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Lavariel writes...
Dear Mr. Weisman,
Thank you for all the wonderful work you've done from Gargoyles, to Spiderman, to Young Justice. Been a fan for years.
1) From your experience, what was more enjoyable to work with? Working on a show that was completely yours to control - Gargoyles - from character development, plot, and storyline? Or Spiderman and Young Justice where the basics has already laid out?
2) Was there more pressure to succeed working on Gargoyles because it was original and the creativity was your to control? Or was there more pressure to work on an adaption on Spiderman and Young Justice because the bar has already been set?
Greg responds...
1. They're different. Gargoyles is my baby. But in terms of the actual work, I don't think I had any more or less fun working on SpecSpidey, W.I.T.C.H. or YJ.
2. I think the pressure rises with each series, but I blame the internet more than anything inherent in the series. (I blame the internet for a lot, which is not to say I could go back to living without it.)
Anonymous writes...
Hi Greg! First of all, congratulations on the Young Justice video game! Can't wait for its release! I've just got one question, which I've been wondering about for a while:
1. When you use cultural references in the show (like Wally's Planet of the Apes reference in Alpha Male, or his 'Dumbledore' line in Denial) do you have to ask permission to include them in the script, or do you guys have pretty much free access to all Warner Brothers material?
Great job on the show! Its easily my favourite TV show right now- there's clearly a lot of talent and effort that goes into it, and it really pays off! Keeping my fingers crossed for a season 3!
Greg responds...
1. It depends on HOW we use it. A mention like that is what's known as "de minimus". That's a legal term which basically means it's of little significance. And that's okay. Parody is also okay, though the definition of parody can be tricky. Obviously, a bigger use like our Marvin the Martian visual would have taken permission if not for the fact, that, yes, Young Justice and the Looney Toons characters are all part of the larger WB family.
Greg Bishansky writes...
This is one I've wondered for a while now. That banshee like shriek of battle cry that Demona screams... usually when making her escape, here it is on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=DHt1Uocz-G8#t=386s
Is that Marina? Or a sound effect. I've wondered for a long time now. Either way, I always thought it sounded really cool.
Greg responds...
I'm pretty sure it's a sound effect, but it's been a long time, you know?
hallofjustice writes...
How old are Kevin Hopps and Jamie Thomason? I can't find any darn websites that will ever confirm their date of births!
PS: If they do make more DC Showcases, I personally believe they should hire Jamie Thomason as the casting and voice director for all them.
Greg responds...
I don't believe it's my business to tell you.
Lyla writes...
Whose idea was it for Demona to start turning into a human during the day and why did you add it to the series? Did you plan for that to happen from the beginning?
Greg responds...
I think it was mine. But so many years later, I can't be sure. So much of the series was a collaboration.
And, no, we didn't know we were going to do that at the beginning. But it became clear that was the way to go.
Curious writes...
I am so tempted to ask if Bette Kane (aka flamebird) Barbara Gordon ( aka Batgirl) and all those other high School students with alternate hero personas (Bumble bee, Herald) in the comic books are ever going to put on said costumes/personas on the show but I know better than that. So I'm just going to ask about another topic.
(1) Is it hard coming up with ideas and episodes for a show?
(2) When you get writers block is that when you raise the flag for a hiatus?
(3) Do writer's for t.v shows (any t.v show in general) use hiatuses in order to work on other projects?
Greg responds...
1. Nope. It's hard to leave things out. Thank goodness for the comic.
2. No. I don't have writer's block on this series at all. And we had no control, one way or another, over any hiatus. That's the network.
3. I suppose some do. I was busy on Young Justice.
Richard Jackson writes...
In the series, Demona gave several phony explanations of how she managed to live so long. Such as, stone sleep (Awakening) and stealing minutes of life from humans (City of Stone). Of course, also in City of Stone we found out that her link to Macbeth is the secret of her immortality.
But that was revealed in season 2 before the introduction of Oberon's Children. Demona let it slip in "Temptation" that she had survived through the centuries, but didn't elaborate.
When in production on the first season, did you know what the secret to her immortality would be? And were there other explanations you thought of but ultimately didn't use?
Greg responds...
Pretty much by the time we wrote "Enter Macbeth" we knew the basics. Didn't work out the details until "City of Stone".
Tom writes...
I've always appreciated that the show you create feature so many diverse characters with agency. It's great to see Elisa and her family, to finally seeing Spider-man in New York that features so many people of color in his cast, to having Aqualad and Artemis as such important, interesting characters in Young Justice. I love that your shows aren't engaging in the tokenism the way a lot of other shows (for kids or otherwise) do. And having strong women is a huge part of that--I remember friends in 4th grade fighting over who got to be Elisa or Demona at recess. So thank you for that!
I think with shows that are adapted from comics, there's this predicament of wanting to pay homage to decades of comic book history while not carrying forward the inherent racism and sexism of the eras when they were written. I think The Batman botched that when Detective Yin was replaced by Commissioner Gordon--closer to the comics, but axes a female, minority lead for a white male.
