Tom Hanks, the Perfect Dad in “EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE”

I've seen the trailer of this movie and find it heart-wrenching. I'd love to see it so I could also say I found it heartwarming ...

Press Release:

Two-time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks stars as Thomas Schell, a devoted husband and father who was at the wrong place, at the wrong time during the fateful day of 9/11, in Warner Bros.' life-affirming drama, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.”

The film is a story that unfolds from inside the young mind of Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn), an inventive eleven year-old New Yorker whose discovery of a key in his deceased father’s belongings sets him off on an urgent search across the city for the lock it will open. A year after his father died in the World Trade Center on what Oskar calls “The Worst Day,” he is determined to keep his vital connection to the man who playfully cajoled him into confronting his wildest fears.

As a screen character, Thomas Schell was a challenge because he is seen entirely through Oskar’s eyes, to the extent that much about his history and inner life remain mysterious -- except for the parts that have made an impression on Oskar and especially Oskar’s memories of their very best times together, which remain indelibly immediate to him.

To embody the essence of a father as captured in time by his young son, director Stephen Daldry thought early on of Tom Hanks. “We thought that in terms of Oskar’s memories of Thomas as the perfect dad...well, who else could that be but Tom Hanks?” recalls Daldry. “Tom took that responsibility to heart and created a real bond with child actor Thomas Horn that was evident to everybody on the set. They were absolutely charming together, which was great for me as a filmmaker, because they created this dynamic relationship and all I had to do was shoot it. It was an act of real dedication by an extraordinary actor and collaborator.”

Hanks was drawn to the way the script gets inside Oskar’s mind at a time when the power of logical facts to keep him grounded seems to have evaporated. “In the blink of an eye, the course of Oskar’s whole world changes, and he loses his only anchor,” Hanks says. “His father used to tell him that there are always clues and treasures to be found in the world. So when he finds his father’s key, it’s very interesting that Oskar devises his own elaborate hunt for what the key might mean, convinced it will somehow explain the unexplained to him. It becomes a very personal, intimate story of a kid trying to make sense in his own way of a nonsensical world.”

He adds: “It was easiest thing in the world for me to want to do this – as soon as I read it, there was not even any question.”

The actor says he gave a lot of consideration to the kind of father Thomas was to Oskar prior to his death. He also kept in mind that Thomas was himself a child of immigrants who took up the trade of jewelry as his only clear opportunity to support his family, even though he dreamed of being a scientist. “I think Thomas was someone who felt the real task in his life was to make sure that his very bright son became a well-rounded, content human being who might make the world a better place,” Hanks says. “Since Thomas himself grew up without a father, fathering Oskar was the most important thing to him. I think he loved inventing wild stories for Oskar, like the one he makes up about New York’s lost Sixth Borough, but he also very clearly designed these stories to get Oskar out in the world and help him feel safe there.”

In part, Hanks drew on his own experiences as a father. “The emotional part of it for me was going back and remembering what it’s like to have an 11-year-old kid who is bubbling over with life,” he says.

While Hanks believes Thomas was well aware that Oskar often showed signs of behavior akin to Asperger’s Syndrome, he also says Thomas readily accepted and even related to many of his son’s oddities and phobias, which made the two of them even closer. “I think Thomas wasn’t bothered at all by his son’s behaviors,” he says. “Instead, he looked for ways to build bridges over Oskar’s turbulence, over his constant questions, his flights of fancy and his fears. Yet because of that, when he’s gone, it magnifies the incredible loss for Oskar even more.”

Opening soon across the Philippines, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

In Cure & Care: Watsons Compliance Pack is the Key!

If you, or a loved one, suffer from chronic illnesses and have difficulties in buying expensive maintenance medicines, this may be the solution. Please read on ...

Press Release:

“It takes too much effort for a patient to integrate a lifetime of

treatment into his daily routine …”

Treatment Woes

People diagnosed with chronic illnesses like hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol levels) need to change their lifestyles from how it used to be.

