With The Avengers opening this week with its epic case of superheroes, we felt it was the right time to break down the best ever. So here, without further delay, is our list of the top 10 Avengers.

10. Wonder Man

A risky pick for number 10 on the list given his alternate statuses as a villain, a hero, an actor, and many times just not around. But his run during Kurt Busiek and George Perez late 90s relaunch solidified his role as a great, and important, member of the Avengers.

9. Scarlet Witch

Wanda Maximoff is slightly controversial. Daughter of Magneto, she, like her brother Quicksilver, were originally villains before being given a second chance, along with Hawkeye a few issues into the original Avengers run. For much of the series history, she was alternately an extra, and a central character with her love stories between the Vision and Wonder Man. It wasn’t until Kurt Busiek’s run in the late 90s/early 2000s that her character and her powers were fleshed out, that Wanda’s role in the Avengers was cemented and made important. While her role was later reverted to unwilling villain/mutant killer/eradicator status by Brian Michael Bendis, we’ll choose to overlook that.

8. Warbird/Captain Marvel/Ms. Marvel/Binary

Poor Ms. Marvel. She’s always trying to prove she belongs. A member of the air force, she was a soldier bound by duty, before an accident with Kree technology gave her incredible super powers. As she sought the limelight and credit the being a hero brought, she found herself felled by none other than Rogue of the X-Men, who took a great deal of her powers from Ms. Marvel

7. Vision

A robot created by Ultron, Vision is somewhat of a grandchild of Hank Pym, and was designed to combat against the Avengers. He later rebelled against his creator and joined the team he was built to destroy. For much of his time in the Avengers, he has struggled with his robot exterior and his semi-human emotions, trying to find his true purpose in the world. For a time, he was married to the Scarlett Witch and even fathered two (magically created, thus not real) children. He’s been a mainstay in the Avengers for much of its history, and is somewhat the Martian Manhunter of the crew.

6. Ant-Man/Giant Man/Yellow Jacket

One of the founding members of the Avengers, Hank Pym has had a difficult run. His true north is Janet Pym, the Wasp, and he’s lost her and found her multiple times. Pym has suffered from multiple personality disorder, which has led to multiple identities and multiple superheroes, none worse for his psyche than the Yellowjacket character, who ultimately abused Janet Pym and ended their marriage. He also created Ultron, a robot that has tormented the Avengers for several decades. Still, Pym is dedicated to fighting his inner demons and righting his wrongs, and his genius status has helped thwart more than a fair share of near world-ending events.

5. The Wasp

Janet Pym may be small, and relatively powerless, but you have to give her credit: She named the Avengers! It was her idea at the end of Avengers #1 to call the group that, and she, like her husband, has been part of the group for most of its history. As the series moved past its beginnings, writers sought to move past her flighty personality and dedication to fashion, giving her some dark moments, and proving that she could emerge as a fighter. For many times, she’s even been the leader of the Avengers, and looked to for valuable leadership qualities in times of crisis.

4. Hawkeye

Hawkeye is very poorly fleshed out in the film, despite being pretty badass. His film counterpart is more of a depiction of the Ultimates Hawkeye than the original comic book title, where Hawkeye was once a thief given a chance at redemption first by Iron Man, then by Captain America with a chance to join the Avengers. Since then, he’s been a mainstay in the group for most of its history, often time providing either comic relief, or being an antagonist to the rest of the group. Driven by a strict moral code, he’s willing to go to blows when he feels the Avengers have lost sight of what’s best.

3. Thor

Thor, like Captain America, may have consistently had their own titles, but their true roles in Marvel Comics were to participate in the Avengers. Thor is the Superman of the bunch, but this time he also adds some depth in his observation of the human race that Superman never does. He’s foreign, he’s a little old fashioned. He’s a warrior, one sometimes prone to fulfilling base desires, but his character is vital to the dynamic of the Avengers. His presence in the series has been sorely missed in the last decade.

2. Iron Man

He may be the most fleshed out of the Avengers in the film series, but in the comic books, he goes no higher than #2. But it’s close. Tony Stark funds the Avengers, provides the mansion and later tower they work out of, and is one of the resident geniuses to hep solve the threats, be it technological, alien, supernatural or other. He is unquestionably a member of the Marvel equivalent to DC’s big 3.

1. Captain America

How can you not say that Captain America is the greatest Avenger? It’s a common misconception that Cap was a founding member of the Avengers, but he instead joined the crew in the series fourth issue, replacing the outgoing Hulk. Since then, he’s been the leader, the hero, and potentially the heart of the gang. He’s the virtue of the group, and has helped to anchor it through tough times, such as the Civil War storyline.

Susan Eisenberg, the voice of Wonder Woman in the popular “Justice League” and “Justice League Unlimited” television series, reprises her role for the next DC Universe Animated Original Movie, “Justice League: Doom.”

Eisenberg will join several of her voicecast colleagues for the West Coast Premiere of Justice League: Doom at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills on February 16.

The all-new, PG-13 rated Justice League: Doom will be available February 28 from Warner Home Video as a Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and for Download. Both the Blu-Ray Combo Pack and DVD will include an UltraViiolet Digital Copy.

Eisenberg has focused her career in voiceovers for animation, video games and commercial use. In addition to her work for the past 12-plus as Wonder Woman for Justice League and Justice League Unlimited television series and the DCU films Superman/Batman: Apocalypse and Justice League: Doom, Eisenberg can also be heard in a variety of animates series, including Jackie Chan Adventures, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated and The Super Hero Squad Show, as well as video games like Star Wars: The Ford Unleashed – Ultimate Sith Edition and Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight. She is one of nine actors returning to the booth to record their original Justice League roles for the film, Justice League: Doom.

In anticipation of the West Coast Premiere, Eisenberg gladly offered some recollections and thoughts regarding her years of voicing Wonder Woman, including flirtations with Batman, her personal memorabilia collection, and the real reason Wonder Woman flies an invisible plane. Take a read …

QUESTION: What do you recall of earning the role of Wonder Woman some 13 years ago?

SUSAN EISENBERG: I can remember it vividly – because it was a big deal. It felt like a real life-changer, so it’s a huge memory for me. It was 1999, and I remember going to the call back and being with Andrea (Romano) and Bruce (Timm). Even the dialogue is still clear in my memory. And when I got the call that I got the role, it really had an impact on me.

Most jobs in voiceover don’t make you feel like they’re going to change your life, but this one did. And in many ways, it really did. I got to work for six years on a series, and I’d never done something that long term. And I was chosen to voice this wonderful, iconic character … and through these movies, I get to continue that role. It’s been fun and kind of surprising – people obviously know Wonder Woman, but it’s wonderful when they care that much that they actually recognize and acknowledge your work as the character. I walk into other jobs and people still say, “You’re Wonder Woman, right?” That’s really a kick.

QUESTION: What’s special to you about playing Wonder Woman?

SE: Wonder Woman is truly iconic. Everyone knows her. There’s something wonderful about playing a character who is recognized throughout the world. And I love her strength. I love that she stands for something and that she believes in what she believes. She’s very, very loyal and faithful and, in the beginning, I got to play her more vulnerable, and now I get to play her more adult and stronger. She’s a wonderful character.

QUESTION: You don’t have the benefit of weekly recording sessions to keep the voice fresh in your mind. How do you jump back into this role without a hitch?

SE: Working with Andrea and Bruce is a great because they were there at the start – Andrea has always directed me in this role, so she knows what she’s looking for. Listening to her direction is the first trick. Reading the script a few times also helps, especially to find the attitude and the voice. And as a refresher, I like to go online, check out YouTube, and play some old clips, or watch some of my DVDs. That helps to get me back in that space – and then Wonder Woman is right there in my head. But honestly, it’s not a huge leap for me – she’s pretty much in there all the time, anyway.

QUESTION: How much of what you do with Wonder Woman is through a change in your voice, and how much is really acting and attitude?

SE: A lot of it’s attitude. That’s why, if I’m speaking just normally, it’s not as if somebody next to me would ask, “Do you play Wonder Woman?” But then when I do the attitude and lower the register slightly, you will see this smile of recognition on the face of a little kid … or a true fan. And that’s always fun.

QUESTION: Who recognizes you more – kids who watch cartoon, or the adult devotees of the genre?

SE: Kind of both, and the reactions are different, but similar. It’s really nice to have people who are so passionate about these characters. So you get the 6-year-old child who has watched the cartoon and their eyes get big when they recognize that you’re this person behind the voice. But then you get the 40-something-year-old who has been watching, and loves this world, and loves this universe, and reads the comic books, and cares deeply about the genre. That’s fabulous, too. Just to have fans is a very cool thing. No one can complain about that. It’s good.

QUESTION: Wonder Woman has some very long battles in Justice League: Doom with a lot of physicality required in the vocal performance. How’d you handle that?

SE: The initial recording session is pretty straight-forward – we save most of the impacts and grunts and physical action for the ADR session. But as I was reading the script, I just kept thinking of Dwayne (McDuffie) and thinking, “You really layered it on me, didn’t you!” I’m going to have to be electrocuted and hit over the head and punched over and over and punch back over and over. You often have to be physical to sound physical. So – that’s a truly exhausting day.

QUESTION: What’s it like to have the gang back together again?

SE: You know, it’s thrilling because it’s a grand reunion. I get to be reunited with Michael Rosenbaum and Kevin Conroy and Carl Lumbly and that’s like having the League back together, if you will. I didn’t that expect that to happen, and I could not be more thrilled. Driving to the recording session, I was just so excited that we’d be in a room together. It is just so comfortable coming back into this. It’s the best gig in town. And anyone who does voiceovers would say that.

QUESTION: What are the scenes that appeal most to you in this film?

SE: I always like the quieter moments. So I like my scenes with J’onn, because those two characters really can relate to each other in so many ways, and I also liked my scenes with Batman. In both cases, those were some of the quieter moments with some emotional content. I enjoy the scenes where I have to kick some butt, too. But I truly enjoy the interplay with the other characters and the actors that play them.

I’ve never been shy about my feelings with Batman and Wonder Woman because, first of all, I love Kevin and I love working with Kevin. I think he’s amazing as Batman. And I love Batman and Wonder Woman together, and I think the fans do, too. You can go on YouTube and find all these wonderful videos of the two of them – showing their romance, put to music – so you know the fans love them together.

Playing Diana gives you a lot of different angles and emotions to play. Diana is very serious – she’s not like Flash where she’s funny and throwing out the one-liners. When she’s funny, it’s not necessarily intentional that she’s funny. And so I love the other aspects of her, when she gets to be flirty with Batman or when she gets to be funny with Flash or more earnest with J’onn. I especially like to play the flirty and hint at that romance between the characters. That’s a lot of fun.

QUESTION: How much equity to you take in this character?

SE: I’m enormously proud that I get to play her – it truly is a privilege and an honor. People have definite, strong opinions of Wonder Woman, and she’s known everywhere. She is this embodiment of female empowerment, and that’s a thrill, too, because there are little girls and little boys and they’re watching this and seeing that she’s so strong and so tough and righteous. It’s great to be able to provide that example of heroics through this character. I’m a guardian of that, and I don’t take it lightly. And every time I get asked to voice the role, I feel grateful – each and every time. I hope I keep getting to do it.

QUESTION: Has playing Wonder Woman changed you?

SE: In several ways. I think I’ve grown up with this part. I got this role 10 years ago, and just working alongside my fellow Justice League actors and with Andrea and Bruce has changed the way I work. And learning about this universe has changed me. You can’t have a part like this and not feel changed by it, because it’s enviable to have this job and play this character. There’s humility attached to that. You know you’re lucky. And that changes you, also.

QUESTION: What’s your attraction to voiceover work?

SE: I grew up doing radio commercials for my father’s business in Woonsocket, R.I., and I loved it. My father and my sister worked together – they would write the copy for me, and I would do the commercials for them. There’s something just so freeing about being behind a microphone as opposed to in front of a camera. There’s no worry about your hair or lipstick – on camera you get so self-conscious. Sure, there’s a self-consciousness in a room recording with other actors, because you want to be good. That’s just performance anxiety. I’ll take that any day over that camera and all those people staring at me. Some people are so natural with the camera – the can just pretend it’s not there. I am so aware it’s there.

QUESTION: What Wonder Woman memorabilia do you have at home?

SE: I have a lot of pictures and some beautiful cels – all gifts from the Justice League and Justice League, Unlimited. And some small things that people have sent me – mugs and little toys and notebooks with her on the cover. When we first started, we all ran out and bought our own action figures, so that’s right at the forefront of my bookshelf.

Best of all, I have all the scripts from the series. I keep them in a big bookshelf in my closet. I’m nostalgic about that stuff. It’s very sentimental to me to. It was a big deal this job – it really does mean the world to me. So I kept all the scripts.

QUESTION: Wonder Woman can fly. Why does she need an invisible plane?

SE: Because she likes to go in style. And why should she always be flying when there is a plane that can do it for her? I mean, why not have the private jet if you can have the private jet? Right? You’re going to begrudge her a private jet? I don’t think so.

Three-time Emmy Award winner Bryan Cranston flips to the other side of the law as the voice of Lieutenant James Gordon in the animated retelling of Frank Miller’s landmark comic in “Batman: Year One,” the next entry in the series of DC Universe Animated Original Movies.

Produced by Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation, the all-new, PG-13 rated feature was released today on DVD, Blu-ray and digital formats.

Cranston earned Emmy Award nominations in three of his seven years as the lovable, goofy father on “Malcolm in the Middle.” It took a shift toward the dark side as chemistry teacher-turned-meth dealer Walter White in AMC’s “Breaking Bad” to start a record-tying run as only the second actor in history to score three consecutive Emmy wins.

As Gordon, Cranston gets to find a middle ground between his two best known roles – providing a moral center for the gritty tale of two men striving to bring their own idea of justice to an unjust world.

Cranston is joined in the stellar voice cast by Ben McKenzie (“Southland”) as Batman, Eliza Dushku (“Dollhouse,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, and Katee Sackhoff (“Battlestar Galactica”) as Detective Sarah Essen. Alex Rocco (“The Godfather”) is the voice of crime lord Carmine Falcone.

Following his initial recording session for “Batman: Year One,” Cranston had the chance to discuss his thoughts on initially turning down the role of Jim Gordon, his love of the inner monologue, the inward journey afforded by comic books, his chances of one-day playing a certain Edwrd Nigma opposite a live-action Dark Knight, and much more.

QUESTION: You were Warner Bros. first choice for the role of Jim Gordon, but the feeling wasn’t mutual – you initially declined. What made you change your mind?

BRYAN CRANSTON: I always talk about the writing – I’ve gotten to a point in my career where I don’t want to just take a job, I want to be part of great storytelling. I always say that I don’t care if it’s a children’s play, I’ll do it so long as it’s great writing. I’ve done some animation work and, quite frankly, I haven’t loved all of it. So when they first offered this to me, I turned it down. I didn’t want to do something that I just assumed was goofy or cartoony.

Fortunately, my representatives convinced me that I needed to give this material a fair shake – and I’m so glad they did. I had no idea that animation could have such depth and sophistication. This is adult storytelling, handled in intrinsically adult ways. It’s interesting and thoughtful and dark and nothing that I thought I’d find in an animated script.

Jim Gordon is trying to find his moral center. He keeps getting shot down. He doesn’t want to work in this hellhole of a city, hated by his fellow cops, hated by his superiors. His wife is pregnant and he’s conflicted about bringing a child into this troubled world. He’s on an island. I was really surprised – in a good way. This script was well-written, unpredictable, good storytelling. And so I happily ate my hat because I’m so glad they forced me to read it.

QUESTION: The name in the film’s title is Batman, but this is just as much Jim Gordon’s story, isn’t it?

BC: What I was first attracted to in reading Batman: Year One was that James Gordon actually is the star. That’s the way I look at it, anyway. That was really unexpected, especially the way he’s portrayed. My first experience with Batman was through the comics, but the Batman television series really had an impact. So I thought, “Oh, Gordon’s an old Irishman with that big, thick over-the-top brogue.” But there was no comic book silliness – there were twists and turns, darkness and light, and truly human mistakes that I’d never anticipated. And it’s as much Jim Gordon’s story as it is a story about Batman’s origins.

QUESTION: So is this your chance to finally put that education in police work to use?

BC: (laughs) In thinking about James Gordon, basically I used my own background. I went to college to become a police officer. There’s a certain similar decorum that all police officers have – it’s a skepticism and a curiosity and a bit of cynicism, too. And what I found in reading the script was that all those elements seem to be in place for the character. So all I wanted to do is to bring out that sensibility and make him real. He has to be a real guy, someone you believe could be this police officer, in order for you to accept the plight and the dismay that he’s going through, and trying to do the right thing in a city that is surrounded by corruption.

QUESTION: So all that time on Malcolm In The Middle, playing that great dad, you really were just waiting for some truly dark roles to present themselves?

BC: Malcolm In The Middle was a great seven years. We had a great time. And I think what made that story work is that at the core you had a real family that was striving to do the right thing. And when you look at what Gordon is to Batman: Year One, he is a guy who’s still striving to do the right thing. Anytime you have that, an audience will even allow you to do the wrong thing if they know that you’re trying to do the right thing. So they’ve got you. It’s like they know that, at the core, you’re a good person, and that’s what he is. So when an issue comes up that forces him to walk a fine line between what is right and what is wrong, and certain things pull him in one direction or the other, the audience empathizes with his struggle. That makes it interesting.

QUESTION: What makes Batman an interesting character to you?

BC: As a character, Batman is someone who has a righteousness about him. And yet, it’s not pure. He is a vigilante. He’s taking matters into his own hands. So you could say that he’s doing good things, but I don’t know that you could say he’s a good guy because of the manner that he approaches his actions. That’s what always makes characters more interesting, that they walk the line of good and bad.

QUESTION: Was there any element of the script that you particularly enjoyed?

BC: I didn’t have any particular favorite lines or scenes, but what I really appreciated about doing Lieutenant Gordon was the inner monologue. I don’t remember having (a role) that had that kind of sensibility that allows the character to be honest and open, vulnerable, and let the audience then determine if they’re welcome into this man’s soul or not. So that was probably my favorite part – to be able to have that running inner monologue going on, which I find fascinating.

QUESTION: What’s your take on comic books?

BC: To a kid growing up in the ’60s and ’70s, comic books were pretty much one of the only written material that was a diversion for kids. There were three television stations, and movies were few and far between as far as access to them. So you’d get together with your friends and you’d open up comic books when you got tired of playing football in the street, or baseball or whatever. And then you’d allow your imagination to go and to wonder. And the great thing about comic books is that it allows the reader to be his or her own art director. You can see a glimpse of Gotham behind in the tall buildings and you start to imagine the heights of the building, Batman looking down. And when he swoops down, you put that all into your head and fill in the blanks. Sometimes in the comic books, it appeared to me like it was like an impressionistic painting. Where (you thought), “What’s that in background? I can’t quite make out what that is, but it feels real.” So you fill in the blanks, and that makes it more interesting and like you’re a part of the storytelling itself.

