Latest news with #MechanicalCake
Time of India
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Johnny Depp unleashes his inner monster in Ridley Scott's 'Hyde' graphic novel series; calls role 'madness and magic'
Hollywood star Johnny Depp is set to sink his teeth into another iconic role - Mr Hyde. The actor is set to bring to life one of literature's most iconic villains through the upcoming graphic novel series titled 'Hyde'. The series, co-produced with legendary filmmaker Ridley Scott and Mechanical Cake, the project, based on Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, is scheduled for release on Halloween 2025. Dream Role View this post on Instagram A post shared by ColorsTV (@colorstv) The project reportedly aims to offer a darker, more psychologically complex take on the the famed saga. The first clip of the series was dropped online featring Depp's likeness in film and illustrated formats. The video was posted online by Depp, who also penned a heartfelt caption that read, 'When I was a boy, I carried a little leather book of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde in my back pocket everywhere I went.' He went on to add, 'To step into the world of Robert Louis Stevenson, to be welcomed into Ridley Scott's vision… and to explore this character — it's madness and magic.' Plot According to Variety, the series will reimagine the classic tale, in which Mr. Hyde has fully overtaken Dr. Jekyll and lives underground in Victorian London, experimenting with a dark serum capable of transforming others into versions of himself. Depp and Scott React In a statement to Variety, Depp described the opportunity as deeply personal rather than purely professional, adding, 'To build within the world of Robert Louis Stevenson's masterful characters… and inexplicably having the opportunity to explore — it's surprising to me. And hopefully, surprising him. It's insane and beautiful to receive that trust from Ridley.' Director Scott also expressed strong support for the concept, stating that upon viewing an early pitch and poster mock-up, Scott responded with, 'It's a no-brainer.' With 'Hyde', Depp marks his return to the horror genre after taking on the role of Sweeney Todd in Tim Burton 's 2007 film.
News18
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
Johnny Depp Joins Ridley Scott For Dark Graphic Novel Inspired By Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde
Johnny Depp and Ridley Scott are collaborating on Hyde, a graphic novel inspired by Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Actor Johnny Depp is returning to the darker side of storytelling, this time through a creative collaboration with veteran director Ridley Scott. The duo is joining forces for Hyde, a new graphic novel inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's iconic novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The project is being developed under Scott's production company and will debut as a graphic novel series this Halloween. Described as a modern reimagining of the classic gothic tale, Hyde explores the narrative from a sinister new perspective. The story begins after Mr. Hyde has already overtaken Dr. Jekyll, with Hyde now prowling the sewers of London. His malevolent reign is amplified by a mysterious serum that enables him to mutate others into monstrous reflections of himself. The visual identity of the titular character is modeled after Johnny Depp himself, who is also creatively involved in shaping both the storyline and the character's evolution. The series is created by Jesse Negron, CEO of the entertainment company Mechanical Cake. The property will be co-owned by Johnny Depp, Ridley Scott, and Mechanical Cake. 'To build within the world of Robert Louis Stevenson's masterful characters and to be welcomed into the vision of Ridley Scott… and inexplicably having the opportunity to explore, it's surprising to me. And hopefully surprising to him. It's insane and beautiful to receive that trust from Ridley. A master," said Depp, expressing his admiration for the legendary filmmaker. A preview of Hyde will be unveiled at San Diego Comic-Con, where a special panel will bring together Jesse Negron, visual designer Anthony Francisco, and other key figures from the comic and film industries. Discussions will focus on the cross-media ambitions of the project and the vision behind it. While the graphic novel series takes precedence for now, a film adaptation is already in early development, with Depp likely to play the lead role. First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Los Angeles Times
28-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Ridley Scott's ‘Modville' graphic novel debuts during a tough time for comics. Can it survive?
