Date: February 8, 2004
Author: Robert Sanchez
Photography: Richard Chavez
The IESB has returned from the LA Sci-Fi Comic Book Convention that was held in Pasadena this weekend and we got the lowdown on Hellboy. We were fortunate enough to get an interview with Ron Perlman (HellBoy), Doug Jones (Abe Sapien) and Hellboys’ make-up artist Jake Garber.
Rest assured that the makeup is 100% top notch. Garber’s past work includes Tales from the Crypt, Bad Boys II, Stargate (Movie), various Star Trek projects including First Contact, Kill Bill (both 1 & 2), The Hulk, the upcoming Exorcist movie and a whole lot more. Jake has also worked with Perlman previously on Star Trek Nemesis.
For two hours a day from February until August last year Jake applied make up and prosthetics to Ron transforming him into Hellboy, however Ron swears it was actually four hours.
What does Ron think of his experience as Hellboy?
“Not bad, a total pleasure,” he says as he lights up a cigar.
I asked him how big of a fan he was of the original comics and when was it that he began reading them. Apparently it all began at a dinner with Guillermo del Toro over 6 years ago and that was the first time Hellboy had been mentioned to him. At that time, Guillermo said that in a perfect world he would want Ron to play Hellboy in a feature film, but of course we don’t live in a perfect world.
Del Toro took Ron to Meltdown Comics on the Sunset strip and showed him a sculpture of Hellboy. He said to Ron, “in a perfect world that’s Hellboy.” Ron told Guillermo to never speak to him about the Hellboy project because he did not want to get disappointed a few years down the line when he sees a Hellboy movie poster somewhere starring Vin Diesel. It wasn’t until about 3 ½ years later when studio executives gave the project the go ahead that Ron decided to pick up issues of Hellboy and began to read them all.
As for Perlman’s next project, he will be in the director’s chair. Wooden Lake, a small independent film is about the relationship between two brothers. Ron promises a lot of emotion and humor. Although he and Doug Jones both agree it sounds more like a porno movie than a real film. He is sure he will “fuck up” but promises no monsters. By the way, Ron mentioned he was glad to see that Blade 3 got made. He did not want to be the reason for another dead franchise, in reference to his appearance in Star Trek Nemesis. He also informed us that he does have the option for sequels in his Hellboy contract.
Doug Jones, who portrays Abe Sapien in the film, feels right at home with “costume” acting. He doesn’t mind the prosthetics and the makeup and says that when you agree to take a part you should know what you are getting into. If you are going to complain the whole time then it’s just better to turn down the job. However Doug is not happy about the fact that a voice over actor will be dubbing his lines. David Hyde Pierce, from Frasier, will be providing Sapien’s voice.
After the interviews, Guillermo del Toro, Ron Perlman, and Doug Jones made their appearances on stage. A three minute behind the scenes featurette was show along with ten minutes of actual movie footage. A Q & A with the audience followed.
Del Toro was sure to mention that baby Hellboy as seen on the Internet is not the final version. The finished project has hair, a penis and testicles. He also said Hellboy fans will see their superhero in an urban environment which had not been done in the comics. Also one thing noticeably absent from this film are pancakes, Hellboy's favorite food. But, del Toro promises to have plenty of them in Hellboy 2.
During preproduction studio execs questioned whether Hellboy should have goggles, be red, or even have a tail. Guillermo said he could not see the character any other way.
“Have heart and balls then people will come to see your film,” says Del Toro.
Hellboy opens April 2.
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