UPDATE straight from O’Barr – THE CROW comic creator James O’Barr to be very involved with the big screen reboot

UPDATE straight from O’Barr – THE CROW comic creator James O’Barr to be very involved with the big screen reboot

NEWEST UPDATE – Just got this note DIRECTLY from James O’Barr – “Sorry kids,this is a 15 year old intervew when I was developing a female Crow sequel(which they passed on). I have NO, Nada, zilch, interest in participating in the current remake. I am, however, supervising IDWs new Crow genre books and may well do the Female version for them as a comic.”

UPDATE – James will NOT be appearing at Fan Days this weekend after all due to a previous commitment. Look for him at a future Dallas show.

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It’s weird reporting on people you actually know. This weekend, THE CROW creator James O’Barr will be making an appearance at FAN DAYS at the Irving Convention Center, and considering that this news couldn’t be more timely. James has been a frequent guest at the Dallas shows, and his dedicated fan base always enjoy seeing him. In recent years there’s been ongoing talk about a reboot of THE CROW on the big screen. Many remember the Brandon Lee film fondly for its impressive look and feel, though it’s also sadly remembered as Lee’s last film work. The sequels that followed seemed to emulate the initial outing, but many felt they got progressively unimpressive. The character even saw a brief life as a television series starring Mark Decascos. The intended reboot has been in and out of the news with reports that Bradley Cooper might take the lead, or that Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 WEEKS LATER) might direct.  Currently it looks like nothing has been officially confirmed, and casting is still up in the air.  But in a delightful bit of news it look like O’Barr will in fact have a hand in the reboot, and potentially even helping decide casting.  In an interview with Guitar International, James talks about his new comic book project called GOTHIC, and unleashes some juicy news about his involvement on THE CROW getting remade.  Check out the interview excerpts below.

Arlene: What other artistic ventures are you currently working on?

James O’Barr: I’m doing a book called Gothic for Dark Horse, and it’s a twelve issue series. It’s Blade Runner meets TheWizard Of Oz, and we’re working on the film of that at the same time, with the same producers who did The Crow. And I’m working on the screenplay and really heavily involved in the film. On this one, I’m picking all the actors and the artists for the soundtrack.

Arlene: So they’re giving you a say in the cast choices and so forth?

James O’Barr: Yes, yes I am.

Arlene: How does that feel for you emotionally and creatively, being involved in the actual casting and music soundtrack of Gothic?

James O’Barr: I had a lot of input on The Crow, too. I mean they were kind of lost as to what kind of character actors they should get for the parts, and so I had a lot of heavy input on that for The Crow and luckily, they listened to me. So I feel pretty confident about all my choices and I got about 70% of what I wanted out of them the first time. And since I’m so heavily involved this time, I expect that ratio to go up.

Arlene: Your novel made no mention of Eric’s background, what he did for a living, but the film made distinct reference to his being a rock guitarist and musician. What are your feelings on this?

James O’Barr: You know, that was something the producers came up with. First they had him as a rock star and I said absolutely not, that that kind of alienates him from the everyday person. Doing that instead makes him an icon and puts him up on a pedestal. And in the book he’s intended just to be like a blue collar worker. I mean hey, I wanted to do some more scenes with him, just, like walking around with his lunch pail and the tool box and stuff, but I just didn’t have room for things like that. And…I just wanted to keep him very every day, the common man type of thing.

Arlene: So that the general public, just everyday people could relate to him.

James O’Barr: Right, right. Yes. There wasn’t supposed to be anything all that special about his life other than his relationship with his fiancée, the young girl Sarah, and Officer Albrecht.

Arlene: Though in the past you’ve been adamant in maintaining The Crow as a single, one time, complete novel unto itself, there are now rumors that due to its vast success, you are planning both a written and filmed sequel. Is there any truth to that?

James O’Barr: No, no. I’m still adamant about there being no sequels. It was a closed, ended story. And when Brandon was alive, we did talk about doing sequels because I just thought he brought a nice vitality to the character and I could see future films with him as the character, but….all of that was buried with Brandon. I can’t see anybody else doing it. He put his own mark on the character and it would just….It would be really gratuitous to have some other actor come in and try and duplicate it.

Source: ComicBookMovie

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About the Author

Born and raised in Dallas, Mark has been a movie critic since 1994, with reviews featured in print, radio and National TV. In 2001 he started the Entertainment section of the Herorealm website, where he contributed film reviews and celebrity interviews until 2004. After three years of service there, he started Bigfanboy.com, which has become one of the Dallas film community's leading information websites. Bigfanboy hosts several movie screenings in the Texas area, and works closely with film and TV studios and promotional partners to host exciting events and contests. The site also features a variety of rare celebrity and filmmaker interviews, and Bigfanboy.com regularly covers the film festival circuit as well. In addition to Hollywood reporting, Mark has worked for many years as an advertising and sci-fi/comic book artist. Clients have included Lucasfilm Ltd., Topps Trading Cards, The Dallas Mavericks and The Dallas Stars. From 2002 until 2015 he managed the Dallas Comic Con, Sci-Fi Expo and Fan Days events in the DFW area. He currently catalogs rare comic books and movie memorabilia for Heritage Auctions, and runs the Dallas Comic Show conventions, but remains an avid moviegoer and cinema buff.