So I actually heard about this movie off of a Lost (the hit TV series) fan site. It was on there due to Matthew Fox playing the roll of Racer X. While the animated series was a little before my time I still got very into it as a kid and am excited the Wachowski Bros. are doing a live-action version. You might remember them from their work on Matrix. The movie will be shot mostly on greenscreen (like 300) which could be good or bad. I can just imagine Speed hitting that "jump" button in the cockpit and everything slowing down as the Mach 5 leaps over an oil slick and the camera doing a 360 pan in slowmotion. While the stylings of the Wachowski Brothers might work for things like Matrix, or even a liveaction version of Akira (wishfull thinking), I'm not so sure it will be well suited for Speed Racer. Don't get me wrong I loved their direction in Matrix but their work in V for Vendetta was a little shoddy. The truth is that while Speed Racer is an anime series, it's context is very different. It's wholesome goodness, no spaceships, alien wars, or demigods with animal appendages. I hope they don't muck it up.
Added 12/7/07
It's official, they've mucked it all to hell. Go look at the screens from the movie at imdb.com, it'll prove me right. Also,Chris Campbell is catching flack for ragging on the Wachowski Bros much like I am. Don't worry bro, I got your back! Check out Chris Campbell's post here to see the trailer. BOOOOOOO!