Ghost in the Shell - Scarlett Johansson (2017) - View over Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon

The next film to look at is a recent, but controversial, one. Scarlett Johansson as Major Killian in a live action retake of the original comic/anime. We've seen digital manipulation of the Hong Kong skyline before afew times on this blog, whether it's Transformers destroying well known landmarks, or new buildings being created for Largo and Push, but the HK skyline is still recognisable. In Ghost in the Shell, the film makers have taken Hong Kong as a backdrop and then added a whole new layer of futurism to make it more like the cityscape of the comic.

The controversy, of course, was the casting of Johansson in what should've been an Asian role. There are so many great female Asian actors that could have been better in this, but there you go. The HK scenes were filmed in June 2016.

Anyway, here is the first good example of how the views have been revamped to fit the futuristic depiction. It's a view looking over Tsim Sha Tsui from the east of the Kowloon peninsula and a fair amount of the buildings here are real ones, they've just been souped up with fake holograms and funky lights. The film makers even decided to leave in the construction of the new New World Centre at the far left. You can see the cranes at the top. The only building that has avoided CGI seems to be the ICC.