I'll be going to get my copy of Halo 3: ODST later today, as probably a lot of you will be doing too. Until then, take a look at five minutes of footage from the upcoming Halo Legends - an anime movie/special focusing on the Halo universe - that stars the same type of troopers from today's ODST release.

The popular anime movie Akira was set to become a live-action movie, but it was just a week or so ago that it was revealed that development of the movie had stopped and it was all but dead. As it turns out that wasn't so much the case really, as the movie has been given new life today. Collider had the following to say about the matter:

"According to my source, screenwriters Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, guys whose work I like, are about to turn in their version of an “Akira” movie and the reason why the project has been so quiet is they’ve been hard at work trying to get the script right."

The duo is credited with such work as Children of Men and Iron Man.

Acclaimed Japanese anime director Hayao Miyazaki has a new film coming stateside called Ponyo - a new retelling of The Little Mermaid story in which a goldfish longs to be a human girl. The film has already been released in Japan and to help promote the film's DVD release over there, some clever marketers unleashed a plastic Ponyo on the Osaka Aquarium, where she was seen swimming about the aquarium's various fish tanks, where other fish and sharks were also swimming. Check the link to see pictures on Ponyo actually swimming about.

Producers have been trying to get a live-action Robotech film off the ground since 2007, but have so far had little success in getting the project started. The film is one-step closer to reality now, however, thanks to the hiring of a brand-new writer to work on the script: Tom Rob Smith.

I know a lot of people are die-hard fans of Cowboy Bebop, though it's never been a series I've really enjoyed. I can only imagine being a fan, however, and hearing talk of the series being made into a live-action movie. If you're worried about how a live-action version of the show could turn out, scriptwriter Peter Craig sheds some details on the writing process, including the news that the anime's staff is actively involved in the new project.

"Yes, they're very much involved. I met with all of them in Tokyo in December - at a long meeting with Keanu in the room. I thought there was an immediate rapport between all of us, particularly Shinchiro Watanabe and Keanu. I asked questions, presented scenarios, and they were very specific about their vision for the series, and how it might convert to a live-action film. They've continued to be in touch since then; and last month I received a very detailed letter, which I've consulted regularly. I'm close to finishing an early draft, and I believe they'll be very happy with it. Not only does the script stay extremely true to the show -- I also know that Erwin and Fox are already discussing production designers that can reproduce the "look" of Cowboy Bebop as closely as possible. They'll be reading the script soon... so my fingers are crossed."

Akira is often thought of as one of the most popular and defining works of the anime medium, as it was the gateway drug for a lot of anime fans today. Akira was set to be given the live-action treatment by Leonardo DiCaprio's production company, but now word comes that the film is officially dead for the time being. So if you want your Akira fix you'll have to stick with the original anime.

If you're out of high school and reading this, I'm willing to bet you've been introduced to the story of Romeo and Juliet at least once…if not multiple times. The story and theme has been done to death before and has been reimagined so many times I didn't think it was possible to imitate the same story and have it feel fresh. Along comes Basilisk and throws into the mix what should've been around in the original Shakespeare story – ninjas!

The anime franchise Bubblegum Crisis is in the process of becoming a big screen feature film. Production companies in Singapore, Japan, Australia, Canada, China and the UK will work together to bring the $30m movie to theaters in 2012.

Bubblegum Crisis is about "the Knight Sabers, a team of four young female mercenaries who take on the might of the "Boomers" -- machines built to serve mankind, but which have become deadly instruments of oppression"

Hayao Miyazaki is a master of his craft. The Oscar winner's upcoming film - Ponyo - has just released a few images from the film, as well as the one-sheet poster that will be accompanying its release.

Ponyo is described as a retelling (of sorts) of The Little Mermaid. It tells the story of a young and overeager goldfish named Ponyo and her quest to become human. Noah Cyrus, Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Frankie Jonas, Cloris Leachman, Liam Neeson, Lily Tomlin and Betty White headline the movie's all-star voice cast.

We know, we know, there have been live-action Death Note films before, but they were foreign films only and never received the big screen treatments over here in the States. That's about to change, however, as Warner Bros. has acquired the rights to the manga series. The movie is set to cover the content from the first three volumes of the manga series.

He's died once or twice during the course of his Dragonball manga/anime series, but he always comes back, ready to save the day from evil once again. Goku might've met his match, however, and its name is Hollywood. A group of fans (French?) held a ceremony for him at his place of death - the movie theater.

The "you have to be blind to not see how bad this movie looks" adaptation of the popular Dragonball anime/manga - Dragonball Evolution - did extremely poor at the box office this past weekend, finishing in eighth place with only $4.7 million. Hooray! Maybe this will keep it so that we never see another one of these abominations ever again.