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02-12-2008, 04:22 PM
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ANIMATED SHORTS: STAN BERKOWITZ - SCRIPTING THE NEW FRONTIER
 ON SCRIPTING THE NEW FRONTIER by Steve Fritz When it came to scripting Justice League: New Frontier, Stan Berkowitz knew he what he was walking into. “I remember seeing some comments on early screenings of New Frontier,” said the man whose resume includes working on such shows as Cartoon Network’s Justice League and the DCAU shows. “Most of it is pretty favorable, but then there’s what I call the orthodoxy. I remember when I finished the first draft of the script, I kind of jokingly said that the first comment we’ll get is ‘where are the Challengers of the Unknown?’ Luckily, we’ve rarely gotten that." “Still, we know there are the orthodox, whose fanaticism borders on the religious. I don’t want to tread on any toes there, but the die was cast when DC and Warners decided to call it Justice League: The New Frontier. Even Darwyn (Cooke), who created the original graphic novel and thus has a paternal interest in it, understood we didn’t have the time or the money to do every single scene in the book. How do I get it all in? That was the first thing that flashed through my head.” But get through it he did. The final results will come to the market on Tuesday, February 26. “The problem with adapting was more like whittling,” says Berkowitz. “You had something large and very gradually, gradually trimmed it until it fit into the format we needed it to fit into.” So yes, this meant there was cutting for other considerations as well as time limitations. The original graphic novel sold between 100,000 to 200,000 books. While that’s good numbers for anything in print, it’s not for DVDs, especially with the budget of NF. “Let’s say that the book sold 150,000 copies,” says Berkowitz. “If the same number buy the DVD, it’s a flop. The sales figure for Superman: Doomsday is about 600,000. If we go by those numbers, and I hope we do, I will be very happy is we sell as much as Doomsday. I’m guessing that if you knew nothing about New Frontier, you would not miss it. We believe that 75-80% of those who will buy the DVD will fall into that category." “What I was going for, it will not be enough to do a DVD that only people who read the graphic novel will watch. It would be a commercial failure. It has to spread beyond by a pretty good proportion. My main job was making something who read the comic would enjoy as well as the people who walk through Wal-Mart would say they’d give a shot. I am trying to bring in both audiences. We’ll know if we succeeded in a few weeks. It might have ended up too inbetween, too outside for the insiders or too inside for the outsiders. I don’t know." “There was another decision that was made before I got here, and that was to call the thing Justice League: New Frontier. Once that decision was made, it was a little easier to start trimming things. I was able to trim things that didn’t belong to the Justice League. I mean I grew up reading Dinosaur Island and DC’s World War II stories, I would suggest there is another Direct-to-Video about Rick Flagg.” As for Darwyn Cooke, Berkowitz already acknowledged he didn’t work too much with the man. As it turned out, that wasn’t because he didn’t want to. “Early on they offered Darwyn the opportunity to co-write it,” says Berkowitz. “He backed off. I think it was because was working on The Spirit. I’m not sure. So the way we worked it is I sat down and did an outline for the adaptation. I admit the first outline would have been way too long and unwieldy. At that point I started getting notes from everybody involved, including Darwyn. From there, we had long phone calls and we started whittling. Darwyn was there for that process. Then I did two drafts of the script. Darwyn did a draft, a rewrite of what I wrote. Then I did one more draft and we were done. The whole writing process started in March, 2006. It was over in October, 2006, which is pretty fast for a feature length project.” From there, the creative process apparently moved smoothly for Berkowitz. “There’s really three stories, there’s Hal, there’s J’onn’s and, to a lesser extent, there’s Flash,” he said. "The other characters don’t have quite those three do. By no coincidence they are some of the founding members of the Justice League. I think they deserve to get a little attention. When I was writing the first draft, I envisioned it as a wide screen theatrical release, as wide vision as live action. This script still is closer to a live action script than it is an animated one.” “When you work at Warners you can do that. When I worked at Marvel on the mid-90s Spider-Man, the writers pretty much had to choreograph every punch. When I came to Warners in ’96, it became pretty clear the directors preferred slightly less descriptive scripts. It’s a pleasure to work that way. It’s much closer to a live action script. I also believe the artists, in making this film, were composing for a big wide screen. It played really well when we put it on a movie screen.” If there is one character that appears to have captured Berkowitz heart though, it’s the future Green Lantern. A man who openly admits he grew up during comics’ Silver Age, he also admits he added his own spin to Mr. Jordan. “I actually