Director Joaquim Dos Santos Talks “DC Showcase Animated Shorts Collection”

Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Home Video expanded the realm of superhero storytelling beyond the popular DC Universe Animated Original Movies with the introduction of the DC Showcase, a series of animated shorts featuring characters from the celebrated DC Comics vault. DC Showcase animated shorts initially appeared as special bonus content on the 2010 slate of DC Universe Animated Original Movies. The 10- to 12-minute films include The Spectre, Jonah Hex and Green Arrow. All three titles are presented in extended formats along with the first-ever release of the 24-minute Superman/Shazam! The Return of Black Adam.

In Superman/Shazam! The Return of Black Adam, Clark Kents latest interview subject is street kid Billy Batson. What Clark doesnt know is that Billy is more than a feisty kid with a lot of heart he has been chosen by an ancient wizard to represent the good of man as the Worlds Mightiest Mortal just by invoking the name of the wizard, “Shazam!” Billy’s powers come none-too-soon, as he also discovers he’s being pursued by a centuries’ old, murderous villain, Black Adam a foe so powerful, even Superman cant stop him alone. The all-star cast of Superman/Shazam! The Return of Black Adam is led by Jerry OConnell (Crossing Jordan) as Captain Marvel, George Newbern reprising his Justice League role as Superman, Arnold Vosloo (The Mummy) as Black Adam and two-time Emmy Award winner James Garner (8 Simple Rules) as the wizard Shazam.

Bruce Timm (Superman Doomsday) is executive producer and Joaquim Dos Santos (Justice League, Avatar: The Last Airbender) is director of the first series of DC Showcase titles. Michael Jelenic (Wonder Woman) wrote the 24-minute script for Superman/Shazam! The Return of Black Adam.

Other shorts included on the DC Showcase Animated Original Shorts Collection:

The Spectre A detective story with an ethereal twist featuring an otherworldly character. The short is written by Steve Niles (30 Days of Night), and the voice cast includes Gary Cole (Entourage) and Alyssa Milano (Charmed).

Jonah Hex The tough-as-nails bounty hunter always gets his man – until someone else gets to him first – in this case a murderous madam who wants to steal more than just his bounty from Jonah Hex. Based on a story from the award-winning Jonah Hex comic series, and scripted by world-renowned author Joe Lansdale. The voice cast is led by Thomas Jane (Hung), Linda Hamilton (The Terminator), Michelle Trachtenberg (Mercy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Michael Rooker (Days of Thunder).

Green Arrow At the Star City International Airport to pick up his girlfriend, Oliver Queen is forced into action as Green Arrow to protect the 10-year-old Princess of Vlatava from his old nemesis Merlyn the Magnificent and the League of Assassins. Greg Weisman (Young Justice) pens this action-packed tale, which features the voices of Neal McDonough (Desperate Housewives) as the title character and Malcolm McDowell (Entourage) as his foe.

Dos Santos took time this week to chat about the four shorts that are available everywhere on Blu-ray and DVD today. Heres what the director had to say

QUESTION: Lets start with the obvious — do you have a favorite among the four shorts?

JOAQUIM DOS SANTOS: Its Jonah Hex. I just think tonally it all came together. Its a nice, clear cut homage to spaghetti westerns, and I thought Joe Lansdales writing was pushing the envelope in a good way as he dealt with themes that were a bit more mature. The overall art direction was the most consistent — the color direction was really strong, and Im especially proud of the look and feel of the saloon. Its got these great, warm colors that make it feel lived in. You can try to write that scene and you can try to draw it and art direct it, but this really translated Madame Lorraines saloon felt like a real place.

QUESTION: Do you have favorite moments in each short?

JOAQUIM DOS SANTOS: I love our big monster homage in The Spectre when the make-up artist gets his come-uppance, only because Im a huge fan of horror films and we got to put a little homage to all my faves. Plus, The Track Team, our composers on the DC Showcase, did a great job of capturing that late 70s, John Carpenter, Goblins, Susperia vibe.

In Green Arrow, the fight on the conveyor belt between Green Arrow and the thug was a lot of fun. I boarded that sequence myself, adding little martial arts disciplines that I thought both Green Arrow and the thug would employ. And it was kind of cool that Green Arrow didnt necessarily win the fight he got his bell rung by the thug.

For Shazam, I like the opening sequence with Billy waking up in the morning. Its such a great story point that heres this kid basically squatting in a dilapidated apartment complex inhabited with thugs and ladies of the night, and yet he still has this chipper outlook on the world. It was a ton of fun to see that scene fully realized when hes doing pull-ups, hes snapping his fingers, as if to say Im not doing too bad here. I like the juxtaposition of the contemporary, rundown setting against his cheery attitude.

QUESTION: Where did you hide the Easter Eggs?