The challenge is to find a trusted healthcare brand that will ensure not just quality but also availability ensuring uninterrupted treatment. Second, the need for lifestyle modification is of utmost importance – patients must be aware of the chronicity of their disease, how complications would arise if these are poorly controlled and how vital it is to modify one’s lifestyle especially practical diet, nutrition and physical activity.

Winning Over Chronic Illnesses with Watsons Compliance Packs

A year and a half ago, Watsons Pharmacy launched the country’s first Compliance Pack program to help improve health outcomes of people afflicted with chronic diseases. “It’s high time for patients to win over chronic illnesses and take charge of their health and well-being. Through this program, we want to build awareness on medication compliance as a vital tool for therapeutic health, especially when it comes to chronic conditions. This is because, despite having these illnesses, it’s still possible for patients to enjoy healthier, quality lives,” said Watsons Health Business Unit Director Lyle Morrell.

Since then thousands of patients suffering from hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol have greatly benefitted from the program. Dina Sarne, 47, a working mom who is hypertensive relates, “Malaking tulong ang Watson’s Compliance Pack kasi naiiwasan yung mga instances na I missed out on my medication. Dahil halos 60% yung savings, nakakabili na ako ng monthly supply. Hindi din ako worried kasi alam kong trusted yung manufacturer”.

Leonardo Garcia, 50, on the other has been diabetic since 2007. Last year, he started using Compliance Pack Metformin saying, “Very timely ang produkto na ito dahil yung mga pamangkin ko tinutulungan ko din. Nag-aaral pa sila so yung savings na nakukuha ko sa gamot ay nagagamit kong pandagdag sa allowances nila! Also, now I see a brighter future kasi alam kong kaya kong i-manage yung sakit ko at hindi sya hindrance in living my life to the fullest.”

Event Director Rodgil Flores, 44 with high cholesterol, enthused, “Added feature ng Watson Compliance Pack is that it comes with very informative literature – mga tips on how to better manage my health condition! Yung pharmacist din nagka-counsel talaga so they help as well. I’m a very busy person; if I’m not involved with events, I go around the country judging beauty pageants so I should always bring my medicines with me. With this program of Watsons, it’s easier to stock up on my medication”

Inspired by the positive affirmations from patients, Watsons pushes the envelope further by relaunching the Compliance Pack program that’s even more affordable, informative and rewarding.

More Reasons to Comply!

Happy and healthy living can be achieved with Watsons Compliance Packs.

Prescription lapses can worsen one’s illnesses and make it difficult for patients to cope with complications. Thus, the new Watsons Compliance Pack program aims to help in managing patients’ health issues easier and hassle-free with the following benefits:

More Savings. Now, with as much as 80% savings versus leading brands, Watsons Compliance Packs are sold in packs of 30s for easier compliance in taking the daily medications. Prices have been brought down further to enable more patients to afford it.

New Quality Healthcare Partner. Now in partnership with Unilab, patients are assured of gold-standard, quality formulation of commonly prescribed medications like Amplodipine, Losartan and Metoprolol for hypertension, Metformin for diabetes and Simvastatin for high cholesterol.

More Informative and More Rewards. Each pack contains a product leaflet that has valuable information on the disease, sensible tips on how to stay healthy and a suggested diet plan. It even gets better with more rewards from partner brands like Omron, Accucheck, Health First & High Precision, Wheatgrass, and other partners to help patients manage their diseases better.

Exclusively available at Watsons, the program aims to strengthen Watsons advocacy of not just offering effective yet affordable medication Filipinos but strengthening awareness and education for improved disease management.

CSM Encourages Kids to go Outdoors!

This coming summer break, encourage your kids to play outside! Suggest also to your church to use CSM's Great Outdoors materials for the children's Vacation Bible School (VBS) lessons. 

Press Release:

Kids today are growing disconnected to nature. They spend more time indoors than outdoors, and even when they are outdoors, they seldom take time to notice their surroundings. Their ears are plugged with earphones and their eyes are glued to their cellphones and other handheld games. This disturbing lifestyle of our kids today also leads them to become unaware of the role that has been entrusted to our care.

