GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT: Voice Director Andrea Romano

Posted by: Jett
June 10, 2009
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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.

As usual, the mix works perfectly.



GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT is the fifth DC Universe animated original film in the ongoing series, and Romano has been the voice behind the voices in each successful instance. This particular production was a bi-coastal affair, starting with a New York recording in late June 2008 of Christopher Meloni (LAW & ORDER) and Victor Garber (MILK, TITANTIC) as hero Hal Jordan and villain Sinestro, respectively. Neither Meloni nor Garber had ever recorded for animation, nor had they worked together, and yet Romano had the two actors perform their lines opposite each other in the same studio – which added a new degree of difficulty for both director and actors

Back in Burbank, Romano selected Tricia Helfer (BATTLESTAR GALLACTICA) and animation rookie Michael Madsen (RESVOIR DOGS) to complete the primary quartet of voices. The remainder of the cast did their voice work at the Warner Bros. Ranch, as well, and that crowd included Juliet Landau (BUFFY, THE VAMPIRE SLAYER), John Larroquette (NIGHT COURTt), Kurtwood Smith (THAT 70s SHOW), Larry Drake (DARKMAN), William Schallert (THE PATTY DUKE SHOW), Olivia d’Abo (THE WONDER YEARS), David Lander (LAVERNE AND SHIRLEY) and veteran voice actor Rob Paulsen.

Romano has been one of the driving forces in animation voiceovers for more than a quarter century, her credit list reading like the honor roll for the Saturday morning cartoon Hall of Fame. From dramatic (BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES) to silly (ANIMANIACS), contemporary (THE BOONDOCKS) to timeless (SMURFS), Romano has set the standard for matching actor to character with absolute savvy. Along the way, she has become a household name to legions of animation fans.

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has listed her name 20 times among their annual nominations, Romano taking home six of those Emmy Awards – and promptly attiring those statuettes in Barbie clothes. It’s a Romano tradition.

Somewhere between recordings for new DC Universe films and her weekly chores at the helm of sessions for Batman: The Brave and the Bold, SpongeBob SquarePants and The Boondocks, Romano found a few moments to discuss the casting and performances of the voices withinGL:FF.

Here's a few blurbs from Romano...

* On casting Meloni as Hal Jordan: "Given the age range and the character type, and the fact that he is a very good actor, I thought Christopher Meloni would be the right voice. His voice has a nice strength and honesty to it, and his acting is really wonderful. This is a role that requires the character to come off as very smart, but he also gets duped when he probably should’ve have seen it coming. That’s a tough tightrope to walk, but I found Christopher so incredibly believable. Every note in his acting was true, and real, and organic, and believable. He had not done much voiceover, if any, but he learned so fast that he sprang forth fully formed. He had it down. I don't think he ever had a technical problem."

* On casting Garber as Sinestro: "I had met Victor a few times and I met him again at Diedrich Bader's surprise birthday party. We spoke about him coming to work for me again, and this time his schedule worked out. Sinestro needed to be elegant. There are many, many different Green Lanterns – some females, some male, some alien, some looking more human. They’re all different. This particular Green Lantern – Sinestro – is a bad guy. But we, as audience members, are not supposed to know that he’s a bad guy in this particular film. So I needed someone who could seem egotistical and strong, but not tip us off that he’s got an ulterior motive all the way through the piece. Victor hit every note perfectly. There was a musicality to his delivery. You don’t even have to tell someone like Victor Garber to do that – he just naturally finds the vocal music and brings it to the character."

* On casting Madsen as Kilowog: "Kilowog is an alien Green Lantern, and we really wanted a voice with texture and character and some edges to it; a voice that sounded gruff and big and strong, but also smart. I did not want someone who sounded like a big dopey guy. For years and years, I wanted to hire Michael Madsen and this was just the perfect marriage of role, actor and availability. It’s a lot about availability, and Michael is a great example. He hadn’t done any animated roles before Green Lantern, and yet when I finally got him in the room, we found out how much he had wanted to do it and, now, how much he loves doing voiceover work. He loves this whole world of animation, and characters like Batman and Superman. You need an actor who has an enthusiasm for the project, for the role, and for the process – and Michael was there, in the moment, he understood, and wanted to do more takes than we needed. That is very generous and brought some really beautiful texture. I love those raspy, deep, dark voices – that sound that tells you that there’s been some life experience there, whether it’s been smoking cigarettes or drinking booze or just living. I don’t think I’m the only person that responds to that kind of voice with character. That’s a voice that's lived."

