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Daredevil: The Mark Steven Johnson Interview - Part IV

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Comics2Filmcorrespondent Jason Lethert recently conducted exclusive interview Daredevilwriter/director Mark Steven Johnson at the LosAngeles Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention.

In partthree of our interview, Johnson talked about the cast of the movie. Lethertasked Johnson about theDaredevil comics that influenced him most.

"A lot of the Stan Lee, Bill Everett stuff from the very first issue isinfluencing me in this movie, in a huge way. A lot of 'Man Without Fear' ishere, Frank Miller's run, but Stick isn't in the movie," Johnson said."As cool a character ashe is I couldn't get past thinking at the end of the day he'll just feel likeMr. Miyagi. He'll still be the wise sensei, the rough teacher. That would havebeen too many characters to me.

"I thought, this kid's been given this curse or this blessing whatever you wantto call it with this radar sense and super, hyper-acute senses. He can figure itout for himself what to do with this  power," the director continued."When his dad gets murdered, Ihave no problem with assuming that he learned how to use those powers to standup for the little guy and fight the bullies and whatnot. So I just didn't thinkit was necessary to have somebody there showing him what he needed to do."

Johnson hopes todo a trilogy of Daredevil movies and an Elektraspin-off film as well. His plans for the character don't end there.

"What I would loveto see happen one day is...Godwilling that this movie is successful, that similar to like they did Smallville,to do a Daredevil: Yellow on television. Wouldn't that be cool?

"To show Matt Murdock going to law school. Meet Foggy for the first time. Seehim taking his classes and then at night time go doing this. Make that more based on the Stan Lee and the early, earlyDaredevil's from '64 on. I think that would be a really cool gig."

The directoralso commented on the new wave of comic book movies that fans are currentlyenjoying.

"It's great isn't it? When I was growing up I thought, 'why aren't they makingthese movies?' Especially when you saw Superman you thought, 'why don't theymake Spider-man? It would be bigger than Superman. Why don't they make The Hulkand the Fantastic Four and, for me, Daredevil?' Truly when I was ten-years oldremember thinking, 'I want to see a Daredevil movie. Why aren't they making aDaredevil movie?' 

"It's funny now that these movies are all finally getting madeand getting made well, I think. Fans have every right to pick and examineevery frame of every trailer and every costume choice, but wow. The movies aregetting made."

If X-Mensparked the new comics-to-film renaissance, Spider-Man pouredgasoline on it.

"Some people think Daredevil got made based on Spider-Man, but it's not true.We were shooting in March and Spider-Man came out in May. So, we just had thegood fortune of Spider-Man doing so well that it helped our movie get moreawareness too.

"But these movies have always been ripe to get made so I'm so excited they'regetting made and getting made by fans," the director said. "That's the most exciting part. It'snot people who just go, 'oh, what is this? Superman? Oh sure.' It's people who go, 'Yeah. I love this and it's a huge part of my life and mymythology.'"

If the recentcomic book movies are made by fans, like Johnson, in some ways they're also madefor fans.

"The studios always take the tack that the fans are going to go anyway. We'vegot to worry about the average person, which is smart and I think true, but I'mstill making a movie for the fans," Johnson said. "What I kept saying to them over and over isthat a million of these characters come and go and only a few really stick.There's a reason why they stick and you've got to be true to that.

"What is itabout Daredevil that people have always liked? He's hung in there, even throughthe bad years when the writing wasn't as good, he still hung in there and nowhe's a top draw again," the director explained. "You don't want to reinvent something. You don't throw itout and say, 'we're going to do our own version.' You stay true to it as much asyou can. Make the fans happy and you'll make the average moviegoer happy."

Lethert askedJohnson, the comic book movie fan, what his favorite adaptations are.

"The Crow would probably be at the top of my list. That was the most true anda beautiful, heartbreaking story. I enjoyed X-Men, Spider-Man, Superman ofcourse, the first Batman, somewhat, although I don't think it holds up as wellover time, quite frankly," Johnson said. "I always find in the second half of it, I begin to loseinterest when the Joker takes over the film. But beautiful to look at. TimBurton's genius.

"TheMatrix, even though it's not a comic book movie, it's a superheromovie. I would put that at the very top of the list."

And his leastfavorites?

"You hate to keep going back to the last Batman movie, but it's so hard notto. That would definitely be a low point for me. And then some of the cheesier Cannon films that they kind of knocked outin  the day were kind of a shame."

PreviouslyJohnson told us about the development of the costume designs and radar vision.Fans may have a chance to see some of the failed attempts to bring those thingsto life, when Daredevil hits the home video market.

"We're gonna show all that stuff on the DVD. The DVD is like out of thisworld. There's so much stuff. It's exhaustive, you know. So many deleted scenes.So much of the making of stuff. I love that stuff. I just think it's thegreatest," Johnson enthused.

"I think we're gonna include some of the costumes that didn't work, which is embarrassingat times (laughs) and also show why we chose the one that we did."

Of course,there'll be many Daredevil related DVDs this year, with a summer releaseincluding The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, a made-for-TV moviewhich featured Rex Smith as Daredevil and John Rhys-Davies as The Kingpin.

"It's a blast! Any Daredevil movie to me is ablast," Johnson said of the movie. "That short French filmthat that guy made. It's a blast. I think its so cool when anything gets made. 

"It's not Daredevil, of course. Talk about a real change in the costume. You'dthink a TV show they'd just go ahead and make him look exactly like red spandexand horns, and he was in a ninja black outfit with his eyes blind-folded, whichto me was always a funny part of it.

"People aren't supposed to know Daredevil'sblind. It kind of gave away that it was probably a blind guy underneath thatcostume. But it was a blast. Just to see Hulk and Daredevil together was ablast," Johnson enthused.

The directoralso talked about Davies' portrayal of the Kingpin, a role inhabited by MichaelClark Duncan in the new movie. "Remember what he looked like in there? He wasn't bald. He had abeard. He had a full head of hair," Johnson said. "All I remember at the end of that movie washim flying off in his little space shuttle thing, remember that? off the top ofthe Fisk Corp building. And Rex Smith saying, 'You'll pay for this,Kingpin!'

"It wasgenius."

The Hulk DVDisn't the only Daredevil fare hitting the home video shelves. A collection ofthe Spider-Man cartoons, which featured horn-head is due in storesthis month.

"He was kind of a square, wasn't he? He was just like,[affecting a cheesy voice] 'Oh,Spider-Man.' and Spider-Man was kind of like hip and going, 'hey, Horn-head,' andDaredevil would always be like,  [cheesy voice] 'Spider-Man. Justice will prevail.'He was a real stiff," Johnson said of DD's animated outing. "I didn't think it was that great. I loved it because it wasjust watching Daredevil move when you're a kid, but I didn't think much of thecharacter. He didn't have much to offer. He was such a straight arrow. "

That concludesour interview with Mark Steven Johnson. Look for more commentary from the castand crew of Daredevil right here over the next few weeks. Daredevilis due in theaters on February 14.