ANIMATED SHORTS: NEW FRONTIER CAST CHATTING

[MattBrady]

NEW FRONTIER
CAST TALKS ABOUT THEIR ROLES

by Steve Fritz

The story goes David Boreanaz wore a green t-shirt when he first walked into the recording booth for his first session of New Frontier. It was a subtle tribute to the character he was voicing, Hal Jordan, aka The Green Lantern.

“I like to get into my characters...literally," the current star of the series Bones and best known to Buffy fans as Angel said.

Boreanaz spearheaded a pretty impressive list of marquis names in this production. Some of them were quite familiar with v.o. work, like of Miguel Ferrer (J’onn Jonzz), Jeremy Sisto (Batman) and Phil Morris (King Faraday). For others, like Brooke Shields (Carol Ferris), it was a new experience. Then there were some that made you wonder you never thought of them before, like Kyle MacLachlan as Superman.

After all, director David Lynch said one of the key reasons he cast MacLachlan in such films as Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks because of the actor’s square-jawed, All American, boy scout look. Give the guy a spit curl and…

“Kyle MacLachlan is the perfect example – he sounds exactly like what you’d think a ‘50s era Superman would sound like,” said executive producer Bruce Timm. “He’s very righteous and good, but still very natural. We didn’t want the sound of Superman in 2008, and Kyle gave such a great, stylized performance in capturing that mid-50s feel.”

“There’s a sort of moral imperative that Superman has, and I think the language he uses is a little more proper. He’s just not a guy who uses his words casually,” MacLachlan said. “So maybe, unconsciously, that 1950s tone just creeps in there for me.”

Not that MacLachlan was in totally alien terrain in the sound booth. Many of his live action roles would have him repeating his lines in ADR sessions later. He used that to his advantage.

“When I’m synching to myself in live action, which is what I usually do, my mouth moves the same way and I can see it visually and it somehow connects,” he said. “This is a little more difficult because the animated mouth moves a little differently. The animation doesn’t quite have the same amount of detail that you would see in a real-life performance. Like the word ‘strategy,’ we were having trouble in the booth getting that one right because I couldn’t really see how it was formed in my animated mouth. But we made it all work.”

While one gets the impression Shields would have loved to have played Wonder Woman (it went to Lucy Lawless), she didn’t exactly sound like she was complaining about being Hal’s love interest, either.

“I’m so drawn to the concept of a female warrior as the lead character. I’ve loved it since before they had shows like Alias and Bionic Woman,” she said. “As I’m not exactly, let’s say, a dainty girl – I’m not frail, and no matter what I do, I’m not little – I’ve always secretly wished to have to go through some kind of training to do a big, physical role. I’ve trained with the Blue Angels and I’ve done triathlons, but ultimately, I think I want to be a super hero. Okay, I just want to play a super hero. I think that would be great. I’d love to do that kind of role.”

“I think the thing that I responded to with Carol, as a character, is that, if you think about the 1950s, people were not sympathetic towards women in any position other than the very traditional homemaker …and here’s Carol, this revolutionary woman for that period of time. There's a strength in Carol. She’s not willing to lose her sexuality by being in a man's world, and she’s determined to be respected for having the same intelligence and ability to stay on course, and be par for the course, with the men that she's surrounded by. I admire her character from that perspective for that period of time, and I would admire her in this day and age.”

Then into this mix throw in Jeremy Sisto, the only one among the cast interviewed who openly admits he read comics when growing up.

“When I was a kid, I liked Superman; when I got a little older, I liked Wolverine; and then I found girls,” he said, jokingly, but this is a guy who also worked on shows ranging from Duckman to The Wild Thornberrys. “I think Batman is a great character in that he has a lot of internalization, and his heroics come from a dark place,” Sisto said. “You can have fun with that side of him, sort of showing his dislike for people and yet, at the same time, he's all about helping people and doing good for society.

“I tend to get cast as dark characters, and I'm more drawn to those characters anyway – they’re usually more interesting. Plus, I got this deep voice from my father, and the combination of the timbre of my voice and my inflections tends to make people feel that there's some darkness there. Batman is a bit of a loner. He’s very intuitive and, while the rest of the Justice League are using their super powers, he uses his detective skills to get to the heart of the matter and, in this case, help save the world. Throughout the course of the story, though, I think he learns that it's not such a bad thing to have friends.”

