Category Archives: Interviews

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Interview: Christopher Meloni on Green Lantern: First Flight

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With breakout performances on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and HBO’s OZ, Christopher Meloni has effectively played both side of the law. But he’s taking his next legal procedure in an altogether new direction.

Meloni provides the voice of Hal Jordan, the alter ego of the title character in Green Lantern: First Flight, the next DC Universe animated original PG-13 movie coming to DVD on July 28, 2009.

In his first-ever voiceover for animation, Meloni leads a stellar cast that includes Victor Garber, Trifica Helfer and Michael Madsen. Green Lantern: First Flight filled to capacity it 4,250-seat World Premiere at Comic-Con International on Thursday, July 23, forcing an encore presentation for an additional 900 fans on Sunday, July 26.

Meloni began his career in sitcoms, playing the ex-con quarterback Johnny Gunn in HBO’s 1st & Ten and then as a member of NBC’s The Fanelli Boys. He also supplied the voice of Spike in Dinosaurs. Meloni’s film credits include roles in Clean Slate with Dana Carvey, Junior with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Twelve Monkeys with Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt. It was seemingly a recurring role on NYPD Blue that finally steered him down the dramatic TV path.

Still, Meloni frequently dips into the lighter fair, stealing the spotlight as Freakshow in Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle and as the go-get-‘em football coach/prospective groom in Garry Marshall’s Runaway Bride.

Green Lantern: First Flight takes the best of Meloni’s prior performances – dramatic and comedic – and allows the actor to play to his strengths. In this Q&A with the actor, Meloni discusses Victor Garber’s acting, Alan Burnett’s writing, Clark Gable’s philosophy, and his personal pride in bringing Green Lantern into the spotlight. Read on …

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Frog Pants Studios Brings Heroes for You, to You

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Scott Johnson is a very busy guy.  When he’s not working as a graphic artist, he runs multiple websites, including his Extra Life web comic, and numerous podcasts with topics that range from geek culture, to World of Warcraft gaming, to a future-tech show.  Scott’s latest edition to his  growing Frog Pants Studios empire is Heroes for You, a serialized radio drama that takes a humorous look at superheroes.

Scott had a few moments in his busy schedule to chat with us about the upcoming project.

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MSP#117: A Conversation with Ralph Tedesco

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A Conversation with Ralph Tedesco

This issue: Ralph Tedesco of Zenescope Entertainment, stops by to chat up the company, Grimm Fairy Tales, upcoming series, and what’s going on at San Diego Comic Con.

 

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Interview: Tricia Helfer on voicing Boodikka in Green Lantern: First Flight

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Since taking the Sci-Fi world by storm as Number Six in Battlestar Galactica, Helfer has seen her star rise on the entertainment front, scoring a key role throughout the second season of USA Network’s hit series Burn Notice, being featured in NBC’s Chuck and the upcoming Human Target, and dipping into the super hero realm as the voice of Black Cat in The Spectacular Spider-Man.

Helfer expands her voiceover career with her first feature-length film role as Boodikka, the most prominent female member of the Green Lantern Corps. Helfer joins Christopher Meloni, Victor Garber and Michael Madsen as the core quartet of voices in the film, supported by fine performances from Juliet Landau, John Larroquette, Kurtwood Smith and a host of others.

Green Lantern: First Flight will also have its world premiere at Comic-Con International in San Diego on Thursday, July 23.

Helfer is as genuine as she is beautiful, and she shared her thoughts on a variety of subjects in a Q&A following her final recording session for Green Lantern: First Flight. The topics of conversation included psychology, rod weeding, an unfulfilled mastering of Frogger, a Star Trek-based fear of earwigs, and … well … read it for yourself.

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Interview: Bruce Timm on Green Lantern: First Flight

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Animation legend Bruce Timm puts the spotlight on character designer Jose Lopez and screenwriter Alan Burnett for their other-worldly creations on Green Lantern: First Flight, the next entry in the popular series of DC Universe animated original PG-13 movies from Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation.

Timm, the executive producer on Green Lantern: First Flight, has been the driving creative force behind many of Warner Bros. Animation’s modern-day successes, elevating DC Comics’ canon of super heroes to new heights of animated popularity and introducing generations of new fans to the characters via landmark television series and made-for-DVD films. The latter task includes the creation of the current series of DC Universe animated original movies, which have drawn critical acclaim and further whetted the public’s appetite for comic book entertainment with the release of Superman Doomsday, Justice League: The New Frontier, Batman Gotham Knight and Wonder Woman.

In the midst of producing several more films for the DC Universe series, Timm paused briefly to offer praise for two of the key players in the production of Green Lantern: First Flight – character designer Jose Lopez and screenwriter Alan Burnett.

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Interview: Andrea Romano talks Green Lantern: First Flight

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Andrea Romano knows how to pick ‘em.

For Green Lantern: First Flight, Romano – arguably the best known casting/dialogue director on the animation scene for more than 25 years – has brought together a pair of voiceover novices in the lead roles, along with assorted veterans of feature film and primetime television, including an 82-year-old character actor whose screen appearances date back to Mighty Joe Young.

As usual, the mix works perfectly.

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Interview: Michael Madsen talks Green Lantern: First Flight

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Perennial movie tough guy Michael Madsen provides the voice of Kilowog, the enforcer with a heart, in Green Lantern: First Flight, the next DC Universe animated original PG-13 movie coming to DVD on July 28, 2009.