When Ridley Scott, visionary director of 'Alien,' 'Blade Runner' and 'Gladiator,' connects with your story, it's probably a good idea to explore it in any medium possible. 'Modville,' a four-issue neo-noir graphic novel set in New Orleans in 2169 that unfolds in a world of crime and artificial humans (known as mods), was just that story. Created by Jesse Negron, co-written by Joe Matsumoto and with art by Hendry Prasetya and Eko Puteh, the comic touches on themes of father-daughter relationships, morality and humanity. The comic series bucks the current trend of reframing superhero narratives. Instead, it's an original idea that will go direct to consumers (versus being released by a big publisher like Diamond and Penguin Random House) and initially be printed in a prestige format (a 200-page hardcover instead of single issues). It'll also have an idiosyncratic schedule, free of month-to-month pressures. Negron, who had previously worked with the director and his late brother, Tony Scott, pitched the seemingly radical idea of doing a comic book to Tom Moran, senior vice president of Ridley Scott's film and TV company Scott Free Productions. 'Tony was a big fan of Jesse's. We met and talked about his ideas, and I said, 'Well, what do you want to do? Film or TV?' He said, 'I really want to do comics, but you guys don't do that.' I said, 'Why not?,'' said Moran. 'As an entertainment company, especially these days, you have to evolve. We have to reach out and expand to new forms of entertainment. Honestly, Ridley was probably like, 'We should have done this a long time ago.' He's such a good artist himself.' 'Collaborating with Jesse Negron and Mechanical Cake on graphic novels feels like a natural evolution for myself and Scott Free,' said Ridley Scott via email. Through his company Mechanical Cake, Negron will be introducing the graphic novel, as well as a 'Modville'-style booth, at WonderCon in Anaheim this weekend. Negron, Moran, publisher and editor Dave Elliott, and Anthony Francisco, a senior visual development artist for Marvel Studios, will discuss the ins and outs of the company in a panel Saturday. Negron has been working on the idea for 'Modville' for at least 5 years. Negron and Chief Financial Officer Tom Sanders launched Mechanical Cake in 2015 to not only create comics but to also cultivate new ideas in multimedia. 'Mechanical Cake is a world-building [intellectual property] creation team that is focused in the sci-fi-fantasy-action-adventure genre,' said Sanders. 'The goal of any creative is not only to tell the story but to get it to the world and get the fans involved.' The company's association with Scott already adds cachet to the title, but obtaining his blessing was only the first step. 'There's no doubt that for me to launch at the bar of Ridley Scott, it's a lot of pressure to be honest,' said Negron. 'It's sometimes very difficult to work at the level he works at because he'll just go, 'Meh, I don't know.' To work at his level where he goes, 'Whoa, you guys keep doing this. Whoa, you did that!?' That was really important to me.' Getting on the same page as your business partners is only one of the hurdles to overcome when launching an independent comic book. With the sale of Diamond Comic Distributors to Alliance Entertainment, the comics industry may breathe a sigh of relief, but market leaders still tend to dominate attention and shelf space, limiting sales for small presses and direct-to-market players. Diamond helped unknown titles get the word out through its Previews catalog, but with its bankruptcy and subsequent sale, it's unclear how the acquisition will affect the comics industry. Of the 40 most popular graphic novels in 2024 (based on units sold), only four titles weren't published by the leading comics companies — which include Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Image Comics, IDW Publishing, Dark Horse Comics and BOOM! Studios. Those titles include 'Dog Man: The Scarlet Shedder' by Graphix, 'Uzumaki' and 'Chainsaw Man, Vol. 1' — both by VIZ Media — and 'Jimi Hendrix: Purple Haze' by Titan Comics. This trend is seen with periodical comic books too, with only four franchises outside of Marvel and DC able to crack the top 50 comics of 2024. Those all happened to be well-known '80s titles such as Image's G.I. Joe and Transformers, IDW's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Dynamite Entertainment's Thundercats. But it's an uncertain time for all entertainment sectors. Like the movie industry, comic book sales and consumer trends indicate that introducing an original story, without an established distribution network, like the one Diamond provided for decades, is a daunting and risky task. Film and comics have a lot in common, which is also why the union of Scott Free Productions and Mechanical Cake makes sense to the parties involved. 