Post by All Star Batman on Jun 24, 2008 14:23:17 GMT -5
[WWC PREVIEW] UP CLOSE WITH: KEVIN CONROY
The voice of Batman in the new 'Batman: Gotham Knight' dishes to 'ToyFare' on his storied career as the voice of Bruce Wayne
By Don E. Smith Jr.
Posted 06/24/08
The highly anticipated film "Batman: Gotham Knight" will premiere at Wizard World Chicago on Saturday night at 7 p.m. The direct-to-DVD release is comprised of six interlocking animated short films that bridge the gap between the theatrical releases "Batman Begins" and the July sequel, "The Dark Knight." Following the premiere, writers Brian Azzarello, Alan Burnett, Josh Olson and Greg Rucka and Executive Producer Bruce Timm will take part in a special panel and Q&A session moderated by DC Comics Senior Vice President of Creative Affairs Gregory Noveck--find out more about it here. An encore showing of the film will take place at 2 p.m. Sunday. No ticket is required for Sunday's showing, which will not feature a panel, but to check out "Gotham Knight" before anyone else, you'll need a ticket to Wizard World Chicago! Get yours here!
No one has played Batman more often than Kevin Conroy—and yet, there's nary a rubber suit-wearing moment in his career. Conroy talked about once again playing the Caped Crusader in the upcoming animated Batman: Gotham Knight.
TOYFARE: How long has it been since you were the Dark Knight?
Kevin Conroy: Maybe it has been two years [since I played him last], but I kept in touch with Andrea [Romano, the voice director] and Bruce [Timm] because we had become friends [during my time as Batman]. But getting back into Batman was like a glove that fits on so easily—going back and doing this film was as if we had never stopped doing work together.
Gotham Knight is six stories—are they stand alone or interconnected?
Do you remember an episode we did called "Legends of the Dark Knight"? It started with a group of young adolescent skateboarders comparing stories about Batman, and it is all of their different stories and the way the different stories are told in different styles. It is reminiscent of that.
Can you give any sort of clue as to what will happen in Gotham Knight?
We are never supposed to give away anything regarding the stories, but I can tell you everyone is going to flip for it. It's visually spectacular and the directors they got are some of the best directors in the business.
What do you think of the Christian Bale Batman movies?
Oh yeah. I think Bale's movie is the closest to what we were doing [in Batman: The Animated Series] in terms of style and approach to the character.
Were you familiar with the character before you voiced him?
[In 1992] I was in Los Angeles, and I had done Dynasty and a show called Tour of Duty when my commercial agent said, "Why don't you go over to Warner Bros. and try out for this show?" I had [virtually] no exposure at all to the Dark Knight history—my only exposure was the Adam West series. But the producers said, "Oh no! Here, Batman lives in the shadows of the cave; he is tortured by the murder of his parents and he's avenging their deaths." I said, "You're telling the Hamlet story." They laughed and said, "No one else has made that analogy." There is the certain type of tortured, misunderstood hero that goes way back in literature—that is why Batman resonates so well with the audience. He's the modern incarnation of this very classic and ancient heroic type of figure.
Speaking of Adam West, what was it like working with him in the "Gray Ghost" episode?
Adam West is one of the nicest actors I've worked with. He is such a gentleman and he's very professional. You're always kind of worried about treading on someone's toes when you're a younger actor and taking over a role that someone else has played. And Adam West could not have been more professional or nice about it, and he gave a great performance as the Gray Ghost.
Was it like that working with Will Friedle in Batman Beyond?
[Laughs] It was the same thing! Will's a really great guy and a lot of fun to work with. He told me he was nervous the first day, but we became very good friends. I think any actor would feel like they are moving in on someone's terrain, but no one owns the character. You are sort of loaned the character to enjoy, and hopefully he gets passed on to someone else.
Hear Kevin Conroy back in the Bat-saddle July 8th when Batman: Gotham Knight hits stores everywhere.
The voice of Batman in the new 'Batman: Gotham Knight' dishes to 'ToyFare' on his storied career as the voice of Bruce Wayne
By Don E. Smith Jr.
Posted 06/24/08
The highly anticipated film "Batman: Gotham Knight" will premiere at Wizard World Chicago on Saturday night at 7 p.m. The direct-to-DVD release is comprised of six interlocking animated short films that bridge the gap between the theatrical releases "Batman Begins" and the July sequel, "The Dark Knight." Following the premiere, writers Brian Azzarello, Alan Burnett, Josh Olson and Greg Rucka and Executive Producer Bruce Timm will take part in a special panel and Q&A session moderated by DC Comics Senior Vice President of Creative Affairs Gregory Noveck--find out more about it here. An encore showing of the film will take place at 2 p.m. Sunday. No ticket is required for Sunday's showing, which will not feature a panel, but to check out "Gotham Knight" before anyone else, you'll need a ticket to Wizard World Chicago! Get yours here!
No one has played Batman more often than Kevin Conroy—and yet, there's nary a rubber suit-wearing moment in his career. Conroy talked about once again playing the Caped Crusader in the upcoming animated Batman: Gotham Knight.
TOYFARE: How long has it been since you were the Dark Knight?
Kevin Conroy: Maybe it has been two years [since I played him last], but I kept in touch with Andrea [Romano, the voice director] and Bruce [Timm] because we had become friends [during my time as Batman]. But getting back into Batman was like a glove that fits on so easily—going back and doing this film was as if we had never stopped doing work together.
Gotham Knight is six stories—are they stand alone or interconnected?
Do you remember an episode we did called "Legends of the Dark Knight"? It started with a group of young adolescent skateboarders comparing stories about Batman, and it is all of their different stories and the way the different stories are told in different styles. It is reminiscent of that.
Can you give any sort of clue as to what will happen in Gotham Knight?
We are never supposed to give away anything regarding the stories, but I can tell you everyone is going to flip for it. It's visually spectacular and the directors they got are some of the best directors in the business.
What do you think of the Christian Bale Batman movies?
Oh yeah. I think Bale's movie is the closest to what we were doing [in Batman: The Animated Series] in terms of style and approach to the character.
Were you familiar with the character before you voiced him?
[In 1992] I was in Los Angeles, and I had done Dynasty and a show called Tour of Duty when my commercial agent said, "Why don't you go over to Warner Bros. and try out for this show?" I had [virtually] no exposure at all to the Dark Knight history—my only exposure was the Adam West series. But the producers said, "Oh no! Here, Batman lives in the shadows of the cave; he is tortured by the murder of his parents and he's avenging their deaths." I said, "You're telling the Hamlet story." They laughed and said, "No one else has made that analogy." There is the certain type of tortured, misunderstood hero that goes way back in literature—that is why Batman resonates so well with the audience. He's the modern incarnation of this very classic and ancient heroic type of figure.
Speaking of Adam West, what was it like working with him in the "Gray Ghost" episode?
Adam West is one of the nicest actors I've worked with. He is such a gentleman and he's very professional. You're always kind of worried about treading on someone's toes when you're a younger actor and taking over a role that someone else has played. And Adam West could not have been more professional or nice about it, and he gave a great performance as the Gray Ghost.
Was it like that working with Will Friedle in Batman Beyond?
[Laughs] It was the same thing! Will's a really great guy and a lot of fun to work with. He told me he was nervous the first day, but we became very good friends. I think any actor would feel like they are moving in on someone's terrain, but no one owns the character. You are sort of loaned the character to enjoy, and hopefully he gets passed on to someone else.
Hear Kevin Conroy back in the Bat-saddle July 8th when Batman: Gotham Knight hits stores everywhere.