Budget cuts for the spectral superhero's next outing...

You know, Ghost Rider (2007) wasn't exactly Superman Returns or Avatar in terms of expenditure or scope, and I'm wondering if it's really wise to cut down the budget on the pending sequel.

Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance has had a really significant chunk taken out of its resources - a drop from a budget of $135m to $75m. That's not just trimming, it's utter butchery, and it seems unlikely that the script which was green-lit can still be effectively produced after a drop of $60 million dollars.

It depends how modular the script actually is - a lot of franchise writers tend to avoid painting themselves into a corner in this respect, and it could be that the excision or down-scaling of a limited number of discrete sequences can accomplish the financial shrinkage without damaging whatever it was in the script that got a green light in the first place.

On the other hand, some of the best movies in history have been made when directors have attempted feats that their budget should not have allowed, so even if helmers Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine have to get inventive and kiss goodnight to more than two hours' sleep a night when the film starts prepping, the cuts aren't necessarily a bad thing for Spirit Of Vengeance (which seems to be imitating The Dark Knight, in that its title could as well have been used in the initial, previous outing - certainly the hero himself, the 'devil's messenger', couldn't get much darker).

Sony have fuller commitments to safer box-office prospects such as MiBIII and the Spider-Man reboot, so returning star Nic Cage, himself no cynical participant in the Ghost Rider franchise, has taken an unspecified fee cut to help the sequel get off the ground.

Truth is, the 'burning skull' CGI needs to be better in GRII, not worse.

It's just a mad notion, but for the occasional shot, Taylor and Neveldine could go prosthetic/pyrotechnic...? Would give the CGI backroom boys something to match up to as well.

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