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with David Goyer
Interview
with: Troy
Brownfield
Where do start with this man? He's a producer (Mission to
Mars, Freaky Links). He's a director (the upcoming ZigZag,
starring Wesley Snipes). He's a screenwriter that has covered
action (Death Warrant), horror (Puppet Masters, Demonic Toys),
super-heroes (Blade, The Crow:City of Angels, Nick Fury, the
upcoming Ghost Rider), and co-wrote what Roger Ebert called
the Best Film of 1998, Dark City.
On top of all that, he's made a huge impact in comics. He
collaborated with James Robinson on the brilliant Starman,
and he currently co-writes the always entertaining JSA with
Geoff Johns.
Answering
his questions from the set Blade II: Bloodlust, please welcome
David Goyer!
THE BIG Q&A
Q1.
How did you get into the film business?
A1.
I went to USC film school and was fortunate enough to get
an agent while I was still in school. I wrote an action script
which my agent sold when I was 22. It eventually became the
Jean-Claude Van Damme film, Death Warrant.
Q2.
In what way does your film background benefit you as a comics
scripter?
A2.
Film helped a great deal -- writing for a comic is essentially
like writing a screenplay and including storyboard instructions
at the same time. Very analogous.
 Q3.
"Dark City" is easily one of my favorite films of the last
ten years (in fact, a couple of my friends and I probably
say, "No mooore Mr. Quick" about twice a week. God help us,
we're fanboys.) Anyway, please tell us about the genesis of
your involvement with "Dark City".
A3.
Alex Proyas had an original idea. He called me and asked
if I would work on it -- help him flesh it into a real story.
I was busy at the time and he first took a pass with Lem Dobbs.
Then he came back to me a year later and I came on board.
Stayed on until the end of the film and had a fabulous time.
Turns out we had had some very similar nightmares when we
were children.
Q4.
How exactly did you become the "Marvel Movie" guy?
A4.
The Marvel thing happened after I wrote the script for
Blade. Avi Arad and Stan Lee contacted me. I became friends
with them and they kept on bringing me on to projects. And
although I've been offered many DC-related films, it's simply
been pure luck that I never jumped on board to any. I could've
done Steel (thank god I passed on that one), Hellblazer, Death,
etc. Just luck, really, that the others have been Marvel.
That and my relationship with Avi.
Q5.
At what point did you get involved with Starman?
A5.
I was friends with James and gave him many suggestions
-- so many that he was using he eventually invited me on board.
I had suggested that James use the Mother Box and interactive
hologram of Jack's father on the spaceship, suggested they
go to Krypton and meet Jor-El. Etc, etc.
Q6.
You currently co-write JSA with Geoff Johns. What kind of
collaborative process do you observe?
A6.
Geoff and I work very closely together. We plot out the
issues, page by page, then we divide up the pages based on
what we think each other's strengths are. When we're done
with a first draft, we swap scripts and give each other notes
so that we can smoothe the two halves together into a unified
whole.
Q7.
What one thing do you hope fans get out of your JSA stories?
A7.
I just want fans to look forward to reading the JSA every
month. It's a straight-ahead, unabashed, old-fashioned super-hero
team book. Like when I was reading the Byrne or Perez Avengers.
Q8.
It's well-known that the Blade II and Ghost Rider projects
are moving along. What can we as fans expect from this pair
of films?
A8.
Blade II is coming along excellently. The film is beautiful
and should easily exceed the first movie in terms of scope,
style, and substance. I'm having a blast here in Prague. We're
about half-finished and I think fans are going to soil their
undies. Swear to god. Ghost Rider is moving into pre-production.
We have a script and are scouting locations, doing visual
effects tests. We're in the midst of negotiating a deal with
a certain star and if things go well, there should be an announcement
in the next few weeks. We'll probably have a September start
on that movie. Blade II will probably come out next March.
Q9.
Since Marvel made their multi-charcter deal with Artisan,
do you have involvement in developing any of those characters?
(he asked, trying desperately to avoid the obvious "Scarlet
Witch Project" joke).
A9.
I have no involvement with any of the Artisan/Marvel projects.
Yet. We've talked about Black Panther. We'll see.
Q10.
Some of your comic fans might not know that you directed "Zigzag";
are you planning to do any more directing in the near future?
A10.
I just finished directing ZigZag and am currently in post-production
on that film. It's a small drama -- just something to get
my feet wet. I just closed a deal with Mirimax to write and
direct my next film. I should be ready with an official announcement
in another week or so as to what that film will be.
Q11.
There's a lot of talk about the comics industry losing readers
to various other forms of entertainment. As someone who works
in different entertainment fields, how should the comics industry
reach out to new readers?
A11.
The comics industry needs to explore alternate ways of promoting
their books. Right now, promotion is largely relegated to
house ads -- which is essentially preaching to the converted.
They need to do more cross-marketing. Too myopic. Also, they
need to acknowledge that their fan base has changed in terms
of demographics.
Q12.
One more: my friend and film reviewer for our site Neil Wright
asked if you could give him Jennifer Connelly's phone number.
Help a brother out?
A12.
Sorry, no number for Jennifer. Believe me, if I had it, do
you think I'd share it?
We'd like
to thank Mr. Goyer for stopping by the Big Question!
As always,
if you have any suggestions for future Big Qs, contact Troy
at psikotyk@aol.com
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