Bloody-Disgusting spoke exclusively to Ron Perlman last week for updates on a few of the horror-related projects he has in the work. We already gave you the scoop on BUBBA NOSFERATU (read about it here), so today we'll see what the actor had to say on MUTANT CHRONICLES, DARK COUNTRY 3-D, HELLBOY 3, CARJACKED and GATEKEEPER. How's that for an afternoon of updates?
MUTANT CHRONICLES is currently available on VOD services and will hit select theaters this Friday. Perlman discusses the plot: "What these guys came up with was rather smart and quite believable. The world was finally bereft of all nationalities and patriotism and was completely broken down into economic turns. Its all corporate, which is a soulless and heartless reality. And then of course, because these guys have such a bloodlust for power and wealth, they are constantly at war with one another. There's this machine that's been buried in the bowels of the Earth that is even more heartless and soulless than these corporations and its a threat to whatever humanity is left on Earth."
Perlman was drawn to the character of Brother Samuel, who is very much a departure for the actor. "I really just loved who Brother Samuel is in this story and what throwback he is to a simpler time," Perlman told BD. "[It's] a time where spirituality meant something [and] where respect for humankind meant something. He felt it was his mandate to preserve what he felt to be God's crowning jewel, mankind, to the point where he would sacrifice himself and his own safety."
Although MUTANT is based on a role-playing game, the story's game-related origins weren't a particular focus for the project. "I didn't get a sense that it was a big seller," says Perlman. "Halo it ain't."
During the shoot MUTANT shoot, Perlman met and befriended co-star Thomas Jane, who plays Major "Mitch" Hunter in the film. "I had not met Thomas until we did MUTANT CHRONICLES," says Perlman. "We just turned into cold, hard friends real quick. It was a solid friendship and then when he got ready to make his directorial debut, he wanted as many people around him that he was comfortable with as possible and asked if I could find the time to do it."
So how does Jane score on Perlman's score card in his debut? "Superb. He had a particularly well-articulated vision of the movie he wanted to make. I knew for a fact that he was a guy who had a lot of respect for naturalism and reality. I also knew how much style he was devoting to DARK COUNTRY. He really knew what he was doing. I just spoke to him a couple of days ago and he said he really made the film he wanted to make, so who can argue with that."
Perlman also just wrapped SEASON OF THE WITCH, which is currently slated for release sometime in 2010. "I just finished production in Budapest with Nick Cage," Perlman told BD. "I play Nick's sidekick. We're two knights who have been away at the Crusades fighting for like ten years. We're on our way home when we find out that our homeland has been victimized by this plague which is killing two-thirds of the population. They pin it on this girl who they say is a witch, so we escort her to this trial for witchcraft."
Early word on WITCH has been very positive and Perlman has high hopes that the final version will turn out as good as the hype has made it out to be: "You know what, Dominic Sena is a great filmmaker. He put together a six-minute reel to send to the Berlin Film Festival and it looked really great. You can't tell a movie by a trailer, but its a beautiful-looking film. And its a decent story. We'll see, it could turn into something. He's a filmmaker I have a huge amount of faith in."
Of course, you can't talk to Perlman without turning to HELLBOY 3 at some point, although it sounds like it might be a while before that one happens. "No one knows," admits Perlman. "We know we have Guillermo over in New Zealand working with Peter Jackson on two HOBBIT movies. I, for one, wouldn't want to be involved in any more HELLBOY movies unless he was involved in some measure, if he was at least overseeing what the third movie was going to look like."
"The studio doesn't talk to me or my people for that matter. (Laughs) I can't give you any updates. I think that the dust is finally settling from HELLBOY 2 now that the DVD has been released and its getting ready to do its cable run. I guess they'll just look at everything and decide. It would be a shame if we didn't do a third one because its so set up for it. Everything was building towards this culmination. But, you know, life takes some strange turns, my friend."
Finally, we asked Perlman about two more rumored projects. He confirmed that neither is going to happen at this point, at least not with him. "GATEKEEPER I can't say anything about," says Perlman. "I know that these guys want me to be in it, but it doesn't seem as though its going to happen in my schedule. CARJACKED is the same."
I just can't wait for season 2 of Son's of Anarchy. That show kicks ass. Never been a Hellboy fan and Mutant Chronicles, again not my type of flick. I'll give his other flicks the benefit of the doubt. Great actor though.
Didn't really go for MUTANT CHRONICLES. Saw it on HD Universal and quit halfway through - no characterization, no vision with the camerawork beyond "point at CGI, point at guy, point at CGI" and no real sense of the story - it was presented in a very flat, bland directorial structure. Shame, too - I'd been looking forward to it for YEARS!
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