It's possible to read too much into things, when you're starved of information and the snippets are too few and far between. 

However, when strongly rumoured US Death Note movie casting for Light Yagami actor Nat Wolff has kept a resolute silence on the subject, then suddenly tweets a story linking himself and Margaret Qualley both with the project...

Well I'm sure I'm not the only one drawing conclusions in the sand.

 The Variety magazine Tweet that Nat Wolff  - or possibly brother Alex - shared with his followers linked to its news report entitled ‘The Leftovers’ Star Margaret Qualley Joins Nat Wolff in ‘Death Note’ (by Justin Kroll, Nov 12th 2015).

Assuming that Nat knows things that we don't know (i.e. the reality and status of those 'final negotiations' concerning his casting as Light Yagami); also that he knows the truth at the heart of all those news articles citing his own girlfriend as the 'leading lady' in Death Note's US live action movie adaption; and furthermore that Nat Wolff wouldn't want to spread disinformation amongst his fans on Twitter.

I conclude that everything written in the Variety piece about the Death Note movie is true insofar as Nat Wolff knows. Fair enough with everyone else?

So what do we know from it about this American Death Note film remake?

Therefore nothing that we didn't already know, but this time we know it with a touch more certainty.

The internet is currently abuzz with news that the Adam Wingard directed US Death Note live action movie is about to cast its Misa Amane.

Margaret Qualley (Jill Garvey in HBO's The Leftovers) is apparently in final talks to play the 'female lead' - according to an article in The Hollywood Reporter ('Leftovers' Actress Margaret Qualley in Talks to Join Adam Wingard's 'Death Note' (Exclusive) by Borys Kit, November 12th 2015) - though presumably that is Misa.

This relatively unknown US actress also played Raquel in the 2013 drama movie Palo Alto, wherein she co-starred with Nat Wolff - the actor strongly believed to have been cast as US Death Note's Light Yagami.

However, it's a little bit more than that.  Margaret and Nat have been dating since 2012. 

If both of these 'final negotiations' rumours are true, then we will be seeing an established long-term real life couple playing Misa and Light in the live action US Death Note movie.

Born in Asheville, North Carolina, on October 23rd 1994, her full name is Susan Margaret Qualley,

The mooted Death Note actress has even more famous familial credentials.  Her mother is A-list Hollywood actress Andie MacDowell (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Green Card, Sex, Lies and Videotapes, Multiplicity) from her first marriage with male model Paul Qualley. 

Her sister Rainey Qualley is also an actress - recently seen in Falcon Song, Pink & Baby Blue and the TV series Mad Men - as well as a touring musician. Rainey opened for Loretta Lynn earlier this year, while her debut single Me and Johnny Cash is currently making waves in Country circuits.

Margaret Qualley originally trained as a ballerina, performing at the American Ballet Theatre and joining the North Carolina Dance Company.  She was apprenticed at the French Academy in New York, before moving to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

Naturally the latter signalled a shift in outlook, whereby Margaret now sought to follow in her mother's footsteps as an actress.

Here she is in her most famous role to date, as Jill Garvey in The Leftovers.

If true, the casting of Margaret Qualley as Misa is bound to cause controversy, just as did the role of Light Yagami linked with Nat Wolff. 

Neither American actors are ethnically Japanese, though they will be portraying Japanese characters. While Hollywood is long past getting away with blackening white actors faces to play other races, the industry stands accused of employing its modern equivalent to endemic proportions.

In short, ethnically Asian actors need not apply for leading roles in Hollywood pictures, not even when the parts up for grabs are Asian characters.  As North American actor Edward Zo discovered, when he sought to audition for Light Yagami.

The furore here is already raging, as regards Death Note's US live action film. Margaret Qualley's casting in the role of Misa Amane is unlikely to help matters there.

Though in fairness, Misa looks less Asian than Margaret.

Up for release in 2016, Death Note: Year One was a US live-action movie based on the manga. There was a $15m budget attached to the project.

Sometime over the past few days, its IMDb listing has disappeared. It had been there for well over a couple of years.  Here's how it looked until recently:

However, this wasn't the much discussed Warner Bros epic, due to be directed by Adam Wingard.  The studio here was Wonder Works Films. Its director was Joseph 'Yossi' Bechor, who - along with Julie Paupe - was also the movie's scriptwriter.

