"It's Intenso Time!" - From Off-White Page to Silver Screen

If the 80's were epitomised by the Action film and the 90's were the domain of the more thoughtful independent film, then the early 21st century could easily come to be defined by the dominance of the comic strip adaptation. Ever since 'X-Men' and 'Spider-Man' hit the cinemas, Hollywood has been desperately trying to find the Next Big Thing. Even multi-award winning directors like Sam Mendes and Ang Lee have got in on the act with 'The Road To Perdition' and 'The Hulk' respectively.

Dan Waveney is the latest director to try to breath three-dimensional life into a two dimensional character as he brings Intenso-Man to the big screen.

AC. Dan, there have been rather a lot of superhero films lately. What makes Intenso-Man different?

DW. To be honest, I'd dispute that there have been a lot of superhero films. Personally, I don't think there have been enough.

Well there have been a fair few…

As I say, I’d dispute that.

Well I've got a list here. There are quite a number.

I really do doubt that.

X-Men, X-Men 2, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Batman Begins, Daredevil…

Firstly, sequels don't count. Secondly, I still don’t think that's a large number.

…Hellboy, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The Fantastic Four, The Hulk, V for Vendetta…

Still not that many.

X-Men 3 and Superman Returns are about to open soon. Wonder Woman and Ghost Rider are in development.

Nobody likes a wise ass.

Returning to my original question. What makes Intenso-Man different?

Intenso-Man first appeared in 1957 in Dynamo Comic #35. He was created by two really talented guys, Joe Chill and Jack Napier. They gave the character this great back-story. It really gives him an edge over the other comic book characters.

But surely all comic characters acquire an incredibly convoluted back-story over time, just because of the enormous quantity of comics they appear in over that time?

But I think you're missing that Intenso-Man is driven by an inner pain. That's very different to any other superhero that I can think of.

You mean different from Batman? He's emotionally scarred after seeing his parents gunned down in cold blood right in front of him.

Well, maybe.

Or Superman? Sent to Earth by his parents to escape the Planet Krypton that was about to explode. An explosion that kills his entire family?

Er…

My point is, what makes this character so different?

Intenso-Man gets his powers when he's run over by a dustbin lorry driven by his father that has accidentally become radioactive when some toxic waste is unintentionally mislabelled.

So it has an environmental message?

Yes it does. Also be more careful when you reverse. It works on multiple levels. He also has a great catchphrase.

Which is?

It's Intenso Time! Great, huh? All the kids are going to be shouting that this time next year.

I'll look forward to it…

It's Intenso Time!

Some people disapprove of comic strip adaptations because they say that they tend to be somewhat two dimensional and superficial.

Hey listen, you take any panel from any comic strip and I guarantee that there will be more drama in that one panel then you'll find in pages of Dickens, Shakespeare, Archer or any of the other great writers.

I've got one here actually.

Go for it. Read it out.

It says, "Boom! Laser-like beams coming from his eyes! Aiiiieeee!!" And there's a picture of a big explosion.

Now would you find that in anything Dickens wrote?

Er, no.

I rest my case.

This film has a massive budget. Over 200 million dollars in total. How do even begin to decide how that gets spent?

Let me just nail one rumour that I've seen circulating over the last few months. This is not a special effects movie.

But there are a lot of special effects in it?

Yes but they only serve the story.

But the last two-thirds of the film are being shot entirely against bluescreens.

Only to serve the story.

And the cost of the effects do amount to over half of the total budget.

Serving the story can be expensive. The whole trilogy will cost in excess of a half billion dollars.

So this is just the first of a trilogy?

As I said, this is very different to most superhero movies.

But they're all designed to be the first of a franchise. That's partly how the studios make their money back.

I'm sensing some very heavy negativity here.

I'm just struggling to understand what exactly your film has that makes it different from any of the rest.

Ours has a much better quality tie-in Happy Meal at McDonalds.

I should have known. Dan Waveney, thank you for your time.

Would you like an "It's Intenso Time!" t-shirt?
No thank you.