Not to mention the pressures from other areas. I remember hearing Dwayne McDuffie say that even in the height of its popularity, companies had no interest in making Static Shock toys, for example.
So, how do you handle this? Whether it's selecting minority/women characters from comics, creating new ones, or changing characters races like in Spectacular Spider-man, what's that process like when you make your shows?
Greg responds...
Um... mostly... I just try to reflect the world I see. I'm a sheltered white boy, but even a sheltered white boy would have to be blind not to see that the world is populated with more than just sheltered white boys. So putting in strong female characters and strong characters of color seems natural and easy, frankly.
If you're asking for process, though, it's very much case by case. We don't sit there and go, "We need 2.5 minorities on the Team with 23% females." Instead, we build a diverse cast of characters, character by character. When adapting a property (as opposed to creating one from scratch, like GARGOYLES), we DO pay attention to tradition. But some characters are certainly more iconic than others. So Robin, Kid Flash and Superman's clone remain Caucasian, and there was never any thought of changing them. But by using Garth's Tempest identity, it freed us up to create a new Aqualad, as the son of Black Manta - in part, to demonstrate the alternate Earth idea, i.e. this is Earth-16, and one decision changed the course of it's history (continuity) from what we're familiar with in the comics. As for Artemis, we felt she was obscure enough to make her half-Vietnamese, without fundamentally changing what mattered most about her. Likewise, her mother Paula Brooks-Crock seemed obscure enough to go ahead and make her the Vietnamese Paula Nguyen-Crock, as that also helped us make her Cheshire's mother, since Cheshire has always been the daughter of a Vietnamese mother and a Caucasian father. Maybe "obscure" isn't the right word, but I think you get the idea. As for Miss Martian, well, obviously she's a Martian, but I suppose we could have made her Megan Morse identity a minority too. (We portrayed her uncle John Jones as African, after all.) But again, we're not trying to meet quotas, and as you'll eventually see, we had reasons for the choices we made with Megan.
Anonymous writes...
Hi Greg! First of just wanted to say that I'm absolutely loving the Young Justice series, it's fantastic (particularly Home Front!) I just have a few questions about the process of voice recording for Young Justice.
1) Do the voice actors record in the same studio and interact with each other during the recording? Or do you often have to record separately due to conflicting schedules?
2) How long does it typically take to record each episode?
3) Who generally directs the voice actors during recordings?
4) Do the actors input their own suggestions for how the characters may react in a certain situation?
5) Does the script go through 'last minute' revisions during the recording?
Thank you so much for taking the time for looking at all the fan's questions and I look forward to seeing the rest of season 1 and 2!
Greg responds...
1. Both.
2. Three to four hours or so.
3. Jamie Thomason.
4. Occasionally. But unfortunately, we don't have a ton of flexibility.
5. Occasionally. Nothing major.
Jo writes...
Hi, again! First, thank you for answering my previous questions! I know you must be stressed, but, like others have said, it's awesome that you take time to answer questions like this. :)
And, now questions.
1. As a writer, how much say do you have in how the story is told? I mean, I know you write the script (duh), but it's the director who ultimately decides how it's told. So, do you both consult heavily on the matter?
2. Do you sit in on recording sessions? If so, why?
3. Um, I think this ties in with both the previous questions, but, do you have much say in how an actor performs their lines? Because, you must have written it with a certain tone, inflection, and emotion in mind, but the actor might interpret it differently.
4. How long does it normally take you to write an episode?
5. Do you find it easier or harder to write characters that have been created before you came along, as opposed to your own characters.
6. As far as character development goes, how deep do you go? Like, do you consider things that probably won't be presented in the project, or do you stick to things directly relative to the story?
I think that's it...not that I can't come back and ask some more. Thanks so much!!
Greg responds...
1. Well, it depends if I'm a freelancer or a show-runner. If we're talking Young Justice, than Brandon and I have final say on everything. The directors work for us. Though of course, they are immensely talented people, and we value what they do. The writers likewise work for us, but we've worked really closely on the stories and scripts with them. And as we proceed forward into design and direction, it's all in service of those stories.
2. Yes, of course. All of them.
2a. Voice recording is (a) one of the most important parts of the process and (b) the most fun part of the process. I wouldn't miss them for both reasons. We need to make sure that what we record is what we intended and needed. And I enjoy it. This year, for various reasons, I've also recorded a lot of scratch track, i.e. I've been the temporary voice for various characters when the actors we needed were temporarily unavailable. Just to give the board artists something to work with, until we can get the correct actor in there.
3. Yes. Ultimately, Brandon and I have final say. But again, we trust and appreciate the great work done by our stellar cast and by voice director Jamie Thomason.
4. To write a script: eight days. To write an outline: four days. To write a beat sheet: one day. To break the story: two days. Add it all up. Throw in time for notes and editing at every step. And you're talking about six weeks, give or take.
5. A well-thought out character is easier to write, whether I created it or someone else did.
6. We have detailed backstories for all our leads and supporting characters. Sometimes even a one-liner character has backstory in our minds.
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