"I think everybody, in a sense, can kind of lose themselves in this fantasy. I know I did," Boreanaz adds. "Where else can you partake in this level of adventure, in this amazing way of blowing things up in a fair and simple way without ever actually hurting anybody? It's just so enjoyable. Hal's an interesting character – having been part of the Korean War, he's kind of damaged goods, but yet he's striving to get back to being himself. I think Hal's sense of a duality is fascinating – his holding onto his past, overcoming it, and being heroic with it. It's about coming to an understanding of where your strengths are and where your weaknesses may be – and as an actor, to go into his dark place and work from there. I found that very appealing."

Also being a rookie on the team, his only previous work being some time on the game Kingdom Hearts, Boreanaz admitted he leaned heavily on voice director Andrea Romano a lot.

“Andrea was unbelievably fantastic in the way she guided me through Hal's course of emotions, and really helped me get to know the character," Boreanaz said. "Once I got my feet underneath him and really got into character, everything fell into place and we just flew through the script. It was a great journey."

“When you're doing a voice for an animated project, you don't have the props and the different visual things that make it a bit easier for an actor to make a scene real for you,” Sisto added. “So you're stuck in a booth alone and you're kind of forced to use your imagination a little bit more.”

“The physical performance is fun, you have to use your imagination a lot more,” MacLachlan added. “It’s a lot of grunts and oomphs and ughs, which you just can’t help but act out physically. I’m sure it looks funny from the other side of the glass. Like in one scene, it was about getting hit with a pterodactyl wing versus getting punched by a super villain. There’s apparently a difference in that sound. So you have to shade it a bit and use the imagination.”

“I wish the animation process was done in reverse,” Shields then admitted. “It was such a different experience to record to picture versus just recording without the visual reference. I didn’t really know who she was as much without the picture. When we were initially recording it, before the animation, sometimes it felt flat. We worked on modulations, but I was not as clear on her character. I think I needed the picture in my head for it to take on a life onto its own. When we recorded to the animation, that made it much clearer.”

“I always appreciate how seriously this is all taken. There’s such a commitment on everyone’s part,” she said. “It’s not just a cartoon. It’s very real. It’s a very, very dedicated, smart, hard job that these people do. I’m so impressed by it. It’s all these things you don’t get to see that make these films great. It goes way beyond the voice actors; the people that make these animated (films) are just complete geniuses.”

“The edginess and the conflict between the characters is what makes this a great movie," Boreanaz said. "Super heroes or not, these characters are going to go at each other at times. There's a fusion of a lot of strong, different personalities, and although they all want to achieve the same goal, they might not have the same approach. And Hal knows how to get the job done. So there's good balance and a nice edge to the story."

“There’s an added joy to acting when you envision your children watching something and being engaged by it, and having that something be mommy,” Shields said. “You’re always trying to be cool in your kids’ eyes, even when they’re young. To me, I have much more of a connection to do that sort of thing.”

Plus, it just seems to be fun playing Superhero, even when you’re in your 40’s.

‘There’s nothing silly about animation to me,” Shields said. “I’m always impressed with the artists and the technology. It’s also really nice to be behind the scenes, but still be an actress. The characters themselves precede you, but you’re still right with them, supporting them. There’s a wonderful thing that happens when you have the cans (headphones) on and there’s time and place to sort of infuse these characters.”

“Superman stands for so many things that I believe in – strength, justice, fighting for what’s right,” said MacLachlan. “You just can’t turn down the opportunity to play a guy like Superman. Once you’ve done Superman, it’s hard to go anywhere else. So I think I’ve reached the zenith of my superhero experience.”

NY ANIME FEST SET FOR FALL

The New York Anime Festival (NYAF) today announced its 2008 show will be held from September 12-14 at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City. The New York Anime Festival, a Japanese pop culture convention from the creators of the New York Comic Con, held its first event on December 7-9, 2007, where it drew a total of 14,335 attendees.

Following the close of the New York Anime Festival's 2007 show, the convention conducted surveys, interviews, and focus groups with exhibitors, professionals, and attendees to determine the dates of its next event. The New York Anime Festival's new September setting is the result of this research.

