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Ghost Rider (2007 film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ghost Rider | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Mark Steven Johnson |
| Produced by |
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| Written by | Mark Steven Johnson |
| Based on | Ghost Rider by Gary Friedrich Roy Thomas Mike Ploog |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Christopher Young |
| Cinematography | Russell Boyd |
| Edited by | Richard Francis-Bruce |
Production
companies |
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| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release dates
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Running time
| 110 minutes (Theatrical cut) 123 minutes (Extended cut)[1] |
| Country | United States[2][3] |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $110 million |
| Box office | $228.7 million |
Ghost Rider is a 2007 American supernatural superhero film written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson. Based on the character of the same name which appeared in Marvel Comics, the character's first appearance being in 1972. The film stars Nicolas Cage as Ghost Rider / Johnny Blaze with supporting roles done by Eva Mendes, Wes Bentley, Sam Elliott, Donal Logue, Matt Long, and Peter Fonda. The film was met with negative reviews by critics but was a success at the box office.
A sequel, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, was released on February 17, 2012, with Cage reprising his role.
Contents
[hide]Plot[edit]
The Devil, Mephistopheles, sends his bounty hunter of the damned, the Ghost Rider, to retrieve the contract of San Venganza for control of a thousand corrupt souls. Seeing that the contract would give Mephistopheles the power to bring Hell on Earth, the Rider refuses to give him the contract.
In 1986, Mephistopheles reaches out to 17-year-old stunt motorcycle rider Johnny Blaze, offering to cure his father's cancer in exchange for Blaze's soul. The next morning, Blaze awakes to discover that his father's cancer is cured, but his father is killed that same day in a motorcycle stunt in which he falls into the ring of fire he is jumping through. Blaze accuses Mephistopheles of causing his father's death, but Mephistopheles considers their contract to be fulfilled.
In 2007, Blaze has become a famous stunt rider. Blaze meets his former childhood sweetheart Roxanne Simpson, now a news reporter, who he abandoned after his father's death. He convinces her he wishes to make amends and she agrees to a dinner date. Meanwhile, Blackheart, the demonic son of Mephistopheles, comes to Earth, along with three fallen angels. They are tasked to find the lost contract of San Venganza. In response, Mephistopheles makes Blaze the new Ghost Rider, and offers him his soul back in return for defeating Blackheart. Blaze is driven straight to the station on his "first ride", where he transforms into the Ghost Rider and a battle with the fallen angels ensues. The next day, he meets a man called the Caretaker, who seems to know all about the history of the Ghost Rider. He tells him everything that happened wasn't a dream and that it will happen again, especially when he is near an evil presence.
When he arrives home, Blaze finds Simpson and reveals himself as the Devil's bounty hunter. Unconvinced, she walks away in disbelief. After a brief imprisonment for the murders Blackheart committed, Blaze goes to the Caretaker for advice. The Caretaker tells him of his predecessor, Carter Slade, a Texas Ranger who hid the contract of San Venganza. Blaze returns home to find that Blackheart has killed his friend Mack and already has taken Roxanne captive, threatening to kill her if Blaze does not deliver the contract to him.
Blaze returns to the Caretaker and obtains the contract. The Caretaker reveals that he is Carter Slade. Slade tells Blaze that he is more powerful than his predecessors since he sold his soul for love as opposed to greed. The two leave for San Venganza. Slade gives Blaze a lever action shotgun before fading away.
After killing one of the fallen angels, Blaze gives the contract to Blackheart. He quickly transforms into Ghost Rider in an effort to subdue Blackheart, but dawn arrives and he is rendered powerless. Blackheart uses the contract to absorb the thousand souls into his body. He attempts to kill Blaze, but is distracted when Simpson uses Blaze's discarded shotgun to separate them. After Blaze tries to kill Blackheart with the shotgun, he moves in and uses his Penance Stare to render him catatonic, burning all the corrupt souls within Blackheart.
