You’re going to be as surprised as I was to learn that the most recent, completely Harry Potter-focused “collector’s edition” of Life Story: Movie Magic Magazine has a four-page feature article on the upcoming Batman/Superman: Public Enemies direct-to-video animated film.
It’s not even mentioned on the cover.
Nevertheless, the article features comics writer Jeph Loeb, script writer Stan Berkowitz, supervising producer Michael Goguen, executive producer Gregory Noveck, and voice cast members Kevin Conroy (Batman/Bruce Wayne), Tim Daly (Superman/Clark Kent), and Clancy Brown (Lex Luthor). It also includes a photo of Brown, Conroy, and Daly in the studio which I found online thanks to darkcommandos.com:
Please be advised that the following interview excerpts do contain spoilers.
First off is an interview with Kevin Conroy, who says, “Stepping back into the role of Batman fit like a comfortable glove. It was great seeing Tim Daly and Clancy Brown. It’s such a great team and it’s really fun to get back together.”
Batman’s usually a lone hero, says Conroy, which is what makes him interesting. But in this film, “he’s teaming up with Superman and they’re helping each other, which is not something that [Batman] did a lot of in previous series.” Now, he’s actually “working with Superman” and, adds Conroy, “saving Superman.”
Tim Daly says he missed voicing Superman, and the script piqued his interest in the project: “I thought that this particular script was really good, [and] it presents a kind of subtle social commentary. I think that makes it cool and relatively bold for an animated Superman film.”
When asked the difference between recording individually rather than as a group, Daly says he prefers the latter because it “makes it more real and elevates everyone’s game because…you are responding to [other] actors.”
And when asked about working with Conroy and Brown, Daly responded, “Kevin is such a good Batman, and, unlike Superman, cynical [and] a darker character. When you have those two flaws playing off each other, in real time, there’s a lot more sizzle to it.”
“And then there’s Clancy,” Daly adds, “Who has such a beautiful, resonant voice, [and] he’s also a really good actor. Clancy takes Lex wherever he needs to so perfectly — he really has a lot of scenes in this film.”
Clancy Brown feels he has improved as an actor, and says that Luthor as a character has evolved since the last time he played him: “He’s a much better, clearer, more subtle character as time passes and I love voicing him. He seems to be a better student of human nature and more willing and better-equipped to manipulate that knowledge to his ends. He thinks more long term and intricately, which makes him scarier.”
As for the film itself, supervising producer Goguen describes it as a “straight-forward action thriller.” And Stan Berkowitz proclaims, “It’s Superman. It’s Batman. It’s a meteor crashing toward earth. It’s a gazillion villains [and] superhero fights.”
For a description of the plot, preview images, and details on the DVD and Blu-Ray releases, please see the press release (via ToonZone.net). There’s also a teaser trailer available at WarnerVideo.com.
The Harry Potter “collector’s edition” of Life Story: Movie Magic Magazine which includes the complete article on Batman/Superman: Public Enemies will be available on most newsstands through October 5th, 2009. It retails at a pricey $9.95, and unfortunately is not available for purchase online.
As for the supporting voice cast, World’s Finest has confirmed the following:
– Xander Berkeley as Captain Atom
– LeVar Burton as Black Lightning
– Ricardo Chivara as Major Force
– Allison Mack as Power Girl
– John C. McGinley as Metallo
– CCH Pounder as Amanda Waller
The voices for other supporting characters have yet to be confirmed officially, but it’s likely they’ll be revealed along with other news at Friday’s DC Universe Animated Super Powers panel presentation at Comic-Con. From Comic-Con’s schedule:
5:45-7:15 DC Universe Animated Super Powers: Green Lantern: First Flight and Superman/Batman: Public Enemies— Get the inside scoop on the next two action-packed entries in the popular series of DC Universe animated original PG-13 films, Green Lantern: First Flight and Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. Hal Jordan’s first full-length adventure, Green Lantern: First Flight, brings together executive producer Bruce Timm (Superman Doomsday), casting/dialogue director Andrea Romano (DC Universe films), director Lauren Montgomery (Wonder Woman), writer Alan Burnett (The Batman), and voice talent Christopher Meloni (Law & Order: SVU) and Juliet Landau (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) to discuss and show film clips from the all-new film set for release on July 28. Then, Timm and Romano will be joined by supervising producer Michael Goguen (Justice League: The New Frontier), director Sam Liu (The Batman), and writer Stan Berkowitz (Justice League: The New Frontier), for the first-ever footage and public discussion of Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. Kevin Conroy, the undisputed benchmark voice of Batman, joins the panel for his first Comic-Con appearance in six years! Based on the popular Jeff Loeb/Ed McGuinness comic series/graphic novel, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies finds U.S. President Lex Luthor using the oncoming trajectory of a kryptonite asteroid to frame Superman and declare a $1 billion bounty on the heads of the Man of Steel and his “partner in crime,” Batman. Superheroes and supervillains alike launch a relentless pursuit of Superman and Batman, who must unite—and recruit super help—to stave off the action-packed onslaught, stop the asteroid, and uncover Luthor’s devious plot to take command of far more than North America. Superman/Batman: Public Enemies will be distributed by Warner Home Video in fall 2009. The movie reunites the lead voices from the landmark Superman: The Animated Series and Batman: The Animated Series—Conroy, Tim Daly (Private Practice) and Clancy Brown (The Shawshank Redemption) reprise their roles as Batman, Superman and Lex Luthor, respectively. Other members of the cast are expected to join the panel, as well. DC Comics senior VP of creative affairs Gregory Noveck moderates. Room 6BCF
And on a related note, I’m in the process of pulling older con photos off my outdated and soon-to-be-defunct Geocities homepage before I lose them all to the place where digital photos go to die. Here are a few photos from Wizard World Chicago 1998 with Kevin Conroy, writer/producer Paul Dini, and writer/producer Alan Burnett:
Previous news: 7.03.2009 — Batman/Superman D2V Features Original Voices.