had the Starro issue, which I wish I still had now,” says Berkowitz. “Now, in the late 50s, when Hal first appeared, he was a man with no fear. That was it. The Guardians picked the bravest man on the planet and gave him the ring. That’s a pretty dull character. It appealed to me when I was eight or nine, but that doesn’t really appeal to an adult." “With New Frontier you have a Hal who does appeal to adults. I really like the way he turned out for a number of reasons. For one, the pacifism he showed when he was a fighter pilot, that’s not an absurd thing. There are stories of soldiers who went to the front line of a war and wound up never firing their rifles. A lot of those times what you have is a guy on the line who will freeze and not shoot back. Hal’s experience as a fighter pilot isn’t that different. It’s credible to me." “So you have a guy who doesn’t like to kill people, who respects life, now that’s a good choice to give the ring to! Wouldn’t you agree? Also, Hal’s been through psychotherapy. That means that he’s looked at himself. Clearly the Hal Jordan of 1959 never been through that; nor Superman, Batman or any of them. It gave Hal a layer of depth that I really liked.” Another thing that Berkowitz enjoyed was not having to think what some TV network’s standards and practices department would think. “It was liberating because I was working with a PG-13 rating. New Frontier is a little bit more adult. While I won’t call the material that ran on Cartoon Network childish, and among superhero shows it was more adult than most, but working with a PG-13 rating certainly felt great to the artists and myself. The language is more adult. So is the art. There is also one other key difference. When you do a show that’s aimed for children, there’s a big taboo against representing death. Superheroes are all about life and death situations. It’s not life and blank. By allowing us to take this more realistic view, it also made the whole thing a lot more adult." “Right from the beginning, where Hal Jordan has to deal with the Korean soldier, you couldn’t do that on TV. We tried to stay as close to the comic as possible there. Even more important, right at the beginning we had a suicide. That’s absolutely taboo in a children’s thing. They are afraid that’s something children would emulate.” And overall, when looking over the final product, one has to say that Berkowitz did an incredible job given the limitations he was dealt with. One gets the feeling he does, too. “When I first saw the finished movie, I thought this is the book come to life,” he said.. “Yes, there are threads that are not in it but it really felt like this is it. It did come alive.” As for the immediate future, it’s safe to say you’ll be seeing a lot of his work. “It’s a long list,” he said. “I have one more episode of The Batman coming up. It’s the first half of the season closer, which deals with an alien invasion. Yes, another one. I have an episode of Legion of Super Heroes featuring Dream Girl. I also have an episode of Transformers coming up, two episodes of Ben 10, a project with Dwayne McDuffie and Glen Murakami for Cartoon Network and there’s more. Then there’s a new project I’m working on for BET with Denys Cowen and Vin Diesel, the Hannibal project. I’m just finishing the script now with Matt Wayne.” One gets the feeling it will be an interesting thing to talk to Berkowitz about those, too. RIP STEVE GERBER Yes, I know there’s a forum regarding the loss of Steve Gerber, and it’s damn near impossible to outdo what Gail Simone said. Still, I couldn’t go by without saying something about Gerber’s passing over here. You see, Gerber’s contribution to the animation world wasn’t insignificant, either. Let me backtrack a little. During the 70s you’d have been hardpressed to see me read any American superhero comic book. I was a hardcore Metal Hurlant/Heavy Metal and underground comic fan. Bill Griffith, Moebius, Robert Crumb, Tezuka, Gahan Wilson, Matt Howarth. Bernie Wrightson; that was my meat and potatoes… With one notable exception; Howard The Duck. If you needed proof Gerber was a superlative animation writer, you’d need look no further than the tales of that duck. The man had such an immaculate sense for the gag and the surreal that it put him on the par of the likes of Tex Avery and Bob Clampett. He could also be serenely poignant. Still it was his wonderful sense of the bizarre that made his Sludge (along with Robinson’s Firearm) my favorite read in the way too short Malibu Ultraverse. On the animation front, many people have noted his work with Mark Evanier at Hanna-Barbera, including Thundarr The Barbarian, but I think Gerber was at his absolute best when he went over to Warner Bros. to work on the DCAU. The episode he wrote that will always stay forever burned into my memory was “Beware The Creeper, where the origins of the big yellow goofball exploded on the small screen. Many people forget the particular episode was nearly put in some dark part of the WB Water Tower, the powers that be fearing it way too scary for kids. Yet, in one rare moment of either lucidity or just plain serendipity, the story did air. The world is a better place because of it. Probably the biggest tragedy of all though is one little footnote in Bruce Timm’s book on the series Batman series. If you check around the corners, there