Encouraging children to spend time outdoors and observe natural environment and its inhabitants is a big step towards helping them become good stewards of creation.

Church Strengthening Ministry shares the vision for the kids to rediscover and appreciate the wonders of the natural world and know God more with their latest VBS offering for 2012, The Great Outdoors VBS Camp: Exploring Nature, Experiencing God. More than the usual indoor fun, now kids will have a chance to explore five different terrains (field, water, mountain, trees, sky) and to experience some of God’s amazing attributes as they go outdoors.

Why do VBS outdoors? Here are five very good reasons:

1. Creation teaches us many things about our Creator and Savior.

2. As stewards of God’s creation, we need to be acquainted with what we are commanded to tend and protect.

3. Contact with and enjoyment of creation lead to appreciation and concern for creation.

4. Studies show that exposure to nature is vital to a child’s physical, mental, emotional and spiritual development.

5. Learning is double the fun when done outdoors!

It’s now time to let kids experience the delights of the great outdoors during VBS!

The Great Outdoors VBS camp is open to Campers ages 4-12. Parents and guardians are welcome to join, too! The whole church is also encouraged to get involved in the exciting activities and experience what the great outdoors can reveal.

The Great Outdoors VBS Camp material comes in one convenient box containing: 50 Camper’s Nature Journals, 3 Teachers’ Manuals, 1 Director’s Manual, 1 music CD, 1 instructional DVD, 50 nametags, 50 ID laces, 250 attendance beads, 4 whistles, and 1 promotional poster. Each Camper’s Nature Journal also comes in full-color which makes it more interesting for the students to write on.

The Great Outdoors VBS Camp package costs P1,999 and is available in English and Conversational Tagalog. This is available at the CSM Bookcorner at tel. nos. 852-7301 to 02 and 04 local 205 and at all Christian bookstores nationwide. Also visit www.csm-publishing.com for the downloadable items to complete your VBS program.

“MY WEEK WITH MARILYN” Exclusive at Ayala Malls Cinemas

I know little about Marilyn Monroe except she's that beautiful blond lady wearing a lovely white dress in a memorable movie clip and who was rumored to have had an affair with a US President. Perhaps, watching this movie would make me learn more about her. Let's see ...

Press Release:

The Weinstein Company's critically acclaimed and Oscar-nominated film “My Week With Marilyn” starring Michelle Williams and Kenneth Branagh will be shown soon exclusively at Ayala Malls Cinemas (Glorietta 4, Greenbelt 3 and Trinoma).

Early in the summer of 1956, American film star Marilyn Monroe (Williams) set foot on British soil for the first time. On honeymoon with her husband, the celebrated playwright Arthur Miller (Dougray Scott), Monroe came to England to shoot “The Prince and the Showgirl” - the film that famously united her with Sir Laurence Olivier (Branagh), the British theatre and film legend who directed and co-starred in the film.

That same summer, 23-year-old Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne) set foot on a film set for the first time in his life. Newly graduated from Oxford, Clark aspired to be a filmmaker and found a job as a lowly production hand on the set of “The Prince and the Showgirl.” Forty years later, he recounted his experiences of the six-month shoot in a diary-style memoir entitled The Prince, the Showgirl and Me. But one week in Clark's account was missing...

It wasn't until years later that Clark revealed why. In a follow-up memoir entitled My Week with Marilyn, he recounted the true story of one magical week he spent alone with the world's biggest star -- the week he spent with Marilyn.

"For a lot of people Marilyn is more of an iconic image than an actress,” admits director Simon Curtis. "People haven't seen her films as much as they have her portrait. My way into this project was falling in love with the first of Colin Clark's two memoirs. As somebody who was assistant director at The Royal Court Theatre, I found it fascinating to uncover this moment in time.”

