Nathan Fillion, star of Joss Whedon’s “Firefly” and “Serenity,” will do double duty this March as the title character in ABC’s upcoming series “Castle” and the voice of Steve Trevor in “Wonder Woman,” the next entry in the popular series of DC Universe animated original PG-13 movies due from Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation on March 3, 2009.

Warner Home Video will distribute the all-new “Wonder Woman,” which will also be available OnDemand and Pay-Per-View as well as available for download day and date, March 3, 2009.

Fillion, a fan favorite for his leading role in Whedon’s space-age western series and film, as well as the online phenomenon “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog,” has been featured in a string of primetime series. After his four-season run on “Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place,” Fillion did his Whedon tour before heading “Drive” for Fox, joining the ensemble of “Desperate Housewives,” and now assuming the title role in “Castle.” The latter features Fillion as a hugely popular mystery/horror writer who helps police solve crimes.

The Canadian-born actor has also enjoyed memorable roles in several feature films, including Steven Spielberg’s Academy Award-winning “Saving Private Ryan” and last year’s critically-acclaimed “Waitress.” The latter film paired Fillion with Keri Russell, who also provides the voice of the title character in “Wonder Woman.”

Fillion found time away from his upcoming series (“Castle” debuts March 9 on ABC) to chat about his tendency to play the anti-hero, an unrelenting Halo addiction, Canadian super heroes, and Keri Russell’s tiara.

Intrigued? Read on ...

QUESTION: Can you describe the challenges of bringing Steve Trevor to life?

NATHAN FILLION: The challenge I find is just trying to use my natural voice and trying not to put on too much of a voice. I tried to just keep it nice and easy and relaxed. He’s a little bit wry, he’s a little bit dry. I can do that. And a couple of times I actually slipped in a little bit of a southern accent.

Steve Trevor is not a complex guy. He’s got a façade up, he’s got a defense up, but he drops it a little bit because he does care about Diana. I like that he’s got a bit of an arc, he’s got something to learn. I think that’s what makes a good character and a good story.

QUESTION: Did you have any preconceptions about this role?

NATHAN FILLION: What I know of Steve Trevor is everything that I learned from “Wonder Woman,” the television series with Lynda Carter. And I don’t remember much. I do remember his uniform, though.

QUESTION: Steve Trevor is not a super hero, but more of a hero by default. Does that kind of fall in line with many of your acting roles?

NATHAN FILLION: I think I’ve carved out a niche for myself in playing the not-so-hero. He’s the guy, but he’s not really quite THE guy you’d maybe turn to right away. Steve Trevor is a real guy - he’s very natural, he’s very honest. He doesn’t apologize for much. He seems to be a pretty normal guy, or as normal as a guy hanging out with Wonder Woman can be.

QUESTION: Prior to recording this film, were you familiar with Greek mythology?

NATHAN FILLION: My brain is like a hard drive. Once you start adding new information, you start cutting off old information. About four years ago is when my university art history lessons starting getting deleted for new and more exciting information. Well, I don’t even know if it’s really more exciting. But it sure is new.

QUESTION: You’ve been involved in a lot of primetime television and feature films in recent years. What prompted you to accept a voiceover role?

NATHAN FILLION: I find that I’m in a spot in my career right now where a lot of my jobs come around from people I’ve worked with already. People keep inviting me back. It's nice to work with the same people when you’ve had a good time previously, and this is one of those cases. So when you get a phone call saying, ‘How would you like to be Steve Trevor in the new Wonder Woman animated movie?’, you naturally answer ‘That would be great.’ And you smile all day.

QUESTION: You’re paired with Keri Russell again. What are her strengths for playing “Wonder Woman”?

NATHAN FILLION: Keri Russell is a really wonderful actress and truly a wonderful human being. It’s excellent working with her. Playing second fiddle to Keri, that’s a wonderful fiddle to play. I’ve done it before, I’ll do it again. As for her strengths as Wonder Woman, well, first of all, she has a jet. It’s not invisible, but it’s close. And she does wear a tiara. Not all the time - you’re not going to see her walking down the street in it. But she’s got it. And it looks good. She wears it well.

QUESTION: A decent percentage of your work has been in the sci-fi/fantasy genre. Do you gravitate toward those scripts, or is that just coincidence?

NATHAN FILLION: Good question. I think people imagine that I have about five scripts sitting in front of me and I say, ‘I think I’m going to go with the super hero thing and after that I’ll wrap it up with some more sci-fi and then do a romantic comedy.’ But it doesn’t quite work out that way. With scheduling and the way projects come up, I take the first thing that interests me and that moves me. If it’s going to be fun, if I’m going to have a good time, and I’m going to enjoy the people I’m with, then that’s a good enough reason to do it.

QUESTION: Were/are you a comic book fan?

NATHAN FILLION: I was a huge comic book fan as a kid. The only problem I had with comic books is how expensive they got. I didn’t have a lot of money, so I had to be very specific about what I wanted to collect. I think they’re all somewhere in the basement of my folks’ house. I enjoy the art, and I enjoy drawing. I think my printing to this day looks like the printing right out of a comic book. Actually, I always wanted to be IN a comic book. I watched cartoons when I was a kid, too, and both comics and cartoons lit fire in my imagination. This realm holds a lot of interest for me, a lot of passion for me. So to be comic-ized, yeah, that’s cool.

QUESTION: So you’re still a geek?

NATHAN FILLION: My mother always tells me, ‘Nathan, you’re very much a geek, but your strength is that you look mainstream. So no one can tell just by looking at you.’ I think this is true. I do have a light saber at my front door, but that’s for home security. In case anything should happen, I’ll be there.

QUESTION: Aside from the light saber, has this cult following in the fanboy realm led to any unusual experiences?

NATHAN FILLION: I’ve had people dress up like me at Cons and the like. That’s always unusual. That the fans have such passion is amazing to me, but you see a guy who’s dressed out to the “T” like you, that’s kind of cool. Then there was a woman who had created a costume that had a dummy behind her, but the dummy was me. It looked like me, it was as tall as me, it had a tattoo that looked pretty similar to the tattoo I have which you can glean on the (Firefly) DVD ... and he was naked. It was me, naked, carrying her. Honestly, it was kind of flattering, and really well done. Claire, you know what I’m talking about.

QUESTION: In light of experiences like that, do you ever see yourself suffering the William Shatner “get a life” syndrome?

NATHAN FILLION: That’s a good question. I wonder if in 25 years, I’ll feel that way. In the meantime, I go to these sci-fi conventions with these people that dress up and I still find it a joy because they’re passionate about something that I’m passionate about. They’re big fans of something I’m a big fan of. I’m a huge fan of the sci-fi stuff I’ve done. I really thought it was great. I love to watch it. I love being in it and watching other people be in it with me.

QUESTION: If you hadn’t become an actor, what profession would you have chosen?

NATHAN FILLION: My parents being English teachers, they always pushed the writing and the grammar. You know, don’t split your infinitives and watch those double negatives. But I tried my hand at writing, I tried to write out a little script - and it’s not too bad. Mostly, though, it let me understand how incredibly difficult that job is. I can’t even imagine doing it on a weekly basis for a series in any way. That’s tough. I think I’ll try to leave that to smarter people than me.

I always wanted to be an actor, but in Edmonton, Alberta, that’s not a success-oriented career. So I said, ‘I’ll get my (teaching) degree and then I’ll see what happens, but I’ll always have that to fall back on.’ So if anybody were to look at me and say, ‘Oh, you’re an actor,’ I could always say, ‘Hey man, I’m a teacher!’

QUESTION: Have Canadian super heroes been neglected?

NATHAN FILLION: We had a whole handful of super heroes. Wolverine was Canadian. A lot of Americans don’t want to hear that. You’ve got Guardian, you had Sasquatch. You had those twins. You had Puck, the little guy. I think maybe, if I could be a Canadian super hero, I’d have some kind of freezing power and some sort of maple syrup weapon. Could be a little sticky.

QUESTION: Are you much of a gamer?

NATHAN FILLION: I’m a Halo guy. The Bungie folks were kind enough to have me do a voice for Halo 3. So there’s nothing like sitting down to a nice game of Halo and shooting at myself. I like to get online, and the reason I like it is I’ve got a lot of friends in Canada and New York, all over Los Angeles and at great distances. Sometimes I take off for months at a time to go work, and my social time is on that box. You put on a little headset and unwind with your friends. You hang out, you laugh, it’s good times. And when it’s all done, you don’t have to send anybody home. No one’s drunk all your beer. You just say, ‘Good night, I’m going to bed,’ and it’s off and it’s done.

Please visit the film’s official website at www.wonderwomanmovie.com

"Wonder Woman" (c) Warner Bros. Ent Inc. "Wonder Woman" and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and (c) DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

 

Versatile actress Vicki Lewis makes her second foray into the world of super heroes as Persephone, a key character among the Amazons in “Wonder Woman,” the next entry in the popular series of DC Universe animated original PG-13 movies.

Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation are set to release the all-new “Wonder Woman” on March 3, 2009, distributed by Warner Home Video. The animated original movie will also be available OnDemand and Pay-Per-View as well as available for download day and date, March 3, 2009.

