Movie Talkback - Joe Johnston Talks Upcoming Captain Amerca Movie

I've said this numerous times, but Captain America is my favorite comicbook character of all-time. I don't know if it's the cheesy overly heart-felt patriotism of the character or the fact that he just loves beating up Nazi's, but I can never get enough, never am more pumped up than when I'm reading a Captain America comic.

Anyway, the directer of the upcoming The Wolfman picture, Joe Johnston, is also directing the upcoming Captain America movie. When the picture was first announced I was a tad fearful because it's very easy for a Captain America movie to devolve into pure American cheese, but after reading a recent interview from Johnston himself, I have to admit, I'm pretty damn pumped. Here's a man that get's the character. Here's what Johnston had to say about his upcoming picture:

"It is influenced by the comic book, but it goes off in a completely different direction. It's the origin story of Captain America. It's mostly period—there are modern, present-day bookends on it—but it's basically the story of how Steve Rogers becomes Captain America. The great thing about Captain America is he's a super hero without any super powers. Which is why this story, among the hundreds of super hero stories, appealed to me the most. He can't fly, he can't see through walls, he can't do any of that stuff. He's an every man who's been given this amazing gift of transformation into the perfect specimen—the pinnacle of human perfection. How does that affect him? What does that mean for him emotionally and psychologically?"

"He was this 98-pound weakling, he was this wimp, and he's transformed instantly into this Adonis. You'd think he got everything he wanted. Well, he didn't get everything he wanted. The rules change at that point and his life gets even more complicated and dire. For me, that's the interesting part of the story. It's got some great action sequences in it and some incredible stuff that we've never seen before. But at the heart of it, it's a story about this kid who all he wants to do is fit in. This thing happens and he still doesn't fit in. And he has to prove himself a hero—essentially go AWOL to save a friend. Eventually at the very end, I don't want to give away to much, but he does fit in. But it's the journey of getting him there that's interesting. And it's a lot of fun."

So yeah, here's a man who clearly gets what Captain America is all about, a character who has never belonged to any time, either when he was fighting Nazi's in WW2 and was the icon of the nation, to waking up in our modern day, where his past ideals and beliefs have become outdated. Captain America has always been the story of a man who fights for the world even when he feels detached, alone, left behind by it. I for one can not wait for the movie. However, even a great story can be bogged down by casting and costume. It really all depends on who they choose to done the red, white and blue. Look for the film to hit theaters 2011.