JOAQUIM DOS SANTOS: Theres a bunch of them. The Spectre has a lot of my favorite monsters in the backgrounds, like Regan from The Exorcist. The werewolf that attacks the make-up artist is a tribute to Michael Jackson in Thriller. Plus we get a little homage to Christine. In Jonah Hex, Red rides into town past a sign that says Lansdale Mortunaries a little nod to our writer, Joe Lansdale. In Green Arrow, Oliver Queens phone list on his cell shows names like Bruce, Clark, Diana all members of the Justice League. And in Shazam, theres a story in the newspaper thats about Dr. Silvana.

QUESTION: What attracts you to the Superman/Shazam story?

JOAQUIM DOS SANTOS: It was tough because Bruce (Tiimm) had already done the quintessential animated Superman/Shazam battle on Justice League, and it was incredible. For me, not having them fighting with each other was a big point. And the fact that it was really sort of a play on Billys insecurities and delving deeper into his backstory was far more important than creating a big slugfest. We do have a lot of action, but we get a lot of the cerebral stuff into a short amount of storytelling time including the death of Billys parents, the way he looks up to Superman as an ideal, his being a foster kid, overcoming his insecurities. Its all in there in just 24 minutes of film.

QUESTION: Do you have a favorite casting choice?

JOAQUIM DOS SANTOS: James Garner. My hero. It was just awesome to meet the man. He wasnt necessarily the obvious choice I think people often think of the wizard Shazam as being regal and maybe having a British accent. But to me, it makes perfect sense to have James Garner. Shazam is real Americana, and James Garner sort of represents that aspect of the entertainment industry. Hes an icon. You cant mistake that voice for anybody.

QUESTION: What did Michael Jelenic bring to the Shazam short?

JOAQUIM DOS SANTOS: Michael was awesome. Everybody sort of expected to see a script that would at least start out with Superman and Shazam in a fight, but Michael didnt go the obvious route. He cut right to Billy dealing with an internal struggle, and used Superman as the representation of the good aspect of that struggle, and Black Adam as the other direction. And he did it all in 20-something minutes. It was a monumental task to fit that amount of epic in that amount of time.

QUESTION: Did you need to be sold on any of the characters?

JOAQUIM DOS SANTOS: I was not a fan of The Spectre growing up he was probably a little before my time so I wasnt as enthused as I probably should have been. But Bruce (Timm), being a huge fan, kind of gave me an insight into the character, and I realized I hadnt quite given him the chance he deserved. Im a huge horror fan, and when the spin got out there that we could set the short it in the 1970s, and make him this sort of a Freddy Krueger type who dispatched his victims in over-the-top, ironic ways, and then I read Steve Niles script, I was pretty much locked in.

QUESTION: How did you approach the art direction on the four shorts?

JOAQUIM DOS SANTOS: Theyre not drastically different in design style, because it all got filtered through me, and Ive got a really straight forward anatomical style. But they are different in their tone and in their color direction. The Spectre has a very Grindhouse feel we put a dirt and grain filter effect on after the animation to add even more to the ambience of the period plus some of the tones are pretty muted. With Green Arrow, youll notice there almost seems to be kind of a green filter over everything its all a different shade of green. With Jonah Hex, the color palette is much more sepia-toned, and thats to reflect the old spaghetti westerns. Shazam is the most straight up, super heroic story were telling, and the palette definitely represents that vision. Its a much more of a contemporary story with brighter colors on the whole. I tend to have more of a de-saturated color palette than what most people have come to expect. Things just dont look bright and shiny to me. In the real world, things arent as bright and shiny as they are in animation, so I tried to bring more of the naturalistic color palette to these films.

QUESTION: Do you prefer the short form or long form of animated story-telling?

DC Showcase animated shorts initially appeared as special bonus content on the 2010 slate of DC Universe Animated Original Movies. The 10- to 12-minute films include The Spectre, Jonah Hex and Green Arrow. All three titles will be presented in extended formats along with the first-ever release of Superman/Shazam! The Return of Black Adam.

In Superman/Shazam! The Return of Black Adam, Clark Kents latest interview subject is street kid Billy Batson. What Clark doesnt know is that Billy is more than a feisty kid with a lot of heart he has been chosen by an ancient wizard to represent the good of man as the Worlds Mightiest Mortal just by invoking the name of the wizard, “Shazam!” Billy’s powers come none-too-soon, as he also discovers he’s being pursued by a centuries’ old, murderous villain, Black Adam a foe so powerful, even Superman cant stop him alone. The all-star cast of Superman/Shazam! The Return of Black Adam is led by Jerry OConnell (Crossing Jordan) as Captain Marvel, George Newbern reprising his Justice League role as Superman, Arnold Vosloo (The Mummy) as Black Adam and two-time Emmy Award winner James Garner (8 Simple Rules) as the wizard Shazam.

Bruce Timm (Superman Doomsday) is executive producer and Joaquim Dos Santos (Justice League, Avatar: The Last Airbender) is director of the first series of DC Showcase titles. Michael Jelenic (Wonder Woman) wrote the 24-minute script for Superman/Shazam! The Return of Black Adam.