* On Helfer as Boodikka: "We really needed Boodikka to be smart, sexy and strong. Tricia Helfer was interested and available and we were lucky to get her. She is such a very nice person, and such a good actress – especially for this kind of piece. She really understands it. She’s big in the Sci-Fi world, and she gets it. She plays this character so that you never know what twists are coming. You think it’s very straightforward and then something happens and you’re surprised because she never tips it off ahead of time. She was spot on with her performance and I loved working with her. She was just a joy."









GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT comes to DVD on July 28, 2009. Visit the official site at GREENLANTERNDVD.COM.

GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT: Madsen Talks "Kilowog"

Posted by: Jett
June 4, 2009
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Perennial movie tough guy Michael Madsen (below with Andrea Romano) 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.



Here are a few blurbs from Madsen about voicing Kilowog and GL:FF…

* On portraying Kilowog: “I liked the idea that Kilowog was forceful, yet has a gentle nature. I’m often thought of as playing villainous characters in movies. Everyone forgets that I was the father in Free Willy – they only like to remember that I cut off a policeman’s ear in Reservoir Dogs. There’s me in the middle somewhere and I think that’s kind of like Kilowog, He’s dangerous, yet he has a heart. That’s what attracted me to the part. Also, I was quite humbled by being asked to play Kilowog in the first place. I don’t often get asked to voice animated characters, and I’ve always wanted to do something like that – it’s great fun for me.”

"I don’t want to go off here into another planet, but when I was younger, I read a biography of James Cagney and he said that if you ever play a dark character, you need to find something noble within that guy; and if you ever play someone who’s very noble, you need to find something dark within him. Otherwise, your character’s going to be one-dimensional. I knew exactly what he was talking about, even though I was probably about 14, and it’s always stuck with me. Having a character with duality always appeals to me – I never like to do something straight down the road."

* On the term poozer: “I’ve heard that it’s closely associated with somewhat of a bungler or a misfit or someone who’s annoying … to put it mildly (laughs).”

* On this voice-action job compared to others: "I used to think when you came in to do a voice, you had to make up something with your voice. For this film, I was just myself. I brought my Michael into it. It was a lot easier and it made more sense, and that made the entire experience more natural and I was a little bit more comfortable than I have been in past sessions. For the video game recordings, they always want the tough guy, and there’s nothing fun about it. It’s just one-dimensional. This was work, and I appreciate that. I take acting seriously, and I had a good time working on this film."

* On which comic book character he'd like to play: "I’ve always thought I’d make a great Batman. Batman needs to have a light side and a dark side. I think I’d bring a duality."







GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT comes to DVD on July 28, 2009. Visit the official site at GREENLANTERNDVD.COM.

Burnett Talks GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT

Author: Jett
May 27, 2009
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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’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.

Here are a few blurbs from Burnett about GL:FF…

* On why/how he got involved with the project: “They had been going through some ideas for Green Lantern stories and none of them were quite working out and I came up with this notion that I thought would be interesting. So, I just pitched it to them in one line. ‘Have you ever done Green Lantern as TRAINING DAY?” with the idea of the Denzel Washington role being Sinestro. They said, ‘That sounds pretty good – start writing.’ And that’s how it began.”

* On GL:FF being a “police story”: “We’re treating all the sectors of the universe as precincts and there's, I believe, about 3,600 Green Lanterns – one for every precinct. Hal Jordan covers our section. The story is essentially Hal Jordan’s first day on the beat as a cop and he's partnered with Sinestro. He's seeing the universe for the first time, and we get to look at the universe through his eyes. It’s a bizarre place, but it's also pretty recognizable.”

