Mark Steven Johnson, director of the upcoming Ghost Rider, told SCI FI Wire that he's still working on the film's visual effects and editing with only one month to go before its Feb. 14 release. "I literally came from the Sony mixing stage, but I wanted to give a good introduction to the fans," Johnson said at the Los Angeles Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention in Los Angeles on Jan. 14.
Johnson appeared with one of the movie's stars, Eva Mendes, to show nine minutes of new footage from the movie, based on the Marvel Comics superhero with a blazing skull and flaming motorcycle. An appreciative audience of about 200 whooped and applauded after seeing the footage.
"I'm still working on it," Johnson said. "There's still some rough stuff. There's some old footage on the Internet with some early effects, and this is a huge step up."
Mendes, wearing a light dress and high heels, was introduced to the crowd cradling a hot coffee and bundled in a jacket. "I'm so cold," she said, as she was coaxed out of the jacket by applause so she could reveal her outfit.
Mendes admitted that she wasn't a comic book fan, like her co-star Nicolas Cage, but became a fan after reading the script. "I want to thank Mark for not making me just the 'chick.' I think she's a modern day powerful female role who still shows that she's vulnerable," she said.
Mendes added: "I think there's a superhero in me. I would watch Nic and say, 'Aw, why can't I be on fire?' I would like to be a superhero." —Mike Szymanski
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Take heed of these words, my friends.... "You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give" Kahlil Gibran
Ghost Not Quite Ready Yet