McG previews '20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA'
Contributed by Michael J. Lee, Executive Editor for RadioFree.com
August 6, 2009

While promoting his latest project Human Target--a television series based on the comic book title of the same name and starring Mark Valley, Chi McBride, and Jackie Earle Haley--executive producer McG took some time to talk about his upcoming remake of the classic Jules Verne tale 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. In this interview excerpt, he previews his vision for the sci-fi adventure and his intentions regarding the central characters of Captain Nemo and Professor Pierre Aronnax.

MEDIA: What locations have you scouted for your version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea?

McG: I was scouting all over the world. I was scouting in France, I was scouting in England, Canada, Australia, Japan, and ultimately...Well, you still have to go to Hawaii to do a little volcano work.

What is your vision for this story?

It's a bit of a departure from the Fleischer movie, and much more in keeping with the spirit of the novel, as far as what Aronnax is up to, and the becoming of Nemo, and how the man became at war with war itself. So there's a little bit more meat on the bone in regard to the genesis of the Nemo character than you're given in the '50s movie that Disney made. And also, it's a little more contemporary, because in that movie, there were...You know, I love that movie, but there were two female characters, they were both prostitutes. And there were a couple of black people in the film, and they were all electrocuted. So nowadays, I think we need to progress a little bit beyond that.

Can we expect it to be action-packed?

Yes, it will be a great deal of action, because I mean, let's face it, the guy is an adventurer. And I think that's the intention of Verne. I think the idea was living a life beyond, in contemporary society, what we would have to characterize as "cubicle life." The idea is getting up and then going around the world, living under sea, doing what no one does. And it's the spirit of the adventure that I want to capture.

What does Jules Verne mean to you?

Everything. I grew up on his body of work, and the imagination to come out of the mid-19th century is extraordinary. And I'm active in the Jules Verne society, and I am very passionate about protecting his legacy. And I hope we can make a contribution to his memory, because the work is so important to me. Journey to the Center of the Earth, Around the World in Eighty Days...So many great memories that I read as a young adult. And it was funny because at the time, I wanted to be a psychiatrist when I was reading a lot of that material. So I was reading Freud in the standard edition, and I was reading Jules Verne, and I was trying to draw parallels between the two. And it led me to who I am today, for better or for worse. [laughs]