'They deliver like nobody else on the planet in this genre. Science fiction, action, the edge of fantasy. I can't think of a better partner to team up with than Scott Free,' said Sanders. 'Doing a comic book is like doing a film or TV show but with more details. Everything on the panel is intentionally put there, just like you do in a film or TV show. If you've done it right, you pretty much have laid out a storyboard that anyone should be able to follow. We want to build a world for others to create stories in as well.' Scott, known for his detailed storyboards, was also drawn to the comics because of his background as an artist. 'To watch Ridley draw is amazing. He's such a visionary, from mind to pen to hand to paper. You can flip through his storyboards and see the whole movie. It's truly an art form, and that's essentially what you're getting from comics,' said Moran. Bill Sienkiewicz is one of the prominent artists who will help create the visual language for 'Modville,' specifically in crafting covers for the series. Sienkiewicz said he enjoys the 'grunge' technology in the story, which harks back to something familiar. 'What I'm enjoying about 'Modville' is that, while it may not be a direct corollary to 'Blade Runner,' it has enough of the DNA to make it feel like it's at least adjacent. I love the idea of investigating on deeper levels what constitutes humanity and morality,' said Sienkiewicz. 'When you're doing a monthly book, you can afford to be a little more subtextual and be intriguing for it's own sake.' 'Modville' has also carved out its own route into a crowded marketplace. It'll launch with a prestige format (200-page books) and hardcovers then transition to soft covers and to a wider market. Unlike traditional comics and graphic novels, these editions won't be reprinted, making them one-of-a-kind commodities. Elliott said he wants Mechanical Cake to be accessible to the public but also to make sure the creative process isn't rushed to meet market demands. 'More books are being published by Kickstarter at the moment than almost anybody else. So that model of working directly with the people who are fans of what you're doing is something that is so important today,' said Elliott. 'But a lot of other publishers you look at, they're trapped into that, 'It's a new month. We have to have something out every month.' I'm like, 'No, we don't.' We put something out when it's ready but not before. I wanted us to treat the publishing the way the Europeans do with graphic novels and the way the publishing world used to treat novels.' It's a mind-set that goes against what retailers and consumers may be used to. Paul Grimshaw, owner of Burbank's House of Secrets comic book store, prefers serialized comic books and graphic novels that 'come out on a monthly basis and keep people interested,' but he says being unique is also key. One of his top-selling comics over the past year has been 'Saga,' an epic space opera/fantasy series written by Brian K. Vaughan from Image. 'Honestly, all you need to do is be good. If you've got well-written, well-illustrated books, they will find an audience. Gimmicks are gimmicks. Gimmicks only last for a short amount of time. My favorite books are the ones that have good artists and are telling a solid story,' Grimshaw said. Besides lending his name to the project, Scott also contributed to shaping the story and a critical eye to the art direction. It dawned on Elliott early on that Scott could see the relationship colors played to viewers onscreen and to readers on paper. 'In the beginning, the colors were a bit brighter and more vivid. And [Scott would say], 'Maybe you can mute it a bit, desaturate it a bit.' This was when I realized that he understood the difference between comics and film. We were talking about the fact that comics use color in a way [Scott] can't use in film. It is a more muted palette so you can trigger emotion [differently],' said Elliott. 'I started out as an artist, sketching every storyboard for each of my films, and it's remarkable how instinctively the visual language of storytelling in 'Modville' unfolds,' said Scott. Scott and Negron's sensibilities seem to align well. Negron's stylistic and storytelling influences are varied: from the retro technology and stylish imagery of 'The Rocketeer' to a Southern Gothic aesthetic born of a Baptist upbringing. When Negron sent Scott his first draft of 'Modville,' the director made him dial back some of the more controversial and gratuitous elements. Though he had been working on the story and art for years, Negron realized that Scott wasn't trying to change his vision, he was making sure that it would grab readers and keep them coming back. 'He goes, 'I've had a room of 6,000 people turn against me.' So we toned it down a little bit in the opening [for 'Modville'], and I think it was a good choice.'
