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Column by Scott Green
For those who follow animated projects with the potential to appeal to genre fans, Guardians of Luna has been one of the bright spots of the horizon. Avi Melman, the CEO of CyberGraphix and the producer of Guardians of Luna, has agreed to spend some time explaining the project.
Scott Green: Could you introduce the plot and background of Guardians of Luna? Also, how would you describe the tone and look of the series?
Avi Melman: Guardians of Luna is set in the industrial-futuristic city of Steelhenge, a city built in the height of the Industrial Revolution, but now undermined by age and neglect. Its a city of giant turning gears and massive pistons, built around the site of an ancient battle between a shapeshifting race known as the Gurrn and humans. The spirits of the Gurrn who are bound to this site, known to them as Shaman's Helm, have shrouded their secrets in a protective mist. But now their powers are waning, and so they call on Gurrn descendants who are living in order to protect them from our main villain, Constantine Voira, who seeks the power for his own gains. The tone of the series is relatively dark, considering almost all of the action takes place at night. As for the look, we're injecting some anime influence into an otherwise classic (ala Batman: The Animated Series) look.
SG: SG: What was the inspiration for the series?
AM:I think that, in terms of inspiration, the idea for the series came about rather spontaneously. It started as a few sketches to test for doing another internal anime-style project, but at that point, I had been milling about the idea of a dark action series. One of the sketches was of a rabid dog-like creature, and I guess the idea clicked from there. It gave me the idea to do a series involving an internal struggle between man and beast, and of course the first thing which came to mind was the ancient werewolf mythology. I brought the team in to develop it at that point, and what we came up with is Guardians of Luna. Of course, there are no robots or cities with huge turning gears in ancient werewolf mythology, but it makes it more unique.
SG: How much existing werewolf mythology did you leverage? How much did you ignore and what aspects were invented?
AM:Werewolf mythology is so wide-spread and varied, that its difficult to encompass all of it. I would have to say that we focused more on creating our own mythos with the Gurrn, to make them something different. About the most prominent aspect of werewolf mythology that we've kept intact would be the fact that a bite or a scratch from a Gurrn will cause the victim to turn into a werewolf. This actually figures heavily in the storyline.
SG: One of Guardians of Luna's leads is a botanist, which sounds like a bit of an unusual profession for any hero, let alone a werewolf. Beyond the Sean Connery vehicle Medicine Man, I couldn't think of any botanists in popular media. Could you give a hint as to how you were able to put a botanist front stage in an animated, action heavy work? This is admittedly a softball, but does the series continue to subvert expectations to this degree?
AM:Well, none of the characters are really heroes, if you define them by their normal lifestyles. Carson Stone is a botanist who studied herbal medicine...in a sense, he's both a man of nature and a man of science. Its actually his scientific curiosity which pulls him into the whole mystery of the Gurrn, and discovering his calling. His scientific background also puts him in conflict with many of the mystical aspects of the Gurrn, so there's a lot more to play with than might be visualized on the surface. And we promise a lot of surprises as the characters acclimate to the werewolf/hero parts of their lives.
SG: What is the audience that the series is targeting?
AM:Our core demographic is boys 6-12. But with Michael Reaves (Batman: The Animated Series, Disney's Gargoyles) helming the writing staff as story editor, I feel confident that we'll have a solid reach outside of our core as well.
SG: Can you talk about the creative staff that worked on Guardians of Luna? Ain't It Cool News readers may be excited to see Michael Reeves' (The Real Ghost Busters, Gargoyles and Batman) attached as a writer. It's also interesting to see Osamu Tsuruyama, who did design work for the anime Oh! My Goddess, on the project. How would you compare Guardians of Luna to their previous works?
AM:I should have waited to talk about Michael until this question. That's what I get for being impatient. *laughs* Yes, as mentioned, Michael Reaves is involved in the project as our story editor, and we've already proposed our first 26 episode storylines. And, of course, Osamu Tsuruyama, whom I might also mention worked on Macross (if any of you have seen the movie, where the Valkyrie is flying vertically down the floor of the transforming city to catch Minmei...Osamu animated that) and Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury. He's a 25+ year veteran of anime, and we're thrilled to have him on board for the series. I'd hate to compare Guardians of Luna to any of their previous works, but if I had to do so, I would say it might resemble Michael Reaves' work on Gargoyles, in the sense that there's a mythos to present, and it involves non-human characters as heroes. Stylistically its also a lot like Batman: The Animated Series. As for Osamu's previous works, that's really a tough one to say. I don't think I can really compare it to any one of his previous works, since it takes traiditional elements of anime, which are present in most of his past works.
SG: You seem to have both the currents of enduring favorites of American animation of the 80's and 90's and the anime-hot present. How did you integrate and balance these influences?
