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| The Crow Salvation
James O'Barr's dark avenger gets a third movie incarnation. The Crow, the mythical creation of James O'Barr that returns from the dead to balance the scales of justice, is set to return. The producers of THE CROW III: SALVATION are proving one again that they are tenacious filmmakers. When Brandon Lee, the lead actor in the first CROW film was killed during production and Paramount abandoned the project, the producers didn't seem to hesitate. They simply enlisted the help of the effects wizards at Dream Quest, finished the film and found a new distributor. Likewise, when the second film CITY OF ANGELS was released to drab reviews and diminished ticket sales, the producers didn't bat an eyelash. They took the hits to their egos and pocketbooks and then quickly set out to make the third installment of THE CROW franchise. Dimension Films opens the Miramax and Edward R. Pressman production nationwide in the first quarter of 2000. Sitting in his hotel suite in Salt Lake City, Utah, where SALVATION was filming, producer Jeff Most showed himself to be a stout professional. He openly admitted to the failing of the second film, while enthusiastically detailing the reasons for making a third. "Well, the idea was to move ahead," said Most, who along with Edward R. Pressman had produced all of the CROW films. "Given that there is a huge CROW following out there, I think that we very nearly, after the opening of the second CROW, began a search for a great story and a great writer to work with a great story. The project, virtually immediately went into development. We wanted to get back into it. "I think that we could have done better with the second, in several respects. But, you know, it is often the case that the second picture, in a franchise, does not live up to the expectations of the first. Franchises have been saved, numerous times, by their third pictures and gone on to blossom into bigger and bigger success stories that stand for year and years. Decades." In order to spark the creative juices of this production, Chip Johansson, a writer and producer for Chris Carter's MILLENNIUM television series, was hired to write the screenplay from a story developed by Matt Greenberg, who wrote MIMIC. Bharat Narulli, the young London based director of KILLING TIME, was brought on to direct the film. Sixteen-year-old Kirsten Dunst, who was nominated for a Golden Globe award for her debut work in INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE and has since appeared to critical notices in JUMANJI, SMALL SOLDIERS and LITTLE WOMEN, was enrolled as the lead actress. And Eric Mabius, who first came to notice in WELCOME TO THE DOLL HOUSE, the Grand Jury Prize winner at Sundance Film Festival, donned the face makeup and assumed the mantle of The Crow. Dunst admitted that she had never seen either of the CROW movies because she didn't want to see them before she did the movie. Mabius openly acknowledged that he was advised to avoid the second film, then went on to reveal that he had an interesting connection to the first movie. "To be honest with you," said Mabius, who portrays a new, younger, short-haired version of The Crow, "I haven't seen the second one. Bharat asked me not to. So I didn't watch it. "I did see the first one. Actually, when I was just out of high school-I graduated early-the first film I ever auditioned for was THE CROW. The first one. And the part-after Brandon was set, obviously because I was too young-the part I ended up reading for was the character who ended up shooting [Lee] during the shootings. They actually filmed it. So, I'm not upset that I didn't get the part." Mabius did go on to play other roles. He appeared in I SHOT ANDY WARHOL and THE JOURNEY OF THE AUGUST KING, as well as two telefilms and several plays, including Dinner At Eight and The Seagull. He has two well-recieved independent films newly released on video, LAWN DOGS and THE BLACK CIRCLE BOYS. LAWN DOGS is a phenomenal movie that was a fitting precursor to SALVATION in that it showed off both his chiseled, young, agile body and his mature depth as a performer. "It's interesting how things come full circle," Mabius returned when questioned about the benchmark established by Lee. "I've gotten it a hundred times: 'Is it hard following in Brandon's footsteps?' All of those kinds of questions. I'm sure that some people are going to be irate. They were for the second one. You know, for sort of desecrating the memory of Brandon." THE CROW was conceived in 1981 out of the haunting memories of a young writer could not shake, when his fiancée was senselessly killed by a drunk driver. James O'Barr's story was finally published, as a comic book, in 1981 but only after years of gnawing at his personal recollections of that tragic loss. The gothic story of love and revenge struck a nervein many who read it. Consequently, new Crow stories took root in other comics, books, the