Dice with the devil

LONG ago, superstar motorcycle stunt rider Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) made a deal with the devil to protect the ones he loved most: his father and his childhood sweetheart, Roxanne (Eva Mendes).

Now, the Devil has come for his due. By day, Johnny is a die-hard stunt rider... but at night, in the presence of evil, he becomes the Ghost Rider, a bounty hunter of rogue demons. Forced to do the Devil's bidding, Johnny is determined to confront his fate and use his curse and powers to defend the innocent.

"I think Ghost Rider is one of the most unique mythologies in the comic book universe," says Nicolas Cage, who brings the classic Marvel comic book character to life in Ghost Rider.

As the Devil's bounty hunter, the Ghost Rider's supernatural thrills are a perfect match for Cage's intense and engaging persona. "He's a complicated character who makes a decision to sell his soul to the Devil, but he does it out of love, not out of greed or personal ambition. To me, that is really rich material to play with. This scary-looking guy really is a hero."

For director Mark Steven Johnson, who previously wrote and directed the hit comic-book adaptation Daredevil, bringing Ghost Rider to the big screen was the culmination of a lifelong love of the character.

"I've been a huge comic-book fan from the time I was in third grade," says Johnson. "I got comics every week: Daredevil, Spider-Man, X-Men - all of them. Ghost Rider was one of the most visually interesting, and, in my opinion, the coolest character."

Nicolas Cage has been a fan of Ghost Rider since its inception. "I remember having the first issue of Ghost Rider and looking at it and wondering what it was all about," he says. "It was complicated and scary and exciting, all at the same time."

Cage's interest continued as an adult. "I would bike all the time out in the canyons of Malibu," he says. "So I was very interested in the idea of bringing whatever motorcycle abilities I may have had at the time to this movie. Five years went by and I stopped riding motorcycles, but then the film became a reality and I got back into it again. The main thing that kept me going was my fascination with motorcycles. They are marvellous creatures."

Cage's fascination with the role goes beyond his love of two-wheeled vehicles to the character's dramatic potential and distinctive visual appeal: "He is also, in my opinion, the coolest-looking of all the superheroes. It doesn't get any better than a motorcycle stunt cyclist dressed head to toe in black leather with a flaming skull for a head."

"Nic was always our only choice for the role," says Johnson. "He has been close to doing a number of comic book movies, but this is the one he's always wanted to make most of all. And he's perfect for the role. He even dresses like Johnny Blaze! He brought a lot of himself into the character."

"Johnny is, ironically, a very good person," says Cage. "In my mind, he's always trying to stay calm and do whatever he can not to succumb to the Devil. He knows that even one slip-up will mean a phone call from the wrong guy."

Cage describes Johnny's alter-ego, Ghost Rider, as an "inexorable force" rather than a person. "He's more like a hurricane that comes at you if you have done anything against the innocent. He is a spirit of vengeance. He uses a chain or the power of hellfire, but the most devastating thing he does is the Penance Stare; just by looking at you, he can make you relive every sin you've committed, everything wrong you've done, a million times over. Whatever pain you have inflicted on your victims, he will give you that pain back a hundred, a thousand times over."

Playing Roxanne Simpson, Blaze's love interest, is Eva Mendes, who says she was attracted to the role by both the film's archetypal subject matter and the talented individuals involved.

"I've always been intrigued with stories that have to do with selling your soul to the devil and what might make someone do that," says the actress.

Mendes jokes that the hardest thing about the shoot for her was Roxanne's preference for towering footwear. "The biggest challenge was running in very high-heel stilettos for about four weeks. I only broke the heels once!"