When you see something like Ready Player One, are you cool with Spielberg taking the fully digital route, especially after being such an advocate of practical work his entire career, or are you more on the fence of f*** you, Steven?
Steve Johnson: Oh no. If I were a director, a fully digital film gives you control of every pixel. It looks incredible. And you have to remember, when he did something like Jaws, he had to figure out how to shoot on the water and figure out the sun’s direction. It was definitely more hands on. But I defy anyone to watch his new movie and say it doesn’t look gorgeous.
Let’s talk about the crowdfunding campaign for Rubberhead Volume 2. How can people support and get their own copy?
Steve Johnson: Well, there is the book, and that’s the main thing. There are bells and whistles, or incentives, but not a whole lot. I’m doing a sculpt of Thunder from Big Trouble, there are shirts, buttons, they can get all of that stuff, but the Volume itself is what I want people to be most excited to have in their possession. The cover is done by dark artist Chet Tzar, there’s a graphic novel, and there’s a ton of never before seen photos. It’s a great looking good. I think it’s a lot better than Volume One and that was gorgeous. I love how that looks. We’re going to unlock the audio version that’s highly successful the last time. There are a ton of packages.
When all of the volumes are finished and everything is said and done, what is the one thing that you want people to take away from all of this?
Steve Johnson: There are a few things. One of the things is to get people to wake up and see that the ground is quaking beneath our feet. It’s not only in the film industry, it’s everywhere. What’s going to happen to cab drivers, A.I. is coming. Toys R Us was closed, it’s all changing and shifting. It’s also about survival. As a writer you should want to help people, and that’s what this is. We’re also still working on the Rubberhead television series. That’s happening.
Who would you want to play you?
Steve Johnson: Oh god, no idea. I’ve been looking at Timothy Olyphant in Santa Clarita Diet. Who knew he was that damn funny? He would be great.
Steve, thanks so much again, man. Always an honor to speak with you.
If you’re a fan of Steve’s work, or just a film or FX buff in general, you definitely want Rubberhead Volume 2 in your collection, along with all packages and incredible incentives, including original sculpts of classic characters by the master himself. And you can check it out all out over on Kickstarter!