films, a television series and a soon to be released video game. Even the platinum soundtracks, from the first two movies, have had a hand in the retelling of The Crow. "People forget that the original story was born out of James' specific tragedy,' continued Mabius. "So no one person own specific rights. The Crow itself, the title doesn't revert to Brandon Lee r the character that I'm playing or Vincent Perez [The Crow in CITY OF ANGELS] played. It's about The Crow. "That's the common theme: the crow that brings these people back. It's about something that tears their souls apart, is not resolved, and they need it to be resolved. And this crow is the guide for them to do this. That's the common point. And unfortunately, it turned out that Brandon wasn't around to do a second and third CROW. But, it just happened, with each one it's been something different. And I think that each person is bringing something different. I'm not trying to cop out on the answer and make it all pretty. But, I really believe that. This film will move The Crow to a small town where a man is executed for the brutal murder of his girlfriend. Returning as The Crow, the victim becomes the hunter in order to track down the lethal corruption that killed him and grips the town of Salvation. Most of the production was filmed on location in and around Salt Lake City, with almost no use of the miniaturized cityscapes so prevalent in the first films. The film will also showcase some real street smart production designs from two upstarts: Maia Javan, production designer and Tom Meyer, art director. Special effects will be administered by the talents of KNB. "I think we relished the opportunity to devise an entirely new world, with new characters and a new telling of The Crow," concluded Most. "A new approach to the telling of The Crow story, was as big a desire as anything. I don't think it was an attempt to, in any manner, account for anything other than a desire to move ahead and make something even better than we have in the past. It's one that strives for artistically. "When you provide the world a film that was successful commercially and critically as the first CROW, you're challenged. And you want to come back, with something even finer, more detailed. You're strengthened by the desire to overcome the odds and make something more fantastic. And I think, in this respect, we certainly heard our calling. We really wanted to do something very new and fresh. And that's what we set out to do with THE CROW: SALVATION.
A familiar review from Dark Horizons: The Crow: Salvation: When you create a hit cult film with franchise potential what's the next step? Flog it to death of course. But seriously folks, after the dismal sequel and the not to successful TV show - is there any life left in the 'Crow' franchise? Buzz is this may not be as good as the original but its an improvement over number two and 'Campana' seems to agree - here's their take. The film is currently scheduled for a March release: "The Crow: Salvation" - A Review by 'Campana' (Mixed - Minor Spoilers) I was recently invited to a test screening of 'The Crow: Salvation' here in Los Angeles. Now I am a big fan of the original and I can pretty much tell you that this one did not live up to my expectations. Fortunately for those of you who despised the second film (The Crow: City Of Angels), I can assure you that this third installment is an improvement. The villains are more realistic than the ultra-sadistic cartoon baddies from the sequel ( I still cannot wash the taste out of my mouth!!). Anyway, the plot revolves around the execution of the wrongly convicted Alex Corvis. Corvis is accused of murdering his girlfriend and is sent to the electric chair only to be resurrected by the crow. He begins his mission of vengeance by tracking down a band of corrupt cops who framed him for the killing and picking them off one by one. Somewhere in between Alex makes time to visit his friendly lawyer and win the trust of his girlfriend's younger sister Erin (played painfully bad by Kirsten Dunst). The rest of the film is filled with some majorly confusing plot holes you could drive a semi-truck through. In one scene the evil police captain (Fred Ward- a suprisingly menacing villain) sees a broken mirror in the morgue shaped like the shattered image of the crow. He then turns to his fellow bad guys and says something along the lines of- "Looks like we have a dead man on our hands. The dead can come back you know, if given sufficient reason." How the hell did he know? did he study the crow mythology as a hobby or what? Anyway, the acting is pretty decent from all but one incredibly bad Kirsten Dunst (You think she'd force those tears with a little more conviction!). Bottom line, this film is only worth the matinee.
In the latest issue of Cinescape magazine, they claim that the fan base for The Crow should cover the costs of Salvation but it might not go further than that. Let's prove them wrong.
