Reporting from Austin, Texas — Of all the comic book material Hollywood has tried to adapt in its current throes of Marvelmania and DC-dom, not many come with the challenges of “Preacher.”
The mid-1990s Garth Ennis work (from DC’s Vertigo imprint) is dark, it’s sprawling and, most critically, it’s controversial.
A violent story about a pugnacious preacher, his vampire pal and a butt-kicking ex linking up to track down an absent God and take Him to task for the state of humanity isn’t the stuff down-the-middle TV shows are made of. It isn’t even necessarily the stuff basic-cable shows are made of.
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Sure enough, all of these challenges are what creators Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg faced as they tried to bring the property to the screen.
“Me and Evan grew up together and read a ton of comic books,” Rogen said. “As soon as we had any power in Hollywood we tried to make it.” This involved many false starts, he noted; in fact, there were so many twists and turns that they began their bid during production on “Pineapple Express” nearly a decade ago.
“It’s always been in the hands of people more talented and powerful than us,” Rogen said. “But they all ... it up. And it rode downhill into our laps.”
Rogen was speaking from the stage at South by Southwest on Monday afternoon. The festival had just premiered the first episode of “Preacher,” the first big step in a commercial rollout that will culminate (or at least begin again) when AMC debuts “Preacher” at the end of May.
The series has indeed taken a wide turn to get here, hitting many bumps in the road before becoming something a product-hungry, edgy-minded cable network wanted to take a flier on.
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Kelly Rowland speaks during her “Chasing Destiny” SXSW interview at the Austin Convention Center on March 19.
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DJ Steve Aoki poses with a fan at the Pandora Discovery Den on March 19.
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The Roots brought their legendary Jam Sessions to the festival for the first time during an exclusive performance at the Bud Light Factory on March 19.
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Rapper Tory Lanez performs at the Pandora Discovery Den on March 18.
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Actor Paul Reubens answers questions at the premiere of “Pee-wee’s Big Holiday” at the Paramount Theatre on March 17.
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Actors Joe Manganiello and Sofia Vergara attend the premiere of “Pee-wee’s Big Holiday” at the Paramount Theatre on March 17.
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Wynonna Judd, center, with her band the Big Noise attend the Pandora Discovery Den on March 17.
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DNCE perform at Music Is Universal Styld.by Gap presented by Marriott Rewards and Universal Music Group at the JW Marriott Austin on March 17.
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Rae Sremmurd take the stage at the Bud Light Factory during the Interscope Showcase on March 17.
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Har Mar Superstar performs on a table at the McDonald’s Loft on March 17.
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The Cactus Blossoms perform onstage during the Pandora Discovery Den on March 17.
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Iggy Pop performs at ACL Live the Moody Theater on March 16.
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Chvrches’ Lauren Mayberry performs at the MTV Woodies/10 for ’16 taping on March 16.
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Anderson.Paak performs at the MTV Woodies/10 for ’16 taping on March 16.
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Ryan Adams performs at Music Is Universal on March 16.
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John Legend headlines the AXE Collective + Crew on March 17.
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Musicians Thao Nguyen, center, and the Avett Brothers attend a screening of “A Song For You: The Austin City Limits Story” on March 17.
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Actor-director Don Cheadle attends the screening of “Miles Ahead” on March 16,
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First Lady Michelle Obama speaks at the South by Southwest festival on March 16.
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Big Boi performs at South by Southwest Interactive’s closing party at Stubb’s on March 15.
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Actor Don Cheadle poses in the Samsung Studio at the South by Southwest festival on March 15.
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Aluna Francis of AlunaGeorge performs at Spotify House during the South by Southwest festival on March 15.
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From left, recording artists Sleepy Brown, Ray Murray and Rico Wade of Organized Noize attend a screening of “The Art of Organized Noize” at the Paramount Theatre during the South by Southwest festival on March 15.
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Texas meets Hollywood near the Paramount Theatre as the South by Southwest festival kicks off in Austin, Texas.
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A general view of “The Powerpuff Girls” parade and screening at SXSW on March 14.
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Seth Rogen, left, and Evan Goldberg answer questions at the premiere of the work-in-progress “Sausage Party” at the Paramount Theatre on March 14.
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Actor Greg Poehler, from left, actress Rachel Blanchard, “You Me Her” creator John Scott Shepherd and actresses Priscilla Faia and Melanie Papalia attend the SXSW premiere of AT&T’s Audience Network’s “You Me Her” on March 15.
