephen Chow but they will ruin Dragonball.
I saw him in the preview for Speed Racer while watching Alvin&the Chipmunkssss :D!
It’s going to suck!!! Just like the live action version of Sailor Moon, and that WAS with Asian people. Now they are going to throw in Americans?! You know it’s going to suck! Speed Racer is going to suck too, but I won’t consider it a waste of time and money because Rain will be in it! ^_^ <3
hmmm it seems like he’s ‘American’ appearances is more than Bi O__O
not going to work. I’m a movie and anime buff - this isn’t going to work–hollywood. some anime just isn’t meant to be live-action film.
Lmae!!! I thought maybe it would just have Asians in it…. it defeats the whole purpose of anime.
Now the Japanese are coming up with this full out boycott
umm, just to let you guys know, its DRAGONBALL, not dragonball Z. If you watched the series you know what im talking about. In dragonball, goku is just a kid still and he isnt SUPER strong and BUFF, just a normal kid. And on top of that why does the goku have to be asian? I don’t understand that LOL and im asian myself. In dragonball z, GOKU is a SAYIAN. not asian…. so i really dont understand why goku has to be played as an asian dude..maybe because its a japanese show, who knows.. but in the cartoon itself he is a SAYIAN, not ASIAN.
and as for the special effects, why does everyone worry about this one? I mean geez, look at 300, matrix trilogy, lords of the rings trilogy, spiderman trilogy, xmen trilogy, etc. I could go on and on about all the movies with crazy cgi and they did awesome. I mean FOX has rights to make this movie and they are. they are what, a multi-zillion dollar company? They are obviously gonna put a good amount of money into this movie to make it good. LOL sometimes the comments i read about this is hilarious.
I always thought the characters in dragonball looked asian with black eyes and black hair and most of them portrayed asian looks (I’m talking about good looking asian actors/actresses not the ugly ones they stick in the us films). No offense but I love jet li and jackie chan for their fighting roles but they are both ugly actors.
For example this guy is korean and I think he can play goku and he’s a good looking guy.
http://static6.photo.sina.com.cn/orignal/4b7e25a43fed21507c2c5
Wow this really sucks! Now when people talk about dragonball it is going to be about the stupid movie. The same is going to happen with the internet and when you google it. Last thing i have to say is this movie is obviously not meant to be of quality. Just look at the actors and director and the amount of time given to them. This meant to be a quick crappy movie aimed to get all those millions of dragonball fans to watch it and hate it and bring their friends and family. Even if the movie sucks every fan is going to see it just because of the name. When I heard about the movie, it made me sick thinking about it. Dragonball was and still is my favorite show and this movie is going to f*** that all up by trying to make it appeal to pop-culture. I don’t see why they couldn’t make the movie 100% animated (3d or not), that way the dragonball universe will be captured better and it won’t look so cheezy.
Well this film is gonna be challenging. I, Myself, am a huge dbz fan and would really like to see this kick off. But like many of u are saying, its either gonna be really really good, or really really bad lol. Cant wait though.