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Superman/Batman: Public Enemies boasts a cast headed by the definitive voices of its three central characters Kevin Conroy (Batman), Tim Daly (Superman) and Clancy Brown (Lex Luthor), the original voices from the landmark Superman: The Animated Series and Batman: The Animated Series.

Burton is forever beloved by the sci-fi crowd for his memorable performance as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation and its feature film versions. However, Burton has done far more than go where no man has gone before.

In a career that essentially launched with his breakthrough performance in the landmark miniseries Roots, Burton has garnered seven Emmy Awards, three Image Awards, a Peabody as well as a Grammy, and in 1990 was permanently enshrined as a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Along the way, Burton has been a virtual fixture on television screens from his 176 episodes of Next Gen and 150 episodes of Reading Rainbow, to another 41 episodes of The $10,000 Pyramid and 58 episodes as Kwame in Captain Planet and the Planeteers. Along the way, he has also directed several episodes of the last four Star Trek series (The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise), appeared in feature films (most notably as Martin Luther King, Jr. in Ali), and even spent some time in the recording booth for Batman: The Animated Series, Gargoyles and Family Guy.

Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation are set to release the all-new Superman/Batman: Public Enemies on September 29, 2009 in a Blu-Ray Hi-Def edition, a special edition 2-disc DVD, and a single disc DVD. Warner Home Video will distribute the action-packed movie, which will also be available OnDemand and Pay-Per-View as well as available for download that same day.

Burtons turn as Black Lightning brought him back to the recording booth and while he was there, he took the time to discuss the joys of playing a super hero, his childhood comic book memories on a military base in Germany, the importance of reading, and the use of sci-fi as an inspiration for our future. Heres LeVar

QUESTION:
Was it difficult to settle on a voice for Black Lightning?

LEVAR BURTON:
I think everybody has a super hero that lives inside of them, so I just went to that place, that deep kind of super hero voice.

QUESTION:
What were your comic book habits as a kid?

LEVAR BURTON:
I grew up, part time, in Germany. My father was in the military, so we used to trade comic books for entertainment. On Saturdays, you took your box with all your comic books and you went around from apartment building to apartment building, trading comic books with the other American kids living on the base. Television was in German (language), so we didnt watch TV we read comics. But this was before black super heroes came around they didnt start appearing until the ’70s. So it’s mildly exciting for me to actually have a chance to play a black super hero today.

QUESTION:
Choose one: Batman or Superman?

LEVAR BURTON:
When I was a kid, it was always Batman over Superman. Batman had all the cool stuff, and he just had a vibe. Superman was the All-American guy but, with Batman, theres a little something going on. Batmans history was a little edgier, and there was just something really attractive to me about the cowl. Superman is all out there, even though he does the Clark Kent thing, but Batman keeps his identity hidden. He has this double life thats very sexy, very attractive for a kid. Not that I didnt like Superman the whole kryptonite thing is all well and good but Batman was my guy.

QUESTION:
What makes comic books great literature?

LEVAR BURTON:
People ask me all the time, because I did Reading Rainbow on PBS for 25 years, How do I get my kids to read? And I say, Find something that theyre passionate about. If its comic books that they want to read, then buy them comic books, for goodness sakes. Comic books are good literature and, like science fiction, they have a tendency to
really draw us toward that part of ourselves that imagines that which we create.

I’m one of those people that believes that there was some kid back in the 1960s watching Star Trek, and he kept seeing Captain Kirk pull out this communicator and flip it open and that kid grew up and became an engineer, a designer of products, and we now have a device that is more common than the toaster. How many flip phones do you see on a daily basis? That which we imagine is what we tend to manifest in third dimension thats what human beings do, we are manifesting machines. The metaphor of a man who has an external electronic device, something man made that serves him and somehow serves humanity, and that he becomes so aligned with that device, with the power of that device, that at one point he can discard it I think thats a real metaphor for the human journey. One day we wont need a transporter device to get from one place to another. And it begins with the wheel and then migrates through airplanes to some future technology that we cant produce yet but we can imagine. Imagination is really the key part of the human journey, its the key to the process of manifesting what our heart’s desire is.

When I was a kid, it was comic books that pointed me in that direction and from comic books I went to science fiction literature, which is still one of my most favorite genres of literature to read. Dont underestimate the power of comics and what they represent for us and how they inform us on the journey of being human because its powerful. Its very powerful. They give us permission to contemplate whats possible. And in this world, in this universe, there’s nothing that is not possible. If you can dream it, you can do it.

