from Manilanews.net

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

 

Nicolas Cage is the ‘Ghost Rider’

NICOLAS CAGE has been a fan of the Marvel Comics’ Ghost Rider since its inception. “I remember having the first issue and looking at it and wondering what it was all about,” he says. “It was complicated and scary and exciting, all at the same time.” Now, Cage realizes one of his childhood dreams—to play motorcycle hero Johnny Blaze and his alter ego, Ghost Rider, in Columbia Pictures’ film adaptation of the hugely popular comic series.
As a comic-book fan and motorcycle enthusiast, Cage’s interest in the comics continued as an adult. “I would bike all the time out in the canyons of Malibu. So I was very interested in the idea of bringing whatever motorcycle abilities I may have had at the time to this movie. The main thing that kept me going was my fascination with motorcycles. They are marvelous creatures.”

In Ghost Rider, which opens today, superstar motorcycle stunt rider Johnny Blaze made a deal with the devil to protect the ones he loved most: His father and his childhood sweetheart, Roxanne (Eva Mendes). Now, the devil has come for his due. By day, Johnny is a die-hard stunt rider, but at night, in the presence of evil, he becomes the Ghost Rider, a bounty hunter of rogue demons. Forced to do the devil’s bidding, Johnny is determined to confront his fate and use his curse and powers to defend the innocent.
Cage’s fascination with the role goes beyond his love of two-wheeled vehicles to the character’s dramatic potential and distinctive visual appeal.
“He is also, in my opinion, the coolest-looking of all the superheroes. It doesn’t get any better than a motorcycle stunt cyclist dressed head to toe in black leather with a flaming skull for a head.”

“Nic has an incredible range as an actor,” says producer Avi Arad. “That’s important for this character, a man that carries a terrible burden. Nic makes a commitment to the role, the depth of the character, and because of that, he takes chances.”
“Nic was always our only choice for the role,” says director Mark Steven Johnson. “He has been close to doing a number of comic-book movies, but this is the one he’s always wanted to make most of all. And he’s perfect for the role. He even dresses like Johnny Blaze! He brought a lot of himself into the character.”
“Johnny is, ironically, a very good person,” says Cage. “He’s always trying to stay calm and do whatever he can not to succumb to the Devil. He knows that even one slip-up will mean a phone call from the wrong guy.”

Cage describes Johnny’s alter ego, Ghost Rider, as an “inexorable force” rather than a person. “He’s more like a hurricane that comes at you if you have done anything against the innocent. He is a spirit of vengeance. He uses a chain or the power of hellfire, but the most devastating thing he does is the Penance Stare; just by looking at you, he can make you relive every sin you’ve committed, everything wrong you’ve done, a million times over. Whatever pain you have inflicted on your victims, he will give you that pain back a hundred, a thousand times over.”

“We all try to run away from our evil deeds, but the Ghost Rider—with his Penance Stare—reminds us that the evil we do is revisited back on us,” says Arad, who until recently served as CEO of Marvel. “The Ghost Rider’s powers are unique—some of the most clever in the Marvel universe.”

The movie is shown in the Philippine through Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Releasing International.

    

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