"The first New York Anime Festival exceeded all our expectations," Show Manager Lance Fensterman said. "After our first year out, we're already the fourth largest anime convention in America! Of course, we're not stopping here. This year's NYAF will be larger in size and scale, and work has already begun on an astonishing roster of guests."
The New York Anime Festival's parent show, the New York Comic Con, will take place April 18-20 at the Jacob Javits Center. NYCC recently announced it will play host to Japanese pop star T.M. Revolution. T.M.Revolution is known around the world for "INVOKE," the theme song to the anime series Gundam SEED and "Ignited," the theme to its sequel, Gundam SEED Destiny. He will soon also be known for the theme song to Soul Eater, an anime series premiering this April in Japan. It’s his first performance in the US since 2004 -- and first ever in New York City.

Tickets are available now at www.newyorkcomiccon.com.

[alleywaykrew]

I can't wait to see this...even though Netflix screwed me horribly, so I have no idea when that will actually be.

[Pupasweet]

Originally Posted by alleywaykrew

I can't wait to see this...even though Netflix screwed me horribly, so I have no idea when that will actually be.

Alleywaykrew...IMO....you may want to lower your expectations a bit....its good but it has a hard time living up to the hype that is being generated about it.

[WantonChicken]

Originally Posted by Pupasweet

Alleywaykrew...IMO....you may want to lower your expectations a bit....its good but it has a hard time living up to the hype that is being generated about it.

exactly how i felt. had i seen this then read the comic...

[ParisCub]

I'm still a bit concerned after the Doomsday disaster, but this looks far better... And as long as they didn't mess to much with the story, it should be ok.

[Jomma]

Originally Posted by Pupasweet

Alleywaykrew...IMO....you may want to lower your expectations a bit....its good but it has a hard time living up to the hype that is being generated about it.

Pupasweet....IMO...you shouldn't be too skeptical....it should be good...after all it's just a cartoon...not an oscar award winning movie.

[Bevbos]

Kyle McLachlan as Superman? Now this I have to see.

[RonCat]

I hope everyone will cut their local comic shops some slack on this one.

Even though it's a DC movie, based on a DC comic, released and distributed by Warner Brothers - the company that owns DC, and being sold to comic shops through Diamond - DC comics exclusive comic book distributor ... comic book stores won't be recieving their orders for this dvd this week.

So, support your local shop, and wait a week for this one. Shop loyalty is appreciated.

Ron Catapano

Rons Comic World
Mount Holly, NJ

[KACH]

I was lucky enough to pre-screen this last week. I liked it quite a bit, the whole thing was pretty spectacular. The animation was fantastic, right off the page. But, story-wise, it didn't quite capture the feel of the book. And, as much as I agreed with the message it presented, I still felt they tried to force that message a bit to much.

I'd give it an 8.5/10.

--J.

[WantonChicken]

Originally Posted by Jomma

Pupasweet....IMO...you shouldn't be too skeptical....it should be good...after all it's just a cartoon...not an oscar award winning movie.

wait...arent you....lowering...your expectations?

[I-Ching]

Originally Posted by ParisCub

I'm still a bit concerned after the Doomsday disaster, but this looks far better... And as long as they didn't mess to much with the story, it should be ok.

Definitely not seeing the greatness of this flick...I liked it but I'm not in ranks with those who are raving about it, it was decent but nothing truly noteworthy imho.

Personally I would say that Superman/Doomsday was actually better. Granted Supes had those weird lines for cheekbones but the basic plot just flowed more smoothly and made for a more enjoyable flick to watch.

New Frontier jumps around A LOT and never feels like it tells anyone's story completely...lotsa bits of this and bits of that leaving you wanting more and just not getting it...majorly handicapped with the short overall time.

I don't think anyone would give this a "bad" review but my original plan was to end up buying it and adding it to my overall DVD library...that won't be happening.

[pinkteeth]

Quick question for you guys: is it better to see this before reading the comic or after?

