By Adam Rosenberg in New York City

Chronicles of Riddick, the first movement in Vin Diesel’s own personal opus is getting the full director’s cut DVD release on 11/16. Diesel, who is in New York working on a new film with Sidney Lumet, took some time out of his busy schedule to forge through the bustle of midtown Manhattan and answer a few questions about the DVD release, current projects, Sidney Lumet, and (most importantly) superpowers. He arrived late and was obviously running himself ragged with a full press day on his plate. Despite being near exhaustion, the unrestrained zeal Diesel has for this project shone through in his answers and his general attitude towards fielding the questions.

How pleased were you with the theatrical cut of the film as compared to material edited back into the unrated cut?

Diesel: How pleased was I with the theatrical cut? I was pleased with the theatrical cut. And I was excited about the DVD director’s cut because I was excited with the idea of adding other story elements to the film that we weren’t able to incorporate into the theatrical experience. I think what’s interesting about the fact that there’s an extended version on DVD… I think what we’re finding is the DVD medium is kinda defining itself as a separate medium. Unlike the VHS copies of movies that we used to get that were just an opportunity to see the movie at home, the DVD experience is an opportunity to fully explore this universe of the Chronicles of Riddick and an opportunity to go behind the scenes in an interesting way. And the director usually gets an opportunity to tell the full story and not be limited to theatrical running times or what have you.

What does the new footage add to the film, specifically those three scenes with Kristin Lehman’s Shirah character?

I think it gives you a sense of origin. I think it starts to flesh out a sense of origin for our Riddick character, this enigmatic character, in a cool way. The Shirah character really comes in at important moments like when he’s on the runway. The Shirah character, in creating this story, was designed to introduce Riddick to his Furyan nature. So on the runway she unleashes this radius of fury, this burst of Furyan energy that actually repels this negative energy which is this long explanation that you’ll see in future Chronicles of Riddick pictures. When we were creating this story, we were creating a story that would be told over three films. The Shirah character is introduced in [this] film but is paid off in the third film, if you will. When the way that it’s designed -- and I hope I’m not giving too much away -- but in Chronicles of Riddick II we now go into the Underverse and then C3, if you will, is that final return home to Furya. That’s it in a nutshell.

Are the next two films a lock? Are they definitely happening?

Nothing’s a lock in this world. (laugh) I guess we’ll see what happens with this DVD.

The DVD could bring a whole new life to the film. Do you think that will happen? How does that affect people seeing the film for the first time? Do you think they’ll wait for the DVD now because they know there will be an unrated cut with more footage?

Yeah, I think people will wait for the DVD. I think that Pitch Black was really introduced to the world via DVD. I don’t know how many of us actually saw the movie in the theater, but when Pitch Black came out it was [mainly] introduced on the DVD format. I think and I’ve always thought that Chronicles of Riddick is this intense ball of energy that hasn’t really exploded yet and will continue on throughout the DVD release. But there’s a sequel to the video game being made. I mean the franchise… there’s constant work being put into the franchise. I think there will be the follow-up. I think you’ll have to see Riddick go to the Underverse and I think you’ll ultimately have to see Riddick go back to Furya.

Do you feel a responsibility to make this first film as concise and independent from the other two as possible, despite the fact that you know where it’s going?

I don’t because the whole objective for me is to try, in my mind, to introduce characters in this first film that don’t pay off [immediately], in a very George Lucas/70s way. [Characters] that don’t pay off until later films. I like that. I think that that speaks to a well thought-out trilogy. But again there’s the anxiety. The film business is so kind of arbitrary that you don’t know whether…. (editor’s note: he trails off here) We made Pitch Black with a company called Polygram. (laughs)

This film made more than the first film did. But because it cost so much, there’s a perception that this was not a successful movie. How do you plan to approach future films in the series based on the performance of both Chronicles of Riddick and Pitch Black?