* Any message in the film?: “I suppose it's the old ‘Don’t judge a book’ thing. Appearances are deceiving. Those who you think might be your greatest friend can be your greatest enemy, and those you might think are of no use to you could be the most important person in your life.”

* On Green Lantern: “Green Lantern is sort of a unique super hero. When you’re writing his powers, they do seem a bit odd – at times, they’re very sci-fi and at other times very magical. It's like that old saying about the technology being so advanced that it looks like magic. He has a ring that allows him to construct anything he can imagine. One of the tricks to writing about those powers is that, when you come up with something he does with the ring, the audience is expecting to be amazed, but also – and this is odd to say about a comics/science fiction story – they need it to be in context, and it needs to be believable. Hal is also a very colorful character and he’s in the middle of this big soap opera in space. It’s a very involving backdrop that opens the door to telling a million stories with him. He also has one of the great costumes – that great Silver Age suit from the 1950s. He was one of the few, and maybe he was the first flying character, who didn't have a cape. So he has this sleek outfit and it’s very striking.”

* On Sinestro: “We play Sinestro as sort of the bad half of Hal Jordan. As I was writing them, I figured they were pretty close. They both have distaste for authority. But Sinestro is the dark side of the Green Lanterns – he wants absolute control, while Hal Jordan is more about serving the people. The other thing about Sinestro is that he doesn't think of himself as a villain. He has a plan which he thinks is going to benefit everyone, but unfortunately what this plan does is give him absolute power. And, of course, absolute power corrupts absolutely – and you can see that it's corrupting him even as he tries to wield it.”









GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT comes to DVD on July 28, 2009. Visit the official site at GREENLANTERNDVD.COM.

Director Talks GL: FIRST FLIGHT

Author: Jett
May 14, 2009
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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 LANTNERN: 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.

Here are a few blurbs from director Lauren Montgomery about the upcoming animated film, GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT...

On how much of a origin story we will see: "As we had already done the origin story a few movies back in JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER, we really didn't want to spend a whole lot of time telling that same story over again. So [Hal Jordan's] origin story is over and done before the opening credits."

On the story being told in this film: "[GL: FIRST FLIGHT] more of an overall Green Lantern Corps story and Hal's existence within that group. And it’s not Hal on Earth being a super hero – we’re in space for virtually the entire movie, so Alan gave us multiple backgrounds and scene settings so we could explore the galaxy. That made it even more interesting – seeing and exploring different alien locales and lifestyles. Being away from Earth is incredibly liberating in terms of design possibilities."

On her favorite scene in the movie: "We have a scene about 17 minutes into the movie when Hal and Sinestro go into this establishment looking for a killer, and even though you’ve already seen some of the alien Green Lanterns, this is the first time you get an eyeful of the alien characters that Jose Lopez designed. The place is packed with all these really cool aliens, and they’re all so crazy looking. But you know their personalities immediately. It’s a very tense, cool scene and you really get to see how different that world is from Earth. That’s the defining scene from the movie that lets you know you’re not in Kansas anymore."



Lauren Montgomery focused on the big picture, but she take the time to do the character design on
Boodikka (voiced by Tricia Helfer) for the all-new DC Universe animated original movie.



Director Lauren Montgomery said character designer Jose Lopez
“ran wild” in creating a galaxy of new creatures.



It’s Hal Jordan to the rescue in GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT,
the all-new DC Universe animated original movie!

GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT will be available on July 28, 2009. Visit the official site at GREENLANTERNMOVIE.COM.

Kevin Smith Returns To Batman!

Author: Jett
May 13, 2009
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Kevin Smith is returning to Batman in comics!