QUESTION: Must you take a different acting approach when playing a real-life individual or a fictional icon – as opposed to a character specifically written for the page?

BC: Yes. You approach each character with a little different idea of how and what you need to shape him. I played Buzz Aldrin in From The Earth To The Moon about the Apollo project for HBO, and that I did approach differently. This is a real person, an American hero, a worldwide hero, and he’s still alive. And there’s something in the back of your head that says, “I really want him to be proud of this. I want him, above all else, to be able to say that I gave an honest depiction of the sensibility of what was going on then and who I was at that time.” I think that’s, in a sense, the same when working with an iconic figure like Jim Gordon in Batman: Year One. Everybody has a pretty good idea of Gordon – who he is and how he sounds – so you can’t go too far against that grain. You need to be in the ballpark. He’s an established character, but the script will give you a good idea of how far you can stretch here or there.

QUESTION: There are a few fan sites spreading a rumor that you’re going be the The Riddler at one point or another in a live-action Batman film. Any truth in these rumors?

BC: I would love to be able to jump into a character like that – whole hog – and play The Riddler. That would be fun. Although I haven’t been lobbying for that, and there’s a certain part of me that is really fatalistic about (rumors like) that. It’s like, if it’s supposed to happen, then it’s supposed to happen. But I can only say that I’d be interested in playing something like that and see how it turns out.

Eliza Dushku has become Catwoman.

The star of “Dollhouse” and “Tru Calling,” and of course “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” Dushku provided the voice of Selina Kyle/Catwoman for “Batman: Year One,” the next entry in the ongoing series of DC Universe animated original movies. A few short months later, Dushku was quick to accept a return to the role as the title character of the DC Showcase animated short Catwoman.

We interviewed Dushku in 2009 when she was voicing the main character in the video game Wet. Following her initial recording session, Dushku was happy to download some of her thoughts regarding a number of subjects related to Catwoman, the Batman legacy, felines, bad girls and comic books. And here’s what she had to say …

QUESTION: You seemed to easily groove into this character. Where did you go to discover who Selina Kyle is?

ELIZA DUSHKU: I found the attitude for this character deep down in the Eliza Dushku archive of bad girls (she laughs). They’re in there somehow, somewhere for some reason, and I tap into them when I need them. They’re characters with an edge. I grew up with three older brothers in Boston, and my mother was a single mom. So I spent my early years running the streets with the boys. After I fell into the film and television business, I went back to public school in Boston, and kids didn’t think it was that cool. So I had to kind of fight for my street cred. I adopted this really sort-of-hard exterior, and got in a couple fights. So by the time I graduated high school and came out to make Buffy The Vampire Slayer, it was really art imitating life. I was fighting for my life.

QUESTION: Does being part of the Batman mythology have any special significance to you?

ED: It’s incredible being part of the Batman legacy. It’s iconic. It’s Batman. I grew up with brothers and we would play Batman and Robin. Well, I would always try to get in and play, but usually they would let me join the game as some character or another, and they would immediately kill me off (laughs). So, I used to watch from afar. So now look brothers – I get to be a part of this and you don’t. (laughs hard)

QUESTION: Do you have a pet cat? How do you feel about cats?

ED: I had hobo cats growing up. We had cats that would climb up on the roof of the house. We would get them off the roof, then two nights later they would be meowing on the top of the roof again. They have little attitudes, too. I ended up with dogs, mainly, but if a cat could act like a dog and could play like a dog and can play rough, then those cats got along with me. I just don’t want house cats or Siamese cats – they’re a little too snooty for me.

QUESTION: Did you enjoy attempting to bring a comic book to animated life?

ED: I love that in the DC Comics world, the stakes are high from the get-go. A week ago, I was watching The Dark Knight. I love what they did, but it’s different from what we did for Batman: Year One and Catwoman. When you’re recreating comics, there’s different intonations and character strengths that come out. That’s what I was focused on bringing forth. It’s a little exaggerated, a little nuanced, a little more dramatic. But it’s also full of layers and seething with this very cool energy.

QUESTION: Do you enjoy voice acting?

ED: I’ve had a great time doing voiceovers. It started with videogames – the first was a Buffy The Vampire Slayer videogame – and really I did it because I thought it would be cool to have my nephews be able to play me on their videogames. They won’t talk to me right now – they’re at that stage of being a teenager – so I thought maybe we could have a connection through the videogames. I did a videogame called Wet last year that was a lot of fun. Then I have some friends over at Family Guy. And then, more and more, I’ve been sort of reaching out and peeking around to see what things are available to build my voiceover resume. It’s fun for me, and completely different from what we do in live action. Voice acting is really invigorating. It still feels like you have to bring the same amount of character and energy into the room. And then to watch it morph into the animated version is really kind of magnificent.

QUESTION: Was there anything you wanted to personally add to the character that made the experience of voicing Catwoman that much more fun?

ED: Well, I wanted to purr, and they let me purr – so that was really like getting a bit of extra credit. I wanted to get in there and really emphasize her relationship with her cats, as I think it’s very feral and very significant. And everyone was really cool about letting me play around with my ferocity.

QUESTION: What is it you enjoy most about working in this genre?

ED: I love my fanboys. Without my fanboys, so many of the projects that I’ve done wouldn’t have had the extraordinary life that they’ve enjoyed. The fanboys have been there with enthusiasm and the support, and their loyalty and their love has made this so rewarding and exciting. It makes me just want to give them more, more, more, more.

QUESTION: The Whedonverse has provided many actors for the first 16 DC Universe Animated Original Movies. What do you think makes Joss Whedon’s casts fit so nicely in the DC Universe?

ED: Joss is such a die-hard comic book fan himself that there’s a natural connection. And when you play in his worlds – worlds that are fantasy-related with all this metaphorical, deep magic going on, it sort of preps you to think the unthinkable and go places with your character that most projects don’t give you the opportunity to do.

QUESTION: Your parents are educators. Did comic books fit into place as literature in your house?

ED: My father was actually a fourth grade elementary school teacher, so we had a lot of fun with dad growing up as far as comic books and trading baseball cards. That was actually one of the things that my brothers and my father and I did together – play with action figures and Star Wars and G.I. Joes and Transformers, and trade and read comic books and baseball cards. My dad actually worked at and had a baseball card shop for a while, and he had comics in there. So comic books were definitely a huge part of my childhood.

Produced by Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation, the all-new, PG-13 rated Batman: Year One arrives October 18 from Warner Home Video as a Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD, On Demand and for Download. Batman: Year One is also now available in a special download-for-purchase early window through iTunes, Xbox Live, Zune, VUDU HD Movies and Video Unlimited on the PlayStation Network & Sony Entertainment Network.

Warner Home Video will present the world premiere of “Catwoman,” the latest addition to the DC Showcase Animated Shorts series, as part of its DC Universe Animated panel on Friday 3-4 p.m. in the IGN Theater at New York Comic Con.

Catwoman is included in the October 18 Blu-ray/DVD release of “Batman: Year One,” the next entry in the ongoing series of DC Universe Animated Original Movies.

The panel includes animation legend Bruce Timm, nine-time Emmy Award-winning dialogue director Andrea Romano, and the fan favorite voice of Batman, Kevin Conroy. The panelists will discuss the Catwoman short, the upcoming release of Batman: Year One, and next spring’s release of Justice League: Doom.

The world premiere of the Justice League: Doom trailer is another New York Comic Con exclusive to be unveiled during the panel.

Catwoman/Selina Kyle is voiced by Eliza Dushku, well known for her television roles in Buffy the “Vampire Slayer,” “Tru Calling” and “Dollhouse.” The 15-minute short is penned by respected comics/animation writer Paul Dini.

The short finds Catwoman posing as an “entertainer” in a strip club to get close to black market diamond smuggler Rough Cut — who doesn’t take kindly to Catwoman’s interference in his business, leading to an all-out battle through the streets of Gotham City.

“When Alan Burnett and I first started discussing the idea of a Catwoman short, we both agreed that we wanted to make the story and the settings as adult as we could,” Dini explains. “The world of burlesque has returned in a big way to the contemporary consciousness, and that proved to be a very natural setting for this Catwoman story. At the time I wrote the initial screenplay, I didn’t know the short would be paired up with Batman: Year One, but the steamy setting that Selina inhabits in that book also proved to be ideal for the short.”

For the short, Dini created the character Rough Cut, a villain whose smuggling interests beyond diamonds catches Catwoman’s attention.

“I liked the idea of a villain who was obsessed with diamonds, but as this story takes place in the down and dirty side of Gotham, I felt the bad guy couldn’t be too glamorous,” Dini said. “I came up with the name Rough Cut both to describe the man and the kinds of crude, unfinished diamonds he pedals. There’s always a market for industrial diamonds, but lately Rough Cut has been feeling the economic pinch, so he’s smuggling more precious cargo. That’s what brings Catwoman into the picture.”

Dushku was very happy to return to her Batman: Year One role, having already taken equity in the part of Catwoman/Selina Kyle. Dushku has definitely found a clear understanding of her character’s emotional make-up.

“A lot of people are familiar with the characters I’ve played – these strong and vicious women who are, very deep down inside, really wounded women with an entirely unexpected side, so there’s nothing black and white about them,” Dushku said. “I think people identify with the characters I play because even though they do terrible things, there’s a humanity there. They’ve got lots of layers. They’re not just good or evil. Selina is a prostitute, and she’s abrasive and in your face, but she also has this maternal, protective, loyal quality to her. Her relationship with Holly is a perfect example – it shows a side you might not expect.”

Ben McKenzie plays a wealthy young man on a personal quest for justice in TNT’s hit series “Southland.” Now the actor heads to the streets of Gotham City as the voice of another rich young adult with a need for righteousness in Batman: Year One, the next entry in the popular, ongoing series of DC Universe Animated Original Movies.

McKenzie makes his maiden voyage into animation voiceovers as Bruce Wayne/Batman, the title character of comics legend Frank Miller’s classic retelling of the Dark Knight’s gritty, formative days.

Produced by Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation, the all-new, PG-13 rated Batman: Year One arrives October 18 from Warner Home Video as a Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD, On Demand and for Download. Batman: Year One will also be available in a special download-for-purchase early window starting October 11 through iTunes, Xbox Live, Zune, VUDU HD Movies and Video Unlimited on the PlayStation Network & Sony Entertainment Network.

McKenzie rose to fame staring in 92 episodes of “The O.C.”

Following his initial recording session for Batman: Year One, McKenzie took some time to discuss the film, the character, Adam West and his dog’s linguistic skills.

QUESTION: What was your initial reaction to being offered the role of Batman?

BEN MCKENZIE: When I got the offer for Batman: Year One, I was very excited because I really like this particular take on Batman. It’s a darker take – a Frank Miller take – on the origin story. And I think it’s fun to play the character in a way that it is more reminiscent of his being a real vigilante. He’s a tough, tortured soul who is exacting revenge upon a criminal element that took something very important away from him. As an actor, this role gives you a little bit more backstory, so you have the chance to play him as a real person, albeit a person who is a little bit mentally unstable, perhaps, but heroic nonetheless. It’s exciting to get to play a character who is so specifically intense and unusual.

QUESTION: And how many times in the last weeks since you’ve known you got the role have you said to anyone, “I’m Batman”?

BM: (laugh) I usually wake up in the morning, go to the mirror and say, “I’m Batman.” I’ll say it to my dog, and he gives a very confused look, which he always does because he doesn’t speak English. I’ve tried to use the “I’m Batman” line on everyone from the valet to the guy washing my car. You know, anyone who will listen. No one seems to pay any attention. But I know. (laughs)

QUESTION: Did you do any research or prep work going into the recording session?

BM: I did actually read the comic again, and it was exactly how I remembered it. Really cool and kind of dark and gritty and very bold in how it approached the source material, which has been carved out into such a revered piece of comic book fiction. It is impressive that someone would do a new take on the story, summoning the courage to just throw away a lot of that traditional stuff and really focus on some of the darker elements, which is what Frank Miller did. I think it’s great. It’s cool, it’s bold, and I think the film lives up to that.

QUESTION: Is this was your first animated voiceover project, what were you expecting and how did find the experience?

BM: It’s always fun to do something that you’re not particularly experienced in, something that’s a little bit of a new skill to learn. Regina King has done a lot of voiceover stuff for Boondocks – with Andrea (Romano) – and she loves it. So it was really nice to feel like I was in good hands and that I’d be well treated. I think any job where you can stay indoors, work a couple of hours, say a few things and get paid is a good job to have. It beats Southland, where you’re out in the streets and the heat in the wool uniforms. Nobody needs that. (laughs)

QUESTION: Were there any outside influences on your performance before working on the booth?

BM: I’d like to say I was influenced mainly by Adam West’s performance as Batman more than anyone else – but it’s not quite the same take. There’s something in the way that Frank Miller wrote the comics that lends itself to a darker gravelly-voiced kind of intensity. You can’t help but go there. So maybe it’s sort of similar to the live-action version that Christian Bale is doing, but maybe not quite as much in that direction.

QUESTION: How did your familiarity with the original Frank Miller comics help formulate your approach to the acting?

BM: This Frank Miller world is an amazing place with a wonderfully dark aesthetic – it has the kind of noir-ish world of moral ambiguity that I really respond to. And I think if you’re going to play it sincerely, you have to realize that it’s written like a piece of noir with real characters and real emotional takes. This isn’t some fantasy. Bruce Wayne is damaged, he’s emotionally scarred, and he’s trying to make sense of justice in the world. So he creates an alter ego to keep some normalcy in his daily life. That’s the way he tries to make some sense of the world. He’s battered and scarred, but that sort of makes him stronger, because he’s ultimately unafraid of putting it all on the line. He’s very human. That’s the great thing about Batman – he has no super powers. He is a flawed man.

QUESTION: How did you differentiate the voice or the attitude for Batman versus Bruce Wayne?

BM: We worked on distinguishing between Bruce, who is an introvert perhaps, but is forced through his position in society to be affable to a certain degree, and then Batman himself, who is really sort of the devil within. He can really take on a whole another vocal inflection and demeanor. So we sort of wanted to play with that and make Bruce almost overcompensate in order to hide his identity, to be even more affable and agreeable than he would otherwise in order to hide the fact that he is Batman.

It’s hard to do because when you’re going through the script in the sessions, you’ll just jump back and forth. One page, you’ll be doing Bruce Wayne, and the next page, you’ll be doing Batman. So it is hard to kind of keep them separate in your mind. It requires a few takes to sort of relax into it and to switch it up. I’m sure tonight I’ll be dreaming of being Batman. (laughs)

QUESTION: Was there a focal point for you to stay on target throughout the recording session?

BM: I think the acting is really just trying to imagine being 12 again and seeing Batman in this animated form and thinking “What would you like to see? What would you really geek out on?” If you can bring that passion across on the screen, then that’s your job. I think if you were going to do anything acting-wise that got any methody, you’d be a little scary. I think it’s better to just try and have fun with it.

QUESTION: Do you have a favorite line or scene?

BM: There’s a fun scene with one of the young thuggish guys where (Batman) says something like “I know pain. Sometimes I like to share it, maybe with somebody like you.” I like that moment. The adrenaline and the testosterone really flows through you. It’s fun. It’s really fun. If you were ever picked on in high school and you just wanted to grab the bully and say, “I’m gonna beat the living heck out of you,” that’s exactly what you get to do as Batman.

QUESTION: Did this experience give you a new perspective on Batman?

BM: Yes, absolutely. This experience has definitely reinvigorated my interest again for Batman. I’ve seen the Christopher Nolan films, and I think they’re great. When you get a chance to actually be a part of something based on the same source material, it’s really exciting. It allows you to sort of experience what that character is experiencing, which is a darkly fun take on what it would be like if you could actually fight crime, if you could actually get revenge on all of the people that you think are bad people in this world, if you could exact justice out of an unjust world. It’s kind of thrilling even to be an actor playing that part.

QUESTION: Do you see any parallels to your character on Southland?

BM: I think there is sort of a broad parallel between Bruce Wayne/Batman and my character on Southland in the sense that they’re both wealthy and they’re both fighting crime – in the broadest sense. Bruce Wayne and, really, Batman is just the extreme version. Instead of becoming a patrol officer, he spends his money creating an alter ego and going out and doing it himself. So Bruce Wayne/Batman is just the fantastical version of what Ben Sherman is doing on Southland. He’s just doing it to a more extreme level. So, yeah, there’s definitely a comparison to be made for sure.

In response to an exclusive digital rights deal between DC Entertainment and Amazon’s Kindle, Barnes & Noble is removing all DC Entertainment graphic novels from store shelves.

Barnes & Noble does not want to sell physical copies of the novels if it cannot sell digital copies as well. The store’s customers will still be able to order the novels in store and online. But due to the closure of Borders, this decision means that DC Entertainment graphic novels will not be sold at any mass market bookstore.

Digital versions will become available on the Kindle Fire beginning November 15 when the e-reader releases.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

J.K. Rowling has adamantly refused, for years, to allow her “Harry Potter” books to be sold for the Kindle, the Nook, or in any e-book form, until now.

Coupled with Thursday’s launch of Pottermore, Rowling announced that all of her books would be available for all major e-book platforms, including the Kindle, directly through the new website.

The “Harry Potter” series has sold 450 million copies worldwide, and more will come with this development.

A beta of Pottermore launched in July, and the full site, with e-books, is expected up in October.

Rowling owns the digital rights to her boos, not U.K. publisher Bloomsbury Publishing, or Scholastic Inc., which owns the U.S. print rights. She is taking the bold step toward self-e-publishing, instead of brokering out the rights and selling the books through Amazon or the Apple iBookstore.

We are going to show a bunch of early wrestling clips…of course.

“Rowdy” Roddy Piper ruled the wrestling ring for the better part of four decades, crafting a Hall of Fame career that brought cheers — and huzzahs — from fans across the globe. Along the way, Piper established numerous milestones that set his career apart from all others.

At 15, Piper was the youngest professional wrestler to ever enter the squared circle – and he would proceed to hold more than 38 titles while eclipsing 7,000 victories in professional matches. It was the main event at the very first Wrestlemania – pitting Piper and “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff against Hulk Hogan and Mr. T – that truly established the WWF/WWE.

Today, Piper is out of the wrestling spotlight, but he remains in entertainment with a one-man show and an autobiography, “In the Pit with Piper” on shelves. He has also been doing movies since 1978.

On June 7, Piper shows some voiceover acting chops when he plays the barbaric Bolphunga in Green Lantern: Emerald Knights.

Piper’s character – Bolphunga the Unrelenting – is the central antagonist in the episodic segment entitled “Mogo Doesn’t Socialize.” Based on the 1985 story created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, the story centers on Bolphunga’s search for Mogo, the largest Green Lantern, in hopes of engaging the famed warrior in a battle worthy of the villain. The role serves as a perfect vehicle to showcase Piper’s strength and wonderful sense of humor.