The first memoir, The Prince, The Showgirl and Me, recounts Clark's experiences working as third assistant director on the set of Monroe's first film as both producer and star in which she played opposite Olivier, who also directed. The book recounts the production's myriad problems, fuelled almost exclusively by the lack of communication and understanding between the two stars: Monroe's erratic behavior and tardiness were exacerbated by her addiction to alcohol and prescription medication; while Olivier, a staunch traditionalist, refused to accommodate Monroe's idiosyncrasies or her devotion to Method acting, which she practiced under the guidance of Paula Strasberg.

While Clark's memoir is a dishy, fly-on-the-wall account of Olivier's and Monroe's fraught partnership, his follow-up memoir, My Week With Marilyn, feels like an intimate confession. In it, Clark affectionately remembers one enchanted week he spent leading the troubled Monroe on a tour of the English countryside. It offers an all-too-rare glimpse of the real woman beneath the carefully cultivated image, unencumbered by the busy machinery of stardom.

"I couldn't believe my eyes when My Week with Marilyn was published,” avows Curtis. "Colin really did have this tense, erotically charged week with the most famous woman in the world, at the peak of her fame. I couldn't believe my luck when I was able to get hold of the rights. People had tried over the years. And in the last year I've met at least three very established directors who have said, "I've always wanted to make that story.' So I feel very lucky.”

Jollibee Brings Cheers to Pedia Patients with Colorful Murals

This is a very nice advocacy. Way to go Jollibee! :)

Press Release:

Jollibee’s passion of bringing joy to Filipino children goes beyond the four walls of every Jollibee store. To this day, the country’s largest fast food chain continues to explore different ways of keeping true to its mission of spreading cheer in places where it matters most, public hospitals included.

At present, 16 public hospitals across the country have been adorned with bright and colorful murals that serve as eye-candy to their little patients and even those who have remained young at heart. These specially-designed murals – which feature the country’s most popular and well-loved mascot Jollibee and the rest of the gang Hetty, Popo, Yum and Twirlie - were donated by Jollibee to help cheer up children during their stay in these hospitals.

“As a company, Jollibee has always had a soft spot for children. And through the years, we’ve witnessed how children absolutely love our mascots and look forward to every visit in our stores. Through these murals, we are bringing the Jollibee magic to them with the hope of making them feel a little better as they are being treated or are recuperating in the hospital , ” shared Jollibee VP for marketing Albert Cuadrante.

“We are very grateful that Jollibee came up with this initiative,” said Dr. Apolinario Esquivel, hospital director of San Juan Medical Center. “These visions of happiness will surely inspire the children and help make recovery faster and more pleasant for them.”

The hospital mural project, which kicked-off in 2010, is a partnership of Jollibee with the different local government units and other pediatric institutions in the major regions of the country. Among the beneficiaries of the project in Luzon are: Luzon and Mega Manila - MCU Hospital, Sta. Ana Hospital, President Diosdado Macapagal Memorial Medical Center, Fe Del Mundo Hospital, San Juan Medical Center, Mary Johnston Hospital, National Children’s Hospital, Antipolo Medical Hospital, La Trinidad Pedia Ward, People’s Emergency Hospital, De Vera Hospital and Nueva Ecija Doctors Hospital.

While in Visayas and Mindanao, Jollibee was able to tie-up with Cebu City Medical Center, Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital, Kabankalan District Hospital, Perpetual Pedia Onco, Cagayan Hospital, General Santos City Hospital, Cagayan Hospital, Iligan Medical Center Hospital and CDO Polymedic Medical Plaza.

During the simple unveiling ceremonies, Jollibee’s visit to the children’s ward complete with Jollibee Kids Meal toys for everyone made the young ones very happy.

Jollibee hopes to continue to bring a cheerful, homey environment to more hospitals by unveiling more murals this year – its own simple way of helping heal young patients.

Animated Short “TANGLED EVER AFTER” with “BEAUTY AND THE BEAST” 3D

I loved Tangled, the movie! I would have to catch this short sequel soon! :)

Press Release:

Walt Disney Pictures has announced that "Tangled Ever After," the short film follow-up to their 2010 hit animated feature “Tangled” will be an added attraction to “Beauty and the Beast” 3D when it opens in the Philippines on Feb. 22.

