Jon Voight was attached to the project at one point but dropped out.

Nicolas Cage had to have his Ghost Rider tattoo covered with make-up in order to play Johnny Blaze (Ghost Rider).

A large group of on-lookers converged on a bridge in Melbourne to watch scenes being filmed in a nearby location. Over the four days of filming at this location, the crowds grew so large that traffic was often disrupted and public transport operators reported an unusual jump in passenger traffic to the area.

Some scenes were filmed near Flinders St Station, the busiest railway station in Melbourne. Parts of the station were closed for filming, as well as minor alterations to train services being made.

Nicolas Cage’s hairpiece required three hours to apply every day.

To create the Ghost Rider’s voice, sound designer Don Davis recorded all of Nicolas Cage’s lines as the Ghost Rider, and then filtered them through three different kinds of animal growls (played backwards, covering three separate frequencies) and then played them through a mechanical volumizer, before finally giving them a fiery crackle. Director Mark Steven Johnson compared it to “a deep, demonic, mechanical lion’s roar” and says that “one thing is for sure, his voice will shake the theatre!”

Johnny Depp’ was interested in playing the title role.

Nicolas Cage’s computer generated skull was made from a three dimensional x-ray taken of his actual skull.

Both Johnny Depp and Nicolas Cage have houses in Bath, Somerset.

One of the bridges being used in Melbourne was months away from completion, so the studio paid to have tar, lines, lights etc added to the highway for filming purposes. The work was then ripped up and redone to meet Australian Safety Standards.

The flame tank chopper Johnny Blaze rides is a modern replica of the “Captain America” chopper that Peter Fonda rides in Easy Rider.

The shotgun used in the movie is a Model 1887 Winchester lever-action shotgun.

Nicolas Cage wrote sections of the script.

There is a scene in the movie where the Ghost Rider (played by Nicolas Cage), while riding through the desert, rides past a lizard on a rock. The lizard bursts into flame. This is strongly reminiscent of a similar scene from another Nicolas Cage movie, Raising Arizona. In that movie Nicolas Cage’s character has a dream where his evil side is riding through the desert on a motorcycle, and shoots a lizard off a rock by the side of the road. The camera angles are practically identical. When both Ghost Riders (Johnny Blaze and Carter Slade) ride together to San Venganza there is a scene where Blaze is riding in the foreground with Slade just behind him and slightly in front so both can be clearly seen. This scene pays homage to a painting and its late artist David Mann. The painting was entitled appropriately Ghost Rider but had nothing to do with the Marvel character.

Flamin’, Burnin’ Hot Ghost Rider Merchandise!

The Johnny Blaze video game seen in the movie is actually a game called Crusty Demons developed by UK games company “Climax”. Climax also developed the Ghost Rider video game.

The Caretaker/Carter Slade Ghost Rider character is a tribute to the original Marvel Comics Ghost Rider (now called The Phantom Rider to avoid confusion). However, the character in the comics is simply a regular human who wears a white costume and rides a white painted horse which both covered with phosphorous for a glowing effect.

Director Mark Steven Johnson actually put forward his own money so that an action sequence where Ghost Rider battles a helicopter could be made.

When Johnny and Mack are on the tour bus and Mack is watching TV, the motorcycle rider shown is Travis Pastrana.

Ghost Rider was originally planned for a summer 2006 release. However, director Mark Steven Johnson asked for more time to complete more action shots. One of these shots is the scene in which Ghost Rider battles a helicopter.

The motorcycle crash shown in the movie where the rider falls and hits his head against the front wheel of the bike is actually real. The stunt driver lost balance during the stunt and the director decided to use that action part in the movie. The rider was not hurt

During the shoot, Nicolas Cage was the guest of Ferrari at the Australian Grand Prix race.

Ghost Rider was sent to theaters under the name Costly Pact.

Ever imagined how Mars was millions of years ago when it had oceans flowing on its surface? And what about Martians? They were not green, they were … ehmm…different… And had such busy lives that life on Earth was later mostly their fault.

But that’s another story.

What about the meaning of life? Does God have a beard? Does it matter? And what does all this have to do with Area 51?

Who built the Face on Mars? Is Heaven a private club? Is life after death real? How boring is it?

Who runs the universe anyway and does this entity have weekends?

This and plenty of other stupid questions will be answered in this fantasy/scifi saga spread over a few volumes so the author can get some extra bucks, after two years making up all this stuff with watercolors, inks, acrylics and buckets of sweat.

Ziph Comics is certainly a bright, colourful and dazzling place. The comic (and site) is available in Portugese and English, with a French version coming soon. You can see the digital version of Prince Ziph, Part One online, and the printed version is available too, along with concept art and the backstory.

So, it’s a good a reason as any to spend surfing during your lunchbreak.