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Actors Melanie Papalia, from left, Priscilla Faia and Greg Poehler attend a brunch celebrating the premiere of AT&T’s Audience Network’s “You Me Her” on March 15.
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Bella Thorne, a “Shovel Buddies” cast member, attends the movie’s South by Southwest screening on Monday.
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Motivational speaker Tony Robbins attends the screening of the documentary “Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru” on Monday.
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Andrew Jarecki, director of the documentary “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst,” speaks at SXSW on Monday.
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Actor Craig Robinson, at SXSW with the movie “Morris From America,” poses for photos in the Samsung Studio on Monday.
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Comedian Hannibal Buress serves as host at the Spotify House on Monday.
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Rapper Tory Lanez performs at the Spotify House on Monday.
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Actors Dominic Cooper, from left, Ruth Negga and Joseph Gilgun attend the screening of “Preacher” at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas on Monday during the South By Southwest festival.
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Directors Evan Goldberg, left, and Seth Rogen attend the screening of “Preacher” at Paramount Theatre during SXSW on Monday.
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Director J.J. Abrams speaks after the screening of “Secrets of the Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey” at the Paramount Theatre during SXSW on Monday.
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R2-D2 attends the screening of “Secrets of The Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey” at the Paramount Theatre during SXSW.
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Sia performs at Samsung Galaxy Life Fest at SXSW on March 13.
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Sia, background, and dancers perform at Samsung Galaxy Life Fest.
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Willie Nelson performs at the Spotify House during SXSW on March 13.
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James Caan attends a screening of his new film “The Waiting” at the Paramount Theatre on March 13.
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Andrei Dementiev, wearing the GoPro camera setup, attends a screening of “Hardcore Henry” at the Paramount Theatre on March 13.
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Singer Elle King performs onstage at Samsung Galaxy Life Fest at SXSW on March 13.
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Actor Johnny Galecki experiences Samsung Gear VR at the Samsung Studio at SXSW.
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Actresses Kate Micucci, left, Alia Shawkat and Gillian Jacobs at the Samsung Studio on March 13.
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Director Mike Birbiglia attends a screening of “Don’t Think Twice” at the Paramount Theatre on March 13.
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“Scandal” actress Kerry Washington speaks during South by Southwest at the Austin Convention Center.
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“Mr. Robot” actor Rami Malek speaks during South by Southwest.
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“Mr. Robot” actor Christian Slater speaks during South by Southwest.
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Anthony Bourdain speaks during South by Southwest at the Austin Convention Center.
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Jake Gyllenhaal, left, Jean-Marc Vallée and Bryan Sipe arrive at the screening of “Demolition” during South by Southwest at the Paramount Theatre.
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Actor Alexander Skarsgård, left, director John Michael McDonagh and actor Michael Peña at a screening of their new movie “War on Everyone” during the South by Southwest Film Festival.
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Actors Jordan Peele, left, and Keegan-Michael Key attend the screening of “Keanu” during the 2016 SXSW Music, Film + Interactive Festival in Austin.
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Miguel performs as part of the SteelHouse Concert Series during the South by Southwest Interactive Festival.
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Burt Reynolds sits on a 1977 Pontiac Trans-Am at the world premiere of “The Bandit” during the South by Southwest Film Festival.
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Ellen Page speaks at a panel discussion during South by Southwest.
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“Vice Principals” Georgia King, left, David Gordon Green, Jody Hill, Kimberly Hebert Gregory, Danny McBride and Walton Goggins gather during the South by Southwest Film Festival.
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Zoey Deutch arrives at the premiere of “Everybody Wants Some” at the Paramount Theatre.
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Director Richard Linklater at the premiere of “Everybody Wants Some” at the Paramount Theatre.
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Actors Glen Powell, left, Juston Street, Austin Amelio and Wyatt Russell at the Samsung Studio at SXSW.
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Dallas Mavericks wwner Mark Cuban speaks during “Sports and VR,” presented by Gear VR, at the Samsung Studio at SXSW.
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Festival goers experience Samsung Gear VR at the Samsung Studio at SXSW.
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Actors Nathan Parsons and Ksenia Solo at the Samsung Studio at SXSW.