Mephistopheles appears and returns Blaze his soul, offering to take back the curse of the Ghost Rider. Determined not to make another deal; Blaze declines, saying that he will use his power against him, and against all harm that comes to the innocent. Infuriated of being robbed of the power, Mephistopheles vows to make Blaze pay, but Blaze tells Mephistopheles that he is not afraid. Mephistopheles then disappears, taking Blackheart's body with him. Later, Simpson tells Blaze that he got his second chance before sharing a final kiss with him. Blaze then rides away on his motorcycle, turning into the Ghost Rider.
Cast[edit]
- Nicolas Cage as Johnny Blaze / Ghost Rider
- Matt Long as young Johnny Blaze
- Eva Mendes as Roxanne Simpson
- Raquel Alessi as young Roxanne Simpson
- Wes Bentley as Blackheart / Legion
- Sam Elliott as Carter Slade / Caretaker
- Donal Logue as Mack
- Peter Fonda as Mephistopheles
- Brett Cullen as Barton Blaze
- David Roberts as Captain Jack Dolan
- Rebel Wilson as Girl in alley
Production[edit]
Marvel Studio began development for Ghost Rider as early as 1992 and were in discussions with potential distributors.[4] In 1997 Gale Anne Hurd was listed as producer, with Jonathan Hensleigh attached to write the script.[5] David S. Goyer developed a script and in May 2000 Marvel announced an agreement with Crystal Sky Entertainment to film Ghost Rider with actor Jon Voight attached as a producer. Production was scheduled to start in early 2001 with a budget of $75 million and Johnny Depp expressing interest in the lead role.[6] The following August, Dimension Films joined Crystal Sky to co-finance the film, which would be directed by Stephen Norrington.[7] Producer Avi Arad approached Eric Bana on the possibility of playing Ghost Rider, but opted to cast him in Hulk instead.[8] In June 2001, actor and Ghost Rider fan Nicolas Cage entered talks to be cast into the lead role,[9] after having found out about Depp being a possibility for the role and contacted the director to express his own interest.[10] Norrington would drop out within a few months due his commitment to Tick Tock[11] and Cage eventually left the project as well. By May 2002 Columbia Pictures sought to acquire rights toGhost Rider in turnaround from Dimension Films following their success with Spider-Man.[12] They brought Shane Salerno to rewrite Goyer's script.[13]
In April 2003, under Columbia Pictures, director Mark Steven Johnson took over the helm for Ghost Rider with Cage returning for the lead role. Johnson, rewriting Salerno's script, was set to begin production of Ghost Rider in late 2003 or early 2004.[14] but it was delayed to October 2003. Cage took a temporary leave of absence to film The Weather Man. Ghost Rider production was slated to tentatively begin in May or June 2004.[15]
Ghost Rider had again been delayed to begin in late 2004, but the lack of a workable script continued to delay production.[16] In January 2005, actorWes Bentley was cast as the villain Blackheart, having been introduced to Johnson by Colin Farrell, who had worked with the director in Daredevil.[17]Actress Eva Mendes was also cast opposite Cage as Roxanne Simpson.[18] On February 14, 2005, Ghost Rider commenced filming in Australia at theMelbourne Docklands film studios.[19] Then in March 2005, actor Peter Fonda (who starred in Easy Rider) was cast as the villain Mephistopheles.[20]Johnson originally planned to film before an audience at the Telstra Dome, but instead opted to create a crowd using computer-generated imagery.[21]The director also chose to film in the motorcycle district of Melbourne.[22] By June 2005, principal photography had been completed for Ghost Rider,[23]which was set for a summer 2006 release.[24] In April 2006, the cast and crew performed last-minute reshoots in Vancouver.[25] Ghost Rider was originally scheduled to release on August 4, 2006,[26] but the date was moved three weeks earlier to July 14, 2006.[27] Sony changed the film's release date once more to February 16, 2007 to help relieve the studio's crowded 2006 calendar.[28]
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