was talk of a later series called Gotham Knights. It featured many of the Caped Crusaders sidekicks. But if you look carefully at the original logo by Bruce Timm, it also had Jack Ryder’s alter ego grinning away maniacally to the far left (behind Batgirl). If only. If only. Gerber’s work in animation hardly ended with the original DCAU. As it turned out, his talents also got him noticed by 4 Kids Entertainment. He wound up working as a staff writer for Yu-Gi-Oh: King of Games for its entire six season run. Yeah, there were many times when the stuff that got on screen was atrocious, but considering the initial success of the show, I would be it paid the bills; something Gerber would lament the comic book industry didn’t always do. Personally, in the 90s, when I was reading comics again, I had the pleasure of interviewing Gerber a few times. I found him to be one hell of a funny, sweet guy with some great tales to tell and an insight to pop culture too many lacked. I didn’t talk to him much during the Yugi days, and I bet his insight on that should would have been revealing. No matter what, the world is a slightly sadder place with his passing. My condolences go to all those who knew and loved him much better than I did. From the few times I talked to him, he sounded one incredible guy. 2007 ANNIE AWARD WINNERS The 2007 Annie Awards were handed out this weekend. This is an admittedly abbreviated list, but here are the major categories: • Best Animated Feature Winner: Ratatouille - Pixar Animation Studios Bee Movie - DreamWorks Animation Persepolis - Sony Pictures Classics Surf's Up - Sony Pictures Animation The Simpsons Movie - Twentieth Century Fox • Best Home Entertainment Production Winner: Futurama; "Bender's Big Score" - The Curiosity Company/ 20th Century Fox TV Doctor Strange - MLG Productions • Best Animated Short Subject Winner: “Your Friend the Rat” - Pixar Animation Studios “Everything Will Be OK” - Bitter Films “How to Hook Up Your Home Theater” - Walt Disney Feature Animation Shorty McShorts' Shorts "Mascot Prep" - Walt Disney Television Animation “The Chestnut Tree” - Picnic Pictures • Best Animated Television Production Winner: Creature Comforts America - Aardman Animations Jane and the Dragon - Weta Productions Limited & Nelvana Limited Moral Orel - ShadowMachine Robot Chicken/Star Wars- ShadowMachine Kim Possible - Walt Disney Television Animation • Best Animated Television Production for Children Winner: El Tigre - Nickelodeon Chowder - Cartoon Network Studios Little Einsteins - Disney Channel Peep and the Big Wide World - Discovery Kids The Backyardigans - Nickelodeon • Directing in an Animated Feature Production Winner: Brad Bird, Ratatouille - Pixar Animation Studios Ash Brannon & Chris Buck, Surf's Up - Sony Pictures Animation Chris Miller & Raman Hui, Shrek The Third - DreamWorks Animation Vincent Paronnaud & Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis - Sony Pictures Classics David Silverman, The Simpsons Movie - Twentieth Century Fox • Directing in an Animated Television Production Winner: Seth Green; Robot Chicken; “Star Wars" - ShadowMachine David Hartman; Tigger & Pooh; "Turtles Need for Speed" - Walt Disney Television Animation Raymie Muzquiz; Squirrel Boy; "Gumfight at the S'Okay Corral" - Cartoon Network Studios Howy Parkins; The Emperor's New School; "Emperor's New Musical" - Walt Disney Television Gary Trousdale; Shrek The Halls - DreamWorks Animation • Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production Winner: Ian Holm; Skinner; Ratatouille - Pixar Animation Studios Janeane Garofalo; Collette; Ratatouille - Pixar Animation Studios Julie Kavner; Marge Simpson; The Simpsons Movie - Twentieth Century Fox Patton Oswalt; Remy, Ratatouille - Pixar Animation Studios Patrick Warburton; Ken, Bee Movie - DreamWorks Animation • Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production Winner: Eartha Kitt; Yzma; The Emperor's New School "Emperor's New Musical" - Walt Disney Television Animation Scott Adsit; Clay Puppington; Moral Orel ShadowMachine Madison Davenport; Sophianna; Christmas is Here Again! - Easy To Dream Entertainment Tom Kenny; SpongeBob; SpongeBob SquarePants "Spy Buddies" - Nickelodeon Eddie Murphy; Donkey; Shrek The Halls - DreamWorks Animation • Winsor McCay Award Winners (career contributions to the art of animation) John Canemaker Glen Keane John Kricfalusi • June Foray Award (significant, benevolent or charitable impact on animation) Jerry Beck • UB IWERKS (technical achievement) Jonathan Gay, Gary Grossman and Robert Tatsumi - the creators of FLASH computer software • SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT ANNIE AWARD Edwin R. Leonard - promoting the Linux open system for animation in animation studios and gaming software development • CERTIFICATE OF MERIT Marcus Adams Joseph Baptista Steve Gattuso Jon Reeves Gemma Ross Woodbury University For a complete list of winners, check out the URL www.annieawards.org. NEXT COLUMN: We follow up our interview of Stan Berkowitz with New Frontier’s director David Bullock. . Last edited by editbot : 02-13-2008 at 11:38 PM. |
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02-12-2008, 04:34 PM
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#2 |
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DCAU
Nice interview with Stan (and tribute to Steve).