Green Lantern: Emerald Knights weaves six legendary stories of the Green Lantern Corps’ rich mythology around preparations for an attack by an ancient enemy. As the battle approaches, Hal Jordan mentors new recruit Arisia in the history of the Green Lantern Corps, telling tales of Avra (the first Green Lantern) and several of Hal’s comrades – including Abin Sur, Kilowog, Laira and Mogo. In the end, Arisia must rise to the occasion to help Hal, Sinestro and the entire Green Lantern Corps save the universe from the destructive forces of Krona.

Primetime television stars Nathan Fillion (Castle) and Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men) lead a diverse array of performers as the voices behind the Green Lantern Corps, including actor/spoken word artist Henry Rollins (Sons of Anarchy, The Henry Rollins Show), Jason Isaacs (the Harry Potter films), Arnold Vosloo (The Mummy), Kelly Hu (The Vampire Diaries) as Laira and Wade Williams (Prison Break) as Deegan. Radio Hall of Fame commentator/talk show host Michael Jackson voices the esteemed Guardian, Ganthet.

Bruce Timm is executive producer of Green Lantern: Emerald Knights. Directors are Lauren Montgomery, Jay Oliva and Christopher Berkeley. Oliva directed “Mogo Doesn’t Socialize” from a script by Gibbons.

Piper spent a few moments after his recording session to discuss his current activities, his love of acting, and the responsibilities of being a role model. Listen closely … because Roddy just ran out of chewing gum.

QUESTION: Green Lantern: Emerald Knights was your first-ever voiceover for animation. How was the experience?

RODDY PIPER: That was about as much fun as I could ever hope to have. You can really lose yourself in an animated role. There’s so much freedom, so much room for creativity. It’s a blast.

QUESTION: Professional wrestling gave you plenty of experience being both the villain and the hero. How does the public perceive you today?

RP: I guess a lot of folks have grown up with me and, in an awkward way, for people who really have seen the good sides of me, I’m like a father figure. It’s remarkable – every place I go, there’s somebody that has an inspiring tale to tell. At one of my shows, there was a policeman named Paul who had been awarded a Congressional citation for saving someone’s life. He came up and gave me his citation. He said that when he was a little boy, he had troubles – but he would watch me and that’s where he found inspiration and direction. So when he goes into a tough situation, he relates to (my actions), and he says it saved his life.

The profession that I took upon is a lawless, tough piece of work, and so many of my friends are dead now. So in my one-man show, I tell the folks about people that they grew up with, people that they may have related to in different ways. My profession is very renegade. But as crazy as it seems, it’s as real as it gets.

QUESTION: What’s your approach to performing these one-man shows?

RP: I was with Burt Reynolds at his house in Jupiter (FL) and he said to me, “The one thing I try to convey as actors is that we don’t get enough ‘Atta Boys.’ So I try to make them leave with an ‘Atta Boy.’ And that really sticks with me. Encouragement is an essential.

QUESTION: You seem like a natural for animation. What’s your attraction to playing an animated character?

RP: I like the fact that I can go away and lose myself so I don’t have to live in the world of courage that everyone else does. I like creating, it’s what I do, and acting allows me to stretch all those different muscles in all kinds of ways. That’s pretty cool.

QUESTION: There are those that would claim wrestling is acting. What are the key differences in those two performances?

RP: Wrestling and acting couldn’t be anymore different in terms of what it takes to entertain. Wrestling is explosion, acting is implosion. One really screws up the other. That’s why Hogan sucks. If I came out on camera like I do in Madison Square Garden, it would look crazy. Clint Eastwood just shakes his head and raises his eye and it works. But when you’ve got 96,000 people at Wrestlemania, I need to get through to the back row. Fighting is not internal, but it can be very spiritual. Everything acting is internal. One of my problems in making the transition is pulling back, but I’m working on it.

On April 8, actor and author Ashley Judd sat down with moderator Candelaria Silva and a full theater at Suffolk University to discuss her new book All That Is Bitter and Sweet. Judd candidly and eloquently answered questions about her childhood, spirituality and humanitarian work. With grace and humor she spoke on her recovery process, and how she is using her past to help others—her book is evidence of this effort.

“I’m only five years into my own process and I don’t know how much longer it will take; I don’t know ultimately what it will look like, said Judd. “But I feel fortunate that I love the work. I love sitting around other people and getting real.”

Judd who entered Shades of Hope Treatment Center in 2006 for depression, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, is using what she learned to reach out to others. She has done humanitarian work around the globe and exudes passion when she talks about the people she has met and the experiences that she has had.

“There is a difference between charity and justice and pity and empathy,” she explained. “We need less of the former and more of the latter.”

Judd is involved with many non-profit organizations and is a strong advocate for women’s rights. She thoroughly enjoyed her time at Harvard University where she studied in the women and public policy program and graduated with a masters degree in 2010. In her book she discusses her views on issues concerning women and uses her writing as an outlet to share others’ stories.

“I definitely love to write; I enjoy it, said Judd. “There are more ways to die than simply to stop breathing, and to disengage from service work to me would absolutely be a death. If I am going to keep traveling, I am going to keep writing because it is a strategy for commemorating the sacred narratives that vulnerable people have entrusted me with and carrying them to people like you as well as to government officials and the broader public.”

Judd has spoken to many women involved in sex trafficking and as a victim of rape herself, she identifies with the victimization of these women, but also hopes to help them in the journey from victim to survivor. Aligning herself with various organizations such as Population Services International, Women for Women International and Equality Now, Judd is taking steps to advance underserved populations.

“[Writing] is how I celebrate the grassroots programs that I see that work and really put forward the unsung heroes who are doing brave and often dangerous work on a daily basis,” she said. “And it is how, as that scripture says, I work out my own salvation everyday and I try to figure out who am I as I try to make sense of what is often so senseless in the world.”

Religion is very important to Judd and she intertwines it into a lot of her actions. Although she was raised as a Christian Protestant, she considers herself very open to many religious beliefs.

She shared, “I know that I am a spiritual being having a human experience—as C.S. Lewis put it—and if I can hang out in that space I’m going to be OK.”

Judd’s childhood experience, was tying for her as she explains how living in her household was difficult. She internalized the family’s view of her as the “hero” child and believed that she actually was “a lost child.”

“If I was the hero child that [meant] I was OK and that [my family] didn’t really have to take a look at the fact that I was not OK,” Judd stated. “They could falsely empower me and operate under this assumption that I was competent and capable.” She also believes that others around them regarded her as evidence that the family was normal. “Guess what?” she rhetorically asks, “normal is a cycle on the washing machine.”

Judd’s family dynamic was instrumental in transitioning to her current lifestyle as an actress. The success of her mother and sister, singers Naomi Judd and Wynona Judd respectively, combined with her own attraction to glamor, made celebrity status seem inevitable for Judd. But as she now looks on her acting career (she had a lead role in the movie Double Jeopardy and will star in the new ABC series Missing), she sees the problematic path that she traveled to reach stardom.

“The acting is something that I started at a really young age,” she said. “I didn’t know that was what I was doing but I look back now with the definition of acting that I have, which is to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances, and I realize I was acting all the time.”

Luckily, Judd is now using her status as a platform not to pity others but to help them achieve self-efficacy and self reliance. She said she is open to writing another book and is already considering expanding a 30-page paper she wrote, about feminism and social justice, into a book with other women.

“We have to find what our little thing is that we get defensive about that is connected to our soul,” she advised. “The longest 18 inches we travel [is] from the head to the heart. But when they are connected my God we are powerful.”

Judd encouraged everyone to get involved with matters that are important to them and quoted the familiar saying “We are either part of the solution or we are part of the problem.” She suggested even simple tasks like writing to retailers who overly sexualize young girls, or signing petitions to support the use of conflict-free technology by electronic companies.

She acknowledged that many social issues are in fact very large and can seem intimidating to tackle, but she quoted a friend who said, “I am not responsible for the whole pattern, but I am responsible to take the next stitch.” Her memoir All That Is Bitter and Sweet is definitely a stitch in the quilt of social justice that is making its connection count.

Perez Hilton, arguably the most famous blogger in the world, is known for his juicy celebrity gossip, the crude “graffiti” he puts on pictures of celebrities (What’s that white stuff dripping from Lindsay Lohan’s mouth?), his crazy sense of style and his wacky hair, so naturally his next career move would be to write a children’s book, right? Hilton, dubbed a “bully” by some of his celebrity targets, has paired up with illustrator Jen Hill in his book, “The Boy with Pink Hair,” to be published in September 2011 by Celebra Children’s Books.

“I am so proud of ‘The Boy with Pink Hair,’ its important message and the creativity and the passion of the author delivering it–Perez Hilton,” said Raymond Garcia, publisher of Celebra Children’s Books, in a statement. “‘The Boy with Pink Hair’ is a defining story about how believing in yourself and following your aspirations can not only bring out the best in you, but also in those around you.  With fun, colorful and endearing characters, Perez reminds readers that by simply accepting our differences we can find the things that unite us all.”

Perez Hilton at Logo's "NewNowNext" Awards in LA in 2010 (Media credit/J. Strauss, Wire Image)

The book tells the story of a boy born with (you guessed it) pink hair, who isn’t accepted by his peers because of his cotton candy-colored ‘do. He discovers what makes him special and other sugary things like that–a far cry from the content of Hilton’s own popular blog in which penises are drawn on people’s faces and dots of “coke” go up their noses.

Hilton, real name Mario Armando Lavandeira, Jr., said in a statement, “I am absolutely elated about this book, which comes from a very dear and genuine place within me. While I can identify in many ways with The Boy with Pink Hair, he represents so much more.  This story is about every kid that’s ever had a dream, felt excluded, wanted to belong, and hoped that one day they could do what they loved and make a difference.  Today, with this book, that’s exactly what I feel I have the opportunity to do.  I hope everyone can share in the spirit of a boy that only wants to bring some happiness to the world around him.”

Christina Hendricks is truly enjoying the best of both worlds.

While the “Mad Men” star is grabbing the spotlight for more mature mainstream opportunities as a judge on Bravo’s upcoming season of “Top Chef” and as the new face of designer Vivienne Westwood’s “Get a Life” Palladium jewelry collection, Hendricks is also currently living her childhood dreams as the voice of Lois Lane in the all-new animated film “All-Star Superman.”

Hendricks stars alongside “Desperate Housewives’” James Denton (Superman) and “Without A Trace’s” Anthony LaPaglia (Lex Luthor) in the critically-acclaimed, hot-selling DC Universe Animated Original Movie that poignantly captures Grant Morrison’s beloved, Eisner Award-winning vision of Superman’s heroic final days on Earth.

Along with husband Geoffrey Arend (“500 Days of Summer”), Hendricks was the featured attraction at the world premiere of All-Star Superman in New York’s Paley Center for Media. The press corps and fans flocked to the event, lauding praise and adoration on the actress for her roles in everything from Mad Men to Firefly. Following the screening, the crowd gave Hendricks a resounding ovation for her performance as Lois Lane.

Hendricks is at the forefront of a All-Star Superman cast that includes Denton, LaPaglia, seven-time Emmy Award winner Ed Asner (Up), Golden Globe winner Frances Conroy (Six Feet Under), Matthew Gray Gubler (Criminal Minds) and Linda Cardellini (ER) as Nasty.

Hendricks sat for a few questions after her initial recording session for All-Star Superman, revealing her childhood adoration for the Superman characters, the trick to understanding the Lois Lane mindset, a penchant for playing Dungeons And Dragons, and the new street cred she’s earned inside her own home. Here’s what Christina Hendricks had to say …

QUESTION: Did playing Lois Lane have a greater resonance for you than most characters?

CHRISTINA HENDRICKS: It’s incredibly special for me to get to play Lois Lane because when I was growing up in Oregon, the first movie I ever went to see at a drive-in movie theater – and I think second overall — was Superman II. I can remember thinking, “This is amazing.” That was my first impression of what movies were – the adventure and action –and so this is me coming full circle. Now, I get to be Lois Lane. (laugh)

And I have been talking about playing Lois Lane for weeks now. I’ve been telling everyone that I get to be Lois Lane. It’s a big deal. There’s a few characters throughout your life that everyone knows and you’ve known your whole life. This is one of them. So to play Lois was really exciting.

QUESTION: Did you have any preconceptions about this role before entering the recording booth?

CH: I think I probably had preconceived ideas about the role because I grew up watching Margot Kidder. She’s my Lois Lane. So I wanted to make sure that I did some research to know as much as I could about the character and where she originated. I grew up on Superman and Lois Lane, so a lot of the questions were already answered in my head. But I just wanted to get a little bit more background, and think about the original Lois Lane, and the intention behind the character. I didn’t want to be copying someone.

QUESTION: Did you have any favorite scenes or lines?

CH: I love the scene where they’re flying. I mean, everyone loves a Superman scene when they’re flying, and Lois Lane gets to fly. It was really fun to do something like this because anything can happen in animation. You can dance underwater or fly over Metropolis. And as the actress, you just are along for the ride. So that was exciting.

QUESTION: What it is about Christina Hendricks that made you the right choice for Lois?

CH: I think I’m a good Lois Lane because I think I’m tough, and I think I’m up for adventure and curious and spontaneous. And I’d like to think that Lois Lane is all those things.

QUESTION: There’s a lot of Lois in this film – she’s the emotional barometer of this film, and she gets to do a lot of things she’d never done before on film. How did you approach visualizing those emotional and surreal aspects of playing Lois?

CH: I think in order to play the emotions of Lois Lane in a situation where all sorts of fantastical things are happening, you really have to know that this is a world this woman already lives in. For Christina, these things are crazy – flying and going under water and seeing the Titanic sitting there are foreign to me. But Lois Lane already lives in this world. So you have to be true to her and know that this isn’t her first time seeing all these things. And you have to keep reminding yourself of that.

QUESTION: When you were performing the role and going through these fantastical scenes and images, what are you envisioning to authentically act the role?

CH: The script is so descriptive – it’s so beautifully written and the images are so perfect that it’s very easy to jump in and imagine. It’s like being a child and just going along with the flow. It’s very fun. And it’s all spelled out for you, so as long as you’re open to taking the trip, it’s quite easy.

I closed my eyes several times while I was doing the lines because I thought, “Oh, I can’t think about these people looking in here at me. Let me imagine what this really would feel like.” And you just have to feel the wind on your face. (laugh)

QUESTION: How does Lois Lane compare with other characters you’ve played?

CH: I identify with Lois Lane in other characters that I’ve played and, of course, in my own self. She is strong and determined, but she also has a vulnerable side. She’s a woman, so she can take care of herself, but every once in a while, you know, Superman’s got to come and save her. I currently play Joan on Mad Men, who some might say is an incredibly strong character, which is what’s so fun about her. But like Lois Lane, you see moments of vulnerability and a softness to her. She’s still a woman, but she’s a strong woman.

QUESTION: You didn’t record with Anthony LaPaglia, but you have played opposite our Lex Luthor previously. How was that experience?

CH: I worked with Anthony LaPaglia some years back. I don’t know if he would remember me, but I did and episode of Without A Trace where I played an agoraphobic lesbian. Check it out. (she laughs) One of my better roles (laughs harder). I had scenes with Anthony LaPaglia where my character was stuck in a bowling alley. But not just stuck in the bowling alley, stuck underneath where they lift the pins. I had to lay under the machinery and Anthony’s character had to talk me out of it. Hopefully he’ll watch this and go, “That was that girl?” (laughs)

QUESTION: This was your maiden voyage in voiceovers for animation. Did it meet your expectations?

CH: It was kind of what I expected, and it was really fun. One thing you don’t get to do (in live-action) is say the line a couple different times with different ideas behind it. So it’s fun to actually get to experiment with all those choices all at once. I think it’s incredibly liberating to be able to go in and make three choices instead of one. And give them all equal time, and then let the director choose what they decide best suits the animation.

I think the enticement for voiceover is that you get to become a different person entirely. No one’s looking at your physicality, so you’re much more aware of your voice, and the power that your voice has. And it’s really learning to act in a very different way. If you love acting, which I do, it’s just another venue, another way to tell stories. And that’s exciting. I want to do more. This was fun. This was really fun.

QUESTION: Did you grow up with comic books or any of the current fanboy fascinations?

CH: I grew up with my brother being a huge fan of comic books fan and sci-fi and fantasy. So even though I wasn’t fully aware of what was going on, it was always on the peripheral, just around the corner (laughs). I don’t know that I did sneak a look at my brother’s comic books. I don’t know that he would have let me. He was very protective of those.

But we played everything. My brother wants to be a director, and I’m an actress. So we played “Dungeons And Dragons” and “Top Secret” and all those things. We would get up and act everything out. We were oftentimes spies. There was a lot of James Bond spy stuff going on, and a lot of “Dungeons And Dragons” fantasy. To this day, I’m surrounded by the people who watch these things. My husband watches films like this. (laughs) You kidding me? This is my life. (laughs)

QUESTION: What is your impression of comic books?

CH: I think not only are comic books incredible entertainment, but they’re great art. I got some comic books for my husband for Christmas during the first year we were together, and when you open the page you really have to retrain your mind to read a story in that format. It took me a few pages to sort of be able to look at the grand picture, and see this story and read in that style, and in the order that you’re supposed to read it. You’ve got to really train your mind to see everything. And it’s amazing, beautiful art.

QUESTION: With your days as Saffron on Firefly, you are obviously no stranger to the fanboys. What’s your best anecdote dealing with the fans?

CH: I have been to many, many Cons over the years, and it really has been one of the most incredible experiences of my life. Firefly opened up this world to me and it’s been absolutely amazing. Not only have I been able to travel to all these incredible places, but I’ve met people who are just so devoted and so excited about these projects, and really unite together. I like the Cons because they’re places where everyone is into the same thing – it’s this family of people who completely understand one another, and a lot of them know each other because they’ll go from one Con to the other. I’ve been amazed that I’ll see someone in Scotland, and then I’ll see them in Texas. These people are passionate about it, and you don’t see that very many places. It’s really nice.

I’ve had a lot of weird questions (laughs), but for the most part everyone’s just incredibly respectful and really nice. I had someone make a Barbie of me from Firefly, and dressed it up and sent it to me. The most fun was a contest to see who could write the best song about Saffron — and they asked me to be one of the judges. You could not believe how talented these people were. It was really fun to listen to – I still have the CD at home. Every once in a while I’ll put it in and be amazed. That was really cool.

QUESTION: You’re impressed with playing Lois Lane. How are those fanboy friends of yours reacting to you playing the role?

CH: During the recording session, my husband was sending me text messages all afternoon saying, “I love you, Lois Lane.” It’s so fun. My father, my brother, my husband, so many of my friends are gamers and into animation and comic books. So I’m going to be the most popular kid in town for at least a week. (laughs)

QUESTION: We’ve got you as Lois Lane. What do you think of casting Jon Hamm as Superman and John Slattery as Lex Luthor?

CH: Awesome. Fantastic. Jon Hamm would be good as any superhero. He’s kind of a superhero now, right? Everyone wants to be Jon Hamm right now. (laughs) Don Draper is like a superhero gone bad. (laughs) And John Slattery would be a great Lex Luthor. He’s just an incredible actor – that guy can do anything. And he’s got a great voice. He’d be wonderful.

