Vin Diesel is just about one of the nicest guys you could interview. I had that inkling the first time I met him, when he was out promoting A MAN APART. He was wiped out, I mean completely spent from about three days straight of press and traveling cross-country. I was his last stop. But he came in, took his sportcoat off, clapped his hands together and never took a seat. He bounded through the room like a little kid on a sugar high. This time further cemented that fact in my mind.

    Case in point: I've done a whole lot of interviews since I started here at JoBlo.com. I can count on one hand the amount of times the talent has been on time. I can count on one finger the amount of times the talent has actually made a point to tell you they were going to be late and to apologize in advance. That one time was just last week with Vin Diesel. He knew he was running late so he called me at home and asked if we could push the interview back a half-hour. True to his word, he called back at our newly scheduled time, right on the money.

    I had the disadvantage of not being able to see THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK before this interview and normally that'd be the kiss of death. But not with Vin. After about two minutes I forgot I was interviewing Vin Diesel and thought I was talking to one of my friends. And after reading this interview I think you'll feel like a friend of Vin's too (I mean how many big-time action stars can you talk about "Dungeons & Dragons" and "The Legend of Zelda" with?!). So read on. THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK opens in theaters on June 11th.

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Hey Vin.

Hey Mike.

So how're you doing?

I'm doing good.

You must be doing good. This is a project that's been long-in-the-making. Must feel good to finally get it out.

It does feel good, Mike. It does feel good...

How long has it been since you first starting developing RIDDICK?

Umm, a few years. It started on the set of PITCH BLACK in '98. I was thinking about this crazy title, THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK.

This is all came about just from a title you thought about?

Mm-hmm.

Where did it go from there and how did you involve David Twohy? How does that work when you have two creative minds working on a project?

Well, they initially went to David Hayter and Akiva Goldsman...

They being Universal?

Right, the studio. They were wonderful scripts but I think David Twohy was obviously going to be the person least intimidated going into a mythology. So we ran with that. We combined by love for fantasy and his love for sci-fi and got here.

How did it work when he was writing the script? Would he send a draft to you and you would make notes and send back to him?

Yeah, it was very collaborative. We were coming back and saying, "Now we've got an opportunity to make something special, let's live, sleep, eat this."

When you mapped it out did you map out anything further than what we'll see in RIDDICK?

Yes. I'm not supposed to tell you that, but yes.

So is there definitely a third film in the works or will that depend on the success of this film?

Well it's a very, very, very big picture. Right now, all our efforts are into making THIS special before we indulge ourselves on the next two stories.

There are two after this one?

Yeah, initially it was designed or conceived as a story that would take three pictures to tell.

Was there ever any thought to filming more than one of them at a time?

No... I think we wanted to take advantage of being able to focus on one picture and once we come up for air, starting fresh with the second picture.

What was it about this mythology that drew you revisiting the same character as opposed to doing sequels for FAST AND THE FURIOUS or XXX?

I spent so many years playing "Dungeons & Dragons"...

You know, I had heard that, but wasn't sure if it was true.

Yeah, actually they've asked me to write the foreword for the 30th anniversary.

You're kidding (laughing)...

Nah, I'll send it to you when it's done (laughing). So... wait, what was the question again?

You were talking about how being into fantasy and D&D and how that influenced your decision to return to the character of Riddick.

Oh yeah. I was never... People think I'm shy to doing sequels. But the reality is, I just don't do sequels in a reactionary way. I don't do sequels because it's guaranteed to make a lot of money. I have to feel like we're continuing a story. I have to feel like we're continuing to unravel our character's identity and the identity of the universe. So the idea of creating a universe was what was the most exciting thing or the most attractive thing about this picture. We weren't just making PITCH BLACK 2, we were able to explore this universe that this interesting character had come from. PITCH BLACK is this contained film on a very confined story platform.

Was there every any concern from the studio that audiences might not put two and two together regarding the Riddick character and PITCH BLACK?