Good question. It depends who you ask. For me… we made Pitch Black with 20 million dollars. I think that you can continue this character regardless of the film budget. You follow me? So will the next film be a PG, 100 and something million dollar movie? I don’t know. Could the next film be [R-rated] by virtue of the fact that it takes place in the Underverse which is obviously gonna be a lot more gruesome than New Mecca? The sequel to this would be rated R and would return to the rated R fashion that Pitch Black was shot in.

What are your feelings on the bootleg possibilities of so many DVDs cutting into what the film’s going to earn?

I wouldn’t know what to say. I mean it’s definitely not the most drastic issue in our country. But you know, I don’t know if the idea… I don’t think anyone should be bootlegging my films.

When you were first introduced to the character of Riddick did you feel this passionately about it? And did you always think that this was going to take on an extended life and evolve into this sort of thing or has this always been an evolving process?

When I first did Pitch Black, I was drawn to this intense character arc. This was the first character arc that I had seen that was that interesting and that kind of… he starts out as a serial killer and then is the only guy that you want to save you. I thought that was really, really, really, really an attractive element to doing this film. Once I was actually shooting in Australia [for Pitch Black and] we were nearing the end of production, that’s when I started to think, ‘wow, wouldn’t it be cool’ – and it might’ve been during some of the shots where we were leaving the planet – ‘wouldn’t it be cool if we could follow Riddick off of this planet and allow him to introduce us to this whole universe and mythology.’ So really that concept started as we were nearing the end of our production shoot in Australia for Pitch Black.

I was told that you screen tested quite a bit for Lord of the Rings. Is this your Lord of the Rings, the fantasy movie that you’ve wanted to do since you played Dungeons & Dragons?

Yes. This is only partially fantasy though, obviously. The kind of expertise that David Twohy has is in that sci-fi world. [Chronicles of Riddick] was a fusion of sci-fi and fantasy. I mean that was the objective.

David Twohy had mentioned how Lord of the Rings has opened up this sense that long stories are now a viable product in Hollywood. What are your thoughts, as a filmmaker and a storyteller, on the gamble of coming up with this whole myhology that may not pay off?

Yeah, it’s thrilling and it’s frightening. It’s thrilling because you’re really going for a story that isn’t done in a reactionary way. It isn’t like we do a film and [we say] ‘oh, we made a lot of money with that, let’s put something else together.’ I think we are being responsible in our storytelling by thinking of all three stories before making the first one. But there is that level of anxiety because you get questions like: is the future film dependant on that? Because it’s a realistic question. But if you’re enjoying the creative process then it doesn’t [matter, the risk]; it’s not life threatening to be creative.

Some of the ideas that you and David had for this whole thing, can some of that also be incorporated into other formats, as it was with animation and video games?

Yeah, yeah… absolutely. That was the whole idea of having the other formats. That was the whole idea of doing the Peter Chung (editor’s note: creator of Aeon Flux) homage to Riddick. That was the motivating force in creating Tigon [Studios, my video game company] and creating the video game Escape From Butcher Bay with Starbreeze and Vivendi because It [gave] us an opportunity to explain some of the backstory of Riddick. In the video game you learn how he got his eyes and you learn what he’s been doing with his [time]. The video game does a lot to flesh out the universe and the mythology. That was what was so fun about doing the video game because obviously that’s a less expensive way to be creative.

Really early on in your career when you were an independent film maker you did something incredible. You were like a rookie pointing to the stands and saying ‘I’m gonna hit a home run. I’m gonna hit a grand slam home run. I’m going to be the biggest action star.’ Now you are. How does the reality differ from the dream for you?