Lex Luthor finally achieves everything he ever dreamed of. Superman faces the specter of a real death.

In All-Star Superman, Luthor delivers the coup de grace by poisoning the Man of Steel’s sun-absorbing cells with the very source of his powers, sunlight. That’s just within the opening scenes.

The plot of “All-Star Superman” drags at times, but moves forward into the psyche of Superman as reality sets in. The Last Son of Krypton spends time coming to terms with his possible mortality, doing things like revealing his identity to Lois Lane. Wait…haven’t we seen this one already?

He brings her to the Fortress of Solitude, re-imagined as a geological structure absent ridiculous crystals and Marlon Brando. When Lois — always the paragon of journalistic integrity — gets paranoid and nosy, she finds that Superman is keeping a secret from her. But just as her trust with the blue boy scout is breached, she finds that there is only one thing Superman would keep from Lois Lane. After all, he showed her the room with the kryptonite laser and the gravity-gun. It turns out he has a romantic surprise for her, at least his idea of one.

This time, instead of flying her over the world in his mighty blue embrace, Kal-el lets Lois fly herself. Superman kept the surprise in a secret room, a vial of a concoction made to endow a mortal with all of Superman’s powers. That could never fall into the wrong hands, could it?

Finally, they have a romantic kiss on the surface of the moon. After they have a great little adventure and Superman arm-wrestles two super-suitors after his girl, Superman lets her know that he is dying.

He flies the bottled city Kandor into space, immediately after the plot flies spinning into comic-book-nerd insider ball.

Upon his return from space, he faces two Kryptonians bent on conquering the world. In a true demonstration of decency, Superman overcomes their hatred by helping them. The script avoids a catastrophic explosion of violence between them and Superman — even though the heightened sunlight infusing his anatomic structure jacks his powers even further than ever imagined.

In the mean time, the United Nations finds out how Lex poisoned Superman and decides to put him in the electric chair. They make this exception to their anti-death penalty stance to punish Luthor for crimes against humanity, but the criminal mastermind has other plans. He drinks a cocktail, eats 1,000 volts, busts the restraints, and stands there as the guards pump rounds into him.

Didn’t somebody mention something about a Superman-power-imbuing concoction?

Suffice it to say that Superman faces even more peril as some giant sun-eating robot — who would be cooler if voiced by Orson Welles — turns the sun red, stripping Superman of his powers just as soon as Luthor gains them.

The DVD/Blu-ray combo hits shelves February 22, so you diehards can wait until next week to see how it ends.

To vocally craft the characters within the DC Universe Animated Original Movies, DC Entertainment, Warner Premiere, Warner Home Video and Warner Bros. Animation say they went to the best in the business – on both sides of the microphone.

While winners of Oscars, Emmys and Tonys alike provide the voices behind some of the world’s best known comic book characters, it is the super hero of voice directors that guides these unique talents – Andrea Romano.

Perhaps the top animation voiceover director in the business today, Romano has been instrumental in orchestrating the vocal tones behind the first 10 DCU animated films, including the anticipated February 22 release of All-Star Superman.

The eight-time Emmy Award winner (with 30+ nominations) has a voiceover casting/direction resume that spans more than a quarter century, covering the genre gamut from action (Batman: The Animated Series) and humor (Animaniacs) to contemporary (The Boondocks) and timeless (Smurfs).

Romano paused between her many current projects – including a few upcoming DC Universe Animated Original Movies – to discuss the cast and recording of All-Star Superman.

QUESTION: Are there certain writers’ scripts you find easier to direct or get an instant feel?

ANDREA ROMANO: There are several writers I’ve worked with over the years whose words I can recognize without even seeing a title page, like Stan Berkowitz, Alan Burnett, Bob Goodman and especially Dwayne McDuffie. And because I’ve worked with them for so long over so many different projects, and once they know I’m on a project, it’s almost as though they write for me – because they know exactly what information I need to know to give to the actors. So I love working with all those guys. Dwayne works so hard on being true to the source material, and yet translating it into something that can be acted. He’s really good at making that transition of honoring the material, but bringing the words off the page to make it actable and dramatically interesting.

QUESTION: You’ve directed your share of voices for Superman. How did James Denton rank in his first foray in animation?

ANDREA ROMANO: Jamie was a voiceover virgin, or he hadn’t done much, but he was outstanding to work with. Once an actor trusts that I will not let their voice go out sounding bad, and that their performance will be nothing less than the best, it becomes a very pleasant experience for all involved. Jamie was like that. He reminded me of Jensen Ackles – both are good actors, I’d seen their on-camera work, but because this form is different than what they’re used to working with, there is some insecurity with the territory. But once they don’t feel threatened, they relax into the role. Jamie was a really interesting choice – it can be difficult to cast some of these Superman films – and he brought some unique interpretations and sensitivities to the role. And that’s interesting for a director – to hear somebody else’s thoughts on what a man like Superman would sound like.

QUESTION: What are you seeking in a Superman voice that differentiates from all other voices?

ANDREA ROMANO: Superman is such an interesting character because, while he isn’t human, he has so many human qualities. He’s interesting because without the effects of certain kryptonites, his instincts are always going to be to do the right thing. But you don’t want that to come off as being a Boy Scout or one note. And so you need kind of the white knight, but to still keep him interesting. It’s like when we girls first start dating, it’s never the clean-cut nice guy that attracts us – it’s always the bad boy with the extra dimensions. That’s why I like Batman so much. But when we can give Superman some layers, that makes him interesting. And every actor I’ve used for Superman has brought some amazing layers.

QUESTION: How did you choose Christina Hendricks to play Lois Lane?

ANDREA ROMANO: I am such an admirer of her work, and I love what she does on Mad Men. It was cute because she was quite nervous coming in with no prior voiceover experience, but her acting instincts are so good, she has the ability to adjust to acting to a microphone as opposed to camera very quickly. I always give people positive feedback, but I was telling her “terrific job” and you’ll see the evidence when you see the piece. This is a very unusual, different story between Lois and Superman, and she captured everything we were looking for and then some. She was so enthusiastic about the role that she found a way to squeeze the recording into her schedule – right after getting married – and she gave us a terrific Lois Lane. I would use her again in a minute.

QUESTION: I’m guessing you’ve been angling to get Anthony LaPaglia behind the microphone for a while?

ANDREA ROMANO: The actors I tend to bring in are people I’ve admired from afar and have been looking for a specific character for them – as with Anthony LaPaglia for Lex Luthor. He is such a versatile actor, and his dialect work is so good. Moreover, he was so directable. If something confused him, he asked just the right questions – he wouldn’t blindly do it 10 times to make it be right. He’d ask a very specific question, and that makes it easy to direct, because you can answer those direct questions.

QUESTION: Do you hold actors in any higher esteem when they are able to perfectly portray an accent foreign to their own?

ANDREA ROMANO: I admire anyone who is a dialectician in addition to acting. Doing dialects is very technical, while the acting is more organic, so when they can marry those two things convincingly, it’s golden. What I find more often is that British actors can do a spot-on American accent – I think that’s often because they come to America to find work and there’s lots of casting to be done for American characters, so they’re just smart to do it. And it’s not that easy to do an American accent because there are so many regional versions – the deep south, the northeastern variations, even Southern California. They each have their own twists. Greg Ellis can do just about any accent you throw at him. Robin Atkin Downes is just amazing. Jason Isaacs does some stunning accent work – he perfected a Rhode Island accent for Brotherhood. Miriam Margolyes is another brilliant dialectician – I adore her accents.

QUESTION: At one point in the LaPaglia session, he wasn’t understanding your direction no matter how many different ways you worded it – and Brcue Timm was able to communicate your direction with a simple drawing of Lex’s face. Has Bruce done that previously/often over your 20-plus years working together?

ANDREA ROMANO: When Bruce did that for Anthony, I thought that was one of those great moments where a picture is actually worth ten thousand words. One of the things Bruce has done a million times before is, when someone comes in to play a role, he’ll draw the character right there on the spot. That almost always helps an actor establish a voice.

QUESTION: What’s the most unconventional casting of a villain you’ve ever done?

ANDREA ROMANO: Bill Macy as a villain in Batman Beyond. I thought I’d do it just to let him be the bad guy, because at the time he was getting all the hapless, milquetoast, endearing good guy roles. So I thought it would be fun to switch it around and, of course, he was brilliant.

QUESTION: This film has a lot of smaller that make an impact, and you spared no expense in bringing in some lofty talent like Matthew Gray Gubler as Jimmy Olsen, Frances Conroy as Ma Kent, Ed Asner as Perry White and even cult favorite Alexis Denisof as Dr. Quintum. What was your thinking behind some of those casting choices?

ANDREA ROMANO: I think Matthew is such a talent. He just did an episode of Criminal Minds where his character was suffering a migraine throughout the entire episode, and he was so good that you actually felt his headache. What I love about Matthew’s voice is that it’s got a naturally youthful quality, and there’s something interesting he does naturally where he almost ends every sentence with a question mark. It’s a very specific speech pattern. His sentences tend to go up at the end. He’s a perfect Jimmy Olsen – sweet, endearing, slightly nerdy. If I had a role for him in every project, I would always hire him.

Frances Conroy – first, let me say that she is not related to Kevin Conroy, which is kind of funny because they know each other very well, and they even went to Juilliard together. I’ve admired her work on everything from Six Feet Under to Maid in Manhattan, and when I heard she was doing voiceovers, I was so jealous somebody else got her before I did. While there weren’t many lines for Ma Kent, it’s always a pivotal role – it’s the woman who helped shape Superman’s sense of right and wrong. And Frances just has that quality about her voice that is mothering and warm and thoughtful, and what she did with such few lines of dialogue was wonderful and exactly what I was hoping to get.

Alexis has such an interesting quality to his voice. I loved Dr. Quintum, he’s such an odd character, and the voice matches perfectly. I’m never 100 percent sure when doing the casting if I made the right decision. It’s not until it comes back in animation that we really know that it actually did work. Alexis as Dr. Quintum is definitely one of those circumstances that worked well.

QUESTION: Beyond the on-camera actors, you tend to appear to have the best times directing when you have a room full of full-time voiceover actors – like on this project with John DiMaggio, Kevin Michael Richardson, Robin Atkin Downes, Steve Blum, Fred Tatasciore, Michael Gough and so on. What’s that group session like?

ANDREA ROMANO: Often when I cast my ensemble players for some of the secondary characters, and that is to say secondary characters by the number of lines they must perform, I treat it almost like a casting party. I want to put together people who enjoy being in a room together, that are going to bring something to the party, and that they’re somebody with whom I want to spend a few hours locked in a room together. Okay, sometimes it should be a padded room. I find that I get a core group of actors and I almost want to carry them with me to every different project I’m working on – the end credits of my films and series probably back that up. When I get the chance, I also like to cast those guys in major featured roles, like John DiMaggio as the Joker in Batman: Under the Red Hood. The thing about these actors is that they’re so versatile that I could assign three roles to each before they walked into the room, and I could change it when we walked into the room and they’d have no problem playing the other characters instead. It’s always fun to work with that group, but sometimes it is like being a kindergarten teacher with an over-crowded class.

Award-winning actor Anthony LaPaglia returns to his villainous roots as the voice of Lex Luthor in “All-Star Superman,” the highly anticipated 10th entry in the ongoing series of DC Universe Animated Original Movies coming February 22.

LaPaglia is best-known for his Golden Globe-winning lead role in the CBS drama “Without a Trace” and won an Emmy for his role as Simon on “Frasier.”

LaPaglia takes the villainous lead in an “All-Star Superman” cast that includes James Denton (Desperate Housewives) as Superman, Christina Hendricks (Mad Men) as Lois Lane, seven-time Emmy Award winner Ed Asner (Up) as Perry White, Golden Globe winner Frances Conroy (Six Feet Under) as Ma Kent, Matthew Gray Gubler (Criminal Minds) as Jimmy Olsen and Linda Cardellini (ER) as Nasty.

In the feature, the Man of Steel rescues an ill-fated mission to the Sun (sabotaged by Lex Luthor) and, in the process, is oversaturated by radiation – which accelerates his cell degeneration. Sensing even he will be unable to cheat death, Superman ventures into new realms – finally revealing his secret to Lois, confronting Lex Luthor’s perspective of humanity, and attempting to ensure Earth’s safety before his own impending end with one final, selfless act.

QUESTION: What were the challenges of creating Lex Luthor as an animated voice?

AP: You have to understand the medium that you’re in. As opposed to (on-camera) acting with another individual where it requires listening in order for you to respond, here you’re having to create the question the other person would ask you in your head and then respond to it. It’s a much more difficult process because there’s a line between it being real and it being animated. There’s a slightly different tonal quality to the way you say things, or in the way you have to make it bigger sometimes than you would naturally do in order to sell it. But not having the visual in front of you – you’re kind of shooting in the dark a lot.

QUESTION: Did you enjoy this incarnation of Lex Luthor?

ANTHONY LAPAGLIA: Yeah, I did actually. I found it surprising that Lex Luthor was getting a bit spiritual (laugh). I guess it’s kind of like a sign of the times where he’s trying to get in touch with the inner Lex. (laugh)

QUESTION: Can you talk about the journey Lex goes through in All-Star Superman?

AP: The journey Lex Luthor takes in this film – in the beginning it’s what you’d expect: he’s interested in power and world domination and Superman is the bane of his existence. And then as it progresses, there’s a slight injection of humanity, which is surprising to Lex Luthor that he’s even experiencing feelings that are remotely human. So it kind of gives him an unusual arc. He definitely has more dimension to him in this film.

QUESTION: What do you bring to Lex Luthor?

AP: As a kid, I loved comic books. It’s basically how I learned to read as a kid because my mother would buy them for me to keep me quiet, I think. I remember one time particularly – I was 4 or 5 years old, and I was sick and I had to stay in bed for three weeks, and so she would buy me comic books every second or third day. And I just created my own world, sitting under the covers reading Superman, Batman, Silver Surfer, a lot of the great comics.

QUESTION: What is it about Lex Luthor that most appeals to you?

AP: There’s a kind of sarcastic streak in Lex Luthor that comes from that extreme confidence in his ability to do what he does. I like the attitude of him. I like that nothing really fazes him, that he feels like he has complete control over everything, therefore, he can be relaxed enough to be a smartass. A good Lex Luthor makes or breaks it for me, I think.

QUESTION: As you’ve played so many villains, do you prefer being the bad guy?

AP: I’ve always liked playing the baddy. Some people have a problem with getting typecast. I’m quite happy with being typecast. I don’t care, as long as you’re working. The truth is you could play every bad guy in a one dimensional fashion, but it’s like everything else in life – everything’s different and everyone’s unique, so you have to find the uniqueness in the character to bring it to life.

QUESTION: You’ve obviously performed in every medium available, but voiceover is relatively new for you. Does voiceover work offer you challenges or joys of acting that you don’t get elsewhere?

AP: I like the isolation part of it. I like that there’s a certain amount of freedom, and that you’re not waiting for somebody else to find their motivation. It’s more challenging to come up with a believable character doing animation work than it is (in live-action). Acting is relatively easy because you have a personal one-on-one interaction with someone, therefore whatever you’re doing is a lot smoother. This requires a bit more patience and you have to suspend the fact that you’re in a sound stage and really commit to the material.

QUESTION: You had a moment where you weren’t understanding Andrea Romano’s direction on a particular emotion, and Bruce Timm was able to draw Lex Luthor with an expression that depicted that emotion. Have you ever gotten direction via artwork before?

AP: That made me laugh. We were trying to get that particular passage done right and I didn’t quite know how to get it. It’s not an uncommon issue where you have three or four people that have three or four different takes on what it should be – it gets a little confusing sometimes if you’re doing it and you’re taking in all the different stuff. You want to deliver what they want but sometimes you’re not sure how to quite get there. And I thought that was ingenious, actually, showing me the picture through the glass of the expression on Lex Luthor’s face. It made perfect sense – Bruce is an animator. That’s what he does – so he was able to show me visually what he was looking for in my voice. I could actually see Lex’s mental state of anguish. It actually made me think of doing it a different way and that ended up working.

QUESTION: You’ve earned a Tony Award, an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe — does one of those honors mean more to you than the others?

AP: To be honest, after a certain period of time they’re just kind of like objects in your closet. I think that, of all of them, the one that kind of means (more) was the Tony Award because doing theater is way, way, harder than doing anything you’ll ever do on film or television. It’s about real discipline. You have to go in and do eight shows a week whether you feel like it or not and, in the case where I won the Tony, it was in one of those shows where you could never phone it in. It just didn’t work if you phoned it in. So, come hell or high water, I did it for a year – which is a long time to do eight shows a week. I think I missed about five in a year. Also, I think (the Tony Award) meant probably the most because it’s where I started. It’s kind of what I admire the most. Theatre is what I find the most challenging. So I would say that the Tony kind of meant more. But the others are nice, too, you know (laughs).

QUESTION: How much does a background in the theatre help in the voiceover booth?

AP: The theatrical background helps you in doing (voiceover) because you’ve already been through a hundred different acting classes where you’ve had to sit on a black box and pretend that you were a lemon or an imaginary cup of coffee or whatever. There’s always a part of that program that requires you to strip yourself bare and be an idiot. And if you’re not prepared to do that, then you have no place being there.

QUESTION: You had quite a lengthy list of unglamorous jobs before becoming an actor. Pro soccer player, teacher, shoe salesman, furniture restorer, sprinkler installer. And now you’re an award-winning star voicing a super villain for an animated film. How does it all tie together?

AP: Well, that’s glorification. I used to dig the trenches for the guy who actually installed the sprinklers. I just did the digging (laughs). I had no idea that I would be doing what I’m doing now when I was a kid. When I was a kid you could’ve said that I was going to be an astronaut and that would have been more realistic than doing this. So I think it ties together in that I don’t really have any expectations or feelings of how things should go anymore. They go how they go and you’ve just got to roll with it. And I think it’s your ability to roll with it that keeps you in the game. It’s also your ability to recognize when it’s changing and how you need to change with it if you want to. And I’ll tell you that from the minute I decided what I wanted to do, it’s all been gravy from there. It’s what I want to do. Whether I’m successful or not at it, it’s what I chose to do. It wasn’t what somebody told me to do, so everything that comes out of it is just a bonus.

QUESTION: OK. But if you could do it all over again, what would you choose – acting or soccer?

AP: That’s a tough one. What level of football? (laugh) Well, if I could play in Italy for a five-year career, I’d swap it. Absolutely. People don’t realize how huge football players are in other parts of the world – compared to them, actors and musicians are nothing. They’re doormats. You walk through Rome with Francesco Totti and I don’t care who you are – nobody’s going to notice you because Francesco Totti is God. It’s hard for people to conceive in this country just how important the game of football is culturally in Europe and South America, and even Asia. It’s religion; it’s life; it’s everything.

I know who dies at the end of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” And so do you.