I think their take on it was, "We would make THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK on its own merit." The idea that there is a cult film introduction to the lead protagonist - our antihero - only made it all the better. Because the character was introduced in a very austere, cult classic way. You were able to discover the character and PITCH BLACK on its own. It really was everyone's own discovery as opposed to being a huge summer blockbuster. I think they kinda liked the idea of taking a character that was introduced in a very simple way and now building the mythology around that.

You're obviously a big fan of the fantasy genre and with your video game production company, Tigon Studios, you seem to be interested in a lot of the same things your fans are. Can you talk a little bit about how Tigon and your deal to develop the RIDDICK game came about?

I want to make good video game and it doesn't matter to me whether it's based off a movie. I want to make video games that are story driven, that are entertaining in its interactive ability. One of the games I'm making is a game called "Melkorsh" [only Vin knows how that's actually spelled...], which is like an adult LORD OF THE RINGS or an adult... ZELDA 64 (laughs). But the fun part of that is I'm able to - because cinematics has gotten so incredible - collapse a story in this video game so that this game is entertaining in its ability and its gameplay and simultaneously you could play the game with your girlfriend or significant other. Or a group of you could sit down and play the game and it'd be entertaining on the story level.

Right, even though you're not playing, you can sit and watch it and still have a good time.

Exactly. Right. The key to Tigon games is to entertain the person that's not playing.

Are you also into the web at all? If you're into video games and fantasy role-playing it seems like it'd almost be a given. Plus I see there are a lot of initiatives taken to develop RIDDICK online...

We've got a guy named Brian Murray who is... Have you seen our CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK website?

I have, I was actually just there a few hours ago.

It's pretty intense, huh?

It is.

We've got this guy Brian Murray who created the first PITCH BLACK website and he's one of the best at creating these sites. That's fun to be able to add dimensions by way of your website. To fill up the universe in the website, in the video game. I think that helps to make the film experience that much more entertaining. The cool thing about this film is that it satisfies on multiple levels. It satisfies you if you want to just go in - and this is actually something someone said after seeing the film that I thought was clever - for the popcorn movie. If you want to go deeper and want to really, really get into this movie, it's entertaining on a whole different level.

Yeah and I think what they did with the web was so important to the success of the first film.

Yeah.

I know David had also worked with us at JoBlo.com directly when BELOW was coming out and he was having so much trouble promoting that film. So he's always been a big champion to of using the web to supplement a film, not just promote it.

It's a whole mythology and when you're that ambitious to create a mythology from scratch, it's not like doing a book that's been around for fifty years or creating a character that's been in the comic world for a long time. It's completely original. And to do a completely original mythology that's set some time in the future, is all that much more ambitious and I think a testament to Universal. I think in an industry where the easiest thing to do is a sequel, the fact that Universal went off and did this and committed to this completely original mythology is a testament to their insight and faith.

As far as Universal goes though, were you at all disappointed with their decision to chase a PG-13 rating as opposed to the R that PITCH BLACK had?

I think that if you are - for the most part and I think that there are exceptions, like HANNIBAL would be rated-R and there's talk of C2 [the current nickname for RIDDICK 2] being rated-R because of the location... but that's all I can tell you (laughs). But with CHRONICLES, when you're using that many resources and you're making that big of a production, I don't know if it's fair to ask the studio to make it rated-R. Especially when you can add a rated-R version to either the DVD or whatever.

You mentioned both HANNIBAL and CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK 2, but what exactly is your next project going to be? You've got so many potential projects to choose from but nothing seems set as your next one.

That's a good question. Which ones do you have in front of you?

Let's see... I have THE PACIFIER, NY GIANT, HANNIBAL, FAST AND THE FURIOUS 3...

Damn!

...a movie called DREADNAUGHT...

Shit!

...I also have down a "Dungeons & Dragons" type fantasy movie...

"Melkorsh?"

...and then GUYS & DOLLS.

Man I'm busy. Wow. A little insane, don't you think?

Just a bit. Maybe you should cut it back a little.

What do you think should be next?

Not GUYS & DOLLS (laughs). I dunno... I live in Jersey and I'm a big Giants fan so I'd go with NY GIANT next. It seemed like it'd be something different too.