Other shorts included on the DC Showcase Animated Original Shorts Collection:

The Spectre A detective story with an ethereal twist featuring an otherworldly character. The short is written by Steve Niles (30 Days of Night), and the voice cast includes Gary Cole (Entourage) and Alyssa Milano (Charmed).

Jonah Hex The tough-as-nails bounty hunter always gets his man – until someone else gets to him first – in this case a murderous madam who wants to steal more than just his bounty from Jonah Hex. Based on a story from the award-winning Jonah Hex comic series, and scripted by world-renowned author Joe Lansdale. The voice cast is led by Thomas Jane (Hung), Linda Hamilton (The Terminator), Michelle Trachtenberg (Mercy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Michael Rooker (Days of Thunder).

Green Arrow At the Star City International Airport to pick up his girlfriend, Oliver Queen is forced into action as Green Arrow to protect the 10-year-old Princess of Vlatava from his old nemesis Merlyn the Magnificent and the League of Assassins. Greg Weisman (Young Justice) pens this action-packed tale, which features the voices of Neal McDonough (Desperate Housewives) as the title character and Malcolm McDowell (Entourage) as his foe.

DC Showcase Original Shorts Collection 1-Disc Special Edition DVD features more than 1 hour of exciting extra content, including:
Four animation shorts (est. 62 min)
Four additional bonus TV series episodes handpicked by Bruce Timm

DC Showcase Original Shorts Collection Blu-Ray features more than 2 1/2 hours of exciting extra content, including:
Four animation shorts (est. 62 min)
Commentaries by renowned writers Steve Niles, Joe Lansdale, Greg Weisman and Michael Jelenic
Four additional bonus TV series episodes handpicked by Bruce Timm

About Warner Premiere:
Warner Premiere is Warner Bros. Entertainments direct-to-consumer production company focused on the development, production and marketing of feature-length content, as well as short form digital content for the growing home entertainment market. Warner Premiere is committed to being at the creative forefront in the evolution of quality product in the direct-to-DVD business and the digital space, creating material that exemplifies the commitment to story, production and brand equity for which Warner Bros. is known.

About Warner Home Video:
With operations in 90 international territories Warner Home Video, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, commands the largest distribution infrastructure in the global video marketplace. Warner Home Video’s film library is the largest of any studio, offering top quality new and vintage titles from the repertoires of Warner Bros. Pictures, Turner Entertainment, Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Home Video and New Line Home Entertainment.

About DC Entertainment:
DC Entertainment, home to such iconic DC Comics properties as Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Flash, MAD Magazine, and Fables, is the creative division charged with strategically integrating across Warner Bros. and Time Warner. DC Entertainment works in concert with many key Warner Bros. divisions to unleash its superheroic characters across all media, including but not limited to film, television, consumer products, home entertainment, and interactive games. Publishing over 1,000 comic books, graphic novels and magazines each year, DC Comics is the largest English-language publisher of comics in the world.

DC SUPER HEROES and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and DC Comics. (s10)

Behind the amazing tales of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and a host of other well-known characters is the equally impressive story of the challenges, creativity and triumphs of the company that brought those characters to life. Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics is both a celebration of the best writers and artists in comics and a thoughtful exploration of 75 years of DC Comics history.

Produced by the Academy Award -nominated team behind Spellbound (Feature Documentary), Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics combines excerpts from comics, films and television series with the insight of some of historys most influential comic book creators and editors, among them Neal Adams, Karen Berger, Mike Carlin, Dan DiDio, Neil Gaiman, Geoff Johns, Jim Lee, Paul Levitz, Dwayne McDuffie, Grant Morrison, Dennis ONeil, Paul Pope, Louise Simonson, Mark Waid, Len Wein, and Marv Wolfman.

Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics is written and directed by Mac Carter. Jeffrey Blitz (Spellbound, The Office) served as executive producer. Producer is Gregory Noveck and co-producer is Ivan Cohen. Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics is produced by Sean Welch and Janet Eckholm.

About Warner Home Video:
With operations in 90 international territories Warner Home Video, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, commands the largest distribution infrastructure in the global video marketplace. Warner Home Video’s film library is the largest of any studio, offering top quality new and vintage titles from the repertoires of Warner Bros. Pictures, Turner Entertainment, Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Home Video and New Line Home Entertainment.

About DC Entertainment
DC Entertainment, home to such iconic DC Comics properties as Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Flash, MAD Magazine, and Fables, is the creative division charged with strategically integrating across Warner Bros. and Time Warner. DC Entertainment works in concert with many key Warner Bros. divisions to unleash its superheroic characters across all media, including but not limited to film, television, consumer products, home entertainment, and interactive games. Publishing over 1,000 comic books, graphic novels and magazines each year, DC Comics is the largest English-language publisher of comics in the world.