“Listen, like a lot of us I grew up reading Marvel comics on one side and National Geographic on the other,” Amritraj told India-West by phone recently.

 

In the new film, Cage returns to his character Johnny Blaze. Directed by hot action filmmakers Neveldine/Taylor (“Crank”), the film finds Johnny struggling with his curse as the “devil’s bounty hunter.” He risks everything to team up with the leader of a group of rebel monks (Idris Elba) to save a young boy from the devil, and with some luck rid himself of the curse. 

 

Johnny Blaze — a Yamaha V-Max motorcycle-riding antihero with a head made out of roaring flames — is “bad only to bad people,” explained Amritraj. “But whether theft and murder are the same thing, he can’t always understand.”

 

The Chennai-born Amritraj is one of Hollywood’s most successful and prolific producers, with more than 100 films to his credit over a 30-year career, grossing more than $1.5 billion worldwide. He has partnered with every major studio in Hollywood, and produced films starring the likes of Bruce Willis, Sandra Bullock, Sylvester Stallone, Angelina Jolie, Cate Blanchett, Dustin Hoffman, Steve Martin, Antonio Banderas, Robert De Niro, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Kate Hudson, Kurt Russell, Dakota Fanning, Nicolas Cage and many more. In November 2008, his Hyde Park Entertainment and ImageNation Abu Dhabi partnered on a $250 million financing deal.

 

Amritraj believes in getting involved in every aspect of films he produces, and “Ghost Rider Spirit of Vengeance” was no exception (he was not a part of the original 2007 “Ghost Rider”). Amritraj not only was instrumental in bringing Cage onboard but also traveled often to shooting locations in Romania and Turkey to watch directors Neveldine and Taylor employ their kinetic style both in front of and behind the camera. One works with the actors, Amritraj explained, while the other handles the camera work, doing whatever it takes to get a great shot — even if it means skating, camera in hand, holding on to the back of a speeding motorcycle.

 

Cage elaborated in a statement, “The energy of making this film was a different experience. It’s a much more wild, almost daredevil, experience — even the way Mark Neveldine shoots. He’s like a stuntman, risking his life hundreds of times, hanging off of wires or shooting while skating on Rollerblades. He’s a very active, macho filmmaker.”  

Since 2007, visual effects have come a long way, said Amritraj. Plus with the cult favorite directors on board, “Ghost Rider Spirit of Vengeance” opens up a potential new market for the film. “It’s a much better film,” he told India-West. “This is a much cooler version.”