From Hell!
Ghost Rider Preview
Marc Shapiro
Director Mark Steven Johnson has no intention of letting what happened to Daredevil happen to Ghost Rider. "I really don't expect to have those problems on Ghost Rider," he says of the truncated theatrical release of Daredevil, which is only now gaining some respect through a director's cut DVD. "Sony has been very supportive of this film and it certainly does not hurt to have the clout of Nic Cage on your side."
Ghost Rider, based on the classic Marvel Comic, tells the story of stunt rider Johnny Blaze who makes a deal with the Devil in order to save his father's life. The deal, which promises Johnny's soul to the Devil, turns him to the dark side, away from his girlfriend Roxy. Years later, Johnny is brought to the Devil, not to deliver his soul, but to enter into another deal. In exchange for the return of his soul, Johnny, in the fiery form of Ghost Rider, must act as a bounty hunter for the Devil, rounding up assorted demons and villains. His first challenge is to take down the Devil’s son Blackheart who is plotting to undo his father and create an evil more vile Hell.
The cast includes Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Wes Bentley, Sam Elliott and Peter Fonda.
Johnson explains that there was a lot of mythology to wade through in order to come up with a satisfying storyline. "Through the comics there has been a lot of mythologies surrounding Ghost Rider and a lot of the elements of the original story had become convoluted at times. Originally the story was a lot more complicated. But as we got deeper into it, we saw that our best shot at making this work was to make it simple. So we pared it down and made it much simpler. There's Heaven and there's Hell. Something gets out of Hell and that's when Ghost Rider is brought in. We just decided to make Ghost Rider a bounty hunter for the Devil."
But although there have been inevitable modifications from the source material, Johnson promises that long time fans of Ghost Rider will find much to embrace in the cinematic version. "Ghost Rider has a very familiar arsenal. His weapons are a chain, a hellfire gun and a penance stare. And flames are very much a part of his identity. They come out of the wheels of his motorcycle. The color of the flames that surround him will change with his emotions. When he's enraged, the color of his flames blaze white hot. When he's sad, his flames will turn blue."
And in the villain Blackheart, the director has potentially found the ideal jumping off point, should Ghost Rider become a franchise. "Blackheart is a rebel angel who was cast out of Heaven with his father. He's one of a number of angels who was cast out of Heaven and fell all over the earth and are now elemental demons. So when Ghost Rider's dealings with Blackheart are concluded, his missions are not over. It's his job to round up the demons and there are a lot of them out there."
The director believes that all the comic book whiz-bang aside, at the core of Ghost Rider is a story of redemption. "I mean this is a man who willingly gave up his soul to save the life of someone he loves. But he sees the opportunity to redeem himself and get that soul back, and he is literally willing to go through Hell to get it back. That's pretty powerful stuff."
Ghost Rider, which recently completed filming in Australia, has been a project in the pipeline almost as long as there's been big studio interest. And almost from the beginning, Nic Cage, a noted comic book fanatic, has been attached to the project. Director Johnson is ultimately grateful that an actor of Cage's status has insisted on doing this. But his casting as Johnny Blaze also has an element of cool to it that cannot be denied.
"Think about it. Nic Cage has been a huge comic book fan and collector for years. He probably knows more about Ghost Rider than I ever will and he's got a Ghost Rider tattoo on his arm. There was really no one else who could play this role."
Ghost Rider opens in theaters February 16, 2007.
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