The first in our series of coverage: We’re on the scene with Keanu Reeves, the crew of Batman Begins, and lots of crazy folks in costume.
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Southern California is primarily known for that town called Hollywood, but once a year another So Cal city becomes just as prominent–San Diego, home of the yearly Comic Con, the world’s largest gathering of comic book, sci-fi and fantasy fans and professionals. Hollywood.com was on the scene at the 2004 event July 22-25, and has the inside scoop on all of the most anticipated genre films of the upcoming year.
Constantine
Talk about a mixed blessing: Comic Con attendees were off the grid over the fact that Neo himself, Keanu Reeves, had unplugged from the Matrix long enough to appear in San Diego to promote his latest movie, in which he plays occult investigator John Constantine from the horror comic “Hellblazer.”
Until, that is, their enthusiasm was dulled by Warner Bros’s mystifying decision to screen 18 full minutes of Constantine with clips taken out of context from throughout the movie. Rather than whet the appetite, this lengthy presentation just left puzzled fans struggling to string together the various bits and pieces they were shown and make sense of exactly what the Hellblazer was going on as Constantine battles both demonic invaders and an even more invasive enemy: cancer.
Reeves‘ genial, aw-shucks appearance definitely helped the crowd decide not to tell the Constantine team to, well, go to Hell. Although always a bit shy when appearing before a large crowd, Reeves remained gracious even when the silliest non-Constantine questions were asked: yes, Point Break was one of his favorites of his own films, he admitted, even reciting some of his favorite dialogue; he’d love to do a big screen adaptation of a Shakespeare play (even Keanu may have forgotten he was in Kenneth Branagh‘s Much Ado About Nothing); and he gave an emphatic “NO!” when asked if he’d ever appear in a Speed 3.
Reeves was at his most winning when a young lady in the audience told him she’d been a fan of the actors for “one year and three
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| “Whoa!” |
months”–since the day she first saw The Matrix Reloaded–and offered him an early birthday gift (Reeves turns 40 on Sept. 2). Despite earlier admonitions from the event organizers, Reeves hopped down from the stage and accepted the present, exchanging it for a big hug that nearly left the fan in a delirious puddle on the floor. At first he said he’d open the gift on the actual day, but gave in to temptation and peeked in the bag: the fan knew her idol pretty well–she gave him a book on metaphysics which he admitted he’d already read.
To its credit, despite the disjointed presentation, the film appears to deliver on the dark, ghoulish mood of the comic book series. It serves up some genuinely scary and disturbing imagery, and offers the talented and always comely Rachel Weisz as Constantine’s love interest.
Reeves‘ casting is perplexing at first glance: The comic book character is wry, sardonic, fatalistic, chain-smoking, disheveled, blonde and veddy, veddy British (creators Alan Moore, Steve Bissette and John Totleben based his look on ’80s-era Sting). Fans expressed concerns that, though beloved for his techno/kung fu turn in the Matrix trilogy, Reeves was a casting choice that seemed definitely from another realm.
Director Francis Lawrence assured them that Reeves‘ Americanized portrayal (in a story based on material from the comics runs of writers Jamie Delano and Garth Ennis) remained true to the essence of the character, if not to the tiny details.
(We’re pretty sure Reeves will not utter the word “Whoa!” in this film, at least.)
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Batman Begins
One of the Con’s most anticipated presentations was also its most maddening, in Warner Bros.’ refusal to divulge virtually any pertinent details on the forthcoming reboot of the Dark Knight’s film franchise, Batman Begins (due summer 2005).
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| David Goyer and Cillian Murphy field audience questions. |
Although the first, very promising teaser trailer debuted online within a week of the Con, Warner Bros. offered no clips or even a slide presentation for the Bat-fans who eagerly assembled to hear any new nugget of info from the still-in-production film; instead, the crowd received a video greeting from the set of the film by Caped Crusader Christian Bale (looking uncomfortable and unsure of exactly why he was lensing this message) and director Christopher Nolan, which revealed, well, nothing, and nary a retooled Batcave or upgraded Batmobile in sight. Next up was a minimal panel discussion featuring screenwriter David Goyer and actor Cillian Murphy (28 Days), who plays villain The Scarecrow.
Although Goyer, who has also written many comic books for DC Comics (Batman’s publisher), offered up only a few bits on info, instead mostly relying on the “trust us” party line. Fortunately for Goyer, given his and Nolan’s track records and the stellar group of talent assembled for Batman Begins, the rabid fans were willing to extend that trust without rioting.
According to Goyer, he and Nolan were given unrestricted creative leeway when crafting the story about young Bruce Wayne, who, upon returning to Gotham City after trainig with an Asian ninja leader, finds evildoers are plotting to oust him as the owner of Wayne Industries.
As major comic book fans, they turned to some of their favorite elements of the Batman canon for inspiration, focusing on the hero’s reasons for putting on the cape. The film will feature material derived from Batman’s 1940 origin story by creator Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, as well as the 1986 update “Batman; Year One” by comics superstar Frank Miller (“Daredevil,” “Sin City”) and David Mazzuchelli, and elements of the classic Dennis O’Neil-Neal Adams Ra’s al Ghul stories of the 1970s.
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| We’re guessing they don’t have girlfriends, but we could be wrong. |
What we know so far: Along with Murphy‘s Scarecrow (in a suit most complimentarily described by Goyer’s friend as “f***ed up”), the rogues’ gallery will also include the immortal environmental terrorist Ra’s al Ghul, played by The Last Samurai‘s Ken Watanabe, and Henri Ducard, a mercenary, morally ambiguous mentor of the pre-Batman Bruce Wayne played Liam Neeson. Gary Oldman plays disgraced but honest Gotham cop James Gordon; Michael Caine as Wayne’s faithful, fatherly valet Alfred Pennyworth; Morgan Freeman as Wayne’s corporate right-hand man Lucius Fox, Katie Holmes as Rachel Dodson, a love interest not derived from the comic books; and Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hauer and Linus Roache in supporting roles.
It wasn’t entirely a love-fest for the suspicious fans, who still felt POWED! by the awful last Bat-film Batman and Robin and THWACKED!
most recently by the Catwoman spin-off. Along with making the film that he and Nolan wanted to see themselves that would not betray the comic book fans, Goyer said that the film is definitely being seen as an opportunity to start the franchise anew, and is considered a separate entity from the four earlier films. Thus, he hinted, major Bat-villains like the Joker, Two-Face and Catwoman seen in the Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher outings, may be re-imagined for sequels if the film is a hit.
Click here! for more dish from the 2004 San Diego Comic Con–including scoop from Fantastic Four, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and more!