Sure would like to see more DCU projects or better yet, a JLU revival. |
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02-12-2008, 05:26 PM
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#3 |
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"Sure would like to see more DCU projects or better yet, a JLU revival."
Yes! I have been missing JLU desperately.  |
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02-12-2008, 05:34 PM
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#4 |
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I've said it before, I'll say it again --
There is a market out there for a 4-part, uncut animated version of Dark Knight Returns. Make it, advertise the s___ out of it, and not only will the current crop of fanboys (myself included) go ape ____ over it, but you'll see fans of the book who 'outgrew' comics 10, 15 years ago swoop in to get it. It's not a story that can be half-assed. It's not a story that can be cut down to fit a 75-minute run time. But if it's a 4 disk set, released quarterly, each DVD an entire issue of the book, then I honest-to-God think it could be the highest selling Non-Disney animated DVD America's ever seen. Last edited by Spaz_Monkey : 02-12-2008 at 05:36 PM. |
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02-12-2008, 05:56 PM
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#5 |
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I have a hard time understanding how Avatar didn't even get nominated for best animated television production for adults or children. It's easily the best animated series on television today.
I've actually seen New Frontier already, and it's FREAKIN awesome! I enjoyed the fact that the movie didn't revolve around Superman, and Batman's portrayal was completely unique, and the voice actor was spot on! Keep up the good work DC!!! |
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02-12-2008, 06:12 PM
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#6 |
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I cant wait to own New Frontiers, ive seen it already and i think its blinding.
NF is one of my favorite stories and i really enjoyed the film, Good work guys! Way better than Superman Doomsday so it has to outsell it. Nice piece on Steve Gerber, i have that book on the batman series and it woulda been sweet to have the creeper in there. |
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02-12-2008, 06:27 PM
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#7 | |
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Quote:
Spaz - My personal belief is IF things get to be truly successful, a plan like that might be possible. At least I hope so. -s |
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02-12-2008, 06:31 PM
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#8 | |
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Quote:
I understand there's some sad politics going down at the Annies these years. If you'll notice, there's hardly any mention of some other production houses either. -s |
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02-12-2008, 09:05 PM
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#9 |
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sfritz - any news on what happened to The Judas Contract? My undertsanding is that it was supposed to be after New Frontier but before the Batman one. I haven't heard/read anything about it since last year. Anything?
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02-13-2008, 01:23 AM
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#10 | |
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Quote:
The production-cost of animation while it has been lower due to new technologies, still requires a lot manpower. Studios still have a separate budget for animation and live-action.It will be awhile before both are equal footing in terms of production-cost and potential profits. If New Frontier sells triple what it's expected, then it will help sell the notion that a 4 disc extravaganza might be worth the production time and cost. Its all about cost vs. profits, not about stifling creativity or gypping their customers. |
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02-13-2008, 04:04 AM
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#11 |
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“I actually had the Starro issue, which I wish I still had now,” says Berkowitz. “Now in the late 50s, when Hal first appeared, he was a man with no fear. That was it. The Guardians picked the bravest man on the planet and gave him the ring. That’s a pretty dull character. It appealed to me when I was eight or nine, but that doesn’t really appeal to an adult.
SMH, boy oh boy there is just something so wrong and ignorant about that comment that it's hard not to bash the hell out of it. The fact of the matter is that being chosen because you're the bravest man in the entire world is exactly why Hal is such an icon and beloved character. |
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02-13-2008, 04:38 AM
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#12 | |
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Quote:
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02-13-2008, 11:17 AM
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#13 |
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Still Can't believe anyone would be whore enough to massacre a great comic book masterpiece into such a chopped up, botched up, short version, piece of trash event; same as Superman Doomsday without Steel, Supergirl, Superboy... They took out the best, and this time WB ain't gonna fool me twice...
WB SUCKS! And remember, these are some of the same clowns that farted out the knock off dumb Catwoman Hally Berry film, and though we would like that trash too NOT BUYING AN OTHER DC WB ANIMATION EVER AGAIN! And a big BOOOOO to the one that helped to massacre his own work too; he certainly slipped down as far as my respect goes and future comic book interest |
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02-13-2008, 11:40 AM
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#14 | |
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Quote:
I'm honestly not sure. I get the impression that the Batman anime will be coming out before Judas Contract though. When you ask why they circle the wagons then. POST THOUGHT: Of course, after I post then the idea pops into my head. Another reason for Batman coming first is the soon-to-be released live action film with Heath Ledger. -s Last edited by sfritz : 02-13-2008 at 11:44 AM. |
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