I’ll do a full review once I’ve bought a pair of shades…

2000AD do an occasional story line which are just weird, very much like the Twilight Zone called Future Shocks or Time Twisters. It’s a place for new artists and scripters to showcase their imagination. Alan Moore has put together a compilation which will - just - weird - you - out.

One memorable one which I recollect is where a guy notices a strip of clear white paint on the roof of his house. He’s bewildered, and wonders what it’s about. No conclusion comes until maybe 15 years later. He’s finally painted his house and low and behold a strip of paint has disappeared. He vaguely remembers something which happened before…

To me these are probably the most thought out story lines, or at least the most weird and thought provoking story lines which have appeared in 2000AD.

If you like weird and thought provoking stories, then simply go get it.

Rogue Trooper is drawn from the character of the British Comic 2000AD. Apparently, outside of the UK this is an almost unknown comic, so therefore the game had to come across as an entity on its own. The backstory, luckily, does include some of the ‘history’ of the character; how he and his kind were ambushed at The Quartz Zone Massacre, betrayed by one of their own Generals.

Rogue is a genetically engineered fighting machine (from test tubes), specially designed for the toxic atmosphere of Nu Earth, one of the galaxy’s most deadly war-zones. He is the only survivor of the massacre, goes A.W.O.L and sets out to hunt down the traitor general and bring him to justice. During the massacre, three of his G.I. buddies are killed, and Rogue removes their bio chips and places them in his gear. Bagman is put in his backbag, Gunnar is placed in his Gun and Helm is put in his Helmet. Their consciousness carries on, and as well as cracking bad jokes, they all play a part in helping Rogue on his vendetta.

The game follows the above ‘backstory’ and then progresses to various locations on Nu Earth. A common enemy on the planet’s surface are the Norts, humans who cannot survive on the planet’s surface without oxygen tanks.

Rogue Trooper, when presented in 2000AD was a visual comic book story. This translates very well to the digital screen and as with all aspects of the game, prior knowledge of either 2000AD or Rogue Trooper is not essential to enjoy the game.

The game is a clever third person shooter, and with your three friends still around, they become an integral part of your survival. They do crack jokes and chit chat amongst themselves, which adds to the game, but they also have skills of their own. Gunnar can be placed so as to cover an area which is remote from where you are, Bagman can be given scrap, which is picked up around the gaming area, and convert it into useful ammo or upgrades. Helm can hack terminals, to name just one skill for each friend. There are many more to discover as you make your way through Nu Earth.

One of my favourite parts of the game is with Gunnar: he aids in targetting and allows you to precision shoot the oxygen tanks of the Norts, where by smoke billows out, they run around hearing the hiss, arms in the air, before the tank ruptures and explodes.

The controls are like second nature, easily accessible; the commentary of the bio chips aids in your initial setup and ‘training’ of the various actions within the game. The game could be seen as quite easy to finish, but I found it a pleasure non the less. With the addition of online gaming, the longevity of this game is increased.

Eidos Interactive, one of the world’s leading developers and publishers of entertainment software, today confirms that ROGUE TROOPER™, a futuristic tactical action game based on the 2000 AD comic strip, will be released on April 21st on PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC in all European territories.

A Genetic Infantryman (G.I.), Rogue is one of an elite regiment of biologically-engineered clone troops, created to overcome Nu Earth’s hostile atmosphere and fight, unhindered, against the brutal Nort War machine. After witnessing the betrayal and annihilation of his entire regiment at the Quartz Zone Massacre, Rogue has gone AWOL, determined to hunt down the traitor general who sent his brothers-in-arms to their deaths.

ROGUE TROOPER™ blends intense third person action and next generation stealth, as
Rogue wreaks revenge armed with the very latest experimental weaponry. Rogue’s arsenal offers him a unique advantage over his opponents; encoded bio-chips containing the digitised personalities of his fallen comrades are implanted in his gun (Gunnar), helmet (Helm) and backpack (Bagman), each offering their full military experience at the player’s fingertips.

Rogue Trooper features intense online gameplay modes, where gamers can experience up to four-player co-operative gameplay in all new maps or two player split screen action.

For more information visit www.roguetrooper.com

About Rebellion

UK-based computer games super-developer Rebellion was established in 1991 by brothers Jason and Chris Kingsley. The most recent launch was Sniper EliteTM in September 2005 on PlayStation®2, Xbox® and PC DVD. Lauded as ‘The Gran Turismo of War games’ by the gaming press, it has built upon the collection of Rebellion owned IP’s which includes World War ZeroTM on PlayStation®2.

In June 2000 Rebellion purchased the UK sci-fi comic 2000 AD and its entire character portfolio. Rebellion’s first 2000 AD title, Judge Dredd: Dredd Vs. Death was launched in 2003 and in 2006, Rogue Trooper™ will be launched on PlayStation®2, Xbox® and PC.

