From the SCI FI Wire.9:00am ET, 10-December-02

Perlman Confirms Hellboy Start

Ron Perlman, who will play the title role in the film adaptation of Mike Mignola's Hellboy comic series, told SCI FI Wire that he will begin work on the movie early next year.

"We're about to start production in February in Prague," Perlman said in an interview. He added that the script is based on "the very first Hellboy installment, which is 'The Seed of Destruction.'" Guillermo del Toro (Blade II) will direct from his own script, about a demon raised by the Nazis who now battles the forces of darkness.

Perlman added that makeup-effects guru Rick Baker has finished designing Hellboy's makeup. "It's very much in keeping with the comic-book character," he said. "It's incredibly beautiful: liquid, vulnerable and fierce. I haven't worked in it yet. I've only put it on and had a screen test in it, but it's not that much unlike anything else where you're basically covered in latex and foam."

For research, Perlman said, "I'm reading everything that Mike Mignola wrote and trying to get into the point of view and the world as one would always do when one is asked to." Hellboy is shooting for a 2004 release.