Director Jonathan Mostow likens his new movie to a mirror for people to see which way they are heading

MOVIES based on graphic novels have a niche market and, lately, quite a few have made it to the big screen and become popular. The latest is Surrogates, which is based on the graphic novel by Robert Venditti and Brett ­Weldele.

The movie is set in the near future where human-like robotic surrogates go out and work and socialise while the real humans control their ­look-alikes from the comfort of their home,
Crime rates have fallen ­drastically for some reason and people even get to decide what their surrogates look like, opting for perfect versions of ­themselves.

All seems hunky-dory until two surrogates are destroyed and, even more shocking, the hosts of these surrogates also end up dead, despite well-placed safety measures.

FBI agent Thomas Greer (Bruce Willis) and his partner, Jennifer Peters (Radha Mitchell), discover a serial killer is on the loose and he possesses a ­powerful weapon that can bypass the surrogates’ safety features.  

Their investigations lead them to the creator of the surrogates, Dr Lionel Canter (James Cromwell), whose son is one of the victims.

However, it is soon apparent that there is a conspiracy to rid the world of surrogates and it is led by the mysterious Prophet (Ving Rhames), who is referred to as an abomination against nature.

To make matters worse, Greer’s surrogate gets obliterated while chasing a suspect and he is forced to leave the confines of his home for the first time in years to hunt down the killer.

Surrogates director Jonathan Mostow has previously directed Breakdown and U-571, as well as sci-fi flick Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.

At a recent tele-conference interview, Mostow said: “I was originally attracted to the ­graphic novel the script was based on.

“What attracted me initially to the central idea was what it means for human beings who don’t have to leave their homes to lead their lives. Can you ­actually live your life without ever meeting people in person? How would that affect us?”  

Mostow said Willis was always the original choice to play Greer. “What was really ­interesting was that the writers of this graphic novel had ­fantasised years ago that they story would one day be turned into a major Hollywood movie and imagined that their lead would be played by Bruce Willis!

“I did not know that when I offered the lead to Willis and only found out later. I just thought it was an amazing coincidence.”

Mostow said he enjoyed working with Willis whom he refers to as “one of the best ­actors of his generation”.

He said there were very few actors he could think of who could do drama and action as well as Willis.

Willis looked incredibly young as the surrogate Geer (blond hair included), and aged as the real Greer.

“Actors who really ­understand film acting realise that the story is the star of any movie and you need to do what you need to do to serve that story,” said Mostow. “In my experience, most movie stars aren’t really vain about their appearance and will do what is necessary for the role.

“Bruce knew the look was ­necessary for him. He is ­naturally in good shape. He is a young-looking 54. We made him look younger with visual effects; and with makeup and lighting, we made him look older, more worn and world-weary.”                      

The most challenging aspect of the movie, according to  Mostow, was getting the ­actors playing surrogates to look ­perfect on screen. They actually had to look like models stepping right out of a magazine.

“What we did was resort to tricks such as old-fashioned lighting and makeup and hairdo. We also used digital alterations to make everybody look perfect. No bags under the eyes, no wrinkles.”

Mostow said Surrogates, in a way, highlights modern ­society’s obsession with beauty and ­looking perfect as well as the increasing number of ­people working from home, ­courtesy of the Internet and online ­communications.

“If you look at any newsstands, most magazines are about looking good and looking perfect. The idea that you can live your life without leaving your home is something that is already happening.

“Most people now ­communicate to their friends through e-mail and social ­networking sites. I do a lot of my shopping online. My sister-in-law works for a major company and she doesn’t really need to leave her house. She just goes down to the basement and tele-communicates with her office a thousand miles away.

“This movie holds a mirror up to our society in the way we are currently living.”   

Mostow himself has ­produced and created a graphic novel ­series called The Megas for Virgin. He hopes to ­eventually adapt it into either a movie or a television series.   [Source]