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Brooke Shields
“Carol Ferris”
Justice League: The New Frontier
Brooke
Shields has a secret.
The star of NBC’s new primetime drama “Lipstick Jungle” is harboring a
guilty little desire that is just waiting for an opportunity to be
released: Brooke Shields wants to be a super hero.
“I’m so drawn to the concept of a female warrior as the lead character –
I’ve loved it since before they had shows like Alias and Bionic Woman,”
Shields admitted. “As I’m not exactly, let’s say, a dainty girl – I’m
not frail, and no matter what I do, I’m not little – I’ve always
secretly wished to have to go through some kind of training to do a big,
physical role. I’ve trained with the Blue Angels and I’ve done
triathlons, but ultimately, I think I want to be a super hero. Okay, I
just want to play a super hero. I think that would be great. I’d love to
do that kind of role.”
In “Justice League: The New Frontier,” Shields doesn’t actually fill one
of the super hero roles. Well, not yet. Shields provides the voice of
Carol Ferris, who gives Hal Jordan his shot at outer space – and ends up
becoming his girlfriend, as well. Hal Jordan, voiced by David Boreanaz,
makes his transition to Green Lantern in the film. Still, Shields takes
solace in knowing that in the annals of comic book history, Carol Ferris
becomes the super villain “Star Sapphire.” That transformation doesn’t
occur during this film, but Shields was still ecstatic about voicing a
key character in an epic super hero tale.
“There’s nothing silly about animation to me,” Shields said. “I’m always
impressed with the artists and the technology. It’s also really nice to
be behind the scenes, but still be an actress. The characters themselves
precede you, but you’re still right with them, supporting them. There’s
a wonderful thing that happens when you have the cans (headphones) on
and there’s time and place to sort of infuse these characters.”
Shields’ one regret was not getting to see her character earlier in the
production. Shields and the all-star cast recorded the dialogue for the
film in late 2006, prior to the animation being done. They returned for
additional dialogue recordings in the latter half of 2007, this time
looping their revised dialogue to the finished animation.
“I wish the animation process was done in reverse – it was such a
different experience to record to picture versus just recording without
the visual reference,” Shields said. “I didn’t really know who she was
as much without the picture. When we were initially recording it, before
the animation, sometimes it felt flat. We worked on modulations, but I
was not as clear on her character – I think I needed the picture in my
head for it to take on a life onto its own. When we recorded to the
animation, that made it much clearer.”
So when she did see the character, what did she think of Carol Ferris?
“She’s hot!” Shields said with a laugh. “I wish I could cut my hair like
hers. I just love her. And I love that pencil skirt that she’s wearing,
too.”
Not having seen the physical look of Carol Ferris until nine months into
the project, Shields says she was initially attracted to the character’s
strong sensibilities and absolute determination to succeed in
what-was-then a man’s world.
“I
think the thing that I responded to with Carol, as a character, is that,
if you think about the 1950s, people were not sympathetic towards women
in any position other than the very traditional homemaker – and here’s
Carol, this revolutionary woman for that period of time,” Shields said.
“There's a strength in Carol – she’s not willing to lose her sexuality
by being in a man's world, and she’s determined to be respected for
having the same intelligence and ability to stay on course, and be par
for the course, with the men that she's surrounded by. I admire her
character from that perspective for that period of time, and I would
admire her in this day and age.”
As a mother of two, Shields was also attracted to working in the
animation genre for the sake of her children.
“There’s an added joy to acting when you envision your children watching
something and being engaged by it, and having that something be mommy,”
Shields said. “You’re always trying to be cool in your kids’ eyes, even
when they’re young. To me, I have much more of a connection to do that
sort of thing.”
Shields is proud of her work on “Justice League: The New Frontier,” but
she also openly acknowledges that she played a small role in the much
bigger picture of bringing this film to fruition.
“I always appreciate how seriously this is all taken – there’s such a
commitment on everyone’s part,” she said. “It’s not just a cartoon –
it’s very real. It’s a very, very dedicated, smart, hard job that these
people do. I’m so impressed by it. It’s all these things you don’t get
to see that make these films great. It goes way beyond the voice actors
– the people that make these animated (films) are just complete
geniuses.”
Interview and images provided by Warner Bros. Animation.
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