Dreamworks Pictures has announced that it is producing a Hollywood adaptation of the Japanese animated movie Ghost in the Shell. Apparently the film, originally by Mamoru Ohshii, has caught the attention of legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg. The script is said to be handled by Jamie Moss, who has recently done Street Kings, while it is also speculated that the movie will be done in full 3-D animation.

Ghost in the Shell was an epic manga (comic) done by Masamune Shirow (creator of other popular titles such as Appleseed). Oshii’s interpretation of the film, which is the one that inspired Spielberg, used the same characters and setting but lead the original manga story line into a more speculative and philosophically driven direction. While it may look to be a police story, with big guns, stone cold criminals, and huge explosions, the film also touches on subjects such as human existence and the definitions surrounding it.

Many fans and non-fans have voiced out mixed reactions concerning the proposed movie. Some fear that Spielberg will undoubtedly “eviscerate” the original film, or writer Jamie Moss would somehow “Hollywood-ize” it too much, stripping the story of its original “depth”. However, others are definitely excited about the adaptation, for it is a chance to give the original film its due worldwide appreciation. Others have said that since the first Matrix was said to have been also inspired by Ghost in the Shell, there shouldn’t be a problem in translating it for Hollywood viewers.