It wasn’t long ago that we told you that James O’Barr joined in on ‘The Crow’ reboot. For those unfamiliar with James O’Barr but love ‘The Crow’, let’s just say he was the creator of the original comic so that should ease a few minds there.
We already know that Luke Evans is cast to play Eric Draven and now we have confirmation that the film will start officially prepping in October. Now, thanks to Shock Till You Drop, Javier Gutierrez & James O’Barr had a chance to sit down and talk shop about the film giving us all kinds of useful details.
When we last talked about O’Barr’s involvement, we knew he was brought in as a creative consultant. What exactly did that mean? Well here’s how involved he says he is:
“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.”
So if Gutierrez was able to convince O’Barr that a reboot was a good idea, then it sounds like we may actually be onto something. So you have to wonder, what exactly did Gutierrez say to talk O’Barr into not only signing off on the project but joining in on the process?
“I love the story and I told them I’d do it because I love the story, but it’s not a remake of the original. It’s a new interpretation. Of course, we have to fill some parts and new elements, but there was so much beauty and passion to the original. A lot in there we could do that was never done. That’s the main thing that captured my attention. We can do something original. 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.”
I really think the best part, though, is why O’Barr feels that ‘The Crow’ is such a masterpiece. It’s usually hard for a writer to say why it is but this is one of the best answers I’ve ever read:
“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.”
So there you have it. ‘The Crow’ is being rebooted and with full support of the original creator. Gutierrez has his vision of the film being done for a new generation. While I don’t know how they could ever fully recapture the amazing uniqueness of the original, with O’Barr helping to put it together, I believe they may have a shot. Think they can work the magic of ‘The Crow’ successfully a second time or are we bound to get a horrible remake? Sound off below!