Madsen has been cast as the heavy throughout his busy career, gaining widespread acclaim as Mr. Blonde in Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs. His lengthy list of credits include roles in films like The Natural, Thelma & Louise, both volumes of Kill Bill, Wyatt Earp, Free Willy, Die Another Day, and Donnie Brasco. He drew rave reviews for the hit cable television series Tilt as poker player Don “The Matador” Everest.

In Green Lantern: First Flight, Madsen brings to animated life the brawny alien character Kilowog, trainer of all Green Lantern recruits. The role should register positively within the fanboy realm, where Madsen has been popular in films such as Sin City and the Species franchise.

Madsen might truly be the hardest working man in show business. According to IMDB, Madsen has 10 films due out this year, and more than two dozen films currently in various stages of production. And while Green Lantern: First Flight was far from Madsen’s first voiceover performance, it was his initial foray into feature length animation. Madsen has acted as narrator for several filmed projects, as well as being a vocal presence on some of Sony’s best-selling games, including Grand Theft Auto III and Driv3r.

Madsen offered some surprising, honest answers following his recording for Green Lantern: First Flight, providing his thoughts and recollections of acting, the oddities of fan perceptions, sibling rivalries, pumping gas for the stars, and his cleanest definition of Kilowog’s favorite word, “poozer.”

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Interview: Alan Burnett discusses Green Lantern: First Flight

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Four-time Emmy Award winner Alan Burnett departs from a 17-year stint in the Batcave to establish intergalactic justice as the screenwriter for Green Lantern: First Flight, the next DC Universe animated original PG-13 movie coming to DVD on July 28, 2009.

Burnett, who began his animation career at Hanna-Barbera Studios with Super Friends in 1981, has been the single most consistent active figure in bringing the Batman’s legacy to animation since 1991 – when he began scripting episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, the Emmy®-winning production widely considered a pivotal moment in American animation.

Burnett’s stellar talents have merited four Emmy Awards, three Annie Awards and two Humanitas Prizes. His work within the Batman realm includes as a series producer on Batman and Superman and Batman Beyond, and most recently as supervising producer and story editor for Warner Bros. Animation’s award-winning series The Batman. He has remained active in crafting the words behind numerous DC Comics projects, both animated and in comic book form. In the direct-to-DVD arena, Burnett co-produced and co-wrote the animated feature film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, was supervising producer and writer for Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman, and served as producer on the feature-length Batman Beyond: Return of The Joker. He also served as movie story editor and the writer of the anchoring segment of the DC Universe animated original movie, Batman Gotham Knight.

Burnett, the primary story editor for Warner Bros. Animation, took a little time to offer his views on his humbling beginnings in comics, the influences of Alfred Hitchcock and Woody Allen, and the simple one-line pitch behind the screenplay for the first-ever feature length Green Lantern film. Without further ado, here’s a Q&A with Alan Burnett.

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Interview: Juliet Landau in Green Lantern: First Flight

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Actress Juliet Landau, a fanboy favorite from her devious appearances on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, easily glides into the voice of sultry alien Labella in Green Lantern: First Flight, the next DC Universe animated original PG-13 movie coming to DVD on July 28, 2009.

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Interview: Lauren Montgomery on Green Lantern: First Flight

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Fresh off her triumphant solo directorial debut of Wonder Woman, Lauren Montgomery shifts gears from Amazons and mythology to intergalactic intrigue as the director of Green Lantern: First Flight, the fifth in the ongoing series of DC Universe animated original PG-13 movies.

Montgomery has been a central force within the DC Universe animated original movies, directing one-third of the series’ initial film, Superman Doomsday, and wowing critics and fans alike with her solo directorial debut at the helm of Wonder Woman. With Green Lantern: First Flight, Montgomery takes the next step in her burgeoning career, directing the initial full-length story to feature the DC Comics super hero and an entire universe of fascinating characters. She is once again teamed with executive producer Bruce Timm, this time working from an Alan Burnett script that focuses on Hal Jordan’s recruitment to the Green Lantern Corps and his discovery of a secret conspiracy that threatens its philosophies, traditions and hierarchy.

There is no rest for the weary. Though Green Lantern: First Flight has just completed production, Montgomery has already begun directing her next project – another upcoming DCU that you’ll no doubt hear about in the not-too-distant future. Montgomery paused between recording sessions and storyboards to chat about the directorial learning curve, a new universe of astounding characters, a very cool quartet of key voiceover actors, and the tricks to avoiding greens and yellows for an entire background color palette.

Read on … it’s director Lauren Montgomery talking about Green Lantern: First Flight …

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Interview: Alex Tse on Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter

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From comic to feature film to animated short story, screenwriter Alex Tse has played an essential role in helping transition WATCHMEN beyond its initial incarnation.

Ironically, when it came to bringing the graphic novel’s classic story-within-a-story, WATCHMEN: TALES OF THE BLACK FREIGHTER, Tse wrote the screenplay without knowing what that final incarnation would be.

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Interview: Eric Matthies on Under the Hood

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The fun doesn’t end for Watchmen fans as Warner Premiere’s Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter arrives on Blu-ray and DVD on Tuesday, March 24.  Included in the release is co-producer/director Eric Matthies’ all-new take on Under the Hood, the Hollis Mason/Nite Owl autobiography from the original Watchmen graphic novel.

One of the more cutting-edge creators of DVD content in the industry, Matthies, along with partners Tricia Todd and Josh Oreck, has been responsible for acclaimed ancillary materials for such landmark DVD releases as The Matrix, 300 and Spider-Man. He has helped elevate DVD extra content to a new art form, and Under The Hood is a prime example.

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