Lewis is best known for her performances in 96 hilarious episodes of NBC’s “NewsRadio” as Beth, the sarcastic secretary to Dave Foley’s lead character. An actress with notable awards and credits on Broadway, Lewis has been featured on numerous primetime sitcoms (“Home Improvement,” “Seinfeld,” currently recurring role on “ ‘Til Death”) and hit films (“Godzilla,” “Mousehunt”).

The star of stage, film, television and animation, Lewis made her DCU film debut in “Justice League: The New Frontier” as Iris West, fiancé to the Flash. However, Lewis is no stranger to animation, having had a key role in Disney/Pixar’s “Finding Nemo” as well as TV series work on, to name a few, “Wild Thornberrys,” “King of the Hill,” “Rugrats,” “Phineus and Ferb,” “Ben 10: Alien Force” and the upcoming “Penguins of Madagascar.”

Lewis found time in her busy schedule to talk about playing the Amazonian “bad girl,” finding the voice of a character, channeling Velma Kelly, and an addiction to Tetris.

Heed the words of Vicki Lewis ...

QUESTION: When you read the “Wonder Woman” script, what was your first impression of Persephone?

VICKI LEWIS: I’ll be honest, I knew nothing about the mythology of any of this. I got the script, and often times I just kind of look at my part, but this is a fascinating story. I ended up spending half a night on Wikipedia going through the real mythology of the character. Persephone is a very fascinating character in Greek mythology and the comic books. I wasn’t a great student, so I love any opportunity at my age to learn something new. So that’s how I prepared.

QUESTION: What endeared you to the role of Persephone?

VICKI LEWIS: I do a lot of animation, and mostly I get cast as the whacky character. I play a lot of kids, or the strange neighbor next door, or the really off-the-wall person in the script. But this was really enticing because Persephone is a solid, commanding woman. It was an interesting process to find and place her (vocally) - she’s a powerful character, and the direction was ‘less is more’ in the grand scheme of this Greek tragedy. I’m very rarely asked to play the powerful, centered part of myself. It’s always there, but I don’t get to use it often (in performance). I played Velma Kelly in “Chicago,” so I think I drew mainly on that character. But this was a great experience. I expected to come in and they would ask me to act like an idiot, which is what I usually get paid to do. So this was an interesting recording session.

QUESTION: Was there a favorite moment for you during the recording session?

VICKI LEWIS: When you have 900 people staring at you through the glass of the recording booth, and whispering but you can’t hear them, you really want to make sure you give them what they want. And I felt like I got it, because I understood the emotion. This character, Persephone, has some very heartfelt and sad moments, and it was really vulnerable and really human. It wasn’t cartoony - it touched something somewhat real. So I was actually affected by it in a way I didn’t expect to be.

QUESTION: Was it fun playing the bad girl?

VICKI LEWIS: It's always fun being the bad girl. When I was young, I had Barbie dolls and I made them fly. And then my friends deserted me because I turned them into witches. I was always THAT kid. I didn’t even know what a comic book was.

QUESTION: Much of the fanboy populus is into gaming. Are you a gamer?

VICKI LEWIS: I’m not into the games like the kids play today, but I was addicted to Tetris. I had the Trio, and the Tetris was on it and then my fiancé got me the iPhone for my birthday and I love it. But it doesn’t have Tetris. So I’ve kept the Trio’s battery alive to play Tetris. I used to be addicted to Pacman. We were doing “The Wizard of Oz” at the Kansas City Starlight Theatre, so we were stuck in the middle of Kansas and we would go to the House of Pies every night because they had a Pacman machine in their lobby. And we were obsessed with it.

QUESTION: You glide smoothly between stage, film, television and animation voiceover performances. All three require different techniques. What’s the trick to making the transition for voiceover work?

VICKI LEWIS: I started out in theatre in New York and then I did movies and I’d been out (in Hollywood) for nine months when I got “News Radio” and it was all a really interesting transition. Somebody who’d been around for a long time came up to me and basically said that the difference between stage and film and television is that on stage the proscenium is where you can see it. Film and television, it's really got to be here (spreads her arms wide). In terms of turning that into voice work, sometimes the voice is very subtle, and sometimes I’m so loud they have me move away from the mike. So in voiceovers, you learn where the proscenium is in your voice. As far as acting, I’ve been working for so long that I can basically tap into any emotion. I’m like a little trained monkey at this point. So it’s just a matter of finding that place, and adjusting vocally as you would onstage or in film.

For voiceovers, like ‘Wonder Woman,’ I feel really blessed that I’m able to do this and that Andrea (Romano) continues to hire me. She always lifts my spirits, she always makes me better, and she’s always so gracious. I keep thinking, ‘When is she going to see through me, that I don’t have any of this talent she’s thanking me for?’ She’s just so great, such an amazing director.

Please visit the film’s official website at www.wonderwomanmovie.com

"Wonder Woman" (c) Warner Bros. Ent Inc. "Wonder Woman" and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and (c) DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

 

Ground-breaking animation legend Bruce Timm heads an impressive cast and crew as producer of “Wonder Woman,” the next entry in the popular series of DC Universe animated original PG-13 movies due from Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation on March 3, 2009. Warner Home Video will distribute the all-new film, which will also be available OnDemand and Pay-Per-View as well as available for download day and date, March 3, 2009.

Fans in the greater Gotham area will have a chance to see the premiere of “Wonder Woman” at New York ComicCon on Friday, February 6 in the IGN Theatre at The Javits Center. Timm will lead the post-premiere panel and also be available for autographs during a midday signing session on Saturday, February 7.

Timm is the creative force behind many of Warner Bros. Animation’s greatest modern-day successes, driving DC Comics’ most recognized super heroes to new heights of popularity as the focal point of television series and made-for-DVD films. Timm’s current mission has been as producer of the DC Universe animated original movies, and the first three - “Superman Doomsday,” “Justice League: The New Frontier” and “Batman Gotham Knight” - have met with both critical raves and consumer success.

The three-time Emmy Award winner stole a few moments from his work on the next DC Universe film to discuss the evolution of the made-for-DVD movies, Lauren Montgomery’s rise to stardom, his 20-year working collaboration with Andrea Romano, and Wonder Woman’s boots.

QUESTION: What progression have you seen through the first four films in the DC Universe animated original movies series?

BRUCE TIMM: The thing I like most about this whole ongoing project is that each of these movies really does have a different, unique feel. It would have been very, very easy and frankly a lot simpler and cost effective to stay in that TV series design style and world view. But each of these movies really does have a unique feel - in the design, the score, the cast, even the title sequences. We’ve been able to expand creatively and that makes these productions fun.

QUESTION: You’re known for revolutionizing the animated look of DC characters in several landmark TV series. What was the thought process behind the character design in this film?

BRUCE TIMM: We didn’t want to do anything that even remotely looked like what we have done with Wonder Woman on Justice League. She presents a challenge because she needs to be drop-dead gorgeous, but also very, very strong both physically and emotionally. She’s a powerful presence and we had to find that balance between athleticism and glamour.

Lauren (Montgomery) really took the lead on the design of Wonder Woman herself, and I think she came up with a very unique approach. It’s not like anything you've seen from the comics, though we did look at a lot of the comics for inspiration. We liked the George Perez version and Adam Hughes' version, and all points in between. But there are a lot of the things that Adam and George brought to the character that were so specific and detail-oriented that they wouldn't necessarily translate to animation. We wanted to keep the number of lines down to a minimum - to create a relatively simple and straight-forward design. It was quite a challenge, but I think the design Lauren came up with is exactly what it needs to be.

QUESTION: Were there any specific design elements you wanted to include?

BRUCE TIMM: A character like Wonder Woman is so iconic and yet, over the course of her history, there have been lots of subtle changes. We couldn't stray too far from the comic book look, but you do have a certain amount of leeway in terms of how you interpret those elements for animation. It sounds really insignificant, but one of the things that we specifically liked about Adam Hughes' most recent take on Wonder Woman was that he gave her kind of baggy boots - instead of those super tight go-go boot-type things. They kind of flare out at the bottom and they’re flats, not heels. That made her more athletic - it kind of planted her and gave her a solidity that we really liked. It’s a minor change, but it had an effect on her design.

QUESTION: What sets Wonder Woman apart from the first three DCU films and prior incarnations of the character?

BRUCE TIMM: One of the things that really intrigued us the most about the whole Wonder Woman mythology is the actual mythology of it. Her character has distinct roots in classic Greek mythology, so we really played that up. The movie actually starts with a fairly long, epic battle that takes place in ancient times. It’s swords and sorcery, die-hard Amazon warriors versus monsters and barbarians. We worked hard to establish the character design, the costume details, the weaponry design and the background styling and I think, within the first 30 seconds of watching the movie, you're going to think, “Wow, this doesn't look anything like we've done before.” It’s noticeably a quantum leap away from the first three movies.

Beyond the mythology, Wonder Woman gets to play with several dichotomies. It’s Amazon culture versus man's world; ancient mythological times versus the contemporary world; and, of course, all the male and female issues. All of those conflict themes run throughout the entire movie - in the script and visually - and I think it all comes together and gels unlike anything we've ever done.