Crow331 sends in this blurb about Salvation from www.zentertainment.com, which repeats the rumor of a March release date. Most sources are pointing to the same March date, so there will be more on this... THIRD 'CROW' COMING IN MARCH While some rumors have indicated a release date change, a third CROW movie, entitled CROW: SALVATION, is still scheduled for release in March. The film stars Eric Mabius (Welcome to the Dollhouse, Splendor, Cruel Intentions) as Alex Corvis, a man wrongfully executed for the murder of his girlfriend, who returns to extract vengeance on the real killers, after he figures out who they are. Kirsten Dunst (Drop Dead Gorgeous, Dick) plays the girlfriend's sister, who this new Crow must convince his innocence to. Bharat Nalluri (Killing Time, Downtime) directed the film, which was scripted by MILLENNIUM producer Chip Johannessen. Fred Ward, Jodi Lynn O'Keefe, William Atherton, and Grant Shaud also star. There's still a slim chance the CROW: STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN television series could return to the air, it'll likely ride on how this film performs, but feature sequels are also in the works, ranging from tales of Crow characters from the past and future, to one featuring a female Crow.
Salvation Gallery Here's the rest of your Halloween Present, Crow Fans! Here are some pics from Salvation! 2 New Cast Members for Salvation! Check your local comic stores for the second last issue of The Crow from Image! Here's CRigg with a little report, but expect to see an official review and full pics with a Salvation interview up soon! "I picked up image comic 9 today and they had new pictures from Salvation including 2 with new cast members Walt Goggins(Major League, Karate Kid 3) and David Stevens(The Substitute 3). If i were to guess i bet theyre playing the cop Toomey and the eye witness Tommy Leonard. They also had 3 new pics of Eric Mabius in probably the best shots closeup wise released yet." Apparently if you want creepy, Static-X is the place to go these days. Static-X Lines Up Tracks For "Scream," "Crow" Sequels The industrial-flavored metal outfit has lined up slots on not one but two soundtracks to upcoming horror sequels. First up, the band will kick in the new track "So Real" for the soundtrack to "Scream 3." As we reported last month, Florida chart-toppers Creed will oversee that soundtrack and will also contribute two tracks: "What If" and "Is This the End" (see "Creed To Oversee "Scream 3" Soundtrack; Gives Praise To Radio"). The album is expected to arrive in January a month before the film hits theaters. Static-X will also land its recently recorded cover of Ministry's "Burning Inside" on the soundtrack to "The Crow: Salvation," the third film in the "Crow" series. The track also features Fear Factory frontman Burton Bell (see "Static-X Joins Fear Factory In Studio, On The Road") and should surface when the film does next year. "We've toured with Fear Factory a lot, and us and them are both big Ministry fans," Static-X frontman Wayne Static told MTV News recently. "During Ozzfest, we decided to record the song 'Burning Inside' and we asked Burton to do some guest vocals on it, and I think it turned out great. I hope [Ministry's] Al Jourgensen and Paul Barker like it." [RealVideo] Actually, both "So Real" and "Burning Inside" were recorded when Static-X stopped by a Chicago studio over the fourth of July weekend while on the road with Ozzfest. Thanks to: MTV MABIUS TALKS CROW
Eric Mabius, star of the upcoming The Crow: Salvation, acknowledged that he feels the impact left by the late Brandon Lee, star of The Crow. Mabius had to address that issue as he trained in martial arts with fight choreographer David Lea for the movie, which is due next spring. "We had a really short amount time to do an immense amount of work. The more I learned from Dave, the less I realized I knew," Mabius said. "And I sat down with Bharat (Nalluri, the film's director), and was nervous about the comparisons and worried that I wasn't the martial artist that Brandon was. "And he said, 'Relax.' And that that script played to Brandon's strengths and this script plays to mine and that's why I was cast. And it was something that provided the backbone that I needed to place the mood to do the rest of the work I needed to do on the character. "A lot of people, understandably because of how amazing Brandon was, are going to compare the successors, but The Crow is a reference to the animal and not the person playing the character in the film. It's different people with different tragedies and they're trying to lay the restless souls to rest. So that's why each film ends up having a different actor." Mabius starred in Welcome to the Dollhouse, the Grand Jury winner at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival. He also appeared in I Shot Andy Warhol and The Journey of the August King and the independent films Lawn Dogs and The Black Circle Boys. Mabius attracted director Narulli's attention with Lawn Dogs. Narulli was editing his last movie, Downtime, in London while Lawn Dogs was being edited just down the corridor, giving him