Executive producer Marc Guggenheim (Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow) is gearing up to release his latest project with director Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water, The Book of Truth) in the Tales of Arcadia series, Wizards. The show is headed to Netflix from Dreamworks in just ten days.

To help promote the launch of the upcoming series, Guggenheim recently spoke with us here at Comic Book Movie exclusively about the animation. Since much of his experience is from his involvement from the shows in the Arrowverse, we were curious about the differences in live-action and animated filmmaking.

We learned quite a bit and chatted about how the Arrowverse informs his work on animated projects, of which that universe has two — Vixen and The Ray. As always, if you’re interested in hearing the audio component of this interview, click play on the podcast player below. We chat about the Arrowverse starting around 07:50. 

Literary Joe: Do you feel like you have more freedom when it comes to storytelling with an animated medium versus live-action?

Marc Guggenheim: You know, the thing I always tell people is no matter what medium it is, there’s always going to be someone who is telling you it can’t be produced; that you can’t afford to produce it.

I will say that I think with animation, the problems tend to be more budgetary than logistical. Because, theoretically, in animation, whatever you can pay for, you can produce. Whereas, in live-action, your problems are both budgetary and logistical.

I’ll give you an example. You could have a huge action sequence set outside, and you’re shooting it over the course of several days. Well, what happens if it rains on one day? Suddenly, one out of three shooting days doesn’t fit in continuity with the other two. That’s not a problem you run into with animation.

Similarly, with live-action, you’ve got to be able to get all of your actors in a particular place at a particular time. That’s not a concern with animation because you could have one actor doing voicework in Brazil and several other actors and people on the same team in New York.

So, animation just allows you a little bit more flexibility in terms of not having to worry about logistics. But you still have to worry about money.

Literary Joe: That makes a lot of sense. I’m curious, how do you feel like your experience with DCTV has helped influence the creative fingerprint you’ve left on the Tales of Arcadia series?

Marc Guggenheim: That’s a good question! I think, because of my involvement with the Arrowverse, even though I haven’t always been involved with every single show, I basically developed my personal philosophy for how to build out a universe, but also how to launch a spin-off series.

I’m a very big believer that a spin-off should stand on its own feet. It should have its own identity as a show. The Arrowverse shows really have always been at their best when each show leans into what makes it different from the other four to five to six, depending on how many there are on the air at the time. And I think that has informed my thinking on the Tales of Arcadia Trilogy.

*This interview has been edited for clarity.*

Check out the trailer for his upcoming project with Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth), Tales of Arcadia: Wizards, and be sure to share your thoughts in the usual spot!
 

Join our favorite supernatural heroes on a time-bending adventure to medieval Camelot. The magic continues the final chapter of the Tales of Arcadia saga, Wizards.

Tales of Arcadia: Wizards hits Netflix on August 7th.

Powered by WPeMatico

It was no easy task putting together the cast for 2000’s X-Men, and as we learned a few weeks ago, there were a lot of big names who fancied joining the Marvel Universe when the hunt for characters like Professor X and Wolverine was taking place in 1999. The Hollywood Reporter reveals that in the spring of that year, producers met with none other than Michael Jackson.

He reportedly walked into Fox’s offices wearing sunglasses and refusing to shake any hands, but was keen to be given the opportunity to take on the role of Charles Xavier on the big screen. 

“I said to him, ‘Do you know Xavier is an older white guy?'” X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner remembers. “And Michael said, ‘Oh yeah. You know, I can wear makeup.'”

What followed was an elaborate presentation from Jackson which included the short film Ghosts (that saw him don prosthetics to play a white Mayor in his 60s). X-Men director Bryan Singer was also in the meeting, but no one ever really gave Jackson any sort of serious consideration for the role.

As one unnamed executive tells the trade, “Michael was already in the thick of all his allegations by X-Men.”

With that in mind, going into business with the singer wouldn’t have been a smart idea, but it certainly would have been interesting to be a fly on the wall during what sounds like an insane meeting. 