QUESTION: How did Lauren Montgomery earn the opportunity to sit in the director’s chair?

BRUCE TIMM: Lauren is one of the fastest rising artists I’ve ever worked with. When we first started working with her on Justice League, she really hit the ground running. She was still relatively inexperienced - she’d only had a couple of jobs in animation at that point - and even today I seem to forget that she’s actually still quite young. But on Justice League, we could see she had a lot of potential and her stuff was really good. Every time she would turn in a new storyboard, we'd be like, “Wow, who did this? This is really good.” And every month, she just kept topping herself. She was really paying attention and obviously on this really fast-tracked learning curve - she was teaching herself, absorbing everything around her. She was this sponge, sucking up all of our perspectives and developing her own unique sensibilities. Within a really short period of time, she became our best storyboard artist. Those are the people we recruit to become directors.

QUESTION: What does Lauren Montgomery bring specifically to Wonder Woman?

BRUCE TIMM: Just from a purely practical standpoint, having her as a director means that I don’t have to worry about things. I know she’s looking at the storyboards - and I know she’s going to catch all the little things and fix them. If a storyboard isn’t up to speed with the caliber of the rest of the film, she's going to stay late and re-draw it herself - and plus it and to make it a thousand times better.

She's smart and very detail-oriented, and very well-rounded in terms of her areas of expertise. That was important on this film. Some directors are really, really good at directing action, but they don’t really care so much about the drama, other directors are the exact opposite. Lauren is excellent at both. She knows how to push the envelope on an action scene, and she’s probably the best director of acting that I’ve ever work with. She’s the complete package.

QUESTION: Can you give an example of Lauren Montgomery’s expertise in directing animation “acting”?

BRUCE TIMM: We rely on our storyboard artists to really inject acting into the storyboard drawings as a key for the overseas animators. We’re blessed with really, really excellent vocal performances on these films, but you need a very good storyboard artist to act out the character's motions and emotions in simple drawings.

There's a short sequence in Superman Doomsday where, after Superman has died, Lois Lane goes to meet Martha Kent for the first time. It’s a very simple, subtle scene - just two women meeting and commiserating with each other over the loss of Superman. It's shot very simply with two-shots and close-ups. The thing that makes this scene so powerful is the very clear emotion on the character's faces, and that was the sequence Lauren storyboarded. When you look at it on the screen, it’s as though we got really good actresses giving performances charged with emotion in their specific facial expressions and body language. Ultimately, it was Lauren’s storyboard and direction that really brought that scene to life.

QUESTION: Can you define the greatness that is Andrea Romano.

BRUCE TIMM: What can I say about Andrea that I haven’t said a zillion times before? She's brilliant. It’s actually tough for me to even compare because I’ve been blessed with Andrea on every single project that I’ve done as a producer since 1990.

She knows me so well that half the time I don’t even have to give notes during a recording because she’s already anticipated what I’m going to say. And if do have to say something, I barely get half the sentence out before she finishes the sentence for me.

The main aspect of Andrea’s job is that she needs to get performances out of the actors that the producers and directors want. It has to fit our vision of the scene and the film. As dialogue is written on the page, you could have 30 different line readings of any individual line - it really depends on what else is happening in the scene or the intent of that specific line of dialogue. But Andrea has an obvious natural instinct for the meaning of the line. Most importantly, she knows how to translate that information into actor-ese to get that performance. She can put our thoughts into words so that the actors can understand where she's coming from and what’s needed for the scene. Simply put, she’s great.

QUESTION: Andrea Romano’s resume speaks for itself. Does she have a virtue we don’t normally hear about?

BRUCE TIMM: I’ll tell you this - one of the things I love about Andrea is that she’s fast. She just cuts right to the chase, never goes down blind alleys, and she physically talks fast. It’s funny because when I first started working with her, I didn’t think I was going to be able to keep up. She's just so full of energy, it’s like she must’ve been main lining Red Bull before every session. But that’s great for me, because I’m very ADD myself. She doesn’t equivocate, she’s just right to the point - attack, attack, attack, get it done. For me, that’s perfect.

Please visit the film’s official website at www.wonderwomanmovie.com

"Wonder Woman" (c) Warner Bros. Ent Inc. "Wonder Woman" and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and (c) DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

 

Academy Award nominee Virginia Madsen brings an impassioned, stately voice to the role of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, for “Wonder Woman,” the next entry in the popular 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 on March 3, 2009, distributed by Warner Home Video. The animated original movie will also be available OnDemand and Pay-Per-View as well as available for download day and date, March 3, 2009.

Madsen has moved seamlessly through all genres of performance - from mainstream feature films and independent releases to primetime television and animated films/series. No category is beyond her scope - and the fanboy realm has a prominent place on her IMDB roll call.

Madsen made a splash in one of her first films as Princess Irulan in “Dune,” then forever endeared herself to the horror fandom as Helen Lyle in “Candyman” (for which she won the 1992 Saturn Award in the Best Actress category). She has made guest starring appearances on “Star Trek: Voyager” and “Earth 2,” helped Christopher Lambert return in “Highlander II: The Quickening” and done notable work in super hero animation. Madsen voiced Dr. Sarah Corwin and Roulette in four episodes of “Justice League” and Arella in an episode of “Teen Titans,” as well as a two-episode turn as Silver Sable in “Spider-Man.”

Along the way, she’s starred opposite Harrison Ford, Meryl Streep, James Coburn, Jim Carrey, Billy Bob Thornton, Matt Damon, Alec Baldwin, James Woods and Whoopi Goldberg in dramatic feature films like “Ghosts of Mississippi,” “The Rainmaker” and “Firewall.” She’s also been recognized with an ongoing string of awards and nominations for her work in independent films like “Gotham” and “Artworks”

And of course, Madsen is best known for earning a 2005 Academy Award nomination as Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for “Sideways.”

At the urging of an acting coach, Madsen actually began performing voiceovers when she was pregnant with her now-14-year-old son. She was able to find time in her single-mother/busy-actress life to discuss subjects ranging from her secret desire to play Batman and the reading lessons inherent to comic books to working as a waitress at the same Evanston, Illinois restaurant as “Wonder Woman” co-star Marg Helgenberger.

All hail the Q&A with the queen ... Virginia Madsen.

QUESTION: Did you prepare for voicing the Queen of the Amazons in any special way?

VIRGINIA MADSEN: Well, I prepared this morning by writing several edicts for my son (laughs). Honestly, I love when I get to play these characters that are bigger than life. There are roles in animation that I never get to do in real life - and it appeals to my ego as an actor to play the Queen of Everything (laughs) Hey, I’m honest. I admit it.

Hippolyta has a really wide range - I use a lot of notes when I play her. She has a larger, more regal voice. I liked the range we use to create her vocally, and the way that she was written. It’s not that she’s over the top, but she’s just a very, very big character. And I don’t usually get to do that on onscreen.

QUESTION: Is that part of the allure of voice acting for you - to gain satisfaction in performances that you don’t find on camera?

VIRGINIA MADSEN: Voiceover work reminds me of old-time radio. When I was little I used to sneak and stay up at night and listen to Mystery Radio Theater - I loved all those old radio plays. A radio play actually ended up being the first acting job I ever had. A lot of times when I’m on camera, I’m playing characters that are more like myself, and I don’t get to do a lot of real character work. But when you’re doing animation, you are the very epitome of colorful characters. I think I’m just really into make believe. In animation, there’s silly things I get to do with my voice. I get to have a wider range, so my voice gets to dance more than it does on camera. So it’s almost like I get to be more theatrical when I work in voiceover.

QUESTION: You’re voicing the Queen of the Amazons, but she’s also the mother of Diana/Wonder Woman. Did your standing as a single mother of a 14-year-old son influence your taking the role or your performance?

VIRGINIA MADSEN: Well, I am a proud mother - that’s another reason I love doing any kind of animation. When my son was growing up, if he was watching something animated and I was in it, that was way cooler to him than seeing me in a movie.

Hippolyta is very protective, and she thinks she knows it all, and I do as a mother in real life know it all (laughs). And if my son would only listen to my advice, he would lead a perfect life (laughs harder). I’ll still be saying that to him when I’m 75. I like to imagine that I have the control that Hippolyta does, but he’s a teenager, so that never really happens (laughs).

VIRGINIA MADSEN: This is a blockbuster voice cast - any thoughts on your co-stars?

VIRGINIA MADSEN: Actually, Marg Helgenberger and I were waitresses in the same restaurant in Evanston, Illinois. I’m happy to say that that restaurant has since been torn down. But Marg made it out first. We both had an audition for ABC soaps - different soaps, but we auditioned at the same time, and she got the part and went off to New York. Three years later, I went to L.A. So she was kind of an inspiration to me. And it makes sense that we will both be in Wonder Woman together, because we ARE Wonder Women (laughs).

I love Keri Russell. I watched every episode of Felicity, and Waitress is my favorite film from last year. She’s just an amazing actress. And I like her voice a lot - it didn’t surprise me that she would be doing voiceover work.

QUESTION: You’ve got some notable experience in the sci-fi/fanboy world. Do you seek out these projects?