an excellent opportunity to see Mabius' work. "I thought this guy was brilliant, and he really stuck in my head," Narulli said. "I came to L.A. and everyone had the consensus of making a young Crow, a 21-year-old Crow. Someone who is the fan base, basically. "They said, 'Who do you want?' And I said, 'Eric.' He was the first choice. He came in, and we got on like a house afire. I'm so glad we made this choice. He's a brilliant actor. "He's very physical. He doesn't come from a martial-arts background, but we put him through training and he took to it like a duck to water." Mabius plays Alex Corvis, the youngest Crow yet, who is sentenced to death for the murder of his girlfriend. When he returns as The Crow, he has to figure out who the real murder is while combating a series of bad cops. "It's much more of a mystery," said producer Jeff Most, comparing The Crow: Salvation to The Crow and The Crow: City of Angels. "There's many more levels of emotions going on in this film." The movie, sure to be rated R, also stars Kirsten Dunst and Fred Ward. Post-production of The Crow: Salvation, which was filmed last spring in Salt Lake City, Utah, is in its final stages. A complete list of soundtrack artists is expected soon. The movie is tentatively scheduled for a March release. Salvation Trivia CRigg sends this along: "I picked up a copy of a new horror magazine called Wicked and it had a 2 page article on Salvation, nothing new though, except some interview quotes from Eric Mabius, Dunst and Jeff Most. Just a trivial thing I guess but Mabius said he had to get up early every morning for 8 hours of putting on makeup.... 2 hrs. of pyro- something and 6 hrs. of airbrushing, but he said he loved doing it and it gave him time to think every day."
'Crow: Salvation' Info Not surprisingly, the San Diego crowd was packed with fans of the comic-book spawned franchise, and one of the foremost issues on their minds seemed to be Crow creator James O'Barr's role in the project. "We actually discussed in detail the various stories we were considering making as a third anthological feature," producer Jeff Most said. "And this is the first Crow feature that does not having any repeating characters from either the first film or the second. As many of you are aware we had the continuing saga of Sarah. "[O'Barr] was very excited at the notion of creating a menacing group of bad guys who are police. He was really excited at the notion of not having the murdered victims, particularly the Crow, witness the murder of his loved one so that the efforts that needed to be made to find the killers and then as well for the Crow to prove to Kirsten Dunst's character Erin that his innocence was real, made it a really compelling story for him. So we did obviously bring this to him when we were first fashioning the story. He thought it was a great way to go and he gave us his big thumbs up and that's very important thing to us. Hollywood isn't particularly known for involving the creators of underlying works, whether they are comics or novels, on an on-going basis and we really do pride ourselves in going back to the source with James. It is certainly instrumental in our process of moving ahead with the franchise and with each story having had James' full thumbs up approval." Jeff Most also revealed that O'Barr recently viewed at cut of the film, and gave his account of the Crow creator's reaction: "He loved the film," the producer assured Crow fans. "We look to James as our touchstone for not only an approval but for his great instincts. We bring James the script as it's developed and involve him in all aspects of our plans. When he gets to see a Crow film and is just ear-to-ear smiles and tells us he loved it we're feeling like we're doing our jobs right. It was great to hear James. He really does think this is a tremendous film. He really likes how we reinvented the storytelling of it so that it doesn't play the same beats as the previous two Crow films. It's much more of a mystery. There's many more levels of emotion going on in this film and he was really appreciative of that." Inevitably, new Crow lead Eric Mabius was confronted with the question of how it feels to follow in the footsteps of the late Brandon Lee. "I sat down with [director] Bharat [Nalluri] and was nervous about the comparisons and worried that I wasn't the marital artist that Brandon was," Mabius explained. "[He] said, 'Relax. That script played to Brandon's strengths.' And this script plays to mine and that's why I was cast in it." Mabius went on to say, "A lot of people, understandably, because of how amazing Brandon was are going to compare the successors -- but the Crow is a reference to the animal, not the person playing the character in the film. So it's different people with different tragedies and they are trying lay the restless souls to rest. So that's why each film ended up having a different actor." Crow: Salvation is in the post-production phase right now, with work being done on the film's the sound. Indications are that the film will hit theaters in time to take advantage of the Easter break a la The Matrix this year.