For more on what it purported to be, read the Death Note News article about it from this time last year:  15m Dollar Budget for new Wonder Works Films US Adaptation Death Note: Year One.

So what's happened?  Where has it gone?  What do we know?

I can't help but wonder if this was never officially sanctioned by the copyright holders, and now Warner Bros have leaned upon the studio.

After all, Warner Bros has two Death Note movies of its own to produce and market for release in 2016.  The company probably wouldn't welcome any potential confusion with similar sounding projects listed right alongside Death Note 2016 and its US live-action counterpart.

Which does make you wonder how Wonder Works Films and its CEO - the ubiquitous Yossi Bechor - thought they would get away with it in the first place.

Since we last looked, there is slightly more information on-line about Death Note: Year One's script-writing director Yossi Bechor. For a start, his sparsely populated biography on IMDb:

However, that's a much reduced listing these days than its been in the past. Usually Bechor's sceen credits go on for pages and include plenty of block-busters alongside less known Indie film titles.

Like his listing at Stage 32, which has Joseph Bechor working for several major studios simultaneously.

None of which are Wonder Works Films, nor those others mentioned on his LinkedIn profile - Twisted Films and HorrorFilx (GB).

His company website there links to RSA Films.

Am I missing something here?

Apparently Kill Bill is. According to Bechor's Stage 32 credits, he was the co-executive producer on that movie in 2005.  Which must come as news to Quentin Tarantino, as no Kill Bill credit list mentions Joseph Bechor at all, nor under his nickname Yossi Bechor, nor (just for completion) is he named anywhere near Kill Bill 2.

Plus the film came out in 2003, not 2005.

This time last year, our look at Death Note: Year One and Yossi Bechor conclude that it was some kind of ornate trollfest. I have to say, I've uncovered nothing this time around to make me alter that view one iota.

Safe to say that this is one live action Death Note movie which won't see the light of day, and therefore I'll leave it there.

It seems that I jumped the gun a little last week, when I posted something before it had officially been announced. 

Ooops.

To be fair though, I wasn't officially tipped off either. Nor did anything intimate time sensitivity.

And information does want to be free.

I stumbled across the recruitment form for extras on Death Note 2016 and told you all about it on September 29th.  Warner Japan have only just announced it. Ahead of the game. Oh yeah!

Here's the Warner JP Tweet all about it, posted today (October 5th 2015):

The news that Nat Wolff has been cast as Light Yagami in the US live-action Death Note movie, hasn't gone down well in some quarters. 

Fans have taken to Twitter to accuse director Adam Wingard of white-washing his movie.  'White-washing' is the phenomenon whereby ethnically diverse characters are uniformly played by white American actors.

Hence such bizarre anomalies as Jake Gyllenhaal playing the eponymous royal in Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, despite the Persian prince patently being, well Persian. Or Johnny Depp cast as First Native Tonto in Lone Ranger.

Or Nat Wolff as the Japanese Light Yagami.

But some Death Note fans haven't taken that lying down. If silence means approval, then Adam Wingard heard the disapproval loud and clear.

This single thread represents just a sample of the 'white-washing Death Note' protests being posted across Twitter over the past couple of days.

They've been coming thick and fast, ever since Nat Wolff as Light Yagami's actor in the US remake of Death Note was first announced. Though we should clarify that Wolff's casting isn't yet finalized.

Variety magazine, which revealed the titbit (Justin Kroll, ‘Paper Towns” Nat Wolff to Star in Adam Wingard’s ‘Death Note’, Variety, September 29th 2015), merely stated that the actor was engaged in 'final negotiations' for the part. That isn't cut, dried and sealed.

Nor have we received news since that a contract has been signed.

However, the debate doesn't appear to be dying down any time soon, as these two Tweets - picked at random from my Twitter stream - demonstrate.

Not to mention articles like that by Melissa Leon in The Daily Beast - Hollywood’s Anime Whitewashing Epidemic: Nat Wolff to Star in 'Death Note'  (September 30th 2015).

A guest writer is gearing up to discuss this issue in more depth on Death Note News, but in the meantime, what are your thoughts about this (actual or perceived) white-washing of Light Yagami in the US Death Note live action movie?

And, for that matter, which quarter Japanese, English, Russian and maybe French or Italian actor should play L?  That being his ethnicity as described in Death Note 13: How to Read.