Yeah, a romantic comedy.

Then if you could do CHRONICLES 2 after that, it'd be good.

When are we ready for HANNIBAL?

You know, that's a good question. I dunno. Maybe right after CHRONICLES 2 you fit in HANNIBAL.

You're saying HANNIBAL after CHRONICLES 2? You wanna see CHRONICLES 2 first?

I think I would.

You didn't even see CHRONICLES 1 yet!

I didn't, you're right. But I'm excited to see CHRONICLES 1 and I couldn't wait that long for Part 2.

Yeah, I guess (laughs). You know, I've never had more people anticipate a film. EVER. It's just so wild, the energy. I've just been - and you know how long I've been yelling out the words CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK. Now it's alive! It's bizarre. It used to be a title I'd then have to explain in an interview. You know what I mean (laughs)? I get these e-mails saying, "How many more days? This is bullshit, I wanna see it now!"

Exactly. If I had to wait for CHRONICLES 2 as long as I did for CHRONICLES 1, I don't know what I'd do.

(Laughs) That's a good point.

The problem is HANNIBAL is going to take forever to make.

I know, I know! Especially because... I'm thinking of doing HANNIBAL as a multi-lingual film.

Really?

Yeah.

What would the other languages be?

Well the whole concept behind HANNIBAL is that he united a polygon army of broken people of oppressed cultures and unified them to defy tyranny. So there's something cool and contemporary about Hannibal's message. You know what I mean?

That'd be impressive if you could pull that off.

If I could pull that off man... I'd have to learn about five different languages. I'd have to learn a variation of French for the Gauls, I'd have to learn Cartheginian, I'd have to learn some variation of Latin to represent the dialect in Rome 200 years before Christ, I'd have to learn some variation of Spanish for Saguntum and Spain and for New Cartagena. I'd probably have to be compelled to learn some New Midian. Everyone spoke Greek at that time so you'd have to have some Greek.

Do you have a script yet?

Yes.

You have the script ready and now you're just waiting for the right time to film?

Yeah, by David Franzoni, who wrote GLADIATOR. And the conceptual artist I've been working with is a guy named Sylvain Despretz...

So does this mean Ridley Scott will direct?

Funny that you said Ridley Scott. First of all, I've never even talked to Ridley Scott about it. Ever. But it's funny that you say that. So you know he's Ridley Scott's conceptual artist.

Yeah and I think that's maybe where people picked his name up. They saw Franzoni and Despretz and thought Scott was attached...

That's how stuff like that happens. But it's very ambitious. I've often talked about doing a movie in a foreign country with a different language. And I guess it may be sooner than I thought.

Or you could come up with a whole language of your own for CHRONICLES 2.

Now that's good.

That'd really be ambitious.

That's a brilliant fucking idea.

Thanks.

That's good...

I tell you what, it's yours. You can have it to use.

Thank you!

Now in 20 years you'll go to RIDDICK conventions and all the people there will speak your language that you created.

Furyan (laughs)?

Yeah (laughs).

(Laughs) Too funny.

Anyway, so you really don't know what you're doing next?

I'm... I just don't know. I'll have to go around the world with CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK. And there're so many wonderful films to do. Spike Lee has been asking me to do Joe Louis. We've been talking about doing THE JOE LOUIS STORY, the Joe Lewis/Max Schmelling story. That's also kinda cool and current.

When do you get time to take a break and relax?

That's a good question. I think after this film and after CHRONICLES opens worldwide, I need to go on a writer's retreat. I don't even call it vacation!

Have you been doing any writing lately besides the foreword for the D&D book you're working on?

I'm doing a lot of writing on both "Melkorsh" [again, only Vin knows how this is spelled], which is a character that I actually played in "Dungeons & Dragons" when I was younger. That's gonna be that video game that'll have a strong storybase. And I've been writing and redefining HANNIBAL and tweaking that script.

Well Vin I just heard we went past our time but I want to thank you for taking the time and best of luck with RIDDICK.

Thank you brother.

Take care of yourself.

You too.

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