Old Wizard Magazine Article about Fantastic Four

As I was cleaning out my bedroom, I came across an old box of comic books and in it was Issue #25 of Wizard Magazine, dated September 1993. Inside there was an article about the upcoming release of Fantastic Four. After knowing what ended up happening with the movie, the article is just funny but also tragic. Anyway, here it is, taken from pages 102-103 of the above mentioned magazine. Enjoy:


Hyde-White Stretches to Make Richards Fantastic in Film

This fall, Concorde Pictures hopes to get a high box office return with its low-budget Fantastic Four film. While sales the size of Jurassic Park might exceed Concorde's reach, the man who plays the stretchable leader of the Fantastic Four, Alex Hyde-White, plans to give it his all.

Hyde-White, now 34, remembers watching the sixties Fantastic Four cartoons as a kid, but hasn't followed Marvel's quartet since. "It didn't take me long to get up to speed," says Hyde-White, noting thatt he folks at Los Angeles' Golden Apple were helpful in getting him research material. "It was great to have a store of knowledge available. When we started the film, Marvel had a recreation of the first issue on the stands."

Hyde-White's past credits include Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers (with his father, British actor Wilfrid Hyde-White), Biggle Adventures In Time, Time Trackers, Pretty Woman, and Robert Englund's Phantom of the Opera. He found playing two sides to Reed's character enjoyable.

"One was the traditional character that I was going to have to put a movie spin on, which I got from Marvel Universe and the comics. The other side was that he was an astrophysicist," says Hyde-White. "I've always been sort of a closet theoretical physicist in a way, with Steven Hawkings books and t he blend of Eastern philosophy with Western science. It was enjoyable to go back and reread those as research."

The film's story closely mirrors early issues of the comic book, though Hyde-White says there's an added dimension to their powers. "They discover that they have inherited unique powers based on their own psychological makeup," he says. How do Richards' abilities relate to his mind? "Stretching is a desire to be all things to all people, a desire to be all things to all people, a desire to take care of everything all the time. 'Stretching himself too thin' is a phrase that Reed can use about himself," says Hyde-White. Of the others, Sue Storm (Rebecca Staab) is shy, and in moments of stress, she disappears. Johnny Storm (Jay Underwood) is a hothead, and the Thing (stuntman Carl Ciarfalio) relies on brute strength when intelligence would have sufficed."

Referring to Richards' questionable actions about bringing the quartet into space in the first place, Hyde-White laughs, "I think if Reed wasn't such a nice guy, he'd be one of the most dangerous people in the history of the world," he says. "He seems to have this will that enables him to do the most ridiculous and seemingly un-thought-out things."

"Seemingly ridiculous" is a statement in most fans' minds when they hear of the low budget for the film. "They had to commence principal photography by December 31, 1992," explains Hyde-White. "I think that's the reason Concorde was involved. They're able to do things quickly, cheaply, and with a certain level of quality. I have a certain level of experience with making low budget movies, and I can say that the Fantastic Four was on the higher level of those experiences. There was an added stimulus that people wanted to put an extra effort into this one. It was more than just a job. The crew seemed to have an affinity to be proud of the Fantastic Four. That's what you need to have a successful low-budget film. Money does not buy the desire from the crew to put their hearts in it."

Special makeup effects for the film are provided by Optic Nerve. Besides the Thing's body suit and Dr. Doom's armor, it also created a hydraulic arm for Alex. "It attached to my side with a shoulder-mold. My real arm was tucked to my back, and this arm was strapped on," says Hyde-White. "I'd hold this control bar in my hand, which controlled the level of the fake arm. In a fight scene, if I was fighting one of Doom's guards, I'd reach back to throw a punch with my real arm. As I'm throwing the punch, they'd cut to the hydraulic arm actually shooting out about two feet or so. The third cut is computer morphing effects. The idea is to time those three cuts so that it looks like I'm throwing a Slinky against the wall, and that it comes back. The stuntman on the other end of the frame would have to time how they were going to receive the punch. They'd have to wait a few seconds to time it so they'd get hit by the imaginary punch that was going to be added in later."

While filming the shuttle-crashing scenes in California's Chatsworth Mountains, Hyde-White's 3-year-old son visited the set. The crew began playing baseball and soccer with the youngster on lunch hour, among the shuttle wreckage. "It began to feel like a Boy Scout troop from that moment on - a real camaraderie. My boy now refers to the film as the 'space shuttle movie'," says Hyde-White. "Having a child come into it when we were all fatigued reminded us of two things: the magic of making movies in general, and the magic of making this movie, with all of its fantastic elements. It put the wonder of the child back into us."

Though the film will have lots of special effects, Hyde-White cautions fans to lower their expectations, and realize the limitations of the budget and crew enthusiasm. "If people are expecting full manifestations of their powers, realize that the FF don't know they can do all these things yet, and even if they did, we (the crew) couldn't afford to show them to you," he says. "If the audience gives it a break and it does well, we can go back and make another one of these and compete with Jurassic Park."

Throughout the interview, Hyde-White kept talking about the fun he had making the film. "When you're making the Fantastic Four, you really get to play. You have fancy sets and spaceships, Doom guards in green suits flying all over the place, stunts...this was fun," says Hyde-White. "He hopes that translates to the fans as well. "If you find yourself - halfway through this picture - having a good time, please just go with it," says Hyde-White. "We have not done the definitive Fantastic Four. What we've done is little more than a screen test for future possibilities."

Hyde-White is not contracted to play the role in future films, though he says that the cast expects to be back if the film does well. Meanwhile, he adds that "What I want, and what I've always wanted, is to play pivotal roles in important movies. I believe I might be working my way towards that with this picture." Hyde-White is now working on a syndicated TV series in England, and will appear at the San Diego Comic Con.



Honestly, I can't help but feel bad for the guy after re-reading this article with him. He must have been crushed when he learned the movie was never going to be released.