VIRGINIA MADSEN: I think it seems to find me, and that might be because I’m a fan. I would have been a fan of “Candyman” even if I hadn’t been in that movie. I’m a huge fan of “Star Trek,” which is why I was in “Star Trek: Voyager” - because I begged them to be a part of that lore. I was always an actress, even as a little kid, and fantasy, horror, sci-fi stories are really all about playing make believe. I just never grew out of that.

QUESTION: “Dune” was released 25 years ago. Do you have any specific memories?

VIRGINIA MADSEN: That was really my first Hollywood job. It was such a small part, but I opened the movie. I was about 19 years old and I had to make this speech, and I didn’t understand most of the words because they were, you know, words from “Dune.” They were made up names that I didn’t know how to pronounce, but I knew how I should sound because I was a sci-fi fan myself. I hadn’t read the book, but I knew that I was the princess of the universe. I went in and sort of made her up, and David Lynch thought it matched and cast me.

QUESTION: Were/are you a comic book reader?

VIRGINIA MADSEN: I was not a comic book reader, but my son is. My son wasn’t really interested in reading books, which was hard for me because I love to read. It just didn’t come naturally to my boy. So we kind of found comic books because they were fascinating to him. They were great stories. Of course, I have to read them all first, because now when you get into graphic novels, they are definitely in deep graphic. But the stories and the characters really interest him, so comic books kind of taught him how to read. So we’re really into comic books.

QUESTION: Is there a comic book role that your inner geek covets?

VIRGINIA MADSEN: Sadly, I really want to be Batman ... and I just never will be (laughs). That’s the cross I bear. When I was growing up, the really, really cool super heroes were all male - so I wanted to be them. I really didn’t like Batgirl. I was like, “No, if I’m not gonna be Batman, I’m not gonna play.” Maybe they could write an evil female super villain who takes over Batman, and nobody knows. Then I could live my dream (laughs). I think that’s a good idea.

Please visit the film’s official website at www.wonderwomanmovie.com

"Wonder Woman" (c) Warner Bros. Ent Inc. "Wonder Woman" and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and (c) DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

 

Writer Michael Jelenic makes the leap from animated television to feature-length films with his script for “Wonder Woman,” the next entry in the popular series of DC Universe animated original PG-13 films. Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation are set to release the all-new film on March 3, 2009, distributed by Warner Home Video. The film will also be available OnDemand and Pay-Per-View as well as available for download on March 3, 2009.

Jelenic has crafted a script that offers complementary balances of action and comedy, contemporary society and Greek mythology, and the social pratfalls of both men and women. It is an origin story and a stand-alone adventure, resulting in an entertaining approach to the first-ever “Wonder Woman” full-length film. Jelenic and renowned comics writer Gail Simone have “story by” credits on the movie.

Jelenic is well-known for his work at Warner Bros. Animation, providing the clever words to series like “The Batman,” “Legion of Super Heroes” and the newest Dark Knight animated series, “Batman: The Brave and the Bold.”

Jelenic stepped away from his laptop to be both brave and bold in answering a few questions about the thoughts behind the words and story of “Wonder Woman,” the challenges of pleasing every fan, and the un-coolness of working in the comics realm.

Before you make your New Year’s resolutions, check out this Q&A with “Wonder Woman” screenwriter Michael Jelenic ...

QUESTION: As this is Wonder Woman’s origin story, what did you know you needed to include and on what did you want to focus?

MICHAEL JELENIC: We had to hit certain elements that are part of Wonder Woman’s myth, and my job was to answer what sort of ramifications her origins would have on her character during her journey to becoming a hero. It’s basically trying to boil down essential Wonder Woman elements into one story. We looked at the stuff that the fans had to see - the iconic things about Wonder Woman - and then tried to put a twist on them. We’ve seen the lasso and the invisible jet before, so what’s another way we could use them? I wanted to incorporate all these iconic Wonder Woman moments into the larger overall story.

QUESTION: What’s your writing process?

MICHAEL JELENIC: First, I figure out what's the story that's worth telling, and that usually entails a long time of just staring at the blank page. Once I know that story, I start focusing on the moments. I think when you remember great films, it's not necessarily the plot that you remember, it's the moments. So I start trying to accumulate a list of moments. In “Wonder Woman,” there are a lot of them - the bar scene between Diana and Steve, the interrogation of Steve, the truth lasso. It’s taking all the elements and moments and, while working within the theme of the story, creating something that serves those ideas.

I also researched a lot Greek mythology to help form the screenplay. I definitely wanted to hit some of the hallmarks of Greek tragedies, so I had to brush up on Ares and Hades, Hera and Zeus, and tons of characters I can't even pronounce.

QUESTION: What went into the character development of this Diana/Wonder Woman?

MICHAEL JELENIC: Diana had to represent all the feminine ideals and virtues, the things that make women great. At the same time, she’s a very strong female character in terms of both her physical prowess and her personality. So we tried to find a balance to create a character that doesn't lose her femininity by being a strong action hero.

Ultimately, we wanted to explore her journey of discovery. She’s been raised to believe that women don’t need men, that women are morally better. If there is a message to the film, it’s basically that men and women are not perfect. Men have their problems. Women have their problems. And when they interact, these problems often grow. But at the end of the day, men and women are actually stronger and better when they work together to overcome these problems.

QUESTION: How did you balance Wonder Woman’s personality with those of your two primary male characters, Ares and Steve Trevor?

MICHAEL JELENIC: The stronger you make your villain, the stronger it makes your hero, so we wanted Ares to be intelligent, ruthless, powerful, and also represent all the misgivings the Amazon women have about men. When Hippolyta says men are bad, she points to Ares.

Steve Trevor was a difficult character to crack in that, as a love interest to Wonder Woman, it's important that you make him somebody who is worthy of Diana's affection. So he had to be strong and competent, but at the same time in order to create the romantic comedy, he can't be perfect. And he is flawed. He has his own sort of misogynistic ideas that he has to resolve. But he proves himself worthy.

QUESTION: What made “Wonder Woman” entertaining for you to write?

MICHAEL JELENIC: I really enjoyed an opportunity to tell a story that is sort of a romantic comedy mixed with “300.” That’s what Wonder Woman really is - a very simple sort of love story that's frequently comedic, primarily in the pairing of these two key characters, set against a backdrop of so much violence and action.

QUESTION: Did you have a favorite character?

MICHAEL JELENIC: Steve Trevor's probably my most favorite character to write because he's the comedy relief throughout the film. He doesn't take himself too seriously. You have all this pretentious Greek god stuff happening, and then you give him a line where he sort of disarms that or diffuses it with a joke.

QUESTION: Did the cast add anything to your words?

MICHAEL JELENIC: I think we were incredibly fortunate to get this amazing cast. I thought the lines I’d written were pretty good, but these actors really make them their own. Steve Trevor’s lines looked funny on the page, but they are hilarious coming out of Nathan Fillion’s mouth. And Keri Russell brings a sense of compassion and depth to her character that goes beyond what was even intended in the script.

QUESTION: Did Lauren Montgomery’s direction translate your visions of the script?

MICHAEL JELENIC: Better. Lauren's direction is amazing. I wrote some battle scenes in the script, but the way she fleshed them out is so much better than I could have ever conceived. At the same time, her approach to directing the characters is very strong. I enjoy watching the scenes between Steve and Diana just as much as the battle scenes.

QUESTION: Do you enjoy working in the comics realm?

MICHAEL JELENIC: I enjoy working in the world of comics, but there are definitely some challenges. It’s hard to keep every single fan happy with what you do - that's probably the biggest and most daunting challenge. You want to bring your own take to the character, but at the same time, you don't want to betray what people feel are the core ideas of the character. Regardless of what you do, there's going to be someone who says you suck. But if you do a decent enough job, a lot of people will tend to appreciate you putting a different spin on the subject. It’s actually a great time to work with comics - but it's like the opposite of cool to work in comics. It’s fun to be able to spend your day coming up with stories for men in tights. So it's not cool, but it's fun. (he laughs).

Please visit the film’s official website at www.wonderwomanmovie.com

"Wonder Woman" (c) Warner Bros. Ent Inc. "Wonder Woman" and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and (c) DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

 

Criminal investigation meets Greek mythology when current primetime television stars David McCallum and Marg Helgenberger assume the voices of Zeus and Hera, respectively, for “Wonder Woman,” the next entry in the popular series of DC Universe animated original PG-13 films.

Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation are set to release the all-new “Wonder Woman” on March 3, 2009, distributed by Warner Home Video. The animated original movie will also be available OnDemand and Pay-Per-View as well as available for download day and date, March 3, 2009.

McCallum, known to current TV audiences as Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard in the hit CBS series “Navy NCIS (Navel Criminal Investigative Service),” adds “Wonder Woman” to an animation resume that already includes the DC Universe movie “Batman Gotham Knight” and TV series “Ben 10” and “The Replacements.” Animation is but a side gig for McCallum, though, the actor having achieved legendary status for his two best known roles - in film as Lt.-Cmdr. Eric Ashley-Pitt in “The Great Escape” and on TV as super spy Illya Kuryakin in “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” During his 62-year career, McCallum has played many notable characters in fanboy TV favorites like “Jeremiah,” “The Outer Limits” (1963-64 & 1997), “Babylon 5,” “SeaQuest DSV, “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “The A-Team,” “The Invisible Man” and “Night Gallery,” to name a few.

