 The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: In anticipation of the release of the much-discussed League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Lights Out had the recent pleasure of sitting down with two of the film's equally extraordinary stars, Shane West and Peta Wilson. West (who plays the fearless American spy, Tom Sawyer) and Wilson (who dawns the cape of Dracula's vampiric lover, Mina Harker) both beamed with equal enthusiasm for the finished film.
LXG came to life as the brainchild of graphic novelist Alan Moore, whose imaginary tale united several unique characters from classic English literature, ranging from the aquatic Captain Nemo to the monstrous Mr. Hyde. These characters, emerging from a wonderful history of rich storytelling, have leapt from the page to the screening in the hope of entertaining modern movie audiences.
Inevitably, comparisons will emerge between the two presenations, a process for which West and Wilson are readily prepared. As West's Tom Sawyer serves as a cinematic addition to the group, the young actor feels the most likely to by targeted for critcism.
"Once I read the comic and knew that my character wasn't in the book," says West, "I became more interested, mostly because I was able to take this as an opportunity to create something that I'm guaranteed nobody else was going to create…I didn't have to duplicate anything." There is, however, a downside to this advantage that West acknowledges in stride. "But at the same time, what goes along with that is the baggage of all the fans who love the novel. And, of course, I'm not in the novel, so how dare I even be created."
Yet another change from Moore's source material comes in the form of Mina's diminished leadership role in the League. Wilson, however, as the only female member, gives an energetic laugh when asked about her character's seeming demotion. "It doesn't bother me because she's so powerful anyway…The demon that's inside of her is so much more ugly than all of the boys."
Inhabiting roles created by such legendary authors required a return to the original source material. Both actors turned to the novels from which their characters sprung as a starting point in the creation of their soon-to-be cinematic heroes.
"I'd read Dracula and almost everything across the board," says Wilson. "Mina's half-human, you see, so the challenge for me is how I'm going to play a human vampire. Whenever she gets emotional - agitated, excited, nervous, anything at all - then out comes the vampire. So it's a challenge for her to control that demon, to suppress it."
West's approach, much like the character he portrays, is decidedly more boyish. "Believe it or not…I got them mixed up," says West, speaking of Twain's Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. "I actually couldn't remember the stories. I remembered that Tom had white-washed the fence, but I also thought that he'd gone on the huge rafting trip, which was really Huck Finn."
West laughs at this but is quick to point out that original novels were the key to creating a character with no prior representation in the series. "I re-read the books basically to see how much of a smart-ass Tom was, how adventurous he was, all the trouble he got into. And then I aged it. Obviously, he's a decade older…and now a secret service agent, so it's almost perfect."
As for the addition of a younger, American character to this widely older, European group, West has his own philosophy. "I think that they added this character to appeal to everybody, especially the younger audiences. I don't know if it necessarily had to be American, but I'm sure that Hollywood was thinking along those terms."
Wilson agrees, commenting on the methods by which these aged characters have been presented to younger, modern audiences. "The thing about Mina is that she's not like the character in the book. It's past the book. There are all these literary characters and it's past their stories. You guys may know these characters, but most fourteen year olds probably don't…"
Sawyer's addition, however, is not the only change made to these classic characters, as each has been largely remodeled for this 21st century release.
As stated in the accompanying review, there is an unfortunate loss of backstory and character depth as these antiquated action heroes battle forcefully toward the closing credits. When asked about this troubling turn, Wilson is quick with her own take on the matter:
"When we shot the film there were many more interpersonal relationships. But when they cut the movie, that was the stuff that had to go. The rationality was: Let's pull them in and if they like it, when we come back, we can do all that. There just wasn't enough room."
She thinks for a moment before adding, "We come with these great back-stories, but let's not forget that this film begins after those stories have finished. We've all had some kind of catharsis happen after those books, and so we all took some artistic license with our creations."
Whatever the case, West and Wilson both seem largely pleased with the film and speak hopefully of sequel possibilities. From her seat at the table, Wilson flashes Mina's sexy half-smile, adding, "Hey, if we go on for more, then there may be an opportunity for Mina to be in charge of something. That would be good."
And with Mina as the seed of promise in this slowly developing series, that wouldn't be bad at all. |
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