By popular demand, directors Nathan Greno and Byron Howard are bringing back some of Disney’s most beloved characters when "Tangled Ever After" picks up where "Tangled" left off. The Kingdom is in a festive mood as everyone gathers for the royal wedding of Rapunzel and Flynn. 

However, when Pascal and Maximus, as flower chameleon and ring bearer, respectively, lose the gold bands, a frenzied search and recovery mission gets underway. As the desperate duo tries to find the rings before anyone discovers that they’re missing, they leave behind a trail of comical chaos that includes flying lanterns, a flock of doves, a wine barrel barricade and a very sticky finale. Will Maximus and Pascal save the day and make it to the church in time? And will they ever get Flynn’s nose right?

"Tangled Ever After" is the perfect accompaniment to "Beauty and the Beast", which is returning to the big screen in Disney Digital 3D and introducing a whole new generation to the Disney classic with stunning new 3D imagery. “Beauty and the Beast” was nominated for six Academy Awards, winning Oscars for Best Song, by the renowned team of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, and Best Original Score (Menken).

“Beauty and the Beast” 3D is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.

Adam Sandler Plays the Dual Roles of “JACK AND JILL”

This movie looks like it will be a lot of fun to watch!

Press Release:

Director Dennis Dugan re-teams with Adam Sandler for the eighth time on Columbia Pictures’ new comedy “Jack and Jill.”

In the film, Jack (Sandler) was living an almost perfect life, with the exception of one, annoying constant – his twin sister Jill (also played by Sandler). Every year he has to tolerate a Thanksgiving visit from his smothering sister, who doesn’t take long to turn his life upside down. As the weekend intrusion starts stretching into a month, the siblings fight, tease, and bicker in the way only twins can. When it becomes clear Jill is never leaving, Jack sets into motion several schemes that he hopes will return Jill to where he loves her most – the other side of the country.

“What I found interesting was that somewhere partway through the production I thought of Adam as playing Jack, but I thought of Jill as if she were her own person. Adam didn’t walk around off-camera acting like Jill, but after a while, it was as if Jill was a woman we hired who happened to look remarkably like Adam.”

In the film, Sandler plays Jack, an advertising executive who is one commercial away from hitting the big time – or, if the deal falls through, unmitigated disaster. Into this turmoil comes his twin sister, Jill – who always makes things more complicated than they need to be.

“I knew Adam would have no problem playing Jill. The part he worked at was to play Jack,” says Steve Koren, who co-wrote the screenplay with Sandler. “Jack’s the kind of guy who’s a little bit on edge – he’s had to work to make that guy different from who he really is.”

While writing the film with Adam Sandler, Koren found some interesting things. “Some twins actually create their own language when they’re little kids, so we invented a special, private language that only Jack and Jill speak,” he says. “We also found out that twins have a bond that is a lot stronger than some siblings, so we tried to incorporate as much of that as possible.”

Playing the dual role required an ingenious sense of timing from Sandler. “Part of the joke was that Jack and Jill would do the exact same things at the exact same time,” Koren explains. “What that meant, of course, was that Adam would do the scene once, and then he’d redo it as the other character. It was almost like a dance, a ballet; Adam had to have incredible focus and perfect timing. It was pretty incredible to watch.”

Describing the character and the plot of the film, Koren explains, “Jill had only two constants in her life – taking care of her parents and the love of her bird, Poopsie. She’s sacrificed her personal life. When she comes to visit Jack for the holidays and won’t leave, Jack tries to help her find a guy – a guy who he hopes will get her out of his house.”

Opening across the Philippines on Feb. 22, “Jack and Jill” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

Kaspersky Lab Warns Against New Facebook Phishing Attack “In The Wild”

Every Facebook user should read this! Be forewarned, be safe!

Press Release:

Kaspersky Lab, a leading developer of secure content and threat management solutions is warning Facebook users of a new form of phishing which, tries to steal not just their Facebook credentials but also their credit cards information.