Helgenberger is an anchor for the patriarch of CBS’ current crime lineup, “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.” The actress is approaching her 200th episode as Catherine Willows, the series’ female lead. Helgenberger , remembered for her breakthrough, Emmy Award-winning performance in “China Beach,” is no stranger to the sci-fi genre, having starred in “Species” and its sequel on the big screen. The 2005 People’s Choice Award winner as “Favorite Female Television Star” has been seen in a variety of roles ranging from feature films (“Erin Brockovich,” “Bad Boys,” “Always”) to top-rated TV series (“ER,” “thirtysomething,” “Frasier”).

And now, McCallum and Helgenberger get to play gods. The two highly-regarded performers answered a few brief questions during their recording sessions for “Wonder Woman.” Here’s what they had to say ...

QUESTION: You’ve played a number of interesting roles, but what’s your take on voicing a god?

MARG HELGENBERGER: Well, as the saying goes, behind every great man is an even greater woman. I guess playing Hera means that I’m, well, not only Queen of the Gods, I’m better than he is! [she laughs]

DAVID MCCALLUM: I played Julius Caesar in a Central Park version of the Shakespeare play, and just before that I was the emperor in “Amadeus” on Broadway. So when my acting friends heard I was Zeus, they said “Ah, you’re following your New York career.”

QUESTION: You’re fairly busy with a hit TV series, so what made you say “yes” to recording for an animated film?

MARG HELGENBERGER: I think the cast was enticing. Not that I was going to be playing opposite most of them, but just to be in their company. And being married to Zeus was kind of fun - he is the god of all gods in Greek mythology. Voicing acting is usually fun, though - I’ve even asked my agents about narrating books on tape. I’m very curious about that world. I’m a fan of documentaries, as well, and the voice kind of makes it right. Mostly for me, though, it’s all about the acting -you don’t have to get hair and makeup and the whole bit. You just can have fun with the acting.

DAVID MCCALLUM: Radio has always been my first love, and this is as close to that performance as you can get. One of my favorite things when I was younger was to listen to radio dramas, and there are none now. They would do three-hour plays on radio - this was before television, of course. So doing these films is a lot like those performances.

I love doing animation - mainly because you get to over-act. They’re always saying “more,” “louder,” “bigger,” “huger” and you just turn it lose. Andrea’s (Romano) reputation proceeds her as Numero Uno so it’s always good to work with her. Plus, doing animation voiceovers, I have learned so much, and it’s always good in your career to discover something you didn’t know, and to learn to do things differently. So it’s been a fascinating experience.

Most importantly, though, I have a grandson who thinks this is the greatest thing I’ve ever done. When I did “Ben 10,” I really didn’t know anything about “Ben 10.” But when I went back to visit my son Pierre and told him what I’d just done, he said “You did a Ben 10?!?” and then he started yelling out to my grandson, “Luca, Luca, come here, Granddaddy did a ‘Ben 10’ show.” You suddenly discover you’re gratte-cul with a five-year-old, and that’s pretty cool.”

QUESTION: Are you or were you a comic book fan?

MARG HELGENBERGER: The comic books I read when I was much younger were the goofy ones like “Archie” and “Betty & Veronica.” I think there was one called “Nancy and Sluggo.” I did actually date a comic book artist briefly during the 1980s. I was living in New York and he lived in my building. I’d bump into him in the elevator and he’d been (awake) for three days straight, hovering over his drawing board. He had this whole odd world in his mind, and it was pretty fascinating. I was very impressed.

DAVID MCCALLUM: I think the comic books that I grew up with, The Beano and the Dandy and Desperate Dan, I really loved those back in the day. And during World War I, there was a detective comic I used to read in the Daily Express or Daily Mail. And of course, I loved going to the local Odeon on Saturday mornings for the show and they always had a cartoon. Those are my memories of comics as a kid.

QUESTION: "Wonder Woman" offers a pretty strong female role model. Are females represented enough on screen yet, or are we still building that foundation?

MARG HELGENBERGER: Television is a medium that’s incredibly strong for actresses - far more than feature films. There are so many opportunities for all of us to portray all different types of women - particularly women of great strength, real women with wonderful souls. But in terms of the action heroines, there’s not enough of them. When I think about all the action heroines in film, the ones that stand out to me are actresses and roles and films like Sigourney Weaver in “Aliens,” and the French film “La Femme Nikita,” and certainly Linda Hamilton in the “Terminator” movies. I guess my son would probably point out the “Resident Evil” films. But I think we need more of those characters. Maybe now that we’re into the 21st Century, there will be a lot more of them.

QUESTION: Does working in this medium have any other special significance for you?

DAVID MCCALLUM: It’s fascinating for me because when I did “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” it was over at Metro (Goldwyn Mayer). Right next to where I had my little dressing room suite was MGM Animation, and just to sort of walk by there every day and know that all those incredible characters came from them was fascinating. I’ve always appreciated the work that goes into animated productions and I enjoy being part of that creativity.

Please visit the film’s official website at www.wonderwomanmovie.com

"Wonder Woman" (c) Warner Bros. Ent Inc. "Wonder Woman" and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and (c) DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Alfred Molina makes villainy a suave, ruthless affair as the voice of Ares, the God of War, in "Wonder Woman," an all-new DC Universe animated original movie presented by Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation and set for distribution on DVD and Blu-ray March 3, 2009 by Warner Home Video.

"Wonder Woman" is the fourth DC Universe film in the ongoing series, and Molina takes the villainous lead opposite a stellar cast that includes Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Virginia Madsen, Rosario Dawson and Oliver Platt. In addition to the DVD and Blu-ray release, the action-packed movie will also be available OnDemand and Pay-Per-View as well as available for download March 3, 2009.

When the four-time Screen Actors Guild Award nominee isn't starring in one of his many critically acclaimed films - like "Chocolat," "Frida," "Prick Up Your Ears," "Magnolia," "Boogie Nights" and "The Da Vinci Code" - he has been known to thrill fanboys with his headturning performances in the sci-fi and super hero realm.

Molina's notable roles in the fanboy universe are highlighted by his impressive characterization of Doc Ock in "Spider-Man 2"; as anthropologist Dr. Stephen Arden in "Species"; and the ultimately-skewered guide Satipo in the opening sequence of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" ("No time to argue. Throw me idol, I'll throw you the whip"). Molina was honored with the 2005 Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Visual Effects Film.

"Wonder Woman's is not Molina's first turn in animation, nor is it his first time starring opposite the Amazonian princess. The twotime Tony Award-nominated actor voiced King Gustav for the two-part "Maid of Honor" episode of the "Justice League" animated series.

Molina isn't one to stand idle, and his body of upcoming work is a clear statement of his diverse talent and dedication to his craft. In addition to "Wonder Woman," Molina is currently appearing in nine other films that are either completed or in various stages of production. But somewhere between sets, Molina found time to chat about his chiseled animated alter ego, the technicality of voice acting, his joy of teaching, and his proud membership in the legacy of British villains.

Today's "Wonder Woman" Q&A ... meet the ever-humble Alfred Molina, voice of Ares, the God of War...

QUESTION: Alfred Molina voicing Are, the God of War. That's a nice title.

ALFRED MOLINA: Yeah. I'm thinking of changing my name professionally to Ares, the God of War. I think I might just do that.

QUESTION: What is your favorite part of voice acting?

ALFRED MOLINA: This is all about imagination. It's like our director Andrea (Romano) likes to say, "Thank you for coming to play." And that's really what voice acting is. It's play acting at its most childlike, it's most free. There are no restrictions of costume or scenery or a set. It's about what's in your head, and that's the fun part.

QUESTION: Were there any challenges of bringing this particular character to life?

ALFRED MOLINA: The main challenge with doing a vocal performance is to find the way that the voice matches the image. Very often, in a sense, you're working ahead of the image. The image hasn't been finalized yet, so you get a vague idea of what the character's going to look like, but you don't see the character move, and you don't see the character physically behaving in any sort of significant way. So you rely very much on the director and the writers to help you find that voice. The nice thing is that chances are they've called you in because they like something about the quality of your voice, and from there it's very much a series of
building blocks. You start off by some kind of generalized tone, some sense of where you might be, and then you just start refining it bit by bit. Less of a cry, more of a growl. With Ares, I initially placed the voice quite low, which made him sound rather rough, and Andrea (Romano) said, 'Just make it a bit more suave.' Sometimes all you need is that idea, the slightest of descriptions, like 'suave,' and you adjust to something that's going to work.

QUESTION: What was your reaction to seeing the sketch of Ares?

ALFRED MOLINA: They gave me cheekbones! This guy's really cut, so I was very flattered and delighted, but I must make sure that I'm never seen in public again. It'll spoil the image [he laughs]. He's very, very manly. Very manly chin. Strong jaw. I like all that.

QUESTION: You've had notable experience in villainous roles. Do you enjoy playing villains, and are there any tricks or challenges to assuming that role?