[WantonChicken]

Originally Posted by pinkteeth

Quick question for you guys: is it better to see this before reading the comic or after?

the comic is definitely a superior piece. the movie feels almost like a spark notes for the thing. if you like ur story not to be spoiled....read...then watch...if you kinda want to get a taste before u delve into a deeper experience...movie then read

[Andy Red]

This film is blinding. The animation is amazing, the acting is good. Everything about it is brilliant and a true testiment to what Darwyn Cooke created in the comics. I know a lot of people dont like the fact that they basically cut out the first book, but i understand why they did it. Ive just bought my copy and i love it. Hats off lads, hats off indeed.

[PreCrisisDC]

I watched this at midnight on-demand cablevision....this movie was awesome...seriously...anyone who nitpicks with this movie is truly missing the point...this was worthy follow-up to the written masterpiece.(Assuming you read the graphic novel...you can never expect see panel for panel transition Can only hope the Titans movie is half as good as this was!

Batman was awesome..christ i think the entire cast was spot on--I was truly happen to see a boyhood hero again....the great Barry Allen! Thank u to all involved with this animation movie...Darwin Cooke cheers...we as comic fans, should wish and to see more top notch stories given the high standard for which this direct to video project was given....off to Best Buy now to get the Blu-Ray!!!!

[TCJohnson]

Originally Posted by pinkteeth

Quick question for you guys: is it better to see this before reading the comic or after?

I haven't seen the cartoon, but the comic book is one of the best comics ever in my opinion. Read it first

[Jomma]

Originally Posted by pinkteeth

Quick question for you guys: is it better to see this before reading the comic or after?

It's entirely up to you.

People who don't like the cartoon but love the comic book are way too fanboyish and can be very critical. We've address this issue with Doomsday. If you want the story in the comic book then read the comic. If you want the story in the cartoon...well, you get the idea.

Same story just told two very different ways.

[drastic_q]

I've seen the cartoon, and it's a Cliffs Notes version of the comic. If you've already read New Frontier, it is a disappointment. If you haven't, the cartoon is just good enough to pique your interest in the comic.

[Kal*el]

I watched about half of it before coming in to work. So far I'm very pleased. It's nice if you've recently read NF so you can fill in the holes a little bit, but overall its gorgeous and very entertaining.

[Switch625]

Really looking forward to seeing this. I'm picking it up on the way home from work. I'm a big fan of Boreanaz' from Buffy, Angel and Bones so I know he can handle Hal Jordan.

[khamla]

DC comics and the 1950's eh? I can imagine what the dialouge must be...

"...Listen here see!"

[Bender-braü]

I feel shallow for saying this but I'm having a hard time getting past the artwork (especially J'onn J'onzz) . I understand and accept that it was meant to be in the spirit of the mini-series, which in turn is a tribute to the likes of Kirby, Fleischer and the Golden Age of comics but the visual is just to jarring for my taste. I'm sure the look might be a very pleasant bit of nostalgia for some but it's a little too "before my time" for me.

[ichorskeeter]

Originally Posted by Bender-braü

I feel shallow for saying this but I'm having a hard time getting past the artwork (especially J'onn J'onzz) . I understand and accept that it was meant to be in the spirit of the mini-series, which in turn is a tribute to the likes of Kirby, Fleischer and the Golden Age of comics but the visual is just to jarring for my taste. I'm sure the look might be a very pleasant bit of nostalgia for some but it's a little too "before my time" for me.

Darwyn Cooke has one of the hippest styles in the business, but I guess you're allowed your opinion.

[Question86]

I thought the movie did justice to the maxi-series but if it were a full two hours, it wouldve been soo much better

[I-Ching]

Originally Posted by pinkteeth

Quick question for you guys: is it better to see this before reading the comic or after?

I never read the comics so I went into this with no expectations and it was an okay movie that didn't impress me/knock my socks off for what it was on it's own. I guess it was good because I wasn't spotting and omissions or comparing...but like I said, it's "just ok" overall.

In terms of the folks that have really enjoyed the animation...I'd have to say that it's purely subjective because I for one thought it was serviceable but nothing epic or ground breaking. It's faithfulness to Cooke is refreshing and suits the time period but for me I like Cooke's work on that page and this overall style is something I'd like to WB break away from. It was refreshing to see on Batman:TAS but now it's just sort of their standard and doesn't seem to be anything new/fresh/different/innovative.

I would say that this is a definite renter...I wouldn't rush out an buy it...see it for what it is first and then decide. I'm glad I did and it definitely saved me $$ and buyers remorse.