Powered by WPeMatico

Things have come to a halt in Hollywood thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Disney is making sure that they’ll (eventually) have plenty of new content for the Disney+ streaming service. Among them is a Beauty and the Beast prequel series revolving around Gaston and his right-hand man, LeFou.

Luke Evans and Josh Gad are set to reprise their roles from the live-action movie starring Emma Watson, and legendary composer Alan Menken is set to provide the show’s music. 

During a recent interview with Variety, Meken was asked about his work on the Disney+ series, and seemingly revealed the title in the process. 

“I’m excited about the projects I’m doing,” he told the trade. “I’m working on Disenchanted and a new Beauty and the Beast prequel, The Little Town. I’ve also been working on the new animated picture Spellbound with John Lasseter. And I’m doing a bunch of Broadway shows.”

As you may recall, “Little Town” is where we find Belle, Gaston, and LeFou in the Beauty and the Beast movie, so we can presumably expect much of the action to take place there. 

Eddy Kitsis and Adam Horowitz are set to serve as showrunners on Little Town, and while it might be a while before cameras star rolling, we should hear more about this one soon. Evans and Gad were arguably the best part of Beauty and the Beast, so more of them is definitely no bad thing. 

Powered by WPeMatico

The Hollywood Reporter has shared a fascinating new piece about the legacy of the X-Men franchise in the wake of a series of sexual abuse allegations against director Bryan Singer, and in there are plenty of jaw-dropping behind the scenes stories. It’s no secret that his behaviour on set was erratic, and that reportedly included late arrivals, mood swings, and explosive tantrums. 

The trade explains that it wasn’t uncommon for Rebecca Romijn to spend hours being painted up as Mystique before filming, only for Singer to decide on a whim he didn’t need her. Interestingly, it’s also said that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige was “dispatched to ensure that someone was keeping Singer in line.”

Things got worse during production of X2: X-Men United, though. It’s said that Singer was incapacitated after taking a narcotic, and when producer Tom DeSanto attempted to halt shooting, the filmmaker insisted it continue. That led to a botched stunt on the X-Jet leaving Hugh Jackman bleeding. When the cast were forced to return to work the next day, they (minus Sir Ian McKellen and Romijn) approached Singer in costume and threatened to quit if DeSanto left.

It was at this point Halle Berry told the director, “You can kiss my Black ass.”

The trade’s story includes more damaging allegations about Singer sexually abusing or taking advantage of young men (in exchange for roles in the X-Men movies, for example), but producer Lauren Shuler Donner summed up his behaviour as a filmmaker perfectly. 

“He was very nervous and he would act out when he was insecure, as many people do. But his way of acting out would be to yell and scream at everybody on the set. Or walk off the set or shut down production,” she recalls. “You have to understand, the guy was brilliant, and that was why we all tolerated him and cajoled him. And if he wasn’t so f***ed up, he would be a really great director.”

What are your thoughts on these latest claims about Singer?

Powered by WPeMatico

The Flash director Andy Muschietti has previously said his movie features a “different version of Flashpoint than you’re expecting,” and the filmmaker has now dropped even more hints about what fans can expect.

During a recent interview, he confirmed those Flashpoint elements, while also specifically referencing one key plot point from that storyline. 

“It is a story of time travel: Flash travels back to try to save his mother,” Muschietti Orden 67 (translated from Spanish). “It is a spectacular action movie but it has a big heart.”

In Flashpoint, Barry Allen raced back in time to prevent the murder of his mother at the hands of the Reverse-Flash; however, he inadvertently creates a new timeline where Bruce Wayne was gunned down in Crime Alley, Superman’s rocket crashed in Metropolis instead of Smallville, and Aquaman and Wonder Woman were at war on behalf of Atlantis and Themyscira. 

It’s unclear how much of that will make it into Muschietti’s version of The Flash, but we know Barry Allen will meet a different Batman in the new timeline he creates: Michael Keaton’s version.

Check out the interview below:
 

Powered by WPeMatico