FLIcK Magazine

Interview- Paul Dini: Writer

Since the 1930s, superhero comics have been a staple of growing up. It took a while for Tinseltown to recognize that the cape and spandex could mean big bucks at the box office. For added perspective on this transition, FLIcK magazine interviewed Paul Dini, author of Batman Animated and writer for the animated Batman, Justice League Unlimited, and Krypto the Superdog series, as well as ABC's hit TV show Lost.

Q: Superhero movies recently seem to be working for Hollywood. What has changed, and why is the mass market suddenly warming up to the spandex set?

A: I think that a lot of younger producers and studio heads are turning toward entertainment they embraced in their youth as the basis for more and more feature films. That includes comic books, of course, but also TV shows, animated cartoons, and video games. The generation that grew up with the Marvel Comics of the '60s to '80s is now the generation making the movies. They have a fondness for the superhero characters that the previous generation perhaps did not. Also, those characters from the Marvel and DC silver age are still around in comics and cartoon shows, so more and more kids want to see big adventures with them. The fact that special effects have become easier to do and more convincing makes those stories [come to life].

Q: When did superhero movies "turn the corner?"

A: Everyone cites the first Superman movie, but I think it came about 10 years after that with action films like Terminator and Robocop. They had elements of the superhero genre but were not bound to concepts and conventions that worked only in comic book form. Once action films as a genre were reimagined, the superhero movie became a better fit. Also, in the earlier superhero movies, the writers, producers, and to a degree the actors themselves treated the characters like jokes. They got hung up on the campier elements, like the costumes or the bizarre powers. As a creator in film or comics, you have to believe in superheroes to make them work--or they do become jokes.

Q: How close to comics can a superhero movie come before they lose mass appeal? Can there be a faithful translation?

A: Sure. X-Men and Spider-Man are great examples. They are--at their hearts--stories about teens trying to fit in a world that looks at them as monsters. Every teen goes through that, so every teen relates to those characters. Plus, it's cool when the outsider is blessed with the power to make the world a better place. Everyone roots for a hero like that.

Q: You did a great deal of work on the spectacular Batman: The Animated Series. That was the first animated version of Batman that told adult stories. Has Batman moved beyond kid fare?

A: Yes, but it's sort of a boomerang because he could just as easily move back there. It all depends on who is running the show.

Q: To what do you attribute the longevity of Batman? How has he not become obsolete?

A: Cool character, cool villains, and cool creators who like working on the character.

Dini weighs in on FLIcK's list of superhero movie franchise hits.

Batman (1966)

Batman dazzled audiences with vibrant color, larger-than-life acting, and a huge media blitz. The movie was originally set to be a pilot for the TV series but instead was produced after the smash first season of the TV show. Keeping tongue in cheek, Adam West and Burt Ward portrayed the dynamic duo while Frank Gorshin, Burgess Meredith, Lee Meriweather, and Cesar Romero starred as the rogue's gallery of villains.

Dini: "Pure cornball. Pass me the Bat Shark Repellant--this one needs a spray-down!"

Superman (1978)

The poster for this film read "You'll believe a man can fly," and it was easy to see why with this first big-budget special effects superhero movie. Resisting but not completely escaping the "camp" of earlier superhero efforts, director Richard Donner presented Superman as a serious, action-adventure piece. Christopher Reeve came from relative soap opera obscurity to become the generation's quintessential Superman. As popular as the first movie was, the 1980 follow-up, Superman II, is heralded as an even better film for the comic book fan with the first on-screen super-villain slugfest.

Dini: "I liked it as a teen, but...Superman II was the best of the lot."

Batman (1989)

Putting aside the tights, silly scripts, and the notion that this hero was just for kids, Tim Burton returned Batman to his roots with a dark, psychological yet fun-filled adventure through Gotham City. Although there was some outcry when the lead actor was announced, Michael Keaton played Batman for two films and is now considered a fan favorite over the subsequent replacements Val Kilmer and George Clooney. If you have trouble telling them apart, Keaton's Batman did not have nipples on the Batsuit.

Dini: "Now you're talking! Good stuff here."

X-Men (2000)

Marvel Comics finally entered the big-budget fray in 2000 with Bryan Singer's X-Men, which tells the story of an emerging group of humans with enhanced abilities known as "mutants." Taking a few liberties from the comics didn't bother fans much, and this movie quickly became billed "the best comic book movie ever" on Internet fan sites.

Dini: "Great. Bryan Singer played the characters straight but still had fun with them. I liked X2 even more [than the first X-Men]."

Spider-Man (2002)

Sam Raimi's Spider-Man became the 6th highest grossing film of all time according to MovieWeb (no pun intended) by telling the story of a high school nerd who gains great powers. By adding in the "date movie" factor with two young, attractive leads (Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst) and weaving a love story through the action, Raimi succeeds in telling a great superhero tale. One memorable scene is the upside-down kiss between a partially unmasked Spider-Man and rain-soaked Mary Jane. Kids, don't try this at home.

Dini: "I liked Spidey 2 better than Spidey 1--and I loved Spidey 1. Alfred Molina was outstanding as Dock Ock [in Spider-Man 2], and while I was skeptical of the Spider-Man unmasked action sequence, it worked beautifully. The bystander's line 'He's just a kid' nailed everything that's important about Peter Parker and Spider-Man."

So the future looks bright for superhero films. Next year, Superman Returns debuts in theaters, and both X3 and Spider-Man 3 are in production. Clearly, more and more superheroes are looking to take a crack at their toughest challenge: conquering the mass-market movie audience.

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