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From Comicus of the 14 October, 2008!
Read the new interview to Lexi Alexander, the director of Punisher: War Zone!
First of all, would you like to tell us how did you get in touch with this project and how did you get involved? How was your confidence with the character?
My agents sent me the script. Luckily, it was the original Nick Santora script not the newer revision, the one Thomas Jane passed on.
I read the Punisher comic books before I made the decision to do this, because that is the only way you can learn about an existing comic book character's essence. I fell in love with Frank Castle. He is a proper vigilante, without any weird PG rules he made for himself, like: "I'm only going to kill people who kill others or who are bad in this moment". No. Frank Castle knows only two sides: Good and Evil. There is no grey zone for him. If you are evil now, or have been in the past, or planning to be in the future, you are going to die. Period.
He is a great character. I loved telling his story.
It’s now clear that “Punisher: War Zone” has not the aim to compare itself with the 2004 movie. But is there something that the producers absolutely didn’t want to be made? And as a director, what is it like to work on a reboot instead of a “normal” movie?
On one occasion the folks at Marvel made me aware that something I was about to do was too close to the 2004 version. I think it was a specific line from the comic book I wanted to use. I'm glad they kept an eye on that, but essentially we had very little in common with the 2004 version from the get go.
The great thing about a reboot is, you can learn from the past if you care enough. I obviously watched the previous version, but I didn't critique it and just crossed my fingers that I can do it better. I spent weeks on the computer, reading reviews and fan reactions about it. It was pretty damn clear what the fans liked and didn't like about it. I basically had a road map for this reboot written by proper Punisher fans and the headline was: “Don’t go to Tampa!” [Tampa was the location for the 2004 "Punisher"].
Was the choice to base the film on the MAX comic series by Garth Ennis and on the aesthetics by Tim Brastreet yours? If so, what did inspire you in these sources?
I responded most to the MAX series and again, based on what I had read about, this was the Frank Castle whom people wanted to see on screen. We liked Tim's stuff, but he obviously works mostly covers and we wanted to make our film look like a MAX book. So my Director of Photography spoke to a few other artists who contributed to the actual series.
How does your competence in martial arts influence your work as a director? In particular, what influence did it have on a violent and aggressive movie as “Punisher: War Zone” seems to be ?
Because I grew up fighting, I don't like losing on the mat or off the mat. In Hollywood there is always someone coming at you and unlike in a competition, they don't go by the "above the belt" and "never from the back" rules. It's quite fun actually, I just sometimes have to remember that.
As for how it affected “Punisher: War Zone”, I'm not sure it did. There is a lot of brutal fighting, but it's rather ugly and less acrobatic. I guess the best advantage “Punisher: War Zone” had from my Martial Arts career was having two former World Champions, Pat Johnson and Jean Frenette in charge of the action and although I am sure they are always professional, I know they went more than the extra mile for me on “Punisher: War Zone” because I'm a fellow Martial Artist.
What about the levels of violence? Will there be only physical violence, or are we going to see also some psychological and social brutality, a pessimism and darkness of soul, like in the comic book?
The biggest blessing for our film was the actor portraying Frank Castle: Ray Stevenson. He is a real actor and you will experience this character with all his pain, the brutality of what happened in his past and certainly a soul that is struggling to see the light through his own darkness. Ray can portray all of that without ever saying a word and those are my favorite scenes to watch, even now after I've seen this film a few thousand times.
Furthermore, Jigsaw is not a simple antagonist. You think he has no empathy and no conscience but then he has this intense love for his brother which makes him a very complex character.
How do you see Frank Castle? While directing, what was your firm idea about what the Punisher should be? And how did Ray Stevenson respond to your expectations?
I wanted to stay true to the established Frank Castle mythology as much as possible, but I didn't have to tell Ray much. He read as many if not more comic books as I did and he truly channeled him.
And the rivals? As we know, in movies like this the rivals mean very much. How did they work in your film? How did you choose and then stage them?
As I mentioned before, Jigsaw is very three dimensional. Dominic West did a wonderful job portraying this out of the world character and unlike with Castle, we find a lot of humor in Jigsaw's and Looney Bin Jim's storyline, without ever losing touch of the danger they represent. Looney Bin Jim is portrayed by Doug Hutchinson who's career I've been following for a long time and whom I wanted to work with forever. It was fun to let both of these actors lose on set. They added so much to this film.
Obviously, speaking about a sequel is quite premature. But on a hypothetical level, do you have any idea in order to tell another Punisher story?
There is one specific Punisher book that I think should be adapted and I have a feeling the fans would totally dig it on screen.
I very much doubt there is a Punisher sequel in my future, but if the time ever comes I will share my two cents with Ray who I'm sure will be back for more.
Would you like to tell us something about your future projects or about what you would like to do?
Using a Martial Arts metaphor, when you have success as a competitive fighter, you should switch to a higher weight class or a different discipline because how else are you going to grow? I would like to try something else. As a matter of fact, I'd love to make a kid movie. If M. Night [Shyamalan] wouldn't already have the job, I'd probably sit outside Paramount Studio begging them to let me direct “Avatar: The Last Airbender”. I would have a sign that reads: "Will work for food."
Who knows what the future holds, but I'm excited to find out.
SOURCE: http://www.comicus.it/view.php?section=interviste&id=223
Read the new interview to Lexi Alexander, the director of Punisher: War Zone!