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President Barack Obama, right, talks with Texas Tribune Editor in Chief/CEO Evan Smith at the Center for Performing Arts in Austin as part of the South by Southwest Festival.
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President Barack Obama waves upon his arrival on Air Force One at Austin Bergstrom International Airport. He’ll speak at SXSW and attend two Democratic National Committee fundraisers.
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The First Order, from “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” has landed at SXSW.
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The Austin Convention Center is ready for the public’s arrival on the first day of South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, on Friday.
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A state trooper and a volunteer walk through the hall inside the Austin Convention Center before the public was let in on the first day of the South by Southwest festival.
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People line up inside the Austin Convention Center to register on the first day of SXSW.
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People wait in line to see President Obama participate in a South by Southwest interactive panel on March 11 in Austin, Texas.
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Visitors look over movie posters inside the Austin Convention Center at SXSW.
(Larry W. Smith / EPA) “We went from movie to TV to movie back to this,” said Ennis, on the same SXSW panel. “It seems like it’s the right time for this. TV has finally caught up to comics.”
Rogen, striking his trademark we-stink self-effacement, noted that Sam Mendes was at one time signed on to turn “Preacher” into a film, calling that “a much better idea.” Rogen also said the initial idea was for an epic miniseries a la “Band of Brothers” before it morphed into a feature and several other iterations.
The comic filmmaker wasn’t kidding about the other hands -- in addition to Mendes, Kevin Smith, Mark Steven Johnson and D.J. Caruso were among those who had taken shots in various mediums.
The current team of Rogen, producing partner Goldberg and showrunner Sam Catlin (“Breaking Bad”) have at least topped those efforts just by getting it to the screen. Whether they can conquer the creative and audience challenges that blew up the project previously, however, remains to be seen.
The episode shown at SXSW -- we won’t reveal too many specifics here -- basically traces the paths that brought the three lead characters together.
Jesse (Dominic Cooper), a disaffected preacher with a dark past, has returned to his small Texas town, haunted by the specter of his father as well as a general malaise.
Meanwhile, Tulip (Ruth Negga), Jesse’s ex, is engaging in some necessary violence over in a rural patch of Kansas -- if you were waiting for someone to be killed creatively with an ear of corn, your wait is over.
For his part, Cassidy (the Lancashire-born Joseph Gilgun, playing an Irishman with a young Colin Farrell’s mischievous snarl), is vampirically ripping and sucking his way through life, or whatever it is vampires rip and suck their way through. When we first see him he’s slashing, killing and drinking the blood of high-roller types on a private jet. He then sends the whole plane up in flames, making an emergency-exit with little more than an umbrella and a fresh platelet-y meal. (“This is one of the better jobs I’ve ever had. Being paid to be a [jerk] all day,” Gilgun quipped on the panel, using another word for jerk.)
Theology has begun to manifest itself too, via Jesse as well as the Africa-set preacher whose zapping/possession kickstarts the proceedings.
There are many scenes of stylized violence. People are bloodily bludgeoned. They blow up. As this is a Rogen-Goldberg product, there are also celebrity jokes.
Sometimes several even happen at the same time. The gag that drew the biggest laugh on Monday came when an ambient cable-news report intoned “Tom Cruise has exploded.”
Whether this mix will work is one of the spring’s most intriguing TV questions. Overlapping audiences aside, the Rogen-Goldberg sensibility is not one that automatically translates to rich comic-material movies, and when they’ve tried even remotely in this genre, as with “The Green Hornet,” material not nearly as dark, the results weren’t exactly stellar.
Fan questions about source-material fidelity have also begun to pop up; in the debut episode, new characters and directions already seem to be in evidence.
Goldberg sought to reassure those in attendance. ”It’s really a balance of how to do a TV show and everything you know from a comic book,” he said, noting that the show was starting its action at earlier points than Ennis did. “As the show goes on it will become more familiar to people who are fans of the comic.”
Perhaps the biggest X-factor, meanwhile, is the potential backlash from Christian groups.
Still, one might want to hold off on betting against this series just yet. AMC knows a little something about taking dark genre material to the mainstream, and it’s likely the “Walking Dead” network will have some tricks up its sleeve. And Rogen and the material both have a built-in fan base, as the mostly warm reception at SXSW suggested. Combining all of these, and the various tones, is a leap of faith, but that doesn’t mean it won’t find believers.
@ZeitchikLAT
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