Lexi Alexander on Punisher: War Zone

[wayshway]

Lexi Alexander (Green Street Hooligans), director of Punisher: War Zone, talked to Superhero Hype! about her latest project that is scheduled for release in September 2008. The German born sports enthusiast knows what fighting and kicking *** is all about. She competed professionally in kickboxing and karate before embarking on a career as a filmmaker. Her background comes in handy when working on the set during fight scenes.

Ray Stevenson is Frank Castle/The Punisher in the film. He is a vigilante-hero who suffered a tragic loss when mobsters killed his wife and child. Dominic West takes on the role of Billy Russoti/Jigsaw, Punisher's arch enemy. Alexander believes Stevenson and West are perfect for the characters they portray in the action-thriller. She weighed in on a variety of topics relating to Punisher: War Zone:

Superhero Hype!: Does this movie take place in the Marvel Universe or in its own world?
Lexi Alexander: I think in the sense of the other Marvel characters it is definitely its own world. In terms of location though, we call it the Marvel New York. Rather than setting it in real New York, I wanted it to have a little bit of a surreal feeling.

SHH!: What one thing do you think distinguishes your take on the Punisher compared to the last Punisher movie that fans of the comic will truly appreciate?
Alexander: The last "Punisher" movie really wasn't relevant to us. There is a lot of comparison to it but not any of the people on my team ever looked to that and said, "how can it either be different or better." We just kind of made our own film. The one thing I concentrated on is to really make it as close to the MAX series as possible. I think we really achieved it in terms of the look, as well as the tone. When I look at the dailies that I am getting, seriously, I think I am looking at a MAX comic book right in front of me. It's the same color tones; it's the same tone.

SHH!: Will this be a hard R "Punisher," and, if so, what sort of guidelines has the studios established regarding as to how violent the means can be?
Alexander: It will definitely be a hard R. Luckily, Lionsgate has been great about it. They haven't given me any guidelines in terms of violence. I really like violent movies.

SHH!: I just loved your debut film, "Green Street Hooligans." Are the challenges of making a picture on a bigger scale like "Punisher: War Zone," more than that of one like "Green Street?"
Alexander: I think that there are advantages and disadvantages. In the advantages there are a lot more toys, it's a bigger crew, and there's just more resources. The disadvantages are the more money you get, the more responsibilities you have, the more people you have to answer to. You have all kinds of people that have a say in how the movie should be, or, you know, giving me input on where I can go, and where I can't go. I think I got really lucky for this being my first studio movie and having people who really believe in me. I usually know from other filmmakers that on their first studio film they hardly make any decisions by themselves. I got really lucky.

SHH!: How does this "Punisher" film differ from the previous film?
Alexander: I get this question a lot. I think that the feeling of it is going to be much darker and I think the one thing that the comic fans will realize immediately is that the world we created feels like the comic book world in terms of the look as well. I think the reason I have been sick all week is I have been shooting in minus degrees all night for eight weeks. I literally haven't seen daylight; I'm like a vampire. So, you can imagine how this movie is going to look. It's all dark and cold.

SHH!: What is the significance of the subtitle "War Zone" to the story that we will be seeing?
Alexander: When we were discussing titles--obviously Marvel has a huge input on that--we wanted to angle with something that the fans would recognize as a title. When they suggested a few, "War Zone" seemed the one that fit this one in particular. It has something to do with the ending. It will make more