2000 AD and Judge Dredd are registered trademarks. Rogue Trooper, Sniper Elite and World War Zero are ™ & © 2005 Rebellion. All Rights Reserved.
Website: www.rebellion.co.uk

About Eidos Interactive Ltd

Eidos Interactive Ltd is part of SCi Entertainment Group Plc (SEG) one of the world’s leading publishers and
developers of entertainment software. Following the acquisition of Eidos plc in May 2005, the Group has a valuable combined portfolio of intellectual property including: Tomb Raider: Legend, Hitman: Blood Money, Commandos Strike Force, Just Cause, Championship Manager, Battlestations: Midway, Urban Chaos: Riot Response and Reservoir Dogs.

For further information please contact:
Chris Glover | Head of Communications | Eidos
T: + 44 (0) 208 6363 3000 E: chrisg@eidos.co.uk

A new online streaming radio station for scifi fans has been set up. Entitled area 51 radio station (AF1RS) it will include all manner of content such as live outside broadcasts from large events. The next big events are the California SciFi Convention and The London Expo (broadcasting to 30,000 people). There will be SciFi roundups and music from the 70s through until the present day.

There will also be guest appearences, including John Billingsley who plays Dr. Phlox in Star Trek Enterprise. John will officially open the station at 12:00 Midday on Saturday October 22 2005 - and it will run for 24/7.

At the time or writing, the radio station is being tested from October 15th, with the golive October 22nd. Therefore, until it is actually live, there may not be a stream available. Keep coming back to check.

Click on the logo to tune into world’s first SciFi Radio Station now! It will start up a popular media streaming program such as iTunes, WinAmp or RealMedia (depending on which you have installed). You can download winamp from here.

If you have any difficulties, please let us know on the contact form.

You can see the current agenda, programmes, news and extra info on the official radio site here.

So.. The Megazine is 15 years old. Time flies when you’re having fun, eh?

And to celebrate the publisher have issued this particularly nice looking issue. The cover artwork is viewable through a window in the black outer cover. I like the way there is a nod to Ray Bradbury and his novel Farenheit 451. And how it’s Judge Dredd himself who is holding issues of the Megazine to throw in the incinerator. Very tongue in cheek.

Something for collectors to note: there was an error in the original print run (Judge Dredd pages 13 and 14 duplicated; The Simping Detective missing pages 7 and 8 ). This was apparently only caught after the subscribers had been mailed with their copy.

Therefore there are some unique issues floating around, which, in the future might be hard to come across. It will be the famous 15th Year Anniversary special botched copy. Oh, and a corrected version will be sent to shops and as replacements for subscribers.

Onto the issue itself..

Contents

The Simping Detective
Fifteen /

Delvin Waugh
All Hell /

Judge Dredd
Flood’s Thirteen Episode 1 /

Non-Fiction
15 Years Creep! / Text article on the history of the Judge Dredd Megazine. First part double length.

Written By David Bishop

This time written by James Bishop, this episode gives all it should. Judge Steel is back again, getting her fair share of airtime. Death himself is played by The League Of Gentleman’s Mark Gatiss and plays the part with obvious glee (I can’t think of anyone else who would play Death so well).

The sound design is fitting, and it’s nice to know that the production team haven’t overused sound effects just because it’s aural.

Nice to see Walter is back, the poor sod.

The tale is pretty fast paced, and the crew come to together splendidly. I liked the almost comical ending. Though - no matter how hard I try, I can never read a Judge Death story with seeing some ‘tongue in cheek’ humour there, even if it maybe shouldn’t be. I guess you have to see it as that, or else you’d cry.

Recommended.

Written by James Swallow

This is the first release from Big Finish of an audio version of the 2000AD comic character Judge Dredd. At first I was in a state of trepidation as to whether this could be pulled off. I mean, comics and their characters are very visual, all the action is portrayed graphically. Would an attempt at converting visual phenomena into aural media be successful?

The story is based around a disease which affects Judges who use sleep machines. As Judges should be awake on the streets as much as possible, machines were devised to allow a Judge to get full sleep after only being in the machine for a few minutes; minimizing ‘downtime’. The disease may be tied in with the crime syndicate of Frendz.

I like the idea of introducing a recurring character in the form of Judge Steel, giving it an ‘epic’ feel as opposed to just some episodes which Judge Dredd just happens to be in. I also through that using the Mega City News in the form of bulletins and news flashes was a neat idea.

The sound effects and voices come off perfectly, from the jingles in the news to Dredd himself to the sound his Lawgiver makes.

For a first production, this is pulled off brilliantly; worth listening to rather than most of the banal crap you get on radio nowadays.