In a time, when the most unlikely people, including your sabjiwallah and proctologist can cut you down to size through Twitte’s democracy, for not paying for veggies, or behaving badly at a check-up, because, you sold your soul to the devil during your hoary past, whom do you call? Ghostrider. Say it louder. Ghostrider.
As if there, weren’t even damned spirit bodies floating around the stratosphere, some production house has decided to resume the comic franchise featuring Nicholas Cage as a spirited motorbike bike rider antihero, whose ancestor had made a deal with Lucifer, that led to his frequently having moments of getting so pissed off, that his head burst into a skull of flames.
It looks pretty great with all the special effects. Though a real head like that would give excruciating headaches.
But at least it is an excuse to get fat female movie marketing executives, bursting out of their clothes, to do something for a few seconds in their talk-lot, do-little-lives. So that was mean. We’ll burn in hell.
But a film like this, comes along for the rest of us to mindlessly munch popcorn and switch off .
All credit to Marvel comics, which has provided inspiration for a slew of movies, that transform into storyboards for big screen tales. Borrowing from Marvel’s wardrobe of multi-speciality superheroes.
One of the four producers of the new, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Ashok Amritraj, is doing the rounds to promote the film. He explained “it was shot in Romania and Turkey.”
The last movie came out in 2007, with Peter Fonda as Mephistopheles.
A very cheesy part for him, because it had spoofed his classic role as a biker in Easy Rider.
“This time the cast is new. Peter Fonda’s not there,” explained Amritraj, taking a break from imbibing fine drink and chocs at his Malibu hangout. Well he probably doesn’t do that 24 hours of a day.
He added that, “This time we have actors like Idris Elba, who just won a Golden Globe for his dark role as Luther in the BBC drama.
“We also features Italian actress and singer Violante Placido.”
What’s it like making blockbuster movies during recession? “We actually began work on this film in 2009. We needed to find the proper writers for a screenplay. And that took a while,” informed Amritraj.
If only Bollywood sweated as much. The way some plots go, you’d think our directors are brain dead.
Amritraj continued, “The calibre of visual effects in the second part is also different from the first film. The head on fire is different. So is the bike on fire.
“It was a learning experience, because of the level reached for 3D.” The producer is involved with three other flicks. Echelon, (name of a computer programme), The Translator, a love-story with a North Korean angle. And another one involving a paranormal sleuth. He explained, Ghost Rider 2, is for, “13-25-year-olds,” adding, “There is lots you can do with 3D. As they proved with Spiderman and Avatar.”
As for the process of making a film for a large production house, he explained, “Hundreds of people were involved at different levels. For instance, painting the metal frame and adding green screen.”
There was no, as far he knows, Indian contribution, in terms of animation, which is being frequently outsourced to India, and has also won the artists awards.
As was the case of films like The Golden Compass and Stuart Little 2. He said, “We did the 3D out of Canada, Australia and US.
Amritraj added,“They might have given the work to Indians but I’m not certain about the details.”
The film not only emerges from the fire of a bad recession, but also after an awful period for Nicholas Cage, whose accountant embezzled funds from him recently.
And the actor had faced a charge of assaulting a partner. However these experiences did not shake ‘Nick’ Cage, Amritraj, as referred to him, too badly.
Amritraj said, “Nick did some of his own stunts in the films.” Though he clarified, there is, “nothing on the lines of Tom Cruise climbing the Burj al Arab in Dubai for the new Mission Impossible. That was more dangerous.”
He told us the film’s directors, Neveldine and Taylor, “used a lot of help from people who deal with pyrotechnics.” Adding they made 3D for, “greater visual experience.”
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