ALFRED MOLINA: I enjoy playing villains - I'm very proud that I belong to a very honorable tradition of British actors who come to Hollywood to play the bad guys. James Mason, Claude Rains, Basil Rathbone, Anthony Hopkins, Michael Caine. At some point in American film, I think there was the idea that the British accent had a tone to it that's a little bit naughty. We actually tried a more mid-Atlantic accent for Ares. Playing villains is very liberating because unlike the leading man, nothing is expected of you. Leading men have to look good, they have to behave in a certain way, they have to fulfill an audience's expectations. But as a bad guy, you have free license to take the audience by surprise. And that's what audiences want - they want unpredictability from their villains. The villain's job is to subvert it.

QUESTION: What was your first impression of the "Wonder Woman" script?

ALFRED MOLINA: The language is really good in this film. There are a couple of speeches that are almost operatic, as they're nice long sentences and, for Ares, they're good, flowing tirades. And there's this lovely notion of paralleling a modern storyline and modern contemporary characters with all these gods and characters from Greek mythology. Gods speaking in classic speech, while the younger set are speaking with a more contemporary approach. It's an interesting idea and it strikes a great balance.

QUESTION: Are you a Wonder Woman or comic book fan?

ALFRED MOLINA: I was never a great follower of Wonder Woman. Like most young boys, my heroes were the chaps. I was a big fan of the comic books when I was a kid, particularly American ones, because growing up in London in the late 50s and early 60s, the American comic books were kind of hard to come by. So they were really highly prized. You'd save up the money to get a DC or a Marvel Comic and that was really something.

QUESTION: Was this voice acting experience any different for you?

ALFRED MOLINA: They're all very different in terms of material and what's required. But ultimately, it's in a sense the same gig because you're having to totally focus everything on what you're doing with your voice,. You do have to think about things technically - about diction, clarity, breathing. You have to be able to sustain your voice all the way through to the end of the line. So in a way, it's a very technical form of acting. But you also must counter-balance that with making it sound authentic. I remember the very first time I ever did the voice for a character. I lost my voice. I had no idea of how to sustain it, how to support it, and halfway through the day, [TALKS HOARSELY] I was talking like this. They had to send me home. So you learn to balance it. Because everything is focused on the voice, as far as the actor's concerned, you have to play everything at a much more heightened level. When you're playing violence or anger, you've got to find a way of really fulfilling it, but you haven't got the advantage of being seen to be doing it. It's got to be all in the voice. It's funny because it's very easy to think you're over-playing it or going over the top, but you have to remember that the whole focus of the performance is in the voice. Ares has moments when he gets incredibly hot and angry and violent, and there are other times when he's very subtle and insinuating. So you go to extremes and, yes, it's a lot
of fun.

QUESTION: Are you doing anything to visualize your animated performance when you're recording a voiceover?

ALFRED MOLINA: Maybe at some level, I'm seeing myself there with those fabulous cheekbones. But I don't think I'm consciously doing anything. You just sort of lose yourself in the booth. There was a bit in the script where I was charging into battle and I was supposed to make kind of a roar. That was all instinctive. I had the sword in my hand, I was [MAKES ROAR] and getting all sort of physical, because you sort of get caught up in it. You can't just stand there and go 'roar.'
You have to get energized.

QUESTION: You don't get to do your native British dialect very often in film. Do you have a favorite dialect/accent you do aside from your own?

ALFRED MOLINA: I don't have favorites, but there are a few that I feel more comfortable with than others. I've always had a reasonably good ear for accents and dialects, and I don't mean that in a self-aggrandizing way. It has more to do with circumstances than talent. My father was Spanish, my mother was Italian. They both immigrated to England, got married, had kids, and I grew up in London, but living in a neighborhood that was full of other immigrant families - West Indians, Poles, Portuguese, Spaniards, Italians, Irish. So when I was at school, for instance, every kid in my school was like me - first generation born in London with
parents from other parts of the world. My parents didn't speak English until I was well into my second or third year of elementary school. So I grew up with all those accents around me. Plus my generation watched TV, and well over 50 percent of British TV was American. Western shows, cop shows. I can remember as a kid, we used to emulate those shows. We played cowboys and Indians in the street, and we would do it with American accents. And, of course, rock and roll was always sung with American accents. So accents were part of growing up, it wasn't a strange rhythm for us.

QUESTION: You've got a lot of experience in the sci-fi arena. Is that by choice, and are you a fan of the genre?

ALFRED MOLINA: I've done quite a bit of work in that whole sort of fantasy sci-fi area, and I am a fan, I must admit. I'll go and see those movies, buy my popcorn and super size Slurpee. But my work in those films certainly wasn't by design. I think it's just a happy accident that that's the way mainstream film went, and I feel very blessed that I had a chance to get involved in a few of them. They are great fun to do. It's amazing how the industry has grown, though. I did Comic-Con for 'Species' and it was like a tiny little show with just a few enthusiasts. Now it's massive because Hollywood goes to Comic-Con. That's the core audience and God bless those guys. Those are the people that are going to see the movie five, six, seven times, and then buy the DVD ... and then buy the director's edition of the DVD. They're the true fans, and it's good that we take them seriously.

QUESTION: You're quite the chameleon in terms of acting venues and genres. Do you have a preference or is it an overall
enjoyment?

ALFRED MOLINA: I like doing everything - theater and film, radio and TV, comedy and tragedy. I love it all. And I've never really planned anything - I've always looked at my job in a rather simplistic way. It's like being a plumber. One day you might be fixing an early 20th century showerhead that requires real detailed work. The other day you might just be clearing a sewer. Both jobs are very different, but all the tools come out of the same box. That's the way I look at acting.

QUESTION: You've been teaching acting for a few years? How does that fulfill your needs?

ALFRED MOLINA: I've always loved teaching. I think it helps me to kind of get back to basics. It's like a refresher course for me as well, so in a sense, I'm hopefully learning as much as my students are - or at least discovering or re-discovering as much as they are. I find that when I teach, I'm reminded of my own sort of failings. I'm reminded of where I sometimes keep going wrong. So as I give advice to students, halfway through the advice I'm thinking, 'oh bugger, I do that!' [he laughs] So it's, it's good for me as well.

Please visit the film’s official website at www.wonderwomanmovie.com

"Wonder Woman" (c) Warner Bros. Ent Inc. "Wonder Woman" and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and (c) DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

Andrea Romano, arguably the best known casting/dialogue director on the animation scene today, brings the voices of yet another DC Universe animated original film to life with “Wonder Woman.” Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation are set to release the all-new film on March 3, 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 March 3, 2009.

“Wonder Woman” is the fourth DC Universe film in the ongoing series, and Romano has returned - after the first three successful ventures - to cast and direct the likes of Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Alfred Molina, Virginia Madsen, Oliver Platt and Rosario Dawson. In an industry that once treated voiceovers with the anonymity of the witness protection plan, Romano has become a household name to legions of animation fans. Just name a show - “Animaniacs” or “Smurfs,” “Batman: The Animated Series” and any of Warner Bros. Animation’s super hero series - and fans shout “Andrea Romano” in their beloved credits roll call in harmony with names like “Bruce Timm” and “Alan Burnett.”

Romano began her career as an actress in New York before switching coasts and paths, accepting a position as a Hollywood voiceover agent’s assistant. Over five-plus years, she moved from a large talent agency to a smaller boutique agency, learning the business before shifting into casting for Hanna-Barbera in 1984. Since then, Romano has been one of the most in-demand voiceover casting and dialogue directors, steering the vocal end of productions at virtually all of the major studios.

She has been nominated for Emmy Awards a total of 18 times, and there are six Emmys standing tall in her home - well, proud as they can stand when attired in Barbie clothes. Romano enjoys dressing her statuettes.

Romano has made her mark in every genre of animation, and her weekly workload today is a perfect example. When she isn’t orchestrating the casting and voicing of the latest DC Universe animated original movie or Warner Bros. Animation TV series, she’s directing “SpongeBob SquarePants” or skipping across the globe directing the international casts of “Kung Fu Panda.”

Renowned for considering 250-300 actors for lead roles, Romano is as comfortable directing the voiceover world’s legion of “stars” as she is guiding feature film and primetime television celebrities through their lines, often times during the celeb’s maiden voyages in animation. She is revered throughout the industry for her instant vocabulary with her actors, and treated with rock star status at fanboy conventions from North America to Australia.

Romano found time between recording sessions to discuss the stellar “Wonder Woman” cast, the intricacies of matching voices to roles, a little advice to the masses of hopeful voiceover artists, and a short list of actors she one-day hopes to direct.

For your entertainment and education, a Q&A with “Wonder Woman” casting/dialogue director Andrea Romano ...

Question:
You seem to glide easily between a diverse array of projects, running the gamut from silly shows for Hanna-Barbera and Warner Bros. to the wacky world of “SpongeBob SquarePants,” and then into the more serious, action-oriented “Avatar: The Last Airbender” and DC Comics super heroes. Do you have a preference between the different genres?

Andrea Romano answers:
I love the fact that my job gives me the chance to do every different kind of animated project, and these days the projects couldn’t be more varied or diverse. I can't say that I specifically have a favorite. Moreover, it’s the variety that keeps me stimulated, keeps me interested. There was a period of time when I was doing a lot of action shows, and I do love them and I’m not complaining one bit, but I missed the silly. So I really do enjoy the variety.

