“Ghost Rider” The Movie – The Secret of Life?

Or, do we have to take things so seriously.

I have recently read an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, passed on to me by my good friend and colleague, Charles Yoakum, regarding the forthcoming movie based on Marvel Comics’ Ghost Rider character, created in the early seventies by the incredible team of, Roy Thomas, Gary Friedrich, and Mike Ploog.

The piece begins; “It's fascinating to watch an actor who thinks he's in a good film when he's really in a bad one. Perhaps Nicolas Cage was trying to elevate "Ghost Rider" with the power of his performance. Or maybe he had no idea how silly his character would look when the special-effects people were done - as if someone poured lighter fluid on the skeleton from your seventh-grade science class.”

The article continues, pretty much in this vein throughout the article, condemning it and criticising it even before the movie hits the cinemas. It seems more than a passing strange that the article is speaking of a comic book character and not someone real and yet speaks also with a serious overtone throughout, as though some greater purpose has been lost to the world during the story’s telling.

Whoa…let’s hit the brakes a little here (Please pardon the pun). This is a comic book character and part of what makes them work is the ability to suspend one’s belief so that even the most incredible story will seem believable, but realistic…?

Come on guys, why do we have to do this?

I saw the trailer a while back and thought it looked like it was going to be great fun, and that’s the keyword – FUN! Looks like some folks have forgotten all about that, according to the write-up.

Trouble, is that some folks look to be all serious about what we do...Some folks hate to admit we work in a kids entertainment industry, where the kids can be six or indeed sixty, but still have the capacity to enjoy a good tale.

Some folks have to intellectualise and pontificate about the "seriousness" of the work...Come on guys these are comics for goodness sake...and a hell-spawned biker with a flaming skull riding a motorbike???!!!

If you want serious, watch Schinder’s List or Gandhi, or The Muppet Movie…yeah, there’s that thing again, fun.

Ecch, speak to Mike Ploog and ask him if he was being serious when he designed the character back in the 70's...sheesh, no, he was having fun!!!

Later...and have fun yourselves!

Tim Perkins...
February 20th 2007