Bendis talks Zac Efron and Fire
From an interview between Brian Michael Bendis, creator of Fire, and IGN Comics:
IGN Comics: So one of the more shocking news items related to you - that somehow wasn't related to Ares being disemboweled - was you driving around with Zac Efron. I know my whole office was talking about it - "Like, what the hell?" It's interesting, when I go into a store I see Jinx, I see Powers… I don't see Fire…
Bendis: Fire actually sells really well, perhaps because it's cheaper. That's why I remastered it, because I was selling a lot of these and it was an earlier work. I don't think at this stage in my career, as people are buying what I'd consider to be fairly polished works… I did this in college, and I want it to resemble something more professional. So I had it remastered at Image, and I'm happy I did that. I hate to tell you how old the book is, that's how old it is… Zac Efron was something like four years old or something. -laughs- But it's constantly been in print this whole time. And every time I get back the accruals for the quarter I'm like "Really! Okay!" -laughs- It's just odd and funny.
So that said, what happened was he had read it and his agent got a hold of my manager. They were talking and this pretty well known producer, Neal Moritz, who is working on Green Hornet and all kinds of stuff, all got together and thought me and Zac might get along. So they put us in a room together and he's a very interesting guy. I'm sitting there going, "I don't know what I'm going to get." But he's very smart and aiming high, trying to make that next step in a legitimate way, trying to follow in the steps of Matt Damon or Johnny Depp.
IGN Comics: So did he just stumble across this or is he a comic book fan?
Bendis: Oh, no, he's a fan all the way. He talked about it in great detail, what he liked about it and what he wanted from it. And… yeah! And I like the guy, and he's a good looking boy, I won't lie to you! So we shook hands and went out. I had done this once before with Charlize Theron for Jinx. We met, we were on the same page… sometimes you meet people and you're like, "Wow! That's not what I want to do at all! I'm going to completely bail out." But with Charlize we were completely on the same page.
So [Efron] and I went out, and there were quite a few people interested in working with him and making him what he wants to be. And we ended up at Universal, which is great because they bought Jinx and I have a very nice relationship with them and like them. I like the people behind the scenes. They made Wanted, the Bourne franchise… I like the tone there. They know what to do. So we went out, did a little song and dance together and now I'm back in my basement typing and he's in Australia surfboarding! -laughs-
He's a good dude. I'll tell you, I hit him with a list of books and movies that I thought would be appropriate for him to get into for this spy genre. Literally the next time I saw him he had already gotten through half the list. And I really liked that - I'd like that about anybody. It showed he was serious, so I was digging it.
We had our first story meeting already, and we have another one next week so… off to the races! I'll write my little ass off and hope the winds of Hollywood come our way. It's been a good experience so far and has been working out okay. It's a book and genre that I adore, so I can go back in with years more experience. I wrote it when I was in college and now I'm a college professor. I'm on campus now and… not a damn thing has changed. Not a damn thing. Except for texting. Nothing is different! There was at least a 10-minute conversation about Dungeons and Dragons! I was like, "Are you guys really still talking about this? Really? Seriously? Not Lord of the Rings? No, nothing?" It was really funny to me. Nothing has changed at all.
IGN Comics: So one of the more shocking news items related to you - that somehow wasn't related to Ares being disemboweled - was you driving around with Zac Efron. I know my whole office was talking about it - "Like, what the hell?" It's interesting, when I go into a store I see Jinx, I see Powers… I don't see Fire…
Bendis: Fire actually sells really well, perhaps because it's cheaper. That's why I remastered it, because I was selling a lot of these and it was an earlier work. I don't think at this stage in my career, as people are buying what I'd consider to be fairly polished works… I did this in college, and I want it to resemble something more professional. So I had it remastered at Image, and I'm happy I did that. I hate to tell you how old the book is, that's how old it is… Zac Efron was something like four years old or something. -laughs- But it's constantly been in print this whole time. And every time I get back the accruals for the quarter I'm like "Really! Okay!" -laughs- It's just odd and funny.
So that said, what happened was he had read it and his agent got a hold of my manager. They were talking and this pretty well known producer, Neal Moritz, who is working on Green Hornet and all kinds of stuff, all got together and thought me and Zac might get along. So they put us in a room together and he's a very interesting guy. I'm sitting there going, "I don't know what I'm going to get." But he's very smart and aiming high, trying to make that next step in a legitimate way, trying to follow in the steps of Matt Damon or Johnny Depp.
IGN Comics: So did he just stumble across this or is he a comic book fan?
Bendis: Oh, no, he's a fan all the way. He talked about it in great detail, what he liked about it and what he wanted from it. And… yeah! And I like the guy, and he's a good looking boy, I won't lie to you! So we shook hands and went out. I had done this once before with Charlize Theron for Jinx. We met, we were on the same page… sometimes you meet people and you're like, "Wow! That's not what I want to do at all! I'm going to completely bail out." But with Charlize we were completely on the same page.
So [Efron] and I went out, and there were quite a few people interested in working with him and making him what he wants to be. And we ended up at Universal, which is great because they bought Jinx and I have a very nice relationship with them and like them. I like the people behind the scenes. They made Wanted, the Bourne franchise… I like the tone there. They know what to do. So we went out, did a little song and dance together and now I'm back in my basement typing and he's in Australia surfboarding! -laughs-
He's a good dude. I'll tell you, I hit him with a list of books and movies that I thought would be appropriate for him to get into for this spy genre. Literally the next time I saw him he had already gotten through half the list. And I really liked that - I'd like that about anybody. It showed he was serious, so I was digging it.
We had our first story meeting already, and we have another one next week so… off to the races! I'll write my little ass off and hope the winds of Hollywood come our way. It's been a good experience so far and has been working out okay. It's a book and genre that I adore, so I can go back in with years more experience. I wrote it when I was in college and now I'm a college professor. I'm on campus now and… not a damn thing has changed. Not a damn thing. Except for texting. Nothing is different! There was at least a 10-minute conversation about Dungeons and Dragons! I was like, "Are you guys really still talking about this? Really? Seriously? Not Lord of the Rings? No, nothing?" It was really funny to me. Nothing has changed at all.