#james obarr

[doldilic]

[e-crypt]

The Crow, art by James O'barr

[jeridandridge]

Fresh and cleannnn they’re so pretty. First Winter Soldier and a signed James O’Barr.

[hinasho]

This is the last thing I'll say in regards to the criticism.

James O'Barr is fine with new adaptations of his graphic novel.

He had joined on board the production process when there was going to be a 2014 adaptation of Eric's storyline with Luke Evans as the lead.

"[We're] not remaking the [1994] movie. We're re-adapting the book. My metaphor is that there is a Bela Lugosi Dracula (1931) and there's a Francis Ford Coppola Dracula (1992). They use the same material, but you still got two entirely different films. This one's going to be closer to Taxi Driver (1976) or a John Woo film, and I think there's room for both of them. Part of the appeal of The Crow comics, after all, is that they can tell very different stories."

James is not only fine with new adaptations, he's tired of how many he's wanted to see happen that unfortunately never got released.

Earlier this year on April 18, 2024, he sat down for an interview with The Legacy Of Nerd youtube channel.

(@ about 9 minutes & 38 seconds)

INTERVIEWER: "What do you think has been the most frustrating thing of seeing these projects lag, lag, and lag?" JAMES: "[...] A couple of them, ya know, I've met the directors and worked with them on the script. I've put a lot of effort and time into drawing things and re-writing scripts. And then at the last minute it falls apart and I have nothing to show for that." JAMES: "So it became frustrating to where, I just... If you're going to make a movie, go make it! I don't want to have anything to do with it. Go make the best movie you can, but I can't invest anymore time and effort into this thing. When nothing is going to happen."

And he's found it frustrating how many times he has to explain to skeptics and complainers that different adaptations do not harm the original story in any way.

(@ about 10 minutes & 30 seconds)

INTERVIEWER: "The '94 Brandon Lee movie is really hard to re-do—" JAMES: "Yeah, people love that character. But they understand though. Even the people that love the first film and don't want a new one, they understand. They're gonna go see it, just so they can have something to bitch about."

(@ about 11 minutes & 14 seconds)

INTERVIEWER: "...The Brandon Lee version has a very important feel to a lot of people and that's how a lot of people discovered The Crow. To go on and to read the books and read the comics and stuff like that. I can see why it's been so difficult to re-do over the years and I can see from a creator standpoint that—" JAMES: "When I was working on them, like the Jason Momoa one, having to explain to people that it's not... how many film versions of Dracula are there? There's like 60 of them. Everybody has their favorite. [...] It's the same source material but it's a different way to tell it. I spent a lot of time explaining to people that it's not going to take anything away from Brandon's movie. This is just a different way to look at it."

The only thing James does NOT want are people trying to remake the story in the same exact way.

"The Crow [1994] still holds up remarkably well. For a 10 million dollar film, it looks astonishing… it seems kind of pointless if you’re just going to be repetitious." - James in an interview with Supanova.

---

"If you read the comic, Eric and Shelley never have their last names revealed," he said. "Hopefully, this is one area the new movie being more faithful to the comic will come into play, and Eric won't be going by Eric Draven in the new film. "Luke Evans may play Eric, but Brandon Lee will forever be Eric Draven... No-one understands that fear more than me. Brandon Lee was a friend and I'd never do anything to hurt his legacy." - James in 2014 when he was working on the Luke Evans version.

As long as the re-imagining has it's own spin and doesn't try to copy beat for beat the same exact story as it's already been told, James is more than okay with it. He actively supports re-adaptations of his graphic novel as long as they're unique and refreshing in some way.

So if you truly care about the original creator's own thoughts on his own work... please get a grip.

[theliteralbear]

The Crow : Nick Derington

[sauva7710n]

THE CROW (1994)

[brokehorrorfan]

The latest installment in Jason Edmiston's “Eyes Without a Face” series, featuring The Crow, is available today only. The giclee print measures 9x5 and costs $20.

[oldskoolgoon]