Or don't you consider this to be an issue at all?

Vancouver born Osric Chau didn't seem to have a problem, when he gushed over the movie. The Asian-Canadian (mother Malaysian; father from Hong Kong) actor's sentiments were duly reTweeted by Adam Wingard.

Chau's Tweet inspired a vibrant response from the denizens of Twitter, worth the read to snap the current Zeitgeist.

Wow! You daren't take your eyes off the latest Death Note news for an instant today. It's all go!  Major stories cropping up everywhere!

Right now, it's the turn of the Adam Wingard directed US Death Note movie.  Showbiz magazine Variety has just (September 29th 2015) run a story claiming the the long awaited Hollywood adaptation of Death Note is close to casting its Kira.

Californian singer/actor Nat Wolff will play Light Yagami in the USA - as long as 'final negotiations' with the film-makers continue just as planned.

This is going to get confusing fast, as it seems the Death Note US film is due out in 2016. At least production is purportedly starting Stateside during next Spring.

That's in addition to Death Note 2016, which is the Japanese Warner Bros./Nippon TV movie, directed by Shinuke Sato.  As the working title suggests, we're expecting that to hit cinemas (or theaters, if you prefer) sometime in 2016.

Yep, you wait years for a Death Note live action film and two turn up at once.

Extras for Death Note 2016 are currently being signed up by NTV and Warner Japan. Fancy giving it a go?

The live action movie only has a tentative working title at the moment. It will be the latest in the Japanese saga; a sequel to the previous films: Death Note (2006), Death Note: The Last Name (2006) and L: Change the World (2008).

Though the main cast has been assembled, their names remain strictly confidential.

However, we can now reveal precisely where filming will take place - mostly Kobe with some scenes shot in the middle of Tokyo, plus suburbs - and when - from early November 2015 through to the end of December.

Death Note 2016 extras may also expect:

• provision for a friend or other travel companion;
• food and drink supplied;
• photography (still or video) strictly prohibited;
• sharing details in blogs or any other medium also strictly prohibited;
• 'strictly prohibited' means legal action taken and your backside dragged to court;
• no stealing props or costumes;
• applications accepted based on age, gender etc appropriate for each scene;
• right to refuse an application retained with regard to the above;
• shooting dates may be altered at the last minute due to weather conditions etc;
• contacting the companies involved regarding your application is a no-no;
• personal information provided in the form will not be shared with third parties.

These are all details given on the Death Note 2016 extra registration form.

For prosperity's sake, accept my screenshots of that form, as linked from the film's official website, captured on September 29th 2015.

So, are you signing up to be a Death Note 2016 extra?

A new Death Note story will be told in a fourth instalment to Japan's movie saga, it was announced today.

Ten years after the events in L: Change the World, six Death Notes are simultaneously dropped into the human world. Six Kiras arise in a bid to wipe out cyber-terrorism.

One of them will be Light Yagami returned.

Each of the Death Notes will naturally have a shinigami in attendance, thus adding an even more supernatural element to the tale.  Crucially, a 'six note rule' is triggered by such prevalence.  Though what that entails is yet to be known.

Death Note 2016 - its working title - will be produced by Nippon and distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. 

This is what that mysterious countdown was all about, and what was announced after the Death Note television drama completed its final episode in Japan tonight.

A rather intriguing countdown timer has appeared on the official Warner Bros website for their Japanese live action Death Note films.

Ordinarily, the site is dedicated to the earlier trilogy of Death Note movies - Death Note (2006); Death Note II: The Last Name (2006); and L: Change the World (2008).

They were all distributed by Warner Bros., with the first two produced in conjunction with Nippon Television (NTV).

This is significant, as the timer on that website runs out on September 13th 2015, at 10.30pm Japanese time.  Also known as the moment when the final installment of NTV's Death Note television drama finishes airing.

In short, the small screen climax will coincide with whatever news for the big screen this will bring.  A double w(h)ammy for Death Note fans then.

Naturally I've checked the source code to see what clues might lie in there. Nothing much. Just a plain, old page with the apple icon bouncing and the countdown completing.

Its meta tags are all in Japanese, but for one English language rendering of the title Death Note and the words 'movie, trailer'. Which are repeated in the native tongue too, alongside the kanji for Yagami, Light, Raito, Kira, Shueisha, Nippon Television, NTV, official, film, Warner and Warner Bros.