According to EW.COM, Smith will write new Batman miniseries called THE WIDENING GYRE -- in which Smith is also creating a new hero for the DC Universe. Here’s what KS had to say about the project:

“THE WIDENING GYRE is a 12-issue Batman mini-series split into two volumes, with a half year break between each. Issues one through six (Book I) will ship monthly. Then, the story goes on hold for six months. Then, issues seven through 12 (Book II) will once again ship monthly. Yes, I built in the break to insure we don't run into my usual problems with lateness. But I'm trying to improve, folks: first six scripts and first issue's art -- by CACOPHANY artist Walt Flanagan -- were already done before we took this public. But here's the kicker: three weeks after the last issue of THE WIDENING GYRE , we'll launch a solo series featuring the new character, which I'll be writing bi-monthly.”

Cool! Let’s just hope that Smith’s Batman in THE WIDENING GYRE is Bruce Wayne, the REAL Batman.

For the full story -- including the other big comic book project Smith is working on -- visit ET.COM.

Sinestro Voice Actor Victor Garber Talks GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT

Author: Jett
May 7, 2009
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From Academy Award blockbusters Titanic and Milk to Emmy-nominated performances in Alias and Will & Grace to Tony Award nods for a lengthy list of leading roles on Broadway, Victor Garber has achieved acting greatness regardless of the format.

Now add animation to his list of successes.

In his animation debut, Garber masterfully crafts the voice for the calculating, villainous Sinestro in GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT, the fifth in the ongoing series of DC Universe animated original PG-13 movies. Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation are set to release the all-new film – as a special edition 2-disc DVD, a Blu-Ray™ Hi-Def edition, as well as single disc DVD – on July 28, 2009, as distributed by Warner Home Video. The action-packed movie will also be available OnDemand and Pay-Per-View as well as available for download day and date, July 28, 2009.



GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT finds Hal Jordan recruited to join the Green Lantern Corps and placed under the supervision of respected senior Lantern Sinestro. The earthling soon discovers his mentor is actually the central figure in a secret conspiracy that threatens the philosophies, traditions and hierarchy of the entire Green Lantern Corps. Hal must quickly hone his newfound powers and combat the treasonous Lanterns within the ranks to maintain order in the universe.

The Canadian-born Garber first captured national attention in his 1973 big screen debut as Jesus in Godspell. Garber’s film credits include TITANTIC, MILK and SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE, while his television career boasts six Emmy Award nominations spread over four different series, miniseries and movies. He earned a Saturn Award as Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series for his portrayal of Sydney Bristow’s mysterious father in ALIAS.

The toast of Broadway for more than three decades, Garber has four Tony Award nominations for a career of performances that range from the Devil in "Damn Yankees!" to originating the role of John Wilkes Booth in Stephen Sondheim’s "Assassins."

Though Garber has recorded books on tape and done some narration for television, GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT represents his first-ever voiceover performance for animation. It is an ear-catching performance that captures Sinestro’s true sinister nature. Garber stole a few moments during his New York-based Green Lantern: First Flight recording sessions to chat about his first-ever animation experience, his hero-posturing co-star, Simon Cowell’s attitude, and the directing tornado that is Andrea Romano.

Here's a bit from Garbrer about playing the evil Sinestro:

* “Having played the ultimate villain as The Devil many years ago in ‘Damn Yankees!,’ I found Sinestro was just kind of a modification of that character."

* “The thing about villains is that they all think they’re doing the right thing, and Sinestro believes that what he’s doing is for the better, that it’s going to improve the universe. The scariest part about a villain is that you know, at any cost, human life or super-powered life, they will do whatever it takes to achieve their goal. They believe in their cause, and Sinestro fits that mold.”









Remember, GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT will be released on July 28, 2009.

THE BRAVE & THE BOLD: May 2009 Schedule

Author: Jett
April 30, 2009
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Warner Bros. and The Cartoon Network informed BOF that the next episode of BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD -- "The Night of the Huntress" -- will now air on May 8, 2009. Here's the full schedule for May '09:

Friday, May 8th: "Night of the Huntress!"

Friday, May 15th: "Menace of the Conqueror Caveman!"

Friday, May 22nd: "The Color of Revenge!"

Friday, May 29th: "Legends of the Dark Mite!"



Make sure to keep up with B:TBATB right here on BOF!