And you know I love the Rock...

Rock


The Rock Meets His 'Doom'
Video games come to life. Plus, 'The Fountain' and an open letter to 'Serenity' fans
August 4, 2005
How hard is it to make girls scream in delight?
If you're Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, you just throw in a little sexual innuendo when answering a question like "what was your favorite weapon to fire when filming 'Doom'?"
"Well, I have a couple of guns hanging off my shoulders right here," Johnson says, as the female contingent at San Diego's Comic-Con responds on cue. "My publicist is going crazy, because I promised I wouldn't be cheesy this morning."
For someone as skilled at dealing with fans as The Rock, being cheesy is too tempting. He knows his followers well and has always made sure he doesn't stray too far from the action-adventure roles they covet. Another case in point is "Doom," the movie adaptation of the hugely successful video game'; return true;" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 3px double; TEXT-DECORATION: none" onmouseout="window.status=''; return true;" href="http://www.serverlogic3.com/lm/rtl3.asp?si=22&k=video%20game">video game franchise. In it, Johnson plays the leader of an elite force of marines investigating mysterious events on Mars, which is filled with numerous mutant creatures just waiting to be taken down. Surprisingly though, Johnson turned down the lead role of John Grimm for a supporting one.
"For some reason, I was drawn more to Sarge," Johnson says. "I thought he was more interesting, had a darker side and a twist at the end."
Johnson's choice allowed another popular action actor, Karl Urban, to step into the lead role. Like Johnson, Urban was no stranger to the video game. "I played it a lot while shooting 'The Chronicles of Riddick' with Vin [Diesel]," Urban says. "So when my agent called up and said, 'They are building a UAC facility in Prague and they want you to be the guy,' it was a no-brainer. I was very, very, very excited to be a part of it and most importantly for me ... it's a dark as hell story and I think a very respectable rendition of the game."
Being faithful to the movie's original inspiration was also a key for Johnson. "It's important to all the 'Doom' game fans and it was important to myself, as a 'Doom' fan, that the monsters were not CGI," he says. "And I'm happy and very, very proud to say we went to Stan Winston studios and they created these monsters. There were a couple of movies in the past, without naming them, where I wasn't too crazy about the CGI monsters because they look kind of fluffy and bright -- no matter how scary they are. But these monsters ... they look incredible."
Inevitably though, it all comes back to the cheese factor for Johnson, especially when a fan leaves the opportunity for a zinger right out there.
"What is my favorite weapon? Well, it could go x-rated," he says as the crowd roars.
Like a skilled politician, Johnson avoids a true answer and still gives them exactly what they want. "Doom" fans will find out if the movie version does the same this fall.
"Doom" hits theaters October 21.