All of which could pertain to the content this counter replaced.  Or might not.

The current buzz, across the fandom and anime/manga news sites, is that we're about to see a fourth Japanese live action Death Note film announced. But it's all speculation at this juncture. 

What do you think?

A bit of banter broke out on Twitter between Adam Wingard - director of the (eventually) forthcoming US live action Death Note film - and his friend The Dope Geek, after the former forgot it was James Gunn's birthday.

Apparently we have a new rule for the Death Note now!

I love that Wingard found the correct number for an additional Death Note rule. It shows that he's doing his homework at least.

Though I suppose he knows that the Death Note fandom hordes would descend with anal attention to detail, if he got something that fundamental wrong. Even for an off-the-cuff joke.

And for the record, yep. I had to look it up. -.- 

However, I can confirm that rule LXVII of the Death Note is just as its US live action movie director stated:

The long awaited Death Note US live action movie will be on our screens from April 14th 2017.

At least that's what we're being told over on KPopStarz.

However, the same article - by Miguel Abesamis ('Death Note' Hollywood Remake Gets A Director; Adaptation Slated For An April 14, 2017 Release (August 18th 2015)) - also quotes Warner Bros stating that no release date has yet been decided.

Moreover, Abesamis's stated source (The American Adaptation of Death Note Has Its Director, IGN, April 28th 2015) doesn't mention a date at all.

I guess it's more of the 'wait and see what rumour comes next' ethos, in which we Death Note fans are very well versed.

What each report (and all my latest information besides) has in common is that Adam Wingard is most definitely still poised to sit in the director's chair. What Abesamis additionally adds to the general slush of gossip is that Wingard will switch to Death Note after he's finished with The Woods.

That does not bring us to an actual date though.

I suspect that whichever editor produced the headline misread something fundamental. Abesamis's article also discusses a Hollywood adaptation of Ghost in the Shell, which - one of his previous reports tells us - is due for release on April 14th 2017.

Or maybe none of them are coming then. He just likes the date.

Admit it, you've never watched beyond the final credits in L: Change the World. I'll admit it.  It never occurred to me to continue on.

For some, it's painful enough to get to the credits, let alone sit through them. Particularly when they're not subject to subtitles translating the beautiful kanji sailing past.

Which means that we all missed the semi-secret poignant scene sneaked in there - beyond all acknowledgements, but one.

It depicts L sitting before a desk, upon which lies a lever arch folder, closed over a pile of tidy case-notes.  L stares at a photograph of Mr Wammy for long seconds, before stepping from his crouch upon the chair and walking off camera.  The scene ends with a black screen, upon which white words form: L Lawliet, Rest in Peace.

He's gone back to Watari. At least that's the only interpretation which salves the heart of onlookers.

So what's this got to do with Mello?   For a start, those case-notes. We're not told which ones they pertain to, but my imagination tells me that there are three cases in there and they'll be referenced or retold in the novel Another Note.  But that's conjecture.

More blatant is the fact that the sequence begins with a loud snapping of chocolate.

We hear it before we see Lawliet perched in situ. For a instant, we suspect we're about to see a blond Mafioso smirking from the shadows. And perhaps we do, at least in nodding acknowledgement towards those who died in the cause of Kira.

Just look at L in this scene.  And smile through your pathos.  It was a hint, but we caught it.

It's reminiscent of our final glimpse of Near, in the manga, nomming chocolate out of respect for Mello. That acknowledgement was admitted by Ohba in How To Read - the official guide to Death Note. However, we haven't finished with Mello and this movie yet.

There was another obscure Mello hint in the previous final scene of L: Change the World. By that, I mean the last one before the credits, wherein L takes the tiny Thai child to Wammy's House and names him Near.

In Lawliet's little speech to his young mathematical genius companion, he advises him, 'There is one thing I want you to remember, no matter how gifted, you alone cannot change the world.'

Is that not a nod towards Near's own Yellow Box denouncement of Light in the manga?  When he said that he alone couldn't surpass L. But with Mello alongside him, they could collectively succeed where L had failed.

The whole scene is reproduced below, though no-one on YouTube - insofar as I can find - has captured that final part beyond the credits with the chocolate.

Is all of this just the rabid ravings of an obsessed fan-girl?  You tell me!