Question:
You’ve stated previously that you have trouble narrowing a list of favorite actors with whom you’ve worked. But do you have a list of actors you’ve yet to engage whom you’d still like to get behind the microphone?

Andrea Romano answers:
There are several actors that I have not yet had the chance to work with that I'm determined to work with at some point. Actors like James Woods, Laura Linney and Paul Giamatti, to name a few. I’d kill to direct Jeremy Irons. I think George Clooney is a wonderful, versatile actor, and I think he could do really incredible, silly things in animation - things that he doesn’t really get the chance to do in live-action. Most of those actors are so busy that they wouldn't be able to say ‘yes’ to an animated project, but that doesn’t mean I'm not going to go after them. I'm not afraid to go after any actor. What's the worse that can happen? They might turn me down, but maybe they'll say yes. I'm going to work for another 25 years and so, as long as they can continue to speak and sing and be silly, I will hire them. I'm not done yet.

Question:
Voiceover work is still a relatively anonymous role, and yet Andrea Romano walks into a Con panel before a 1,500-seat capacity crowd and she’s greeted like a rock star. What’s that like for you?

Andrea Romano answers:
I'm always astounded that people know who I am and what I do. I'll go to San Diego and people will actually follow me through the building and very politely tug on my shirt and say, ‘Excuse me, are you Andrea Romano?’ I'm blown away every time it happens. I still have a lot of anonymity and that's good. I don’t get bothered in restaurants and stuff like that. But when I'm at events that are really geared toward animation fans, they know who I am. And I'm so very pleased and so flattered by it. People are extremely complimentary to me, and that only encourages me to continue to do more really good work. I get paid by the studios, but I know I work for the fans.

Question:
Seemingly everyone believes they could do voiceovers for animation. What’s your ultimate advice for those seeking to make that career move?

Andrea Romano answers:
I know what advice I won’t give anymore. At the last Comic-Con, I gave my stock answer to that question, which was ‘Send large expensive presents directly to my office.’ A few months later, I get this enormous gift basket. It was stunning -- a bottle of wine, three different kinds of cheeses, pesto sauce, pasta ... and a demo tape. I had to call the guy and say ‘I can't accept this, I’m uncomfortable with this,’ but he said ‘No, no, no - I work in the industry. It’s okay, it's legal. I admire your work, and this is really just a thank you for everything you’ve done. If you have chance to listen to my demo tape, that's just great, if you don't that's fine, too.’ But it was still a very weird moment for me.

For people who seriously want to get into voiceover acting, clearly the most important thing is that you must be a good actor. That comes first. That's why celebrities get so much work in voiceovers - we’ve seen their work, we know they’re good actors. So take acting classes. Then take voice acting classes - and there is a difference. There are techniques specific to voice acting that you must learn. Not popping your Ps and how to stay on-microphone, especially during the physical scenes, and how to create the impact sounds. Getting punched and throwing a punch are two different sounds. Sneezing, burping, whistling and kissing all require silly little tricks. These are very specific techniques, and all are taught in voiceover classes.

Once you feel very secure in your acting and voiceover techniques, put together a voiceover demo - and only showcase your best work. Include things that are novel and new. If you do impressions, great, but let it be an impression that’s unusual and different. We don’t need to hear John Wayne. Include examples of accents, dialects, singing, singing in character, character voices. And you don't have to be massively versatile if you have an interesting voice and you're a good actor. Sterling Holloway and Ben Stein are good examples of people with interesting voices. But you do need to be able to act through your interesting voice. Finally, once you’ve put together your demo, you need to get it to all the agents and casting people and animation companies in town. Follow-up and keep following up, and hopefully somebody bites.

Question:
The DC Universe films are very celebrity-laden voice casts. Do you ever purposely cast against types for those roles, and when is it okay to have an actor reprise a role or be cast in consecutive films?

Andrea Romano answers:
Sometimes it's really fun to cast against type just to let the actor stretch a little bit more, to do something they don’t normally get the chance to do on camera. It’s very liberating for an actor when they don’t have to worry if they're blonde enough or young enough or tall enough. If the voice is right and they can act, they can do a role for me.

Casting is sometimes like going to a party. You get there and everybody at the party is wonderful. They’re funny, they’re interesting, and the next time you go to a party, you kind of want those same people there. I do find myself going back to a lot of the same actors I've worked with because it was fun, it was good and I know they can do the job. When we have tight deadlines to cast a project, that’s how some decisions are made. We’ve all seen animated projects and thought, ‘That person was the perfect voice for that role,’ but what few people know is what it took to get that performance. Was it 50 takes per line or did they nail it on the first try? When the schedule is tight, you go with the people you know will get the job done quickly and well.

Question:
How often are you surprised by an actors’ performance?

Andrea Romano answers:
Quite often, and I mean that in a good way. A lot of times we cast actors who haven’t done voiceovers before, and because voiceover work is different from on-camera, you’re not sure what’s going to happen in the booth. Wonder Woman is Keri Russell’s first animated role, and she was amazing. Then there are moments when everything just clicks and the impossible happens. There was a project I did years ago in which Rob Paulsen, the wonderful voice of Pinky in “Pinky and the Brain” and Yakko Warner in “Animaniacs,” had to sing all the countries of the world, from start to finish. The man did it in a single take! Then he asked if he could have a second take? (she laughs) Of course, he could have a second take. But the truth is he nailed it the first time, which is stunning. So you never know what you're going to get.

Question:
Which leads us to that stellar “Wonder Woman” cast. What exactly does Keri Russell bring to the title character?

Andrea Romano answers:
Keri Russell has such a wonderful, youthful sound to her voice and yet, there's a really nice underlying tone of strength. That's exactly what you need for Wonder Woman. This is the story of her first finding out what civilization is like, so there has to be a youthful innocence and, at the same time, she's got to have the strength to kick butt and not take garbage from anybody. Keri absolutely has that. She's a terrific actress, and that combination of vulnerability, youth and strength in the voice is perfect for this role.

Question:
What made Nathan Fillion right for Steve Trevor?

Andrea Romano answers:
I'm just so in love with Nathan Fillion. He is this great, silly, playful, fun-loving actor who also knows when and how to get down to business. Nathan brought all of that to the voice work in this project, and that made him exactly right for Steve Trevor. The character has to be smart, he's got to be trustworthy, but also silly and vulnerable and, in his own way, kind of a buffoon. He’s going to make a fool of himself overseeing these ridiculously beautiful amazons. Nathan just fell into that role perfectly.

Qustion:
How did you settle on Alfred Molina as Ares?

Andrea Romano answers:
Who doesn’t like Alfred Molina? I have admired him for so many years and he had done some work for me before. He’s extremely busy, constantly working - we lucked out that he was available. Ares is strong and full of himself - there's a huge ego there. Fred doesn’t have that kind of ego, but he can act it beautifully. He also has the physical strength in his voice that mirrors the character, and an aspect to his voice where you could believe that he could convince someone to do what he wanted in a way that they don’t even know they're being convinced. Finally, because Ares is the God of War, his presence creates violence around him - and as gentle a soul as Fred is, there's something about what he brought into the booth that makes that emotion completely believable.

Question:
Rosario Dawson was a natural fit as the warrior Artemis?

Andrea Romano answers:
Rosario Dawson is such a beautiful woman and a beautiful person, and a comic book fan. I had always been looking for something that I thought was appropriate for her and, with this strong female character, Rosario's name popped to mind instantly. She’s got a presence in her voice that is so right that you immediately believe this is an Amazon warrior. Artemis is tough and strong and smart, and I believe Rosario is all of that as both a person and an actress. So we had a perfect match.

Question:
Were you looking to balance all of that female bravado with Virginia Madsen in the stately role as Hippolyta?

Andrea Romano answers:
I needed a strong, somewhat mature female voice for Hippolyta and, as the Amazon women are all stunning, I needed voices that also brought that beauty into it. That made Virginia Madsen kind of a no-brainer. She's got that beautiful, husky quality to her voice that resonates with strength and a little bit of maturity, and she’s got real femininity to her voice that embodies the beauty. It was a great marriage of actress and character.

Question:
Oliver Platt is another virtual rookie to voiceovers. What did he bring to the role of Hades?

Andrea Romano answers:
For “Wonder Woman,” I hired more on-camera actors that I admire than almost any other project that I’ve ever worked on. I have been an enormous fan of Oliver Platt. I just think he is funny, touching, talented, strong and sympathetic. When you listen to his voice, there’s a real distinctive quality to it. He's a great example of a voice with character. And wait ‘til you hear him as Hades - his voice and the character match so brilliantly and the acting is spot on. He was the absolute right guy for the voice.

Please visit the film’s official website at www.wonderwomanmovie.com

"Wonder Woman" (c) Warner Bros. Ent Inc. "Wonder Woman" and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and (c) DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

After her successful co-directorial debut on “Superman Doomsday,” Lauren Montgomery takes full command of the helm for “Wonder Woman,” the next entry in the popular series of DC Universe animated original PG-13 films. Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation are set to release the all-new film on March 3, 2009, distributed by Warner Home Video. The animated original movie will also be available OnDemand and Pay-Per-View as well as available for download March 3, 2009.

