How did such a young guy get to be a big shot producer?
Here's the short version. I was living in Boston
Massachusetts taking classes at Harvard for graduate fiction writing when I
decided that I wanted to try to be a full time writer and I was exhausted by
working a taking classes at the same time. There are really only two or three
cities in America where you can make a solid living as a writer (New York, Los
Angeles, and/or Boston/Chicago depending on the job market). As I had just about
enough of the cold winters I decided that if I was going to be a starving writer
I should at least be warm in the process. I signed up for a screenwriting
program at Emerson College that allowed me to travel to Los Angeles, take
writing classes and get an internship for a TV production or Movie production
company. I interviewed with Miramax Films and immediately got an internship. I
was then offered an creative assistant job a few months later. From there I was
promoted to be the Chairman of Dimension Films by Bob Weinstein (a division of
Miramax Films that produced among other films the Scream franchise, Scary Movie,
The Prophecy, Reindeer Games and the Spy Kids franchise) and President of Dimension
Films - Cary Granat's - Los Angeles assistant. Eight months after that I was
promoted to Coordinator of Development then Manager of Production and
Development and then finally Director of Production and Development. I worked
on over ten films while I was there and received credit as executive in charge
of production or Executive producer on three of them. As a junior exec you
generally don't get a fraction of the credit you deserve. I work on average 70
hours a week.
Near the end of 2001 I left Dimension to become the Senior Vice President of
Production and Development for Larry Levinson Productions, and Alpine Median (Stonewerks
Motion Picture Group/Arclight Pictures). Larry had hired Dan Gross as Vice
President from my days at Dimension to help him evolve his company into a
multi-level producer of TV and theatrical product. Larry averaged about a movie
or two a year, he wanted to up that to a dozen. Dan brought me here to
facilitate this progress and to directly manage a slate of product. The company
has grown from a handful of employees to four year round crews and an office
staff of over fifty. I still write on the side and often re-write and polish
productions with our directors (un-credited) when it is necessary. It is a great
company that is small enough to keep from getting overly corporate (like an
extended family), but skilled enough to produce literally 40+ hours of
Television and Theatrical content every year with much more to come. Larry and
Dan are not only excellent bosses but good friends.
You are doing the two Howard Stern Production films. How do you address the comments that you are toying with two classic films. How can you top the Ramones in Rock N Roll High School?
Howard is an extremely intelligent, motivated, knowledgeable and well spoken businessman that wants to remake two films that are among his favorites. This deal was brought to the company by Dan Gross and we all feel that these two projects are capable of being remade in a way that doesn't diminish the audiences fondness for the originals, and in the case of Rock 'n' Roll High School elevates the material beyond the cult status it currently maintains. There is always a danger of failing when trying to remake a classic, but we will work hard not to disappoint audiences and fans of the originals. I personally am not looking to top the originals but make films that both entertain audiences and further enhance the value of the franchises.
Is Dinotopia a big screen, TV or direct to video release?
We have just completed the sound mix and color correction for the animated Dinotopia project. We are using a new high definition standard on this project and it really makes the film look beautiful, but as it is new process we have had some small delays. As of now the Dinotopia film is slated for a theatrical release. Hallmark Entertainment International will handle overseas distribution and we will have a screening in the next month for domestic distributors. Our company is also capable of funding a theatrical release through a studio rent-a-system if no one wishes to pick up the film. As of now we are very confident the film will find a home with one of the big eight American distributors (Universal, Columbia/Sony, Warner Brothers, New Line, Miramax, Lions Gate, Artisan, or Paramount. Disney rarely picks up animated product that is why I don't include them on my list), but only time will tell.
Do you have any pictures of Malcolm behind the scenes?
Yes. I am also producing a behind the scenes documentary that will be included on the DVD (a making of). None of this material has been viewed by the talent involved and I can't release any of it until they have okayed it. We have some wonderful stuff with Malcolm who we shot as he did ADR/Looping pick-ups, and then sat down and answered a few question for me. I have worked with a lot of actors and it was truly wonderful to have the opportunity to work with Malcolm. He brought wonderful energy to his role, and was just a really professional and pleasant man to work with (which can't always be said about working with actors in Hollywood).
Was Malcolm your first choice for this role?
Malcolm was our second choice for the role. Patrick Stewart was initially going to be offered the role, but schedules didn't match and we went out to Malcolm. It turned out so good that one must wonder if fate stepped in to facilitate the scheduling conflict that led us to work with Malcolm. In this business it isn't always who you go to first, but who was best for the role that counts. Patrick is an amazing actor and he has a wonderful voice, but as I said Malcolm was fantastic and we couldn't have asked for a better performance.
Can you describe the character of Ogthar which Malcolm voices?
Ogthar (much the same for most of the humans on Dinotopia) was stranded when the ship he was traveling on was shipwrecked. He was a scientist and futurist who despised what he saw as the primitive nature of Dinotopia (in addition he didn't believe that Dinosaurs and humans were equals). Lusting for the outside world and the position of power he has lost, Ogthar began to plan to overthrow the island. Ogthar was aided in his quest by the discovery of the Ruby Sunstone, which is an evil and more powerful version of the other sunstones that give Dinotopia power and protection. The Ruby Sunstone's evil power warps Ogthar's already twisted plans, so much so that the men who had sided with him decide that Ogthar can no longer be trusted. The men use the power of the Ruby Sunstone to trap Ogthar in a Sarcophagus where he will no longer be a threat to anyone - human or dinosaur. But the power of the Ruby Sunstone is great, and even though Ogthar is imprisoned he lives on for hundreds of years. Our story finds two bumbling Dinosaurs (Rhoga and Thudd) who on a hunt for treasure accidentally uncover both the Ruby Sunstone and Ogthar's underground lair. They release Ogthar thinking he is a genie who will grant them wishes, but are soon co-opted into helping Ogthar to once again try to seize power (he promises them the power and riches the desire). Ogthar is a genius who has gone a bit mad from both his imprisonment and from the twisted power the Ruby Sunstone possesses.
Was the voice work done first or the animation?
The story, characters and environments were created first. Rough storyboards were then drawn up to help us see the picture all the way through and then we hired the actors.
Did the voice actors work together or record their parts separately?
Mainly they did their recording sessions separately (Kex and Mara did two of them together). Each actor came in on average of four times, I can't remember how many times Malcolm came in. This was a two year process so days, weeks, and months tend to all blur together.
This entire page © 2003-08 Alex D. Thrawn for www.MalcolmMcDowell.net