“This Facebook phishing attack is pretty interesting because it does not just try to trick the victim into visiting a phishing website,” says Kaspersky Lab security expert David Jacoby.

“It will reuse the stolen information and login to the compromised account and change both profile picture and name. The profile picture will be changed to the Facebook logo and the name will be translated to “Facebook Security” but containing special ASCII characters replacing letters such as “a” “k” “S” and “t”,” Jacoby explained.

Once an account is compromised it will also send out a message to all contacts of the compromised account. The message looks like this:

"Last Warning: Your Facebook account will be turned off Because someone has reported you. Please do re-confirm your account security by: => http://apps-xxxx-xxxxx-user.de.vu

Thank you. The Facebook Team"/

When a victim clicks on the link, he will be redirected to a website that looks and feels like Facebook’s own website. The fake Facebook site then asks the victim to provide personal information such as name, email address, password, webmail system, among others.

When submitting this form, the details will be sent to the attacker who can automatically login to your Facebook account and compromise it.

After filling up these details, the victim will be asked for final identity confirmation with a payment and by having the person give his or her credit card information.

Jacoby advises Facebook users to be aware of such threats to avoid becoming victims.

“These scams are just getting more popular and we really recommend not giving out personal information, especially not email, password and credit card information over social media. It is also recommended that you contact your security vendor and the social media vendor if you encounter these sites,” he said.

“THIS MEANS WAR” Based On Personal Account of Writer Marcus Gautesen

There's a back story to this movie! Interesting!

Press Release:

At the heels of the most unforgettable and most action-packed films “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” “Charlie’s Angels,” “X-Men: First Class” and “X-Men: The Last Stand” comes “This Means War” - the latest romantic-action comedy making hilarious waves screening after screening starring Reese Witherspoon, Tom Hardy and Chris Pine.

Recent (and all) screenings of “This Means War” yielded outstanding scores, which revealed that it plays to men, women, singles, and couples.

Collaborated by filmdom’s most creative talents, director McG, scribes Simon Kinberg and Timothy Dowling and producers Will Smith, Robert Simonds and James Lassiter – “This Means War” is an original story by Marcus Gautesen based on his personal experience. While attending Putney School in Vermont, Marcus was living with his best friend in a two-bedroom apartment in New York City’s Little Italy. Both unemployed, they decided to move into one bedroom and rent out the other. A beautiful French woman took the second room, and the guy’s friendship quickly went south as they repeatedly submarined each other’s attempts to win her over – it was war.

Hence, “This Means War” came about involving childhood friends and CIA agents/partners FDR (Pine) and Tuck (Hardy). Inseparable since childhood, Tuck and FDR’s friendship suddenly goes from best to worst as they fall for the same woman, Lauren (Witherspoon). They are the world’s top spies who’ve been partners and best friends for many years. FDR and Tuck decide they’re both going to date Lauren and see which one she chooses. As each begins to fall for Lauren, they get increasingly competitive and employ their spy tactics and techniques to sabotage each other. Lauren, who just wanted to find the right guy, has no idea that FDR and Tuck are waging war for her love.

Director Mc (Joseph McGinty Nichol) shares on making “This Means War,” “ I approach filmmaking with a great sense of what I want to accomplish, but also a great effort to stay fluid. I come from the world of music where you go into the studio to write a song, and you have to stay fluid. I haven’t had the opportunity to be that loose with a film, to be that artistic. That's the irony: because it's comedy you think the artistry is not at the highest level. I would say to the contrary: you have to be working to your absolutely sharpest instincts. I wanted the action to be on point and I wanted the romance to be sexy and welcoming, but I also wanted the comedy to be sharp.”

A must-see post-Valentine’s date movie –“This Means War” opens in Philippine cinemas (nationwide) on February 22 from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

Director Says “GHOST RIDER” Sequel is a Re-Invention

Read some interesting stuff about the making of the Ghost Rider sequel ...

Press Release:

The directing team Neveldine/Taylor (Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor) – known for its edgy, gritty and kinetic action movies “Crank,” “Crank: High Voltage,” and “Gamer” – take on the supernatural action thriller “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance,” the highly anticipated sequel to the 2007 blockbuster “Ghost Rider” starring Nicolas Cage.

