Originally posted by Bloody-Disgusting.com on October 22, 2013 @ 1:00pm
In “I, Frankenstein,” the monstrous creation of Victor Frankenstein might be mankind’s last chance at survival. Hated and feared at the same time, Adam Frankenstein walks the thin line between man and monster. Wanting to be left alone, Adam finds himself unwillingly involved in a deadly war between two immortal clans. No stranger to comics, screenwriter Kevin Grevioux then turned his Adam Frankenstein into a comic book character.
Bloody-disgusting spoke with Grevioux about how the inspiration came about, what actor Aaron Eckhart brings to the role, and adapting his screenplay into a comic book.
Bloody-Disgusting: Tell me how the concept came about?
Kevin Grevioux: Basically after I created “Underworld,” I tried to do something similar, which was traditionally a horror character, and spin the concept on its on its heels, and turn it into an action-type character. And I thought, the next logical choice was Frankenstein. How can I take Frankenstein, which is traditionally a horror character, born out of sci-fi of course, but turn him into an action hero, and that’s basically I did.
BD: What is it about Adam Frankenstein that interests you?
KG: Basically I like that he’s a big monster, that’s first and foremost. I also think it’s the way he was created. He was born into a world that he never made. He didn’t ask to be here. He is the ultimate abandoned child. Here you have this character who was created by man, created by God, and he was left to his own designs without any instructions from his father. God did the responsible, the only thing you could do with Adam, and he taught him right from wrong. But Victor Frankenstein didn’t do that with his Adam. He just looked at him as a monster, abandoned him, and the monster resented that. And so now that creates within the monster a kind of duality. Am I man or am I monster? Or am I both? Which one is it? Frankenstein is the search for his particular identity.
BD: What is it that you think Aaron Eckhart brings as Adam?
KG: I think he brings an amazing gravitas in terms of acting ability. He can say a lot with just one word, or a movement of his body, or a look. Since he is not a large man, those attributes loom large and really help to create a viable and visceral character.
BD: The film deals with gargoyles, demons, and Adam. Tell me about building the dark world of “I, Frankenstein.”
KG: It’s different than I originally conceived it. My thing was to have this world full of monsters and creatively we weren’t able to make it happen. So Stuart Beattie came in 18 months later, after we were in development with another director, he had a way to pair it down to two, gargoyles and demons. And so, where I had Dracula, the prince of darkness as the protagonist, Stuart came along and changed him to a demon prince. Where I had vampires, he changed them into demons. But the story, or the thrust of the villain, the protagonist, remained the same. I discover the secret of Frankenstein’s creation and use that to create more monsters like him, reanimate life, so they could use those bodies for something sinister, which is to takeover mankind.
BD: You have also written “New Warriors” and “ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction.” Tell me about the challenges of adapting the screenplay into a comic book?
KG: There really were no challenges. My thing is, it was about taking what I had already done and just breaking it up. If there were any challenges, it was trying to find the right artist; so that I could convey what I wrote in my screenplay to an artist that could really do something with it.
BD: The images of “I, Frankenstein” comic can be found on your Dark Storm Studios website. What was important to you to bring from the comic to the big screen?
KG: In terms, monsters that we had never seen before in a way that we had never seen them. That’s what my goal was. Of course we had seen Frankenstein before but I want to see him in a different light. Of course, we have seen vampires before, Dracula. Let’s go a little bit further and what more can we do with that particular character. So that was my goal.
BD: Tell me about writing the comic through Adam’s noir-ish first-person perspective?
KG: That’s what it was. It was a film noir story about Adam Frankenstein in the modern world. And I thought that was the best way to convey the story since it allowed us to get into Adam’s head, and go through what he was going through, being able to think or see what he was thinking, and that was important.
BD: What are your expectations with the audience when they see it on January 24, 2014?
KG: Yes, I think they will have a good time. They will have a blast!
BD: What other projects are you working on now?
KG: I just created a comic book company. I’m working on a CGI animated film. I’m also working on a children’s animated TV series about monsters called “Monstroids,” which is based upon my original comic. So I’m doing a couple of things.
Interview by – Jorge Solis
