Roundup 9.29.11: GHOST RIDER

Director Brian Taylor Discusses Theatrical, Blu-Ray Release

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance does not release in theaters until February 17, 2012 but director Brian Taylor is already talking about the release and beyond.

In an interview with Collider.com, Taylor offered a lot of information about the movie itself, as well as what to expect for the home release.  Among the highlights:

–The film was not shot in 3D.  Taylor noted that his and co-director Mark Neveldine’s “run-and-gun shooting style” did not work with the “traditional rules” of 3D.  As a result the film will be converted to 3D, though Taylor claims it will be “the best it could possibly be.”

–Spirit of Vengeance will be shorter than the original.  The first movie had a 114 minute running time.  The sequel will be a leaner 90 minutes.

-Cage uncaged.   If you can’t get enough of Nicholas Cage’s varying levels of Crazy, this may well be the movie for you.  Taylor claims that, “There are different…notches of Nic-ness.  We wanted every face of Nic,…a full range of what this guy could do.”

–The Blu Ray will be loaded.  Several deleted scenes join commentaries, interviews, features and behind-the-scenes pulld from “thousands of hours of footage.”

There was much more discussed during the 15-minute interview.  You can catch it at Collider.

Taylor Justifies ‘Re-envisioning’ Ghost Rider’s Origin

In an interview earlier this year, Brian Taylor responded to questions raised by Nic Cage’s comments that Spirit of Vengeance “re-fashions the Ghost Rider origin story.”  Taylor had this to say:

We basically completely re-envisioned the whole start of the character, and actually had to re-engineer the origin of the Ghost Rider. The whole mythology behind the Ghost Rider that existed in the comic books never really made sense to me, so we sort of had to re-engineer the entire back-story of the Ghost Rider into something new.

When asked how audiences would respond to this change after having seen Cage as Ghost Rider once before, Taylor responded:

We’re just looking at it as an evolution. The movie takes place years later. We’re not disowning the first movie but this Ghost Rider is an evolved form of the previous Ghost Rider. And the mythology that went behind it is stuff that never got delved into in the first movie, anyway. Like, they don’t talk about who the demon is from when Johnny Blaze becomes the Ghost Rider. We get into that and really get into who that guy is, what his story is, and what makes GR the way that he is.

Comic book fans are notoriously protective of the continuity but as Christopher Nolan has proven in Batman Begins, if a ‘reimagining’ of a character’s roots is handled properly it can serve needs of the film while remaining true to the spirit of the original character.  It will be interesting to see how audiences react to these alterations of Johnny Blaze’s roots.

Read the rest of the interview where Taylor also discusses his involvement in The FP and the possibility for Crank 3 at Movieline.

Ghost Rider Joins the Fight Against Capcom

If you cannot wait for the movie’s release February 2012, you can deal out Ghost Rider’s unique brand of justice against Capcom’s best on November 15 when “Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3” releases.  Ghost Rider is one of many new characters joining the ranks for this third installment of the fighter series.  Along with Ghost Rider, other new additions include:

Marvel: Doctor Strange, Hawkeye, Iron Fist, Nonva, Rocket Racoon.

Capcom: Vergil (“Devil May Cry”), Nemesis T-Type (“Resident Evil”), Frank West (“Dead Rising”), Strider Hiryu (“Strider”), Firebrand (“Ghosts ‘n Goblins”), Phoenix Wright (“Ace Attorney”)

Check out the trailer below.  Johnny Blaze makes his appearance around the 1:15 mark.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVVT8XadsHk&feature=player_embedded]

Read more about the game at CBR.

Ghost Rider Trailer, Screenshots

Do you like trailers?  Do you like hi-res screenshots?  Then head back to Collider and check out over 30 good shots of the recently released trailer.  Check them out here.

And in case you missed it in our Trailer Park back in August, here’s the trailer again for your viewing enjoyment!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebCawfEnSWU&feature=player_embedded]

(all photos courtesy Collider.com)