Shock Till You Drop chatted with Javier Gutierrez (director) and James O'Barr (creative consultant/creator) about the upcoming reinterpretation of
The Crow. Gutierrez says that prepping for the film will begin in October. While many fans of the original film, starring Brandon Lee, aren't exactly looking forward to this version, the director seems to have no interest in remaking it, "The darkness, the beauty, the violence and love. That's what got me excited. A lot of fans responded to the original movie, but this is going to be different. This is going to give them some good gifts. We're going to pull some stuff from the original comic that's going to be tough and we're going to do it in an original and artistic way."
O'Barr was initially revolted by the idea of another version of
The Crow he soon changed his tune when he heard Gutierrez's intentions. O'Barr explains, "But what Javier told me was that he wanted to go back to the source material. Be as faithful as possible which would make it something entirely different. Proyas' film is stunning and stylized. I mean that in a good way. Nothing negative about it. Going back to the original book and keeping it grounded and realistic and dirty and gritty, it really appealed to me. Even so much as to carrying over the visual metaphors like horses and trains - where the street signs always say No Exit or One Way. Exploring it with a different attitude appealed to me."
The next set of questions focuses on the new Eric Draven, Luke Evans (
Immortals,
Fast & Furious 6). O'Barr views Luke's lack of lead roles as a positive, as film audiences won't have a set idea of who or what Luke is or is not as an actor - no baggage.
How about Luke and the iconic make-up?
O'Barr: They were showing me pictures of actors in the make-up and I came across Luke Evans and I said, this is the guy. He has tragedy written all over his face already. The make-up magnifies this. He's got this tortured look. It's in his eyes.
Shock: What was Luke's initial reaction when he had the make-up on?
Gutierrez: He loved it. He's not only actor with range, but his features work.
O'Barr: Physically, he's got a chiseled face. It amplifies his eyes. There's deep sadness in there I recognized immediately.