While it may not be a still from the film, the first teaser poster for THE CROW simply wants to make its presence known. The poster features art from creator James O’Barr that was done this year. The art tells me that this is how we will be seeing Luke Evans in the role of Eric Draven. Not only that but in an interview with Shock Til Ya Drop with O’Barr and director Javier Gutierrez it is revealed that the reason the helmer was chosen had to do with his vision to stay faithful to the source material.
Here are some excerpts from that:
Shock: Clarify the capacity of your involvement, James…
O’Barr: Well, all of the details haven’t been ironed out other than creative consultant. But what brought me around after 20 years was Javier. Before talking with him, I was 110% against it. There was no point or need for a reboot. In my mind, you could throw a $100 million at it, put Johnny Depp in it and had Ridley Scott direct and it wouldn’t top what Alex Proyas and Brandon Lee did. I explained all of that the minute Javier arrived, “Remaking the movie was a terrible idea and you’ll never work in American again.”
Gutierrez: [laughs] He did.
O’Barr: Brandon was a friend and I’d never do anything that hinted at betrayal. 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.
Shock: How does Luke Evans fill your needs to pull that off?
O’Barr: He’s never really had a leading part. He’s always been a supporting character. There’s no baggage there. Much like Tom Hardy, he can become anything he wants to become. He’s not Bruce Willis who comes with a package. It’s the John Wayne curse. John Wayne is going to be John Wayne in whatever film he makes. I like the idea that Luke has done so many different types of roles.
Shock: The Crow movie is a milestone for me growing up. The soundtrack, the style, it all represented a time in my life and now we’re seeing a reboot for a new generation. So what is it about the property that endures?
O’Barr: It’s one of those books… The book’s been in print since ’89, so it’s getting close to 30 years. I thought all of my fans will grow old with me and that will be the end of it. But no, it gets passed down generation to generation. It’s still, to this day, fully 60% of my core audience is 16-year-old goth girls and I’m like, “You weren’t even born when it came out, how do you know about it?” And they’re boyfriend suggested it to them or their dad introduced it to them. A second generation is affected by it. The themes of true love and romance play to the girls and the justice part – on page or on the screen – plays to the men. I had this theory that when every girl turns 15, she has to read The Crow and own two Cure albums to make it through her first period.
Ugh. As a teenager, I loved The Cure, this movie, and one of my parents showed it to me. I still love the movie and its soundtrack. I wasn’t too hip to a “remake” which is now being called a “new interpretation” until I heard that O’Barr was on. The guy means what he says and is not afraid to hold back in opinion. I had a good conversation with him a few years back at Dallas Con. If he says that it’s legit, then it is.
THE CROW is in soft prep and will officially start prepping in October.