That’s a loooong… wow. I love – you get a lot of people that say they love what they do. I really love what I do. To the point where I’m borderline obsessed with what I do and it’s my hobby. It’s my lifestyle. I actually don’t think about it as much as I probably could because I always feel like I’m behind the 8-ball. Like I feel like I should be talking about [my next big project] Hannibal the Conquerer already. And I feel like I’ve gotta get back and get to work and make sure that that’s right. I’m in a very lucky position. On one hand I’m able to do these big action films that are fun, that are empowering to some degree, that charge people up when they come in the theater and see this whole production. But on another level, on the other hand, I’m able to work with Sidney Lumet. I’ve been working with Sidney Lumet for the last four weeks. I gained weight. My whole look has changed, I’m kind of incognito cause I don’t want to talk too much to anyone. But I’ve been working with Sidney Lumet and I cannot tell you what kind of an unbelievable experience it’s been. I’ve locked myself up in my house for four weeks because I’m playing a character that is defending himself in court but living in prison. A character named Jackie DiNorscio. I don’t know if you remember the boys from New Jersey, the trial that went on in the 80s, the largest mob trial in history where 20 defendants were acquitted. That’s the story I’m doing right now. So my answer is, I feel incredibly fortunate and isn’t it crazy that you remember me as the guy saying I’m gonna do all this. I guess I just… it sounds crazy. You know what? It’s what I really believe. If I die tomorrow and you want to know the truth, it’s what I really believed. I don’t know how else to say that. I know it sounds [like] bullshit, I know it sounds fabricated when people say stuff like that but it’s what I’ve wanted to dedicate my life to. Film. And the making of film. The exploration of film.

What did you get from Sidney Lumet? What did you learn about filmmaking?

Good question. I am learning so much. He is so incredible, so demanding in some ways. I mean it’s like we’ll do 5 to 13 pages of dialogue a day. He’ll do 7 minute talking shots, 10 minute, I mean he’s incredible. He has it all mapped out in his head. And what I really, really, really think is that Sidney Lumet is someone we’ll all be reminded of next year when Find Me Guilty comes out. We got Pete Dinklage in the film, [and] Linus Roache. The greatest thing about Sidney in terms of him teaching me directing stuff – cause he knows that I have the heart of a director and [am] planning to return to directing very shortly – he’ll have me come look behind the monitor and explain these very interesting, very cool shots. I mean literally stop for a second and say, “hey listen Vinny, I’m pulling the camera back and I dollied but I’m changing the lens so that the subject stays the same proportion in the frame but the background starts to bleed.” I mean he’ll walk me through all these things and it’s like I used to say with Steven Spielberg; I would’ve gone out to London just to get a cup of coffee let alone do a role that he wrote for me. With Sidney Lumet I’d be on that set every morning at 6am just to watch him work because he’s doing it so fast. He’s gonna do this whole film in under a month, in 28 days. Every day that I go on set I feel like I’m doing an opening night performance. It’s very reminiscent of the theater experience of the younger years before going out to Hollywood and it’s just a dream that New York actors are so rich. I mean every one in that courtroom is incredible. This is the only day that I’ve left my apartment. I know that sounds crazy but it’s in some way some form of method acting, right? I had been so locked on those characters that it’s amazing I’m doing anything but reciting lines of Jackie DiNorscio right now. But Riddick is my baby. So you got me.

Did you ever read Sidney’s book Making Movies?

Do you want to know something? Just because you said that… one of the reasons, one of the great things about working with Sidney Lumet is when I directed Multi-Facial and I’d been acting since I was seven years old… I’m in my mid-20s, I’d already gone out to L.A. for a year and a half and I didn’t get an agent, couldn’t get anything. [I] came back to New York with my tail between my legs. When I started directing [Multi-Facial] I used Making Movies, Sidney Lumet’s Making Movies to the point where I wanted to rehearse at the Ukrainian hall.

Have you considered returning to the xXx franchise or the Fast and the Furious franchise at all?

Am I ever gonna do another Fast and the Furious movie? I can tell you one thing… you may very well… you’re beginning to know my personality. Let’s just say… god I wanna give you some juice so bad. God, it’s so political…. (trails off) It’s very New York.

Our time’s almost up, but just one last question to ask. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

Charm.

The DVD for The Chronicles of Riddick comes out on Tuesday, November 16.