J.K. Rowling’s first book about the boy wizard who saved the world (a lot) came out when I was twelve years old. I was the perfect age for it, but I also had a contrary streak as wide as Greenland. So while my classmates were falling in love with Harry, Hermione, and that ginger kid they hung out with, I was firmly against becoming a Potterite.

Years later I can admit my mistake. I consider it a sign of deep personal growth that I can embrace the fact that I was wrong to dismiss Harry Potter just because everyone else liked it. That’s my excuse, and I’m sticking to it.

Now that I’m older, wiser, more mature, and far less contrary, I can readily say that J.K. Rowling did a wonderful thing for the world when she introduced us all to Harry Potter.

This is why I recently decided to read all seven Harry Potter books and watch all of the movies.

With the seventh film just recently released in theaters, it seemed the perfect time to embrace the series I had so wrongly dismissed in my youth. Turns out Harry Potter is kind of awesome. Who knew? (Everybody except me, apparently).

My childhood best friend is a dyed-in-the-wool Potterite. When I told her about my new project, our conversation went something like this:

Me: So I’m finally reading Harry Potter.

Friend: (unintelligible noises of glee)

Me: I’m also watching all the movies.

Friend: What book are you on? Tell me quickly so I don’t spoil anything for you!

Me: Well, I’m on the second book and I just finished watching the fourth movie…

Friend: What! How can you watch the movies before reading the books? Aren’t you worried about spoilers?

Me: Relax. I already know what happens anyway.

Friend: But how can that be?

Me: It’s impossible to be alive today and not have Harry Potter spoiled for you. Everyone talks about it, because they assume that if you haven’t finished reading the latest book forty-eight hours after it has been published, you are either illiterate or living on Mars. I’ve known how the series ends for years.

Friend: Yeah right.

Me: No, really. (SPOILER) marries (SPOILER) and (SPOILER) marries (SPOILER), much to the chagrin of all the fan girls who thought that (SPOILER) really should’ve ended up with (SPOILER), despite the author’s obvious foreshadowing from book two.

Friend: Ok, that’s one thing you know. I bet you don’t know—

Me: (SPOILER) kills (SPOILER) at the end of The Half-Blood Prince.

Friend: Yeah, but you don’t know why—

Me: Because (SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER). Also, (SPOILER) dies at the end of “Order of the Phoenix,” which was really a shame because (SPOILER). Oh, and Voldemort keeps coming back like the herpes of literary villains (which is not a spoiler at all).

Fiend: (stunned silence)

Our conversation continued like that for awhile, with my friend testing my knowledge of Harry Potter and me answering correctly despite never having read the books or seen the movies before. At the end, she had to concede that I was right:

We are living in a post-Potter world.

You know that (SPOILER) is a werewolf. You know that (SPOILER) eventually becomes Seeker of the (SPOILER) Quidditch team. You know that (SPOILER) is not really a (SPOILER), that (SPOILER) is really a bad guy (I mean, who didn’t see that one coming?), that (SPOILER) is really a good guy, and that (SPOILER) is not really as bad as (SPOILER) seems to think.

You know all this stuff, and if you honestly don’t believe you do, all you have to do is ask the person sitting next to you. They’ll tell you why (SPOILER) was expelled from Hogwarts, and their tone of voice will tell you that they think you’ve been living under a rock for the past ten years.

Living in a post-Potter world means that people just talk about Harry Potter like it is current world news or last night’s episode of “American Idol.” They assume that if you don’t know that (SPOILER) (SPOILERS) then you must have suffered some kind of traumatizing blow to the head that caused you to forget the final pages of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.”

They assume that you too have read and worshiped the words of J.K. Rowling, that you know the plots of her books intimately, and that you therefore wouldn’t be opposed to some open discussion on why (SPOILER) appears to hate (SPOILER) so much.

The only people safe from Harry Potter spoilers are small children, and that’s only because the world assumes their parents haven’t finished reading The Sorcerer’s Stone to them yet.

Harry Potter has become such a staple of our collective culture that it’s impossible to ignore. You can’t be oblivious to Harry Potter. Even if you are innocent enough not to know that (SPOILER) is the (SPOILER) in “The Chamber of Secrets,” you at the very least know the following information:

a) Harry is a wizard.

b) Harry goes to wizard school.

c) The game of Quidditch makes no practical sense.

That’s assuming you’re deaf and have been meditating in Nepal since 1999.

As the population of the universe troops off to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on the big screen, is anyone really surprised? Is anyone sitting at the edge of their seat wondering, “What happens next?” I sincerely doubt it. If anything, they’re all waiting to see how the movie differs from the book in some minute way.

We live in a post-Potter world, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I’m not trying to say that Harry Potter is any less of a good story because we all know that (SPOILERY SPOILERY SPOILER). On the contrary: It is one of the story’s strengths that despite being spoiled for millions of first-time readers, Harry Potter continues to have great literary strength and entertainment value.

I knew about (SPOILER)’s secret before the pivotal scene in “The Prisoner of Azkaban.” That didn’t make it any less exciting for me when Harry, Hermione, and the ginger kid found out. And how cool was it when (SPOILER) made his grand exit from “The Order of the Phoenix” by getting carried off by (SPOILER)?

In an age when we consume entertainment in 140 characters or less and YouTube-video-sized chunks, Harry Potter remains the absurdly-long book series that people of all ages will stay up at night reading. Even in a post-Potter world, J.K. Rowling’s books are exciting, entertaining, and (dare I say it) of literary value. They are what a good book should be: Timeless. For this late-blooming Potterite in a post-Potter world, they cannot truly be spoiled.

So this weekend I’m going to go see “The Deathly Hallows” (before I’ve read the book) at the movie theater with my die-hard Potterite friends. And I’m going to enjoy it (Even though I already know that (SPOILER) can’t be (SPOILERED) by (SPOILER) because of (SPOILER)).

Oh yeah, and Hermione kills Hagrid to avenge the death of Snape.

Mark Twain didn’t write this.

A new edition of “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” will be published without the words “nigger” or “injun,” the overly outdated and inappropriate in modern vernacular racial slurs that were nonetheless used in the 1884 first edition of the book after Mark Twain wrote it.

According to Publisher’s Weekly, NewSouth Books decided to replace the “n” word with the word “slave.”

What do you think of this? Share your comments below.

A meteor just crashed in Fawcett City causing a fiery explosion to interrupt a teen make-out session. Out of the flaming wreckage steps a villain with mythic power that springs straight from the gods, Black Adam.

This Tuesday “Superman/Shazam: The Return of Black Adam” hits shelves on Blu-ray and DVD.

Comic fans know the face of the villain, but uninitiated have no idea the powerful forces at command of the black-clad powerhouse. Voiced by Arnold Vosloo (The Mummy), the newcomer lets the viewer in by clapping to create a sonic concussion and level a diner where the unsuspecting reporter Clark Kent interviews the poor orphan Billy Batson.

After being slapped through a series of buildings Kent reveals his identity to the newcomer. Reprising his role as Supeman, George Newbern (Justice League) announces that he has no intention of letting the rampaging sociopath kill the boy.

The titanic battle that ensues highlights that what animators can accomplish these days is limited only by their own imaginative powers.

Just as Black Adam capitalizes on his realization that Superman is weak against magic, Billy Batson goes through a Harry Potter-like train sequence where he meets the wizard Shazam.

When the wizard grants him powers similar to those of Black Adam, Billy jumps at the chance to save The Man of Steel.

As he first attempts to return the favor, it becomes very clear, very quickly that Black Adam is quite comfortable in his own powers. In the ensuing throw-down Black Adam demonstrates the battle prowess of a 5,000-year-old warrior. Needless to say, it’s awesome.

This animation presents the master-crafted jewel for the crown of animated shorts from Warner’s DC showcase. The Blu-ray retails for $29.99, and the DVD for $19.99, featuring The Spectre, The Green Arrow, and Jonah Hex. Even though these are 10-12 minutes each, the 22 minute title feature makes it worth the cash. Checking out producer Bruce Timm’s favorite picks from previous Warner Bros. shows adds nostalgia value, for fans of Justice League Unlimited, or Batman: The Animated Series.

J.K. Rowling told Oprah Winfrey in a taped interview airing Friday that she may someday write another novel in the popular “Harry Potter” series.

According to Associated Press, Rowling says the characters are still in her head and she “could definitely” write several new books about them. She says: “I’m not going to say I won’t.” For now, she feels she’s moved on to a new phase of her writing.

Not that she has completely put down her pen. Rowling plans to write more books, and feels there is no need to match or top her previous achievement.

According to CNN.com, “I did it. I’m really proud I did it,” she said. “But this is a new phase.”

More than 400 million copies of the books about the boy wizard have been sold and she went on to become richer than Queen Elizabeth II. Rowling says fame brought extreme pressures, including paparazzi and reporters searching her trash.

She says it was “like being a Beatle” and there was a time she “was barely hanging by a thread.”

A genre in pop culture that has not been heard from in some time: The Stoner Comedy.

Though a few attempts have been made to rival the classic for our generation, one movie stands up to be called “The modern day Cheech and Chong.” I’m speaking of course about the movie “Half-Baked.” It has been over a decade since the movie’s release, but still it remains a staple in the recreational smoker’s movie repertoire. A major contributing reason for the movie’s cult-like success is due, in large part, to Mr. Jim Breuer.

His upcoming book “I’m Not High (But I Do Have a Lot of Crazy Stories About Life As A Goat Boy, A Dad, And A Spiritual Warrior)” will hit shelves on Tuesday. Blast had the pleasure of talking with this resin-soaked legend about this new endeavor and life as an author, comedian, Goat Boy, dad, and spiritual warrior.

BLAST: What are you feeling as you wait for the official release of your first book? Excitement?

JIM BREUER: You know what, I’m excited, but I don’t really know what to expect. I try not to get my hopes up. It’s like when I was doing Half-Baked. I thought that was going to be the greatest stoner character ever. Thought it would open up the doors for big blockbuster movies. But I haven’t been in a movie since!

BLAST: You’ve got to be a little anxious.

JB: Well, the thing is, I can live with the fact if it doesn’t do well because I wrote it. So I’m alright with it. I love the content. I’ll know I did a good job if I see someone with a copy of it at the airport, reading it in the terminal, like “This is really good!€

BLAST: How did you find the whole writing process? Since they were your stories, did you just find yourself flying through the pages?

JB: It was Emotionally draining. The whole. Freakin. Book. I hand wrote it. No computer or typewriter. Every single story in the book I have an emotional tie to. Whether it be sad, happy, funny, whatever. So by the time I was done, I was exhausted.

BLAST: You say there are sad stories too. Where these personal stories about family, or yourself?

JB: Yeah about family members that died. My brother, A really close friend of mine who passed away as well. There are a couple stories in there about some deep moments with Chappelle. Kind of shows some other sides of him.

BLAST: How did you go about editing the book?

JB: I actually just kind of gave out some copies I had my sister make to some close friends, and asked them to tell me what they thought. Once they read it, they all were pretty positive and told me “I loved this part€ or “This was my favorite section€. Then I knew I was really on to something.

BLAST: Getting away from the book for a second, are you still on tour right now?

JB: I am. This tour goes until December, then I start a little book signing tour. Then next year I really want to push the book with a decent length storytelling tour. Then I’d like to go back to radio full-time.

BLAST: How have you noticed your stand-up act change over the years as you mature.

JB: It’s changed a lot. I am constantly trying to keep the happy medium, though. That being changing the content and subject matter, but not changing the style of the delivery. I probably crush, now, more than I ever have before in my sets.

Jim Breuer is currently touring Midwest comedy clubs and will be making his way up the east coast, and appearing in some New York and New Jersey late November. “I’m Not High (But I Do Have a Lot of Crazy Stories about Life as a Goat Boy, A Dad, And a Spiritual Warrior)” will be available on Tuesday.

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Robert Downey Jr. is back as the snarky yet heroic billionaire, Tony Stark, in the second installment in the movie adaption of the classic Marvel comic series, Iron Man. After revealing his identity to the whole world, Tony finds himself in conflict with the US government, who want to get their hands on the secret behind his Iron man suit. But Tony’s unwillingness to hand over his secrets has consequences he could have never imagined, and with the appearance of an enemy from his father’s past, It is very clear that Tony Stark won’t be finding much peace. (Paramount, $30.99; Special Edition DVD, $37.99; Blu-Ray, $39.99)

Get Him to the Greek (2010)

From the people that produced notable comedies such as Knocked Up and 40-Year Old Virgin, Get Him to the Greek features familiar characters, and completely new ones. British comedian Russell Brand plays Aldous Snow, a fictional British Rocker that we were first introduced to in the comedy hit, Forgetting Sarah Marshell. Snow is about to embark on a multimillion dollar tour that kicks off at L.A.’s Greek Theatre. But he has other plans in mind, ones that involve winning back his one true love. This wouldn’t be a problem if it wasn’t for his escort, Aaron Green, who is played by Jonah Hill. Green’s career can be made or broken depending on his efforts to get the wild rock star to the Greek. But when he realizes that Snow has other plans, he goes on a wild ride that he never expected to be on. (Universal, $29.98; Unrated, $34.98; Unrated Blu-Ray, $39.98)

Babies (2010)

It’s very hard to resist the appeal of a cute newborn baby, a fact that the producers of the documentary, Babies, know very well. The film follows the journey of four newborn babies from birth to their very first steps. The babies come from four different parts of the globe, and provide an interesting look on the beginning of life, and the similarities and differences between the foundations that make all of us human. (Focus, $29.98; Blu-Ray, $39.98)

Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky (2010)

Based on a novel written by Chris Greenhalgh, This French film chronicles Coco Chanel’s relationship with Igor Stravinsky, and the time that she and his family spent together in her villa. Through their secret affair, Chanel and Stravinsky rouse creativity that they never knew they had. But, at the same time, turmoil starts to rear its ugly head, affecting the secret couple, and the family that they hide their feelings from. (Sony, $27.96; Blu-Ray, $34.95)

Other Releases:

Frozen (Anchor Bay, $29.97; Blu-Ray, $34.98)

The Killer Inside Me (IFC, $19.98; Blu-Ray, $29.98)

Books

Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary by David Sedaris

Known Humorist David Sedaris releases his new volume this week, but this time with an animal themed twist. Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk features stories of normal daily life situations, except for the fact that humans aren’t experiencing them. Subject matter ranges from AA meetings to star crossed lovers, and leaves us wondering if the lives of animals are just as complicated as our own. (Little, Brown & Company; $21.99)

Assholes Finish First by Tucker Max

When it comes to Tucker Max’s books, the titles speak for themselves. In his follow up to the National Bestseller, I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, Tucker Max reveals more of his scandalous stories about his physical interactions with the opposite sex, and the other debaucheries he can’t help but get involved in.  (Simon & Schuster Adult, $25.99)

Fall of Giants by Ken Follett

Ken Follett’s World Without End was a huge critical success, and earned him much praise for his writing and storytelling abilities. In his new book, the first in the Century Trilogy, Follett crafts a world in which five families of different nationalities grapple with different situations, including the First World War and the fight for women’s suffrage. The book series will follow generations of each of the families and how they deal with many infamous events of the twentieth century. With a heavily researched background and heartbreaking characters, Fall of Giants is bound to make any Follett fans happy campers. (Penguin Group, $36.00)

Torment (Lauren Kate’s Fallen Series #2) by Lauren Kate

In the second volume in Lauren Kate’s angelic YA book series, Luce is finally able to be with the love of her life, Daniel, who happens to be a fallen angel who she falls in love with in every past life. But

when Daniel becomes determined to hunt down those who would like to see Luce dead, he decides to hide her in a peculiar location: a high school devoted to Nephilim, the children of fallen angels

and humans. But her hiding place turns out to be more trouble than they thought when Luce begins to doubt Daniel’s intensions and versions of past events. Soon, she starts to wonder if she is really destined to be with Daniel, or if she is truly meant to be with someone else. (Random Hous

e Children’s Books, $17.99)

Other Book Releases:

Naked Heat (Nikki Heat) by Richard Castle (Hyperion, $24.99)

I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett (HarperCollins, $16.99)

Taken by Midnight: A Midnight Breed Novel by Lara Adrian (Dell, $7.99)

The Jedi Path by Daniel Wallace (becker&mayer! Book Producers, $99.99)

Obama’s Wars by Bob Woodward (Simon & Schuster, $30.00)

The New Road to Serfdom: A Letter of Warning to America by Daniel Hannan (Harper, $24.99)

Here are the books and videos coming out this week:

DVD and Blu-ray

Robin Hood (2010

Russell Crowe once again shows his affinity for period pieces, but this time does so while evoking the spirit of the most legendary heroes in pop culture. With a cast that includes names such as Cate Blanchett and Matthew Macfayden, Universal pictures adaption of the classic tale in its original unrated format tells the tale of the notable hero and his band of men as they endeavor to fight the corrupt hand of the crown, and bring justice back to their country. (Universal, $29.98; Special Edition, $34.98; Blu-ray, $39.98)

Ondine (2010)

Colin Farrell goes back to his roots in this modern fantastical film heavily based in Irish lore. When Irish fisherman, Syracuse (portrayed by Collin Farrell, of course) finds a mysterious woman in his net, he can’t help but feel that she is more than human. The appearance of Ondine (played by polish actress, Alicja Bachleda) brings him luck in fishing, but naturally, all good things come with consequences, as Syracuse soon learns. (Magnolia, $26.98; Blu-ray, $29.98)

Community: The Complete First Season (2010)

Just in time for the premiere of the second season (September 23, 2010 at 8pm EST), Community’s first successful twenty-two episode season will be available in one box set. In the spirit of similar comedies such as 30 Rock and the Office, Community is filled with laughs, yet brandishes a cast filled with unlikely people. The Soup’s Joel Mchale’s starring role as Jeff Winger shows off his comedic talents in a venue other than his popular show, and trades puns about pop culture for the misfortune life of a disbarred lawyer attending Greendale Community College. Other peculiar faces include Chevy Chase of National Lampoon and Caddyshack fame, who portrays Pierce Hawthorne, a moist-toilette tycoon who serves as a sort of mentor to Mchale’s character. The show chronicles Jeff’s life at the community college dealing with all of the new people around him and his growing crush on fellow student, Britta Perry (played by Gillian Jacobs). (Sony, $39.95)

Other Releases:

• 30 Rock- Season 4 (Universal, $49.98)
• Spartacus: Blood and Sand- First Complete Season (Anchor Bay, $59.98; Blu-Ray, 79.99)
• Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue (Disney, $29.99; Blu-Ray, $39.99)
• How I Met Your Mother- Season 5 (Fox, $39.98)
• Desperate Housewives- The Complete Sixth Season (ABC, $49.99)
• Bored to Death- Season One (HBO, $39.98; Blu-Ray, $49.99)
• Stomp the Yard: Homecoming (Sony, $24.96; Blu-Ray, $30.95)
• Human Target-The Complete First Season (Warner Bros. $39.98; Blu-Ray, $49.99)
• Castle- The Complete Second Season (Buena Vista, $45.99)
• Two and a Half Men- The Complete Seventh Season (Warner Bros. $44.98)

Books

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents Earth (The Book): A Visitor’s Guide to the Human Race

Once again, Jon Stewart makes his presence known in the publishing world with his new volume of parody, but America is not the only thing under the self-deprecating microscope this time around. In Jon Stewart’s new title, he takes a hilarious look at the world we live and what defines us as people, not just as one country, but as an entire planet. Just imagine Jon Stewart and everything that makes his show entertaining crammed into a book, a must read, right? (Grand Central Publishing, $27.99)

Don’t Blink (James Patterson and Howard Roughan)

James Patterson is known for his ability to put out a mystery novel in what seems like, seconds. The same can be said for this title, yet another mystery book to put under his belt, and not to mention yet another product of partnership between two authors. The book depicts the murder of a mobster that takes place in a famous steak house in New York, but unbeknown to the murder, Nick Daniels is seated only inches away doing an interview with a legendary face in baseball. Nick manages to get a hold of an important piece of evidence that could be the key to the whole case, and parties on both sides of the law are eager to get Nick on their side, placing him in the middle of a mafia war. (Little, Brown, and Company, $27.99)

The Fall — Strain Trilogy #2 (Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hugan)

In the long awaited sequel to THE STRAIN, The vampire virus has taken over New York City, and is well on its way to taking over the world. The remaining survivors, including Eph Goodweather, CDC Team head, must band together to stay alive, and preserve what is left of the human race. Even if it means protecting the ones they love from those who used to be seen in that same regard. From the mind of the man behind Pan’s Labyrinth, The Fall is bound to be a creepy ride, and quench the thirst of anyone who is interested in the science fiction or vampire focused genre. (HarperCollins, $26.99)

Other Releases:

• Bad Blood (Virgil Flowers Series #4) by John Sanford (Penguin Group, $27.95)
• Mini Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella (Random House Publishing, $25.00)
• Twelfth Grade Kills (The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod Series #5) by Heather Brewer (Penguin Young Readers, $16.99)
• Aftershock : The Next Economy and America’s Future by Robert Reich (Knopf Doubleday Publishing, $25.00)
• The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff (Penguin Young Readers, $17.99)

Seven-time Emmy Award winner Ed Asner (Up) reprises his Superman: The Animated Series/Justice League role as Granny Goodness in Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, the ninth entry in the popular, ongoing series of DC Universe Animated Original PG-13 Movies coming September 28 from Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Home Video.