'Crow 3' Soundtrack Info Thanks to www.cinescape.com
Future 'Crow' Plans
'Black Rider' Update Comic Con Review Crow331 back from the San Diego Comicon with some news (some already reported). First of all, you are correct about Stairway to Heaven. According to Jeff Most the movies producer, he indicated that Pressman films has indeed gotten the rights back from Universal for STH since they have decided to get out of the tv business. The show will begin production as soon as they can with a relaunch in the fall. He mentioned that Mark Dacascos would indeed be back along with Marc Gomes and executive producer Bryce Zabel. He did not mention any of the other cast by name so I don't know what their status is. OK, now movie news. Stabbing Westward will indeed be on the soundtrack as you previously reported. Jeff Most named off a bunch of bands that will be on the soundtrack, but unfortunately since I am not a heavy metal/rock guru I didn't recognize or recall any of the others. Jeff did say that 3 "major acts" would be announced next week, but would not elaborate on who they were, but later in the Q&A Eric Mabius (new Crow) let the cat out of the bag that Rob Zombie would be on the soundtrack as well. While I'm mentioning Rob Zombie, I might as well bring up the fact that Jeff Most commented on the Zombie Crow script from a few years past. Jeff said that Pressman films felt strongly about Robs script, but ultimately it was passed on as a "Crow" script because they thought maybe it was going to be too costly among other things. He said that the script lent itself to not just being a Crow movie and that is they way they are approaching it. The property will indeed be produced, but not as a crow movie.It will be its own movie and will begin production in the spring. It is titled Black Rider. Back to Salvation news. This movie will indeed be released in March of 2000 as previously announced according to Jeff Most. They are still in the post production process. They showed a trailer to the new film which was created for the Cannes film festival along with some behind the scenes still frames from the set. My guess is that when the trailer finally hits the theatres it will probably not be the same as the one they showed at the convention. I think the trailer looked really good by the way. They showed the Crow in makeup and the scars looked really good I thought. I noticed some similar themes to the previous movies but overall it did looked different and seemed to focus a lot on the love story. I really think this might be pretty good. The stars and directors were on hand to answer questions and sign autographs. I was impressed with Eric Mabius and his knowledge of the whole Crow mythology. He obviously did a lot or research and even had read the original James O'Barr comics. He was asked about the obvious comparisons that would be made between him and Brandon Lee and I thought he answered the question quite well. He said basically that the base of the movies is The Crow bird and how it can bring back the souls of those who were unjustly killed. He said that there are many victims with many stories and that Eric Draven had one story, Ashe Corvin had another and now Alex Corvis will have his story told. Anyways, Eric Mabius was soft spoken, but I think he presented himself just fine. As far as Kirsten Dunst, she looked beautiful at the convention and seemed to be just a bubbly little school girl. She didn't have a whole lot say because the presentation had to be cut short because of time constraints, but she looked really good in the trailer and she had seen the trailer for the first time with all of us. She commented that while she was watching it, she thought the movie looked great and thought to herself "I wanna be in that movie". She was also asked about a female crow and she thought it was "a great idea". She said that women should be able to kick butt once in a while which got the whole auditorium cheering. Eric Mabius, Jeff Most & Bharat Nalluri (director) signed autographs in the early afternoon at the Dimension films booth and they were all very gracious. They signed a mini movie poster for the Crow Salvation and I enclosed a picture as best as I could. The poster was mini, but it wouldn't completely fit under my scanner so I had to piece it together, plus I have a crappy scanner, but I think you get the idea. The words that don't read too well in the middle of the poster say FOR VENGEANCE, FOR JUSTICE, FOR LOVE. Jeff Conner, who was one of the writers on the original Crow, was also there just hanging out. Later in the afternoon, Kirsten Dunst was signing autographs by herself. She was also taking pictures. She was great and signed for everyone in line. Really a very nice girl. Ok, one last thing that I can remember, I had a chat with Jeff Conner while getting my autograph for Kirsten