Montgomery has directed an origin story for “Wonder Woman” that remains true to the title character’s various incarnations while setting the tale in more modern times to allow greater accessibility for a wider audience. Working alongside producer Bruce Timm, Montgomery has brought to life Michael Jelenic’s entertaining script with an impressive balance of explosive action and well-timed humor. A talented artist with a lifetime of experience devoted to drawing and animation, Montgomery is proud to give Wonder Woman her first feature film treatment.

Montgomery, who is already involved in other super hero films, took a few minutes to discuss the upcoming “Wonder Woman” movie, her love of drawing, artistic influences on her style, lessons from Bruce Timm, and Cheetara’s lonely place among female heroes.

Without further do, the Q&A with “Wonder Woman” director Lauren Montgomery ...

Question:
You’ve gone from directing one-third of “Superman Doomsday” to helming the entirety of “Wonder Woman.” What’s that progression been like for you?

Lauren Montgomery answers:
It’s mostly in scale of responsibility. On Doomsday, it was all about my one section of the film. Now, it’s everything from background design and color to character design and camera angles, helping select the voices for the cast and approving every storyboard for the entire film. So (she laughs) it was all a lot harder. It’s been an incredible learning experience, it's probably the most hands-on I've ever been on anything, and it’s really prepared me for more of those responsibilities in the future.

Question:
What were the driving factors behind the final design of Wonder Woman?

Lauren Montgomery answers:
We kept the designs simple enough for animation, but we wanted to give them a slightly more detailed, less cartoony look for the PG-13 content. Wonder Woman went through a lot of different versions. Gradually, and for the betterment of the film, we determined that she should look strong and athletic without being manly. She’s an Amazon, so I wanted her to be able to be taken seriously. We wanted her to look like she worked out, and not just make her a curvy, busty pinup. So I tried to give her slightly slimmer hips versus the hourglass figure, and I think it makes her more believable and engaging in a lot of action.

Question:
Did you utilize a different color palette from previous DC Universe films?

Lauren Montgomery answers:
We wanted the film to be vibrant, but we also needed our characters to fit into their settings. Our color stylist, Craig Cuqro, used colored filters to set the characters into their backgrounds, and our overseas studio Moi added a lot of diffusion, which gives the characters a really nice kind of glowing look - especially during the scenes in Themyscira. The soft diffusion throughout the scenes in Themyscira makes everything seem much nicer, like a paradise. The style adds a lot of quality to the overall look of the film.

Question:
Are you a mythology aficionado?

Lauren Montgomery answers:
I always liked epic stories, and Greek mythology was a subject that kept my attention in school. The characters were larger than life - they were gods and each had their own nuances and specialties. Being an artist, I could really visualize those characters and that made their stories that much more interesting. “Wonder Woman” is based in mythology, but it doesn't follow it to a ‘T’ by any means. I really just had to bone up on my Wonder Woman version of mythology, so I could make sure that we pleased the fans. We wanted to stay true to the legend but we did eliminate or underplay some of the sillier aspects of that mythology.

Question:
Like the fact that the Amazons have an invisible jet, but they with fight swords and don’t appear to have indoor plumbing?

Lauren Montgomery answers:
There are a few things in the movie that we opted against really explaining because, honestly, the explanations were more convoluted than not explaining it at all. You don’t need to break down the minor details. If we tell you exactly where the invisible jet came from, then that’s time and energy that would’ve taken away from our core story.

Question:
How did Michael Jelenic’s script complement your approach to direction?

Lauren Montgomery answers:
Michael Jelenic has really strong, entertaining ideas in his scripts. Seeing his first drafts really inspired me because there was a lot of action that showed her true strength. He told a story that captivated me the entire way. Beyond the action, Michael is good at interjecting a lot of humor - Steve Trevor’s sense of humor echoes Michael’s in many ways. He also likes to write a lot of director-embellished action scenes, which didn’t always make it easier on me. That's the one thing I’d like to punch him for. But otherwise, he did a great job.

Question:
What’s your depth of love for comics and/or super heroes?

I was always more a fan of animation than comics. I just didn’t realize until I was a little older that you could actually make a living making cartoons. And once I discovered that career path, I knew exactly what I was going to do when I grew up.

My love of super heroes didn't really start until “Batman: The Animated Series” - that series just took everything to a higher level. It didn't speak down to people, it made you think more, it had really serious stories, and it went about telling those stories in a way that didn't put the violence right out there for you to see. It kind of undertoned it. It was more sophisticated storytelling and that drew me to the Superman and Justice League series, and then I ended up working on “Justice League.” So most of my experience with super heroes are through animation, not actually through the comic books themselves.

Question:
You said Batman: The Animated Series was your awakening to super heroes and a career in action animation, and now you’re directing the next generation of that genre of entertainment. What’s it like to live your dreams?

Lauren Montgomery answers:
It was surreal at first, but now it's just another day of work. I've kind of adapted to it. But every once in a while when I sit back and think about it, it's like, ‘Here I am doing what I've been waiting my whole life to do.’ And that’s cool. Even on the days where it's hectic and there's intense schedules and the deadlines are looming, and I might be pulling my hair out, I know there’s no other job that I would be happier doing.

Question:
Along those same lines, you now work side-by-side with Bruce Timm on DC Universe films. What’s it like to go from fan to colleague?

Lauren Montgomery answers:
Working with Bruce is extremely interesting, and not in a bad way (she laughs). This is going to greatly understate it, but he knows what he's doing. It’s always a really good learning experience just to sit back and watch him, to see how he works, because Bruce definitely has his own way of doing things. Pretty much all the calls he makes are the right calls - it’s obvious in the body of work that he's produced. When he makes a call, even if I don't 100 percent agree with it, I usually just let it go because I know the film is going to be better for it.

A lot of filmmaking is finessing, and I've learned a lot of that art from Bruce. He knows the little tricks to make things a lot better. Certain things to avoid, simple camera moves, and ways to not draw attention to the camera. And he’s an amazing editor - he has a way of looking at a film and being able to identify the important parts and really hammer them home. I'm still kind of focused on the storyboards, planning everything out so it plays the way I want it. I don't really think about cutting around or rearranging scenes because I already did that in the storyboards. But Bruce can look at that footage and know immediately how to rearrange the scenes to make things that much better and that much smoother. That’s what I’m trying to learn from him now.

Question:
Has drawing always been a passion?

Lauren Montgomery answers:
In my younger years I drew a lot and I wasn't quite as social. When I came home after school, I would finish my homework, and then sit in my room and draw. And that's all I did, because I knew that’s what I wanted to do. I would save my money and buy books like “The Art Of Pocahontas” and “The Art Of Hunchback” - whatever Disney art book was out that year. I would take it home and look at it, and I would think, ‘okay, now my drawings aren't anywhere near as good as these drawings, so I’d better get to work to make them as good.’ I figured the more I practiced, the sooner I would get that good, so I drew as much as I possibly could.

Question:
Who are your influences artistically today?

Lauren Montgomery answers:
I don't have specific artists exactly, but I was definitely influenced by the Disney films. Those were the drawings I was tracing and sketching during my early years. I would study each and every one of the princesses and draw them until I had them all down by heart. My facial features are still influenced somewhat by Disney characters. As I got older, I was definitely influenced by Bruce's style in Batman, and I started getting into anime, and some of the more subtle styles in anime drawing. The clothing is a little more detailed than the typical American animation - it’s more believable, yet still simplified. It’s the way they draw bodies and cloth that I kind of incorporate into my drawings, as well as certain aspects of how they would draw hair. So I’d say I have a few different influences in my art style.

Question:
You’re one of the very few women directing action animation today. Does that factor have any resonance within your career?

Lauren Montgomery answers:
I never focus on the ‘one of the only women’ aspect of my job - I just always liked action and wanted to work in this genre. I never realized how few women there were in super hero animation. I just thought, ‘I like to draw, surely all the other girls like to draw, too.’ I guess I just didn't realize how different I was. So I don’t think I’ve got any special trick that makes me a successful woman in action animation. I worked hard and it has paid off.

Question:
Do you have a preference between male and female super heroes?

Lauren Montgomery answers:
I definitely prefer female leads because I feel they're just easier to direct their acting. They’re allowed to show a much wider range of emotions. A woman can be feminine and tomboyish, and she can hit all the same poses that a man can hit. But if you start putting a man in a feminine pose, especially a super hero man, it doesn't fly. So when you're dealing with the male super heroes, you have a much, much more restricted range of acting. It’s not just a challenge, it’s more of a limitation in general. You can do more with a woman character and it’s still acceptable. So it's a lot more enjoyable for me. Plus, on a personal level, I think it’s good to give girl fans more options. When I was a girl, I would watch Thundercats and all I really had to choose from was Cheetara (she laughs). I always wanted more female heroes to choose from and I never really got them. Hopefully we’ll be able to explore more of them in these DVDs.

Please visit the film’s official website at www.wonderwomanmovie.com

"Wonder Woman" (c) Warner Bros. Ent Inc. "Wonder Woman" and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and (c) DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.