First of all, would you like to tell us how did you get in touch with this project and how did you get involved? How was your confidence with the character?
My agents sent me the script. Luckily, it was the original Nick Santora script not the newer revision, the one Thomas Jane passed on.
I read the Punisher comic books before I made the decision to do this, because that is the only way you can learn about an existing comic book character's essence. I fell in love with Frank Castle. He is a proper vigilante, without any weird PG rules he made for himself, like: "I'm only going to kill people who kill others or who are bad in this moment". No. Frank Castle knows only two sides: Good and Evil. There is no grey zone for him. If you are evil now, or have been in the past, or planning to be in the future, you are going to die. Period.
He is a great character. I loved telling his story.
It’s now clear that “Punisher: War Zone” has not the aim to compare itself with the 2004 movie. But is there something that the producers absolutely didn’t want to be made? And as a director, what is it like to work on a reboot instead of a “normal” movie?
On one occasion the folks at Marvel made me aware that something I was about to do was too close to the 2004 version. I think it was a specific line from the comic book I wanted to use. I'm glad they kept an eye on that, but essentially we had very little in common with the 2004 version from the get go.
The great thing about a reboot is, you can learn from the past if you care enough. I obviously watched the previous version, but I didn't critique it and just crossed my fingers that I can do it better. I spent weeks on the computer, reading reviews and fan reactions about it. It was pretty damn clear what the fans liked and didn't like about it. I basically had a road map for this reboot written by proper Punisher fans and the headline was: “Don’t go to Tampa!” [Tampa was the location for the 2004 "Punisher"].
Was the choice to base the film on the MAX comic series by Garth Ennis and on the aesthetics by Tim Brastreet yours? If so, what did inspire you in these sources?
I responded most to the MAX series and again, based on what I had read about, this was the Frank Castle whom people wanted to see on screen. We liked Tim's stuff, but he obviously works mostly covers and we wanted to make our film look like a MAX book. So my Director of Photography spoke to a few other artists who contributed to the actual series.
How does your competence in martial arts influence your work as a director? In particular, what influence did it have on a violent and aggressive movie as “Punisher: War Zone” seems to be ?
Because I grew up fighting, I don't like losing on the mat or off the mat. In Hollywood there is always someone coming at you and unlike in a competition, they don't go by the "above the belt" and "never from the back" rules. It's quite fun actually, I just sometimes have to remember that.
As for how it affected “Punisher: War Zone”, I'm not sure it did. There is a lot of brutal fighting, but it's rather ugly and less acrobatic. I guess the best advantage “Punisher: War Zone” had from my Martial Arts career was having two former World Champions, Pat Johnson and Jean Frenette in charge of the action and although I am sure they are always professional, I know they went more than the extra mile for me on “Punisher: War Zone” because I'm a fellow Martial Artist.
What about the levels of violence? Will there be only physical violence, or are we going to see also some psychological and social brutality, a pessimism and darkness of soul, like in the comic book?
The biggest blessing for our film was the actor portraying Frank Castle: Ray Stevenson. He is a real actor and you will experience this character with all his pain, the brutality of what happened in his past and certainly a soul that is struggling to see the light through his own darkness. Ray can portray all of that without ever saying a word and those are my favorite scenes to watch, even now after I've seen this film a few thousand times.
Furthermore, Jigsaw is not a simple antagonist. You think he has no empathy and no conscience but then he has this intense love for his brother which makes him a very complex character.
How do you see Frank Castle? While directing, what was your firm idea about what the Punisher should be? And how did Ray Stevenson respond to your expectations?
I wanted to stay true to the established Frank Castle mythology as much as possible, but I didn't have to tell Ray much. He read as many if not more comic books as I did and he truly channeled him.
And the rivals? As we know, in movies like this the rivals mean very much. How did they work in your film? How did you choose and then stage them?
As I mentioned before, Jigsaw is very three dimensional. Dominic West did a wonderful job portraying this out of the world character and unlike with Castle, we find a lot of humor in Jigsaw's and Looney Bin Jim's storyline, without ever losing touch of the danger they represent. Looney Bin Jim is portrayed by Doug Hutchinson who's career I've been following for a long time and whom I wanted to work with forever. It was fun to let both of these actors lose on set. They added so much to this film.
Obviously, speaking about a sequel is quite premature. But on a hypothetical level, do you have any idea in order to tell another Punisher story?
There is one specific Punisher book that I think should be adapted and I have a feeling the fans would totally dig it on screen.
I very much doubt there is a Punisher sequel in my future, but if the time ever comes I will share my two cents with Ray who I'm sure will be back for more.
Would you like to tell us something about your future projects or about what you would like to do?
Using a Martial Arts metaphor, when you have success as a competitive fighter, you should switch to a higher weight class or a different discipline because how else are you going to grow? I would like to try something else. As a matter of fact, I'd love to make a kid movie. If M. Night [Shyamalan] wouldn't already have the job, I'd probably sit outside Paramount Studio begging them to let me direct “Avatar: The Last Airbender”. I would have a sign that reads: "Will work for food."
Who knows what the future holds, but I'm excited to find out.
SOURCE: http://www.comicus.it/view.php?section=interviste&id=223
Great interview though
I know Ray is coming back if there a sequel,but it's going interesting to see who will direct the next film if Lexi don't come back