Granny Goodness is the primary henchwoman for the evil lord Darkseid, ruler of the distant planet Apokolips and a cruel, ominous being even more powerful than Superman. Asner first voiced the role for four episodes of Superman: The Animated Series, and returned to those evil female roots for two episodes of Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.

Asner’s storied career boasts seven Emmy Awards — three supporting actor honors for his role as Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, two more as the title character in Lou Grant, and a pair of awards recognizing individual supporting performances in the landmark miniseries Roots and Rich Man, Poor Man. He has won more acting Emmys than any other performer, and is the only actor to ever win Emmy Awards for playing the same character in both a comedy and a drama.

The five-time Golden Globe winner also served as President of the Screen Actors Guild from 1981-1985.

Live-action accolades aside, Asner has been ever-present in animation for nearly 25 years, running the gamut from guest spots on shows like Animaniacs, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Johnny Bravo, King of the Hill, The Boondocks and Hercules (to name but a few) to regular roles in Gargoyles, Freakazoid, Batman: The Animated Series, Spider-Man and Captain Planet and the Planeteers. He also voiced the role of Santa Claus in the animated television special Olive the Other Reindeer (he’s played Santa Claus for four different film/TV productions).

Asner’s stirring, funny, wonderful portrayal of Carl Fredrickson in Disney/Pixar’s Up had critics wondering why the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences had yet to add a voice acting category to the Academy Awards slate.

Asner joins a Superman/Batman: Apocalypse cast led by fan favorites Tim Daly (Private Practice) and Kevin Conroy (China Beach) reprising their seminal roles as Superman and Batman, respectively. Also featured among the celebrity-laden guest cast is Andre Braugher (Men of a Certain Age) as the daunting Darkseid, and sci-fi heroine Summer Glau (Serenity/Firefly, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles).

Based on the DC Comics series/graphic novel "Superman/Batman: Supergirl" by Jeph Loeb, Michael Turner & Peter Steigerwald, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse is produced by animation legend Bruce Timm and directed by Lauren Montgomery (Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths) from a script by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Tab Murphy (Gorillas in the Mist).

Asner, who turns 81 this November, had a few short minutes to answer questions following his latest recording session as Granny Goodness. Take note … or Granny will know.

QUESTION: How does Granny Goodness compare to playing other female characters?

ED ASNER: I don’t think I have played any other female characters before (he laughs). But if I did, she’d have more balls than any of them. It’s become the fashion lately — there’s Brian Bedford in Stratford doing Lady Bracknell in Oscar Wilde’s play. What hasn’t been done enough is women playing men in as butch a manner as possible. That’s got to be even more fun. I’m talking somebody like Marjorie Main pulling it off.

QUESTION: What do you use as a focal point while voicing Granny?

EA: I’m thinking she’s a lot of chest, a lot of high pressure steam, and that she’s probably got a constant focus on vengeance and wreaking havoc on whoever she can. And I want to get away with as much damage as I can in as high-flown an effeminate form as possible.

QUESTION: You’ve done it all and had long-lasting success in the entertainment industry. What’s the enticement of voice acting for you?

EA: It’s always a trip a joyful trip to come into the studio, and especially working with this group. Andrea (Romano) is a delight to work with, and Bruce (Timm) knows this genre better than anybody. Plus, it’s the ability to let your imagination take flight — to take chances, to plunge and to soar. That’s something you don’t get to do as an actor. You get to do it as a kid. So I grab the opportunity as often as I can.

QUESTION: With all the animation work you’ve done, and the huge success of Up, can we assume you see animated films and television as a viable source of entertainment.

EA: I’ve always loved cartoons — I watched them when I was young, I still watch them now. And it is interesting to see how much more adult they’ve gotten in terms of content, from these super hero pieces with their violence and more adult themes to the truly mature, fully-developed stories developed in films like Up and Wall-E. Today’s animation goes places cartoons didn’t used to go.

QUESTION: How do you feel about spunk?

EA: That all depends on who’s got it.

Bruce Greenwood and Andrea Romano

Romano has been instrumental in orchestrating the vocal tones behind the character’s non-live appearances for more than two decades. From Kevin Conroy and Rino Romano to Jeremy Sisto and William Baldwin, Romano knows precisely what voice will best fit the tones of a particular story or series.

Enter “Batman: Under the Red Hood” and all of its deep, emotional undertones. Romano has outdone herself once again, balancing the veteran acting chops of Bruce Greenwood as Batman with the youthful, pained intonations of Jensen Ackles as Red Hood, and tossing in Neil Patrick Harris as Nightwing for humorous resonance.

All in a days work for Romano, who recruits the best in the business — winners of Oscars, Emmys and Tonys alike — to provide the voices behind some of the world’s best known super heroes for the DC Universe Animated Original Movies.

“Batman: Under the Red Hood” is the next entry in the popular ongoing series of DC Universe Animated Original PG-13 Movies from Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The full-length film will be distributed by Warner Home Video on July 27 as a Special Edition version on Blu-Ray and 2-disc DVD, as well as being available on single disc DVD, On Demand and for Download.

Romano took a few minutes to offer her perspective:

QUESTION: Let’s take the cast one member at a time. What made Bruce Greenwood right for the role of Batman in this particular film?

ANDREA ROMANO: One of the coolest finds of this past year for me was Bruce. I’ve seen so much of his work over the years, and he can do so many things so convincingly. I knew I’d have to offer him a big role. Something with meat. And I knew he would really sink his teeth into the material and make it his own. I don’t need to tell you what a wonderful actor he is — but for this film, he gives a terrific, sensitive performance. This is the most tortured we’ve ever seen of Batman and, without overplaying it, Bruce really showed us a lot of the guilt and issues Batman has in his luggage. It’s an exhaustive, emotional piece, and he carried it perfectly.

QUESTION: How did Jensen Ackles perform in his maiden voyage in animation?

AR: When you get a first-timer in the booth, there are often risks involved, particularly in understanding the techniques involved in working with the microphone. Jensen picked it up so quickly and was so effective in this very difficult role. Red Hood is written as such an embittered, angry, verging-on-insane character, and it can so easily be overplayed. But Jensen found just the right level of energy and flair. I loved his acting. His quality was dead-on, and he really offers a perfect balance with Bruce (Greenwood).

As a director, you live the emotions with the actor. There’s one scene where Jensen has to let his emotions completely bubble to the surface. I had to work really hard to see my script through the tears that I was crying with him as he let his emotions come through.

QUESTION: Who better than Neil Patrick Harris to break up all the emotional drama of this film?

AR: Who doesn’t love Neil Patrick Harris? He’s charming, talented, friendly, and remembers everyone he works with. He can sing and dance, not that I need that talent for Red Hood (she laughs). And in this instance, he did the unthinkable — he came to record for us on his way to the airport as he was going to New York to host the Tony Awards. Nightwing really does give a comic balance to this intense story, and Neil brought that spunky, funny instinct to the character with his usual effortless performance. He’s completely believable whether he’s doing drama or comedy, and he really added to this film. If I could, I would use Neil on every single project I do.

QUESTION: Jason Isaacs is such a nice guy. Why’d you have to make him play a villain again?

AR: Jason Isaacs is a delight. And you’re right (she laughs) — nice guys sometimes make the best villains. I’ve worked with Jason several times, and he’s absolutely fantastic. For Ra’s, I needed something slightly exotic. He’s a great, unusual character, but we had to fight against him getting too cartoony — and I knew Jason had the chops. He’s also a wonderfully intelligent actor — during the recording session, he had so many ideas, and would so respectfully suggest them to Bruce (Timm) and I — and I honestly don’t know that there was one we didn’t use. He helped edit the copy, he added beats where we didn’t even see them, and really nuanced the performance.

QUESTION: The Joker has had some very memorable live-action and animated performances from some notable performers. How did John DiMaggio fit into that legacy?

AR: If I weren’t in love with my husband, it would be John. He’s such a versatile, talented voiceover actor. The Joker is such an intense character, and I knew I needed somebody with great range — and John was delighted to come in and play, and he gave it some beautiful new twists. Because he has such a deep gravely voice, and he’s good at comedy, and he’s a good actor, I knew John already had covered most of the points of the Joker. But I didn’t want a light, thin reedy voice, I wanted a voice with some mass to it. That’s John.

QUESTION: You’ve placed Vincent and Alex Martella as the Young and Younger Robin voices. Had you ever cast brothers in the same film?

AR: This is the first time I’ve ever cast brothers in the same film. I was familiar with Vincent’s work and had been looking for something for him, and this was a great, interesting opportunity because I needed to cast the younger version of this character at two different ages. Vincent has a younger brother named Alex, who has only just begun in the industry, but because siblings tend to have very similar qualities to their voices, it was kind of a no-brainer to cast his younger brother as his younger self. And they were terrific — Vincent was pure dynamite in his performance, and I actually think Alex learned from watching his older brother record before him.

What really surprised me was in their attention to detail. They had to set up this character’s life for another actor that they weren’t even going to act in the same room with, and I thought the transitions were seamless.

QUESTION: What set this cast apart from the first seven DC Universe films?

AR: Each one of these actors had something to bring to the party above and beyond what was required of them. They had questions, they had input, they had ideas and, because the piece is so adult, complex, intense and dark, they knew they weren’t coming in to play The Smurfs. In order to make sure they were in the right head space and had the right tone, they asked a lot of questions. And that’s always a good sign. When the actors are that involved with their characters and the story, that challenges Bruce (Timm) and I to truly think through everything even more thoroughly, and then it becomes a much more collaborative effort. I’m not above telling an actor how to read a line. But I’d prefer that the actor comes up with the idea himself and I’m able to just tweak things here and there. We all need a challenge, something that keeps us on our toes, and recording this film was one of those experiences. A very, very positive experience.

For more information, visit the film’s official website at www.BatmanRedHood.com.

Can we now say we’re burdened with an overabundance?

Boondock Saints fanatics, rejoice. After a 10 year dearth, the recent string of output from the franchise is certainly a welcome surprise for the fanbase whose enthusiasm for the franchise has led to its luminary cult status.

On the heels of the recent DVD release of "Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day," two additional announcements have come out of Camp Saints.

First, the soundtrack that played such a vital role in the second movie is now available on the Boondock Saints website, as well as Hot Topic, FYE, iTunes and Amazon, and will be hitting the shelves of other major retailers soon. The soundtrack features contributions from writer/director Troy Duffy’s brother, Taylor, as well as Kid Rock-endorsed (for whatever that’s worth) recording artist Ty Stone, and an exquisitely tasteful Sean C track called "Balls Deep."

Second, a taster for the upcoming comic series, "The Boondock Saints: In Nomine Patris," called "The Lost Gig" has been released for the iPad and in plain-old comic book form everywhere. The comic was actually written by Troy Duffy, and features the MacManus brothers and every Saints fan’s favorite shaggy sidekick, Rocco as they wreak havoc in a whole new storyline, meant to take place right before the Saint’s famous courtroom encounter with Vincenzo.

Let the capitalization of a beloved franchise begin.

He was raised as an American aristocrat. As the eldest grandson of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt (niece of Teddy and 5th cousin to her husband) he’s twice a Roosevelt, a name which means wealth and status. With his sister, he moved into the White House at age three and became a child celebrity.

Now at 79 and bearing a remarkable resemblance to his presidential granddad, Curtis Roosevelt was at the Boston Athenaeum recently promoting the paperback release of his childhood memoir “Too Close to the Sun: Growing Up in the Shadow of my Grandparents, Franklin and Eleanor.” During his visit he talked about his family and shared some thoughts about the differences between FDR’s presidency and the challenges facing Barack Obama.

Sistie and Buzzie

His book talks about growing up in “the goldfish bowl” of public attention. He writes that even before his grandfather was elected “we were used to the intrusions of waving newspaper reporters and the flare of flash bulbs.” Once he moved to the White House:

The press milked the phenomenon of the towheaded Roosevelt moppets, and we became a full-blown, pint-sized double act. My family called me Buzzie and our tabloid moniker became “Sistie and Buzzie” — we were as familiar as five-year old movie star Shirley Temple to a nation hungry for distraction from breadlines and boxcars.

But he also describes his boyhood as a strange and lonely one. He was raised in palatial surroundings by Black nannies in white uniforms. His dad was out of the picture. His sister, three years older, was the only child he played with. He hungered for affection from the frosty Roosevelt women, especially grandmother Eleanor who maintained an “arm’s-length relationship with her children” and with little Buzzie as well.

Advice for Mrs. O?

I asked Curtis Roosevelt if he has any advice for Mrs. Obama that might benefit her daughters’ experience in the White House. Speaking with a posh accent like one rarely hears outside of movies he told me, “I wouldn’t dare give advice. Those children are different as all children are different. They certainly are very different than my sister and I.”

He added “it was totally different era” and said that even intense attention given to him and his sister “doesn’t compare with the intrusiveness of the media today.”

The difference between our era of the Obama First Family and the days of Roosevelt are as dramatic as history itself. “You probably forget,” he told me in answer to a question about his nanny, “that when I grew up, the nation’s capitol, Washington DC, was a Jim Crowe town — that’s the way it was in Washington.”

Bay State Roosevelts

Boston Athenaeum and the Adams House at Harvard University were Curtis Roosevelt’s last stops on a tour across the United States. While the Roosevelts are generally associated with New York State, and France is now home to Curtis Roosevelt, Massachusetts has been home to a few Roosevelts as well (besides those that just passed through to attend Harvard).

Among these local Roosevelts are three of Teddy’s great-grandkids: Mark Roosevelt (1994 Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate), Tweed Roosevelt (Chairman of Roosevelt China Investments, a Boston firm), and Susan Roosevelt Weld (wife of former governor William Weld).

Gina Torres mixes equal parts evil, sexy and powerful of conjure the hypnotic voice of Superwoman in “Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths,” an all-new DC Universe Animated Original PG-13 Movie arriving today from Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation.

In “Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths,” a "good" Lex Luthor arrives from an alternate universe to recruit the Justice League to help save his Earth from the Crime Syndicate, a gang of villainous characters with virtually identical super powers to the Justice League. What ensues is the ultimate battle of good versus evil in a war that threatens both planets and puts the balance of all existence in peril. Torres plays Superwoman, the evil doppelganger to Wonder Woman and one of the leaders of the powerful Crime Syndicate.

Torres had an unanticipated assist in bringing about the powerful, yet sultry voice of Superwoman, coming into the booth in the final days of a bad flu that slightly lowered her vocal range and added a smoky sexiness to the outstanding performance. Even more impressive is her perfect match with the voice of Owlman, James Woods — considering the two actors recorded on opposite coasts, weeks apart, and have never met each other.

She is well known throughout the fanboy realm for her standout roles in Joss Whedon’s Firefly/Serenity and Angel, her performance at Cas in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, as well as 28 episodes in Cleopatra 2525. Torres has since been a mainstay across primetime television with recurring roles on 24, Alias and Standoff, in addition to guest appearances in CSI, Without a Trace, Boston Legal, Bones, Eli Stone, Pushing Daisies, Criminal Minds, Dirty Sexy Money, The Unit, FlashForward, Gossip Girl and The Vampire Diaries, to name just a few.

Torres has also spent some time in the animated world, working with Warner Bros. Animation as Vixen on Justice League.

Torres spent a few minutes after her recording session — and last week during the Los Angeles premiere of the film at the Paley Center for Media — to chat about her performance as Superwoman, the importance of strong female role models, the acting strengths of Whedon alums, her childhood obsession with Wonder Woman, and the fun of allowing her evil side to come out and play. Listen up … or else.

QUESTION: As you stepped into the sound booth to voice Superwoman, were you actually feeling wickedly sexy, delightfully cruel and ultimately powerful … or was that all just acting?

GINA TORRES: I’m so glad they called me to do Superwoman, (she laughs) because I was in the mood to get back in there and be a badass. Superwoman is one of those super heroes that knows her power, and is very comfortable in her power. And it’s all cat — it’s no mouse with her. She likes to bat around her prey and she really enjoys what she’s doing.

In the booth, you sort of have to become this person. When you’re not on stage with other actors and you’re not on camera, you really get to free up your body and do all kinds of things that maybe aren’t as pretty on camera. You get to have a good time getting your whole body involved in the interpretation.

QUESTION: Have you ever had a relationship with comic books?

GT: Do the Archies count? (laughs) I was a big Archie fan. I love Veronica — I want to look like Veronica. Betty was great, but Veronica was the girl. And that whole "Sugar, Sugar" (singing) thing was great. I’m telling my age — I’m really only 28. My sister is older (laughs). I was listening to her 45s.