AM:A lot of the classic elements are to be found in the writing of the series; we wanted a rich, engaging story that would really grab the viewer's interest, and keep them excited about the show. A lot of the action shows from the 90's offered the same sort of sophisticated writing that appear in comic books, and a lot of comic-based properties which popped up in animation at the time reflected the trend. Its in the look of the show that we bring the anime elements into play, and merging the aspects of Hollywood storytelling and Japanese cinematography creates a hybrid which works from both sides.
SG: What actors voiced roles in the work? According to IMDB you have a role, is that still the case?
AM:We have a great group in the main cast. Carson is voiced by Rino Romano, who is currently Bruce Wayne/Batman in WB's "The Batman." We also have Phil LaMarr (Green Lantern in Justice League), Adam Wylie (Braniac5 in Legion of Super-Heroes), Yeni Alvarez (Aquamaria in Static Shock) and Charles Dennis (Swann in Doom 3) in the cast. As for myself, I voiced the robots for the pilot episode, but no promises for voicing a role in the actual series. Not that I'd mind.
SG: What factor or element would you name as the one key that will hook audiences?
AM:Well, I would love to name a hundred factors that I think will hook audiences, but I think the writing is going to be the main hook. Its classic dark action-adventure with a whole new face to it.
SG: Secondly and more specifically, what should an genre fan/Ain't It Cool News reader know that will excite them about Guardians of Luna?
AM:I'm going to say the writing again, but I'll condense it into two words: Michael Reaves. Also, just as there's an east-meets-west mentality to the production side of the series, look for an east-meets-west story arc to unfold starting in episode 3.
SG: What is the current status of the work in regards to production and distribution?
AM:We recently completed our pilot episode, and its been making the market rounds, most recently at MIPCOM Junior. We've received a lot of positive responses at the market, and we're currently in the review process. I know a lot of people have been clamoring for good news, and we're hoping to make just such an announcement on the series soon.
SG: Can you talk about you're studio, Cybergraphix Animation?
AM:No. Its a secret. *laughs*
Cybergraphix Animation was started in 1999 as a service studio, and grew into a creative outlet for new original animated series. Most recently we acquired Sonic Factory, which was an ADR/recording facility, and expanded our own facility into the location. We're excited because its allowed us to open up an in-house sound recording and production department.
Also, we've also acquired an animated property that many of the AICN readers might know about. The series is called Rat Bastard, and is based on the underground comic book by Cliff Galbraith and Tim Bird. Its pretty edgy, and is definitely in the mature genre of animation. It also did quite well at the market, so I think you'll be hearing more about that one real soon.
SG: Could you name any of the challenges you have faced while trying to get the series distributed?
Have there been any unique hurtles for this particular work?
AM:Every show has its own unique challenges, of course, but I would say that our challenge has been in modifying our business strategies to involve fewer entities during the course of development. Our pilots are all financed internally now, and distributed directly through the studio. That's not to say it can't change, but as for right now, it seems to be the best direction for us.
Unique hurdles for Guardians of Luna...I'd have to say finding a balance between the classic animation elements and the anime ones. Its a touchy mix, but we want the right look and feel, so its still undergoing a bit of experimentation in the post-pilot phase.
SG: Recently, there has been an appearance, if not an outright assertion, that networks have focused not just on finding an audience, but finding what they consider to be the right audience. Have there been demographic expectations that you have had to content with?
AM:Networks brand themselves to a very specific demographic, and they tend to stick pretty religiously to the brand they establish for their network or programming block. This always provides issues when pitching shows to networks, because if you miss their target audience, then chances are your show will fall out of consideration. There are always exceptions, but in pitching, I've heard everything from 'It's too young' to 'It's too old' to 'It's too dark'.
SG: In terms of the challenge to get an animated show onto American TV and in terms of the freedom to produce the show you envision, how would you compare the current state of the market to that of past decades?
AM:The market in recent years has definitely grown more creator-focused, and that has led to greater freedom to allow the creators to present their original visions. A lot still depends on the network, and the previously mentioned 'brand'...but its certainly more lax than it was in the 80's and 90's. We don't need to hire child psychologists on the shows anymore, like they did in the 80's. They're too busy counseling the people who make the shows now. *laughs*
Case in point: South Park. Not in the same demographic as Guardians of Luna, but I think it exemplifies the new way of thinking when it comes to airing shows.
SG: Could you comment on your comic book venture with DrMaster?
AM:We're really excited to be working with DrMaster on a manga adaptation of the series. We're still in contract negotiations with a manga artist out of Japan, so I can't really give out a name yet.
To some extent, the manga will parallel the series, but the story will deviate from the animation. This will offer up a different take on events in the series, as well as new storylines exclusive to the manga. The manga is also a chance to reach outside the core demo of the animated series, even if the series itself is successful in doing so. (and we hope it will be) We want it to be a story that reaches out to fans regardless of age.
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