Eva Mendes, Director Johnson Talk Ghost Rider

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The hottie star and the DD director talk about bringing Johnny Blaze to the big screen.

Latina beauty Eva Mendes joined director Mark Steven Johnson at Comic-Con for an interview with Comics Continuum.
Here’s some excerpts:

"I play [Roxanne] Johhny Blaze's love of his life, a reporter. At least when you see me in the movie it's been since I've seen him and I haven't gotten over him. How can you get off Johnny Blaze? Or Nic Cage, I should say. Then, help me out here...," Mendes said.

"We set it up that the deal with the devil was made when Johnny was a young boy and the two of them split up because he had to leave her behind because he can't risk putting her in danger. Then they meet up years later in life," Johnson added.

Johnson said he likes the original Ghost Rider and the Danny Ketch '90s version, including the Caretaker, the Scarecrow.

As for trouble adapting the story to the big screen, Johnson said "I think there were two reasons why it took so long to make the movie. No. 1, was just because the effects. You literally couldn't make the movie even a couple of years ago. We're doing new stuff now, fluid sim for the fire, that it's going to look amazing.

"The other thing was the story, the deal with the devil, was problematic for people. I think they kept trying to change it. I think that's why the 70s run of the Ghost Rider went away and then they tried to bring it back and simplified it too much. It went with from the really convoluted deal with-the-devil story in the first one to magic motorcycle in the graveyard and you touch it and...

"So it was kind of a challenge to keep what we loved about the comic, but find a way to hopefully strengthen it. The idea was, the hard part of the comic was that the devil gave Johnny these amazing powers and he goes out and fights the back guys. You know what I mean? It never quite added up. And they tried to explain it, but it never worked and it got more and more convoluted.

"We just made it really, really, simple. There's heaven and there's hell and there's our world. Every once in a while something gets out of hell and it not supposed to be here, and that's when you call upon the Ghost Rider. He works for the devil as a bounty hunter.

"So there's always been a Ghost Rider, that's the deal. He used to be on horseback back in the day. And now it's a motorcycle rider. The concept was you would find the best rider and make him go and track down these demons for you."

For more of the interview, click here.

Bob Gough
7/20/2005
Source: Comics Continuum

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