I don’t want to disappoint any comic book fans out there, but I’m a girl so I really wasn’t reading the super hero comic books much. But it’s done great things for my marriage. The husband loved the idea of me playing Superwoman. And my girlfriends said, "Well, that’s just kind of you every day, isn’t it?" So I’m happy.

QUESTION: So there was no super hero role playing games when you were a kid?

GT: I absolutely played Wonder Woman when I was a kid. I had the lasso, the whole bracelet thing, I even had my twirl down. I just knew that I was going to be taken back to Paradise Island, because that’s really where I belonged. I was this small little Amazon just waiting to express myself, waiting for my true mother to come and get me. (laughs)

QUESTION: Can you give us an idea of what Superwoman’s motivations are in this film?

GT: Let’s see. Superwoman is motivated by power and money and sex, and sex and money and power. Who can’t relate to that?

QUESTION: Good answer. Not that Superwoman is a role model, but do you feel like women have enough super hero representation these days?

GT: What do you mean Superwoman is not a role model? Isn’t she a role model? She rules the world (laughs). She’s Superwoman! (laughs). What I love about super heroes, and Superwoman in particular, is that in that comics world they’re all curvaceous. There aren’t really any skinny bitches in the world of comic books. They’ve got muscle. I like that. I appreciate that. They’re strong. And it’s important to have strong images of women out there, women who aren’t afraid of expressing themselves, women who aren’t afraid of taking chances, women who aren’t afraid of their own power. Unfortunately, being a woman in society means that sometimes you have to sort of quell what is instinctually broad and magnificent and magical about you. I think a lot of people feel that way. I don’t know if that’s necessarily relegated to being a woman, because we’re all so worried about fitting in and not sticking out. So what’s great about this whole genre is that it’s all about sticking out. It’s all about being magnificent to the highest power.

QUESTION: You’re a terribly nice person by everyone’s perception. What’s your trick for turning on the villainy in a performance?

GT: Oh, there is no trick to capturing villainy. (laughs) The rumor is that I’m a nice person. I love that rumor. Everybody has different sides to them. Everybody has that inner villain that you want to break out and express. It’s a good time going out there and letting her come out. Lock good Gina in the closet … and have evil Gina come out and play.

QUESTION: You’ve been in this universe before, most notably as Vixen for Justice League. Do you have an attraction to the medium or just when the situation presents itself?

GT: I love voiceover work. It’s wonderful, it’s expressive. It’s a way of using a part of my instrument that I’m comfortable and familiar with. The voice is such a vital part of crafting a character. I’m so pleased that I have the kind of voice that prints well and that people want to hear. I’ve had friends actually say, "You know, I was in the kitchen, and the television was on and I heard you." I love hearing that there’s something familiar about my sound, and that to some people it’s soothing.

QUESTION: The DC Universe animated original movies have been blessed with numerous members of the Joss Whedon alumni association — from Adam Baldwin and Nathan Fillion to David Boreanaz and James Marsters, to name just a few. Is there something about the Joss experience that lends itself to this universe?

GT: Joss has an attraction to a certain kind of actor. Obviously, we’re all so very different in our own way. But when he’s choosing a world, he really does inhabit it quite completely. I mean, it is an entire universe. It is a Whedonverse, which is why I believe he’s so successful when he creates these worlds that one can get lost in. All the inhabitants in it require, without sounding self-serving, a kind of intellectual whimsy. You have to understand where you are and be true to it and at the same time let it go and let it fly and enjoy it for what it is — for the maniacal, for the fantasy, for the tragedy of it. I think all of these actors have lent themselves to these kinds of projects because we’ve been in that place. And so we can come here and say, "Yeah let’s have fun. I know where we are and let’s just go and have a good time."

QUESTION: You’ve got significant sci-fi fantasy experience. Is that by choice or happenstance?

GT: I would say that I was dragged into the sci-fi genre. (laughs) I wouldn’t say kicking and screaming. I actually went willingly. But it wasn’t something that I sought out. I grew up in New York, born and raised, and cut my teeth in the theatre. I did a lot of off-Broadway, and some Broadway. Sci-fi was certainly not where I thought I’d be making my bread and butter for this period of time. It’s been a pleasant surprise, certainly. I find that it’s a niche that I’m comfortable with. What else are you going to do with a strong, almost six-foot girl? Give her a gun. Give her superpowers. (laughs) And you give her a hefty belt with things attached to it. Yeah!

QUESTION: Can you quantify the passion of the fanboys out there?

GT: That passion of the fanboy is immeasurable. And it is priceless. And it is necessary when you’re doing these things because you don’t quite realize while you’re doing the work that you’re in a bubble. And it’s not until you’re released into the world that you realize that you’re making an impact and that you’re making somebody’s day brighter and someone’s universe broader. It is great fun to be confronted with these guys and gals.

This is one in an occasional series of articles in cooperation with The Good Men Project.

Nick Flynn is a poet and the author of “Another Bullshit Night in Suck City“, a memoir about his relationship with his estranged, alcoholic and homeless father. His latest book, “The Ticking is the Bomb,” is a memoir that interweaves reflections on his childhood, his relationship with his father, his mother’s suicide, the impending birth of his daughter, and his outrage and obsession with the torture depicted in the photos from Abu Ghraib.

Good Men Project co-founder Tom Matlack spoke with Flynn last week about “The Ticking is the Bomb” and about fatherhood. Matlack also invited Flynn to take The Good Men Project’s Manhood Quiz.

TOM MATLACK: One of the things I really love “The Ticking is the Bomb” is the way you write about the way we all get lost. I think many of us men are at a crossroads. You realize this the morning you get up and look in the mirror and don’t recognize who you are.

Nick Flynn: I think it’s hard to tell when you are actually lost. It’s hard to remember that it’s actually a common experience—and maybe just a human experience, and almost a necessary experience—to get lost, and not to assume that one’s life’s going to go in some sort of clear trajectory where everything’s recognizable. I just don’t think that’s realistic.

But it also can be very dark and very troubling. Some people don’t get out of it either. For some people that’s the end of the road. I’ve had a few of these experiences in my life. It’s the nature of life. There’s some element of suffering in life. It comes to all of us. And it’s almost impossible to know how to navigate it until you’re in it.

It does feel a lot like the things I did in Boy Scouts. They drop you in the woods, and you have to survive for the weekend, with a knife and a match and a tarp or something.   There’s a reason that the Boy Scouts do that. It’s a metaphor for what’s going to happen at other points in your life—how are you going to figure your way out of this thing? And hopefully you figure out somewhat healthy ways out of these things. The thing that led you into there might not have been that healthy. Or it might just have been necessary. It could just be circumstantial. Certainly life blindsides you.

TM: You write about the impact of realizing that you were going to be a father. How do you view fatherhood as potentially transformational?

NF: It wasn’t that I suddenly realized I was going to be a father. It was a choice. It was actually a very active choice. But the choice was something that had to be navigated. I had to step up to make that choice. The pregnancy was no surprise. And yet even within this sort of conscious decision, there was a lot of uncertainty. There was a lot of wondering if I was actually up for this moment, that I would be able to show up for it, that I’d be able to be a father. That was really abstract.

My wife (actress Lili Taylor) didn’t put any pressure on me any way. She was very clear. She was like, "This is what I want to do, this is the time for me to do it, and I’d like to do it with you. If you’re not ready to do, we’ll move on." And it became very clear that it was really my choice. It was remarkably clear and simple that whatever I have to struggle with is what I have to struggle with. And it was not about making her happy or saving her. It was really very clear that she would prefer that we did it together.

I realized I hadn’t really approached our relationship in that way before. It always felt like there was some sort of burden of responsibility on me to take care of women or to save them, that there could be some crisis if I wasn’t there, some very serious consequences. And this didn’t seem that way at all. It seemed clear that I just had to wrestle with whatever was inside me and it gave it room to be dragged out into the open.

TM: So in terms of your impending fatherhood and your relationship with your own father and then your awareness of torture, how did all of that get stirred up in your mind?

NF: The book started as a meditation on the Abu Ghraib photographs. I sort of had done all the research and written a draft of a book. But I sensed that I hadn’t quite followed it deep enough. Since this isn’t journalism, it’s not just about what happened; it’s really about why this thing that happened is affecting me. That’s what a memoir is: an individual’s interpretation of events, rather than just what happened.

When I started looking into why these images snagged so deeply in my subconscious, I followed those threads back, and they led back to stuff I had touched on in the first memoir—my father’s time in prison, my mother’s suicide—but they went more deeply into them. In my father’s case, he had been tortured in federal prison; he’d been experimented on. And he would tell this story quite often. He was sleep-deprived, had been put in isolation and sexually humiliated. And as I was writing the book, I started realizing that these were the things that also were talked about at Abu Ghraib.

One of the books I read was by the historian Alfred McCoy. It details the CIA’s involvement in developing the torture techniques we saw at Abu Ghraib. They had a 50-year program to develop those techniques. McCoy talks about how the federal prisons had been the site of early experimentation of these torture techniques. And some of those prisons were prisons that my father was in. So his stories suddenly took on this other resonance.

TM: If it’s OK with you, I’d like to ask you 10 questions that we call the Manhood Quiz. The first question is who taught you about manhood?

NF: It would be a series of my mother’s boyfriends when I was growing up. There were about 10 different boyfriends, and each sort of taught me a little piece of it. So it’s very much a mosaic of 10 different guys—and I actually feel fondly about nearly all of them.  They all have contributed some piece to the puzzle.

TM: The second question is how has romantic love shaped you as a man?

NF: I think that whole idea of romantic love was probably almost too strong an influence early on—getting caught up in the lyrics of pop songs or something and trying to figure out what that meant. I think that can separate one from having actual genuine interactions. And that also brought some sort of a competition with other men over women, which seems very unhealthy in retrospect.

TM: What two words would you use to describe your dad?

NF: Vodka and charm.

TM: How are you most unlike your father?

NF: Well, he’s pure id. And he doesn’t have any sort of container for that. I’m probably the exact same. I’m no different from him. It’s just that I’ve figured out how to keep it in a container a little bit more.

TM: From which of your mistakes did you learn the most?

NF: I think attempting to maintain more than one relationship at a time. The energy it takes is really not worth it. And the energy and the attention it takes away from any one relationship.

TM: This is a two-part question. What word would the women in your life use to describe you, and do you believe it’s accurate?

NF: I’m always reluctant to put words in anyone else’s mouth, but it’s something I really do often ask, like what people feel about how they’ve been portrayed in my book.

TM: How about your wife? What does your wife say about you?

NF: Oh, she’s very supportive. I get good feedback from her. We’re doing well. So whatever the word would be—I hate to give her a word—but it’d be on the positive end of the spectrum.

TM: My wife’s word is narcissistic, and it’s accurate.

NF: There are darker moments when I feel like I’m not quite living up to my potential, but for the most part I do take in what she says, so I’ll say it’s accurate.

TM: What dad in your life do you really admire for his parenting skills?

NF: For years before I became a father I would try to spend as much time as I could with my friends who were parents and their kids. And I was really impressed. They all sort of managed to do it, and do it gracefully. I felt like there was something about this generation, that they had learned something from the previous generation about showing up and being really present as fathers. And it also made me imagine that I could maybe do it. And it felt like it was really just about showing up and being present for it. I don’t mean to disparage my father in any sense, but those were things that he was not able to do.

TM: I have three kids. My experience is that showing up is 90 percent of the battle.

NF: So far that’s working. That simple formula seems to be working.

TM: How old is your daughter now?

NF: She’s 2.

TM: The next question is have you been more successful in public or in your private life?

NF: I feel comfortable with both at the moment. I have a book out right now, so suddenly I’m in public life, or back into public life. That’s the thing about a book: You’re in the public life for a little bit, and then you sort of go away for a little while—several years in my case—and then you come out again, hopefully. It went well. The public thing went well this time, so I feel comfortable with both.

TM: When was the last time you cried?

NF: I can weep pretty easily. I can get tears in my eyes from a beautiful work of art. I get pretty emotional around the time of my mother’s death, so I probably cried around then, just a month or so ago. (Flynn’s mother committed suicide when he was 22; he’s now 49.)

TM: In December, right?

NF: Yeah, so there was a cry around that.

TM: How long has it been since your mom passed away?

NF: It’s a long time—over 20 years.

TM: The next question is what advice would you give teenage boys who are trying to figure out what it means to be a good man?

NF: There’s this sort of male energy that we have that can seem very destructive. But it doesn’t have to be. It actually can be a very positive force. A lot of the ways the male energy’s channeled in the society is in very negative ways: the violence or pornography, there’s all sorts of sexism, and there are all sorts of ways that energy is manipulated. But it’s actually a very beautiful thing, and to honor it for what it is and to try to use it in some positive way is the best we can do.

TM: And last but not least, what’s your most cherished guy ritual?

NF: Well, it’s really about the baby right now. In the last two years I’ve seen basically every sunrise, which has been sort of amazing. At a certain point you’re not sure how many more sunrises you’re going to see. And then I’ve seen every one since she’s been born. We get up together, and we have this sort of meditation thing in the morning for two or three hours—until her mom gets up—where we’re just together, just in this really quiet time that I really cherish.

The Monopoly we know and (mostly) love, is getting major makeover.

To celebrate the game’s 75th Anniversary, Hasbro is streamlining the board game experience by making the game board circular and removing paper currency.

This will be fun?

Where did the money go? It’s still there, but you’ll have a credit card to keep track of every transaction, thus nullifying the ability to say “hey look over there” and steal a couple bills from your brother.

The game itself remains unchanged, meaning 4-hour sessions ending in the dead of night will still happen, but the genre “board game” might need to change to “bored game.”

The new, circular Monopoly will hit shelves later this year.

Source: Wired

Wednesday, as reported by the Boston Globe, The talented and notoriously reclusive writer JD Salinger passed away Wednesday at the age of 91, according to the Boston Globe. Salinger spent his last days in his Cornish, N.H. home, an isolated sanctuary where he reveled in his privacy until the very end.

Salinger’s longtime literary agent, Phyllis Westberg, told the Globe that Salinger passed due to natural causes. Westberg also poignantly commented on the Salinger’s isolation.

"Salinger had remarked that he was in this world but not of it. His body is gone but the family hopes that he is still with those he loves, whether they are religious or historical figures, personal friends or fictional characters.”

He is survived by his two children, Margaret and Matthew, and his third wife, Colleen O’Neil.

Many have tried to capture and understand the great mystery that was JD Salinger, including a memoir entitled Dream Catcher by his daughter Margaret, which painted Salinger as a self-centered, spiteful man who resented women. Joyce Maynard also released a scathing memoir regarding her nine-month affair with Salinger when she was 18 years old. CNN reported that his last interview was given in 1981 to The Advocate of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Catcher in the Rye, published in 1951, was Salinger’s only novel and it brought him the greatest notoriety. Holden Caulfield, the novel’s protagonist, has become the iconic image for troubled teens. His short stories, which were published in the New Yorker, were collected into a book entitled Nine Stories.

Check back as more information is gathered about Salinger’s death.

“The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” is Universal Orlando’s upcoming addition to their “Islands of Adventure.” This new island is set to open officially in Spring 2010 and will feature several themed attractions, shops and a restaurant. Two of the rides scheduled to open are “The Dragon Challenge” and the kid-friendly “Hippogriff.”

One exciting feature under development is “Hogwart’s castle,” which will include a state-of-the-art attraction: “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.” According to a statement, guests will be able to visit some of their favorite locations both within the castle and around the castle grounds.

A lot of excitement has been building around the imminent opening of the island. A short survey on Harry Potter message boards, shows that Harry Potter fans are willing to pay up to $150 for admission, and one person offered to pay any price. Another survey from Theme Park Insider determined that 58 percent of survey takers have plans to visit the park in 2010.

In a statement, author J.K. Rowling said “The plans I’ve seen look incredibly exciting, and I don’t think fans of the books or films will be disappointed.”

The incidentally-informed generation of iPod-using, breakneck-texting facebooking bloggers will be pleased to learn that now, in order to read a book, they no longer have to buy one…or borrow their mom’s Kindle.

Twitter, which, at one point, was a site people only visited to get updated on Ashton Kutcher’s political opinions, has broken yet another boundary put in place by its detractors. Thanks to Kerry Israel, Audience Development Manager at the American Repertory Theater, tweeps who follow @ARTGatz can now ingest the classic novel “The Great Gatsby” in bite-sized 140-character pieces.

Israel was struck by the idea while trying to come up with a way to promote “Gatz,” the current production on at the Loeb Drama Center. The truncated Twitter promotion contrasts heavily with what it’s promoting; “Gatz” is a 6 1/2 hour play that recites the novel, word for word.

God bless the ART for trying to keep Fitzgerald relevant, but if you’re not a part of the Twitter nation and you don’t feel like sitting through a six hour play, perhaps you might just try picking up the book.

The new Justice League DVD deals with two worlds, and it took two directors to make it happen. “Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths” is an all new PG-13 movie from Warner and DC.

Lauren Montgomery and Sam Liu, the animation directors of the past three DC Universe films, have combined their talents to bring “Crisis on Two Earths” to the screen as a blockbuster tale of super heroes and super villains engaged in the ultimate battle of parallel worlds and, through a diabolical plan launched by Owlman, puts the balance of all existence in peril.

The film will be released by Warner Home Video on February 23 as a Special Edition 2-disc version on DVD and Blu-Ray, as well as single disc DVD, and On Demand and digital download.

QUESTION: How did you two go about co-directing Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths?

LAUREN MONTGOMERY: We kind of just went over the whole film together and it was really good to get two different points of view as a check and balance for each other. If we disagreed, we found compromises that would work. If one of us felt strongly about something, we just traded off — Sam would take a sequence he felt strongly about, then I’d take one I wanted. But for the most part, we agreed. We both work in such different ways, it was interesting to see how someone else works and learn from it.

SAM LIU: We went through the film front to back, and if we ran into a problem or an area where either of us had an issue, usually where we thought it could be stronger or could be playing better, we usually solved it right on the spot. If we got to a section that was requiring a lot more revisions, one of us would jump on it and the other would move the rest of the film forward until we hit another rough spot. So that was our process.

QUESTION: What have you learned from each other?

LM: Sam breaks things down a lot, he’s very analytical. I tend not to. He spends a lot of time thinking about the story and getting into all the nooks and crannies of it, and I like to work with the general story. He’ll read the whole book, I’ll read the back of the book. I try to get the emotional points down so people can understand them, but Sam will go even deeper to use shots and set-ups to drive the point home, sometimes metaphorically. He thinks harder than I do.

SL: Our processes are very different. I like getting into a script and breaking things down. Maybe I don’t have the best ideas, but I’m pretty good at recognizing where things are needed. I really liked the back and forth process (with Lauren), talking about ideas and batting it back and forth to find a good solution. Lauren is more instinctual, she works more from the gut. And I think she works off reaction rather than an intellectual breakdown. I’m the other way by process. But I do feel like sometimes I over-analyze things, when sometimes it’s almost like the emotional flow of the movie is good enough. Lauren gets that. Sometimes logic can be bypassed if the scene is engaging enough, or interesting enough. It’ll bridge gaps and you don’t need to analytically fix all those gaps.