Dunst and I asked him about a director's cut for the original Crow. He said that they just pitched the idea to Miramax and they loved it! He did not say exactly when or where, but he said that they were going forward with the idea to re-release The original Crow in theatres with some behind the scenes stuff added, maybe some cut scenes and other things. He said that this would lead into a bigger version put to DVD with a lot more stuff too like a directors audio commentary, storyboard art, production notes, interviews etc. Doesn't that sound great! Well, he didn't give a time frame but he said Miramax loves the idea and they are going full steam ahead with it. That's it from here. Crow331 DUNST TALKS CROWThe soundtrack artists for the upcoming The Crow: Salvation feature film haven't been announced yet, but one of the movie's stars has a recommendation or two. "I think this movie should have Korn in it," said Kirsten Dunst, who plays Erin Randall, the sister of the murdered girlfriend of the new Crow, played by Eric Mabius. "And the Beastie Boys maybe. I don't know if they've had rap music in before (in Crow movies), but I just think all their CDs are great. "But definitely Korn - I see that the most. They're the major ones for me that I want to see in the movie." Dunst, who recently turned 17, is part of the demographic targeted when The Crow: Salvation reaches theaters next spring. The new Crow is far younger than his movie predecessors, a deliberate attempt to bring in the crowds that have been so prevalent in recent box-office successes. And Dunst said she's playing a strong female character which the young moviegoers will like. "Usually girls in films, especially these kinds of films where there's a lot of action, they don't do as much," Dunst said. "Erin kicks butt in the film. She doesn't stand back and just watch. I liked that about her character a lot. "I get to shoot a gun. She's not like a girl who will sit there and let bad stuff happen to her. She tries get out of whatever she can. I stab people; I don't sit back and watch - which I likied." Six weeks of principal photography of The Crow Salvation, a $17 million production, ended in late March in Salt Lake City, Utah. A lot of the film, directed by Bharat Nalluri, was shot in the wee hours for the film's night scenes. "They were really good about it, though, because I got off every night at like 12:30, so it wasn't bad at all for me," Dunst said. "It wasn't that hard of a shoot for me. The role was demanding, but the hours weren't." And what did Dunst think about co-star Mabius? "I think Eric and I had a really amazing chemistry on screen," Dunst said. "Every time I worked with him, it was so intense. His eyes are amazing to look at. With that Crow make-up on, you have to express so much with your eyes and everything - and I think he's very intense. "He comes across as one of the best Crows, I definitely think so. He's got a very good air about him, that kind of mystique of a mystery man. His eyes are very powerful. A very good actor." While post-production of The Crow: Salvation - third in the series based on the comic-book characters and concepts created by James O'Barr -- continues until year's end, fans of Dunst can see her in two comedies this summer, Drop Dead Gorgeous and Dick. "I do get into heavy-duty stuff, but then I do comedies," Dunst said of her roles. "I have two comedies coming out, but then I did The Devil's Arithmetic (a Showtime movie) and then the Virgin Suicides, which is also a darker film. "I like mixing everything. I want to make sure I just don't do one type of film. I have an interest in everything and I think you grow as an actor by doing more different kind of roles." Dunst can also currently be seen on HBO in Small Soldiers. The Crow: Salvation also stars Fred Ward, Grant Shaud and Jodi Lynn O'Keefe. Look for more on The Crow: Salvation soon here in The Continuum. Thanks to: The Comic Book Continuum June 14, 1999 Pressman talks of the film itself, "The movie looks very strong and we're very happy with it. It's on a pace that is not at all longer than normal." Regarding just having seen the director’s cut, Pressman says, "It was 98 minutes - and it was terrific. I was very, very pleased. We're actually going to have a screening with a small audience and then we're going back into the editing room and finish the movie. We deliver, I think, in September." April 12, 1999
The Insider managed to get his mitts on a couple of shots from the upcoming The Crow: Salvation, the third film in the series. As always, see the larger versions by clicking on the graphics above. For more on The Crow: Salvation, check out the next issue of Cinescape magazine which hits the stands slater this month. April 9, 1999 March 17, 1999 January 5, 1999 November 4, 1998
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