QUESTION:
Can you appreciate the passion of the sci-fi fan?

LEVAR BURTON:
Oh yeah. Because I am one. When I was a kid, I read a lot of science fiction books and it was rare for me to see heroes of color in the pages of those novels. Gene Roddenberry had a vision of the future, and Star Trek was one that said to me, as a kid growing up in Sacramento, California, When the future comes, theres a place for you. Ive said this many times, and Whoopi (Goldberg) feels the same way seeing Nichelle Nichols on the bridge of the Enterprise meant that we are a part of the future. So I was a huge fan of the original series and to have grown up and become of that mythos, a part of that family, and to represent people dealing with physical challenges, much like what Nichelle Nichols represented for people like Whoopi and myself, I cant even begin to share with you what that means to me. It was just beyond the beyond. So I get Star Trek fans, I get science fiction fans because, again, science fiction literature is that body of literature that causes us to ask what I feel are two of the most of the most powerful words in sequence, in language what if? And thats an open door, thats an open door to use your imagination to dream and to dream the big dream. As an actor, I dress up for a living and I get paid for it so, to see a guy come to a convention in his costume that hes made its a good thing, you know. This guy isnt out there beating his wife or kicking his dog, hes engaging in a healthy fantasy role-play. I think too many grown ups forget how important that part of our lives are, the ability to imagine and to dream. So its all good.

QUESTION:
Youre Black Lightning for this film. If you could play any super hero role, do you have a role you covet?

LEVAR BURTON:
Well, Ill start with Black Lightning. That aint a bad place to start. I mean, come on, if youre going to play a super hero, why not play the first real black super hero in the pantheon? I’m good with that.

QUESTION:
Does voiceover work have any special appeal for you?

LEVAR BURTON:
I love voiceovers because, and Im sure you hear this from actors all the time, but its kind of pure acting. For many years on Next Gen, I wore this visor over my eyes and one of the things that I discovered was that its really difficult to communicate, or its harder to communicate, when you cant see someones eyes. As a result of playing Geordi, I really do recognize how important the voice is and what a facile tool for communication the voice can be. When I was kid, we listened to radio a lot for entertainment and I remember how vivid that was for me. To this day, I listen to NPR and I love doing audio books because its like its pure storytelling. Its sitting around the fire and sharing stories, really engaging your imagination. So, as an actor, sitting in front of a microphone and creating is just so much fun because it really does break it down to its most pure and elemental level. Its just you and the voice and the character telling a story.

QUESTION:
Does it ever feel odd to be acting all alone?

LEVAR BURTON:
Well, during the physical parts of the voiceover, when youre doing all the action scenes, I think if you were an alien and dropped into a recording studio and were observing a session, you would really wonder about the sanity of the beings that you are observing. But its fun and it feels a little silly, but thats what gets it done. When theyre in that mode, I think actors are just big kids and we like playing in the sandbox.

For more information, images and updates, please visit the films official website at www.SupermanBatmanDVD.com.

Suggested captions for attached images:

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LeVar Burton, the voice of Black Lightning, poses with casting/dialogue director Andrea Romano and executive producer Bruce Timm following a recording session for Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. The DCU Universe animated original movie is set for distribution September 29, 2009 by Warner Home Video.

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Black Lightning unleashes his electric power on Batman as super heroes battle super heroes in the next DC Universe animated original movie, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, which is set for distribution September 29, 2009 by Warner Home Video. LeVar Burton provides the voice of Black Lightning.

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Black Lightning and Power Girl square for battle during a key scene in the next DC Universe animated original movie, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, which is set for distribution September 29, 2009 by Warner Home Video. LeVar Burton provides the voice of Black Lightning, and Allison Mack voices Power Girl.

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A conversation in the Batcave between two super heroes, Superman and the ever-analytical Batman, during the early stages of the next DC Universe animated original movie, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, which is set for distribution September 29, 2009 by Warner Home Video.

McGinley voices one of the featured villains in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, a blockbuster blast of super heroes and villains alike that includes the voices of Kevin Conroy (Batman), Tim Daly (Superman), Clancy Brown (Lex Luthor), Allison Mack (Power Girl), Xander Berkeley (Captain Atom), Ricardo Chavira (Major Force), LeVar Burton (Black Lightning), CCH Pounder (Amanda Waller) and a host of others.

Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation are set to release the all-new Superman/Batman: Public Enemies on September 29, 2009 in a Blu-Ray Hi-Def edition, a special edition 2-disc DVD, and a single disc DVD. Warner Home Video will distribute the action-packed movie, which will also be available OnDemand and Pay-Per-View as well as available for download that same day.