In the sequel, Johnny Blaze (Cage) -- still struggling with his curse as the devil’s bounty hunter – is hiding out in a remote part of Eastern Europe when he is recruited by a secret sect of the church to save a young boy (Fergus Riordan) from the devil (Ciaran Hinds). At first, Johnny is reluctant to embrace the power of the Ghost Rider, but it is the only way to protect the boy – and possibly rid himself of his curse forever.

In the following interview, Brian Taylor -- one half of the directing team -- talks about the film during a visit with journalists on location in Eastern Europe.

Question: How’s the shoot been going for you so far?

Brian Taylor: It’s been going unbelievably well. The cast we have on this movie is unbelievable, so every day, there are performances that make you walk away super-funked up about what you’re doing. The locations I mean are just unbelievable. This place Cappadocia in Turkey, it’s like the desert planet on Star Wars in real life. It’s crazy. I can’t believe nobody’s shot 50 movies there. We’re shooting in these 6,000 year old ruins and just tromping all over them like it’s a backlot. There’ll be like a thousand of year old statue and grips are like standing on the head when they’re setting lights.

Q: Was there one thing coming onto the project that was the most important thing for you to make it your own, make it feel fresh and original?

Taylor: It’s just that we wanted to really humanize it, and well, I think the main decision coming in that we wanted to differentiate this movie and make it alive and fresh. In the last movie, the title character was played by stunt guys, so the big thing we wanted coming in before anything else was the Ghost Rider needs to be played by Nicolas Cage, always, all the time. When he’s fighting, all the time, so 95% of the stuntwork, all the action, everything that is the “GR” is Nic and he’s playing it as a dual role, because the Ghost Rider is possessed by the spirit of Zarathos, it’s a different person, it’s not Johnny Blaze.

So he’s playing it as a dual role and a lot of the planning that went into the movie and preparation for his role is finding that character. What’s the language of this demon? What’s the language of this ancient god or whatever he is? We’ll found out what he is but that’s inhabiting this body. How does he move differently? And we nailed it and that’s what makes it so awesome, because in those scenes, they’re alive and every single frame you’re watching Ghost Rider, it’s gonna be the flaming skull, but you’re going to feel an actor, you’re going to feel a performance and you’re going to feel a character in all of those moments. So it brings the raw energy of the dialogue and all of that stuff into the action scenes, too.

Q: How beholden are you either to the comics or the first movie in terms of the look or story? The new motorcycle is very different and it’s not a big chopper like the comics, which is pretty outrageous.

Taylor: Well there’s been a million Ghost Rider comics. There’s been a lot of different versions of it and they’re all totally different. For me, it’s the full range of styles. The only books that we really were inspired by in the Ghost Rider canon were the Garth Ennis/Clayton Crain series, which is a much darker version of the character.

Q: So you’re almost creating your own version of it?

Taylor: Yeah, we wanted to just completely depart from the first movie and make it a whole thing. We’re picking up this character, whatever, five or six years later, and he’s in a much different place. He’s a much different guy. He’s in Europe, it’s a different bike. The physical transformation that happens to him has progressed where he doesn’t look the same, the skull looks different, everything looks different. It’s changed and progressed. Think of it like an illness and it’s progressed and this is in the final stages of that illness. It’s gonna feel a lot different from the first movie.

Q: Nic was saying that a lot of the things in here are very trippy, so I’m just curious if there are particular scenes that stand out as super-trippy to you?

Taylor: There’s a lot. Well this exorcism scene is going to be excellent. We shot half of it this morning and we shoot half of it at the end, but we’re really welcoming… you know there’s like two different versions of Nicolas Cage. There’s sort of mainstream Cage and there’s balls-to-the-wall Cage, and we’re definitely welcoming the demon. The performance we’re getting from Cage, it’s going to be one of those epic Nic Cage performances that people talk about.

Opening across the Philippines on February, “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.