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies is based on the popular Jeph Loeb/Ed McGuinness comic series/graphic novel. Animation legend Bruce Timm (Superman Doomsday, Green Lantern: First Flight) is executive producer. Michael Goguen (Justice League: The New Frontier) is supervising producer. Sam Liu (The Batman) is directing a script written by Stan Berkowitz (Justice League: The New Frontier).

In the film, United States President Lex Luthor uses the oncoming trajectory of a Kryptonite asteroid to frame Superman and declare a $1 billion bounty on the heads of the Man of Steel and his partner in crime, Batman. Heroes and villains alike launch a relentless pursuit of Superman and Batman, who must unite and recruit help to stave off the action-packed onslaught, stop the asteroid, and uncover Luthors devious plot to take command of far more than North America.

McGinley has crafted a well-rounded career in film and television, forcing audiences to instantly take note with his performances in Oliver Stone films like Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July. McGinley has garnered top-notch reviews for his turns in Any Given Sunday, Office Space, Wall Street, The Rock, Nixon and Point Break, and he is instantly recognizable to television audiences for his portrayal of the sarcastic, abusive, hilarious Dr. Cox in 169 episodes of Scrubs. Mc Ginley is also no stranger to animation, having spent significant hours in the sound booth recording for The Boondocks, Justice League (as The Atom), WordGirl (as The Whammer) and in guest spots on King of the Hill, Kim Possible, Robot Chicken and Spider-Man.

McGinley took a few minutes after his recording session as Metallo to discuss the pleasures of preparation, the similarities of Andrea Romano and Oliver Stone, his personal commitment the National Down Syndrome Societys Buddy Walk, and the definition around Hollywood casting departments of the John C. McGinley type. But enough of our words, here are his a Q&A with John C. McGinley, the voice of Metallo in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies.

QUESTION:
What were the joys and challenges of getting behind a microphone for a character like Metallo?

JOHN C. MCGINLEY:
Its a real treat to collaborate with the creative folks once you get in the booth. Ten out of ten times the people on the other side of the glass know the character better than you are ever going to they have been working on this for months or years. All you can do is try to return serve because you are given all this wonderful, precise direction. Ive found over the years it is really, really helpful to just integrate and go. Its also a treat that the people on the other side of the glass are pretty much the top one percent of their
industry, and I get to have this kind of creative input. You get on a lot of film sets and everybody is rolling the dice. Everybody is guessing their best. The people in that booth are not guessing, they know this stuff backwards. That to me is a huge asset.

QUESTION:
What were your impressions of the script for Superman/Batman: Public Enemies?

JOHN C. MCGINLEY:
The fun part for me showing up on any set is the preparation. A lot of times when you are doing a play or a film, things are going to go wrong. Youre going to lose the light or the sound is going to stop working. Even in a controlled environment like that booth, which lends itself to things going right and to things flourishing, there are sometimes things that can go wrong and, thus, compromises will need to be made. So it behooves the actor to come loaded for bear. If you are 100 percent ready and we have to make 40 percent compromises, then unless you have that other 60 percent ready it is going to kind of just go flat instead of elevating it. My favorite thing, which may sound a little presumptuous, is to try to elevate the material.

QUESTION:
Did you enter the world of super heroes through comic books or otherwise?

JOHN C. MCGINLEY:
My earliest memories of Batman are watching the live-action series with Batman and Robin. That was the coolest Batmobile and you had Frank Gorshin as the Riddler and Caesar Romero being the Joker. As far as Superman goes, it was more about the Christopher Reeve films. I was not a comic book reader. When we played as kids, we were always acting out stuff we saw Batman doing, or the Green Hornet or Aquaman. But that inspiration came from Saturday morning cartoons and not proper comic books.

QUESTION:
As a non-comics reader, does voicing a comic character still lend itself to some child-like thrill for you?

JOHN C. MCGINLEY:
Well, of course, it is big fat privilege to work with these characters and it is really fun now with Hi-Def. It just kind of jumps off the screen, and the transfers (to Hi-Def) are so beautiful now and perfect. Its completely thrilling because the state of the art has exceeded anybody’s wildest expectations. It is astonishing. It is not as fun to see my voice come out of a character as it is really rewarding. To be a tiny component in the evolution of animation as the voice of a character is thrilling.

My son is old enough to hear and recognize my voice coming out of the characters, but it doesn’t resonate with him yet. My daughter will, and that is pretty cool. Not necessarily to be a killer robot, but we will see how things evolve.

QUESTION:
Actors tend to be very self-critical. Is it easier to watch an animated film with your voice coming out of a character than it is to watch yourself on-screen in live-action productions?

JOHN C. MCGINLEY:
If I have a script early enough, I have a room set aside in our house as a rehearsal space. I set up a camera and I rehearse in front of the camera, especially for Dr. Cox on Scrubs, who has these long two-page, single-space rants. So it is almost like somebody practicing foul shots. It sounds simple go to the free throw line and shoot a foul shot. But Larry Bird shot a million foul shots in French Lick before he ever tried for Indiana State or the Boston Celtics. So I feel like if you have text early enough, it really is in the actor’s best interests to go just hash about in front of a lens.

One thing the lens does is it exposes bad habits. Like an X-ray machine taking a picture of a fracture. We all have nervous ticks, things we do when you can’t remember a line. But if you watch yourself, you can see for yourself the camera exposes those liabilities like an X-ray machine. So yes, I watch myself on film as much as possible because the learning curve just objectively is through the roof.

QUESTION:
Youve worked with some impressive live-action directors. Whats it like working with Andrea Romano in the animated realm?

JOHN C. MCGINLEY:
Andrea Romano is not dissimilar to Oliver Stone in a lot of ways, in as much as theyre both like a thoroughbred at The Kentucky Derby. They both put on creative blinders like a thoroughbred. Oliver and Andrea both put on blinders and invite you into that narrow creative vision which is the perfect division for the piece. So that you don’t have to do anything, you don’t have to guess. Come right inside here and it is going to be good. When you come in there with Oliver Stone or with Andrea, it is Nirvana. You will now shine.

QUESTION:
Weve heard the expression, but can you define a John C. McGinley type?

JOHN C. MCGINLEY:
The John C. McGinley type usually is one of about seven different things. It is a niche that I fell into, not of my own doing, but it became the part in the films where either you are the best friend, the co-worker, the bad guy, the brother who dies and compels the hero into action in the third act, the boss, now the father of the kids, the head of the hospital usually in a position of authority. For a long time there was a group of us Ving Rhames, me and about a half a dozen other guys who would be the component in the story. Who would reiterate the who, what, where, when and how a couple times throughout the movie. You need somebody who can speak the speech without getting in the way of the speech. The hero is not going to do that. So every once in a while throughout the progression of a story, we need to be reminded where the bomb is, when it is going to go off and who the bad guys are. So that the hero can do his job. That type has paid the bills for a long time.

QUESTION:
Youre a bit of a super hero yourself as the national spokesperson for the National Down Syndrome Societys Buddy Walk. Whats the essence of this endeavor?

JOHN C. MCGINLEY:
The Buddy Walk is our national day of empowerment, encouragement and elevation. There are nearly 300 walks that happen in September and October throughout the United States and these are great, great days. When you have a child born with special needs, a lot of parents think they did something wrong. They beat themselves up and they don’t realize that there is a much larger community out there who also have kids with special needs. This is a day of inclusion, where we want people to know that you have a chance now to be a great parent, which is what it is going to take. The day is as much about including and loving the caregivers as it is about the kids. We attempt to raise money, but that is not really my mantra. It is about coming out and just getting the love. It is all about introducing people to nutritional intervention and further education. Its a short walk not a marathon, just a mile. And it is a lovely day where we include, elevate and celebrate the similarities that the children and the parents have instead of their differences. Its a very important cause.

For more information, images and updates, please visit the films official website at www.SupermanBatmanDVD.com.

Suggested captions for attached images:
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Batman helps a wounded Superman escape the relentless pursuit of Metallo in the next DC Universe animated original movie, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, which is set for distribution September 29, 2009 by Warner Home Video. John C. McGinley provides the voice of Metallo.

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Metallo emerges from the flames to challenge Superman in the next DC Universe animated original movie, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, which is set for distribution September 29, 2009 by Warner Home Video. John C. McGinley provides the voice of Metallo.

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Metallo morphs his appendages into weapons to take on a weakened Superman in the next DC Universe animated original movie, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, which is set for distribution September 29, 2009 by Warner Home Video. John C. McGinley provides the voice of Metallo.

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Metallo scans a cemetery in search of a beaten Superman in hopes of finishing off the Man of Steel in the next DC Universe animated original movie, Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, which is set for distribution September 29, 2009 by Warner Home Video. John C. McGinley provides the voice of Metallo.