QUESTION: What do you think you might have taught each other?

LM: I think Sam stresses out slightly less when I’m around. He stresses and I don’t. I think I calm him down a little bit. But when he’s alone, he stresses out just as much. Hopefully I helped with that.

SL: I don’t think I taught her anything (he laughs). She’s a free-flowing, shoot-from-the-hip kind of person, and I’m kind of an angster — I nitpick things. I like getting into the story, and from there some things do need working out — things related to the emotional journey of a character that need to be highlighted or punctuated to set something up for later. I’m a stickler for things like that. And I think she saw those things.

I do stress, though — and there are times when I’m freaking out about something and she puts me at total ease. And then there’s times when I’m freaking out and she’s fighting me on it, and it makes it worse. I think we’re both control freaks in our own way, it’s just a difference in approach. I fixate on a lot of things, and she thinks things are just good enough, so let’s move on. We have an innate concept about the overall picture, but she focuses more on the acting and poses and timing and movement, and I think more on structure. I guess there’s a good balance.

QUESTION: Do you have a favorite scene in “Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths?”

LM: There’s a fight between Wonder Woman and Olympia that I thought was really beautifully animated. That’s always fun to watch. It was boarded well, but the overseas animators took the drawings from the boards and really plussed it out. I think they just enjoy animating girl fights overseas because those scenes always come back looking good.

SL: More than one scene, I like the overall relatability of the Justice League characters. There was great character interaction. When I watch movies, I like something that has an emotional connection, and this film definitely does.

Specifically, I think the spectacle of these evenly matched supers fighting was really cool. Superman versus Ultraman. Flash fighting someone equally as fast. Strengths against strengths. Jay Oliva boarded the last fight sequence and the Superwoman-Wonder Woman fight is great. They’re both strong, super powerful women and I think it was brutal enough as is, but the way Jay made Wonder Woman use the lasso to slam Superwoman to the ground is pretty amazing.

The battle between Owlman and Batman is awesome, too, because it’s sort of this weird intellectual standoff. Owlman is so far into his psychosis as to how the universe operates, it’s very existential. His concept is crazy, but the way he reasons out the technology of how things work and the way he thinks, it gave us great room to improvise Batman’s reaction. And then when they actually fight, it’s brutal. They do these gadget fights, sort of a modern ninja battle. The sound effects on the planet, the colors, the way it’s animated, it all works really well. And James Woods’ voice is perfect — most of the Crime Syndicate is very thuggish, they’re all about stealing money. But Owlman has created the ultimate plan to annihilate everybody, and James Woods does this great build-up. It’s great acting. He plays Owlman as a little bit off and kind of creepy, but not sinister creepy. His cadence is great, and his voice is almost charming in a way. It was a good mix of all the things I thought we’d have a problem with if we went too far one way or the other. It’s a great, tight sequence and I’m very happy the way it all came together.

QUESTION: What were the challenges of directing this film?

LM: It was a challenge because we had a really large cast of characters — lots of main characters — and they all needed a decent amount of screen time. Both the good guys and the bad. We had to make sure the audience got to know each of those characters and make sure they had a presence in the film that was important, and that was a challenge.

SL: Definitely the size of the cast and how to give enough screen time to everyone. At one point, Green Lantern was a little light on having enough important things to do. We needed to add a bit for Lex Luthor, too, and I still don’t think we did enough. We added a fight to show that Lex can fight, too, and tried to beef him up a bit. But there just wasn’t enough screen time to accommodate everyone.

QUESTION: Do you have a favorite character?

LM: Superwoman … just because she’s so wrong. She’s a bully, but she’s got the muscle to back it up. She’s everything you shouldn’t be, but is fun to work with.

QUESTION: What skills you learned or developed on past projects were you able to apply to this film?

LM: We had the same animation studio that did Wonder Woman, so we were able to draw from the work done on Wonder Woman and improve on that. Overall, the animation was good in Wonder Woman, but there was some poor stuff, too. I think they really improved — they saw what we responded to in Wonder Woman and they tried to do what they knew we liked, and it was good.

SL: I think, this whole process was better for me this time, especially working with Bruce (Timm) and Lauren. I was able to let go a little bit and not have to over-think things, and still know that things would work out. I generally stress over everything until the very last minute. With Lauren, I sort of learned that you can say "that’s enough" and move on to the next thing. I appreciate Lauren and her patience, and that we’re still friends. In the end, you take care of the important things and everything will work out.

If Sex In the City fans were confused over their see-saw love affair with Chris Noth’s Mr. Big, comics fans will endure an equal amount of trepidation over Noth’s latest performance as the voice of a "good" Lex Luthor in “Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths,” a new DC Universe Animated Original PG-13 Movie coming February 23 from Warner.

In “Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths,” a "good" Lex Luthor arrives from an alternate universe to recruit the Justice League to help save his Earth from the Crime Syndicate, a gang of villains with virtually identical super powers to the Justice League. What ensues is the ultimate battle of good versus evil in a war that threatens both planets and, through a diabolical plan launched by Owlman, puts the balance of all existence in peril.

“Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths” is an original story from Dwayne McDuffie (Justice League). Bruce Timm (Superman Doomsday) is executive producer, and Lauren Montgomery (Wonder Woman, Green Lantern: First Flight) and Sam Liu (Superman/Batman: Public Enemies) are co-directors. The full-length animated film will be distributed by Warner Home Video as a Special Edition 2-disc version on DVD and Blu-Ray Hi-Def, as well as single disc DVD, and On Demand and Download.

Noth is best known as Mr. Big in “Sex and the City” and as Mike Logan in “Law & Order” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.” He can currently be seen starring opposite Julianna Margulies in the CBS drama “The Good Wife.” “Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths” is his first animated role.

He took some time to discuss the role:

QUESTION: You’ve had an extensive career in a number of acting mediums — is this really your first animation voiceover experience?

CHRIS NOTH: I think I did about three lines of Mike Logan on Family Guy. That was a quick little gig. The character (Stewie) on the show carries a picture of Mike Logan in his wallet, so I was very flattered by that. But that was just a few lines — so Lex is pretty much my first real animated role.

QUESTION: In that case, can you describe what your first "actual" animation voiceover experience was like?

CN: I felt I had an instinct for it, and it was a lot of fun. It’s an interesting technique and, like any medium, whether you’re doing radio or certain kinds of narrative voiceovers for stage or movies, it has its own sort of rules and performance values. I think the choices had to be bold and succinct and clear. To me, it appears that super heroes have to be powerful, but it also has to be real. You have to make bold choices and go all the way through with them. That’s true with a lot
of acting anyway. But with animation, it seems to me there’s nothing coy about it. The acting has its own subtleties. So you have to find that balance. And as long as you go with that instinct, it’s a blast.

QUESTION: Did you take a different approach to this Lex Luthor -a good guy Lex — than you would’ve taken with a typically villainous Lex?

CN: I was extremely excited to be playing the ultimate villain from my youth. I remember how Gene Hackman portayed Lex Luthor with such great delight in the films, and I thought I’d be getting that Lex. So I was surprised to see that in this script, Lex is actually on the right side of the law. It required a whole new thinking on my part on how to approach him. I mean, he’s a super hero who’s in this very complex, parallel universe. He’s actually trying to save all of reality from being destroyed. So I just took that adjustment and said, "Wow, I need to get up to date on my super heroes." I’m guess I’m a little bit retro. (he laughs)

QUESTION: Do you feel any special significance to be joining the canon of actors — Gene Hackman, Kevin Spacey, Michael Rosenbaum, Clancy Brown — to have brought Lex Luthor to life?

CN: Initially when I heard about the role, I thought about that great tradition of actors associated with Lex. And I really feel honored to be a part of that group. But this is a complete departure from those performances. This time, Lex is on the right side of the law. He’s worlds away from the old Lex.

QUESTION: You’ve done your share of Shakespeare. Can you characterize Lex within the context of some of the great literary or stage heroes/villains?

CN: Not this Lex. I find super heroes to be more archetypes of values of courage and fortitude and things like that. It’s interesting to me that the new world of animation, compared to when I was growing up, is so much more diverse in its characters. There’s so many more of them, and it’s a much more complicated world. The old comic books that I grew up on had these characters that were in many ways Shakespearean.

They were very big with their evilness in the same vein as Richard III in Shakespeare. Those characters relished being bad, and that’s always fun to play.

QUESTION: How did you find working alone in a sound booth versus playing off other actors?

CN: It presented a different challenge in the same way that a radio play is different from being on stage, and being on stage is different than being in the movies, and the movies are different than being on a TV series. They all have different values that are fun to explore and to take a crack at. So I found it challenging and interesting to jump into that world.

QUESTION: Did it get easier when Bruce Davison joined you at the microphone?

CN: That was even more fun because I know Bruce and it’s always more fun to work off another person. Sandy Meisner, the great acting teacher, used to say that what you do doesn’t depend on you. It depends on the other fellow. In other words, they make you respond. So when Bruce came in, there was a new kind of energy that I sort of relished. I didn’t have that many scenes with him, but he was a lot of fun and I think he made a great President.

QUESTION: As you are new to animation voiceovers, you’re also new to the direction involved. How did you find Andrea Romano’s direction?

CN: (Animation) is very quick, it’s to the point, and very on message, and you have to just go with it. Andrea was extremely helpful to me to get some of the tone and in knowing what you have to keep in mind with what’s happening to the character in the scene. Whether it’s an intimate scene or there’s a lot of action, she keeps you on point. So she’s a very good field marshal.

For more information, images and updates, please visit the film’s official website.

Tom Matlack (Media credit/Aram Boghosian)

“There are 30 million children in our country who have no contact with their fathers,” Tom Matlack says. “No matter your political point of view we can all agree that the lack of male role models, particularly for young men, is a crucial issue facing the future of our country.”

Matlack is the co-founder of The Good Men Project. Here is what he has to say:

BLAST: What inspired you to start this project?

TOM MATLACK: In 1996 I was CFO of The Providence Journal Company. I took it public and sold it for $2 billion in 90 days. Just after announcing the deal my wife kicked me out for being a drunk and a cheat, leaving behind a 3 month old son and 2 year old daughter. I found myself in a church parking lot calling my mom to explain how I had gone from wunderkind to homeless in 48 hours. That was the toughest phone call I ever made. Everything that has followed has been an unmerited gift.

BLAST: What does it mean to “be” a good man?

TM: Every man has to figure it out for themselves. For me it means loving my (second) wife Elena passionately, caring for my 3 kids, and doing something for someone other than me. My experience is that listening to other guys tell their story, and ultimately telling my own, is the way to figure out what it means.

BLAST: Who are some good men in the Boston area?

TM: Ray Allen is my favorite. I was doing a story about the Celtics and was in the locker room. No one would talk to me. Ray looked me in the eye and asked me who I was (nobody) and what I wanted (to write a silly story about their Russian trainer). He put his shorts on, sat down and talked to me about life for half an hour. My interview was over 5 minutes into the conversation.

BLAST: Did one of the stories in the book touch you the most?

TM: Julio Medina. He was in Sing Sing for life as the kingpin of a huge drug gang. When guys get stabbed in prison you run the other way. Blood on your uniform means you will talk and get stabbed or refuse and go to the box. Julio had run away from stabbing dozens of times. This one time his friend was bleeding out in front of him. He couldn’t step over his brother’s blood. He picked him up and held him. And his life has been changed forever. He is my personal hero.

BLAST: Why men?

TM: Dude, we are completely screwed right now. Someone had to come clean.

BLAST: What do you hope to accomplish with The Good Men Project?

TM: I want men they are not alone. I want women to know there’s more than they know about us. I want to help the 30 million children in our country who have no father.

The Good Men Project is a collection of autobiographical stories written by men "on the front lines of modern manhood.” It’s about and for men who are living their lives, figuring out what it means to be a good man. The book is a collection of 32 stories, broken into four sections: Fathers, Sons, Husbands, and Workers. There’s also a documentary film which took four of the written stories and told them visually.

Tom Matlack, one of the founders of the Good Men Project, wrote in his introduction to the book that the goal is "by reading other men’s stories and watching them on our documentary film, you can reflect on the arc of your own life and, in the process, begin to form your definition of a good man."

The stories are touching and represent a variety of lifestyles and values. Professor and fiction writer Perry Glasser wrote about being a single dad to an eight-year-old girl. He used beautiful imagery to define security (pouring concrete for a tether ball pole) and the dangers a father protects his daughter from (a bat that gets into the house). Glasser explains how single fatherhood faces different challenges than single motherhood. A single mother wouldn’t have to go to a hair dresser to learn how to brush a girl’s hair. A single mother wouldn’t be questioned by a security guard because she’s waiting for her daughter to come out of the dressing room at a clothing store. This story, the first one in the book, is about a man actively on the front lines of modern manhood, where he learns how to protect and raise his daughter into womanhood.

Because most contributors write professionally, the book is an enjoyable read, but the editors should have defined goodness for themselves. By offering the reader a clear definition of goodness, or several clear definitions, the reader would have something solid to think about. Instead the book presents the stories leaving the reader, if he’s ambitious enough, to decipher for himself what each story says about goodness.

James Houghton, the other founder of the Good Men Project wrote in his introduction, "Despite the pressure we felt at times to make the book more prescriptive, for it to provide easy answers or definitions, the great lesson I’ve learned over the past year… is that there is no definitive answer."

Grenade, grenade, fire, fire, melee. Master Chief can do more than that quick combo, which almost always gets you a kill in multiplayer, in the upcoming Halo animated feature.

“Halo Legends” will hit DVD and Blu-ray on February 9. Distributed by Warner Home video and produced by 343 Industries, part of Microsoft Game Studios, the CG and traditional anime will explore the history and origins of the Halo universe and some of its characters. The eight episodes will cover seven storylines, which will also be available via On Demand and Digital Download.

The episodes will fall inside Halo’s 26th Century continuity as humanity battles aliens to protect the ever-expanding space colonies of Earth. Halo fans will recognize some characters and locales from the games. Each episode will be 10 to 17 minutes long, with about two total hours of viewing.

Halo Legends will have the same look and feel as “The Animatrix” and “Batman Gotham Knight,” in that each episode will be self contained. Each episode will be presented as imagined by a the director or animator. Children of the 80s and anime fans, alike, will recognize the work of some of these creative contributors including Shinji Aramaki, who did character designs on “MASK;” Mamoru Oshii, creator and writer of “Jin-Ro;” and Hideki Futamura, a key animator on “Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust.”

Extras on the two disc will include a “making of” feature, audio commentary with the directors and a mini-feature detailing the rise of the Halo franchise from an Xbox game to a mammoth property commanding over $1 billion in revenue with games, comics, novels and other merchandise. The Blu-ray will retail for around $35, the two-disc set for around $30 and the DVD for around $20.

More than 20 years after it delighted TV audiences, the Ruby-Spears Superman series finally hit DVD yesterday.

In addition to the thrills of Superman’s weekly adventures, each episode included a mini-segment called Superman Family Album that told the “real” story of what it was like to grow up as the most powerful boy in Smallville.

Joe Ruby and Ken Spears talked about the DVD and series recently, and the studio sent the interview over:

QUESTION: How was the title character developed for your Superman series?

JOE RUBY: “We went through a lot of different directions in development as to what kind of Superman we wanted. We had several different models – the crying/feeling Superman, the lecturing/do-gooder/save-the-day Superman, then there was the hip Superman and even the long-haired Superman. And, of course, there was the old straight-as-an-arrow Superman. Ultimately, we settled on the Christopher Reeve model – he had personality and a sense of humor, and yet he was still Superman. We figured that it worked for the films, so it would work well for us.”

QUESTION: Why were there only 13 episodes to the entire series?

JR: “I think the problem for us was our timeslot. It turned out 8:30 in the morning was a killer for Superman. Only the little kids were up, and they don’t understand Superman as well as the older kids. It wasn’t for 4- to 5-year-olds”

QUESTION: Was there a guiding theme to the series?

KEN SPEARS: “I think we were true to Superman to begin with – we produced a show that the audience expected Superman to be. He was the tried and true Superman, That’s who they wanted to see – that’s the feedback that we continue to get today.”

JR: “We basically had Superman tackling anything and everything, with the marching orders to have bigger-than-life fights.”

QUESTION: What did you see as the strength of your Superman series?

KS: “We had the best talent in the business at the time – that was our strength. They were excellent. When you first create a show, you hope your talent will be able to plus it – and they really plussed it. There are so many shots in the show that weren’t written into the script – those kind of great additions come straight from the artists and the storyboarders.

JR: “We had a pretty amazing crew – and an especially great crew of artists – including some of the best comic book guys in the business, and that made for good filmmaking. Guys like John Dorman and Gil Kane – we had an army of great talent on that show. Give credit to John Dorman – he’s a filmmaker and that’s the difference. He made sure the show had all the creative shots, the movement, some of that great left-to-right or down-angle camera moves. The show was well paced, well boarded, and I think John really put these things together well.”

QUESTION: Did splitting the production between two overseas studios in Japan and Korea cause any problems?

JR: “It was an experience for us, from a production standpoint, traveling overseas and working with two different interpreters having to translate in three different languages. They’d be answering before I’d get done with my question. It was the worst torture I ever had in my life.”

QUESTION: Looking back now, can you see how Ruby-Spears Superman fits in the canon of productions surrounding the Man of Steel?

JR: “As a kid, we all grew up with Superman. He’s the favorite, always. Your heroes stick with you. So we wanted to make the best Superman show we could, to really set it apart. I think everyone that worked on it felt that way. He’s Superman.”

KS: “It was like an honor to do something that classy and classic as Superman. He’s the No. 1 guy. We wanted to do it justice.”

One of the most iconic names in the history of sports entertainment is returning to the ring. “Hulkamania” is back as Hulk Hogan announced he would join Total Non-Stop Action Wresting, known as TNA,

“TNA iMPACT!” on Spike TV is one of the highest rated cable shows for young men.

“Hulk Hogan is one of the world’s top pop culture icons and the biggest superstar in the history of professional wrestling. We are truly excited to welcome him into the TNA family,” said Dixie Carter, president of TNA Wrestling, in a statement Tuesday. “Our goal is to become the world’s biggest professional wrestling company. Hulk defines professional wrestling and we look forward to partnering with him in a variety of ways as we continue to grow TNA globally.”

Hogan, who made waves in reality television after retiring from the WWF/WWE, said he was glad to be back.

“I’m thrilled to be jumping back into the world of professional wrestling,” he said. “My fans have been asking me to return to the business for many years on a full time basis, but the timing or the opportunity has never been right until now.”

Hogan recently wrote an autobiography with Mark Dagostino, “My Life Outside The Ring.” He is a member of the WWE Hall of Fame.

Gambling, booze, prostitution, gangsters and political machines; these are the elements that helped Atlantic City boom during the 1920s. In “Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City,” author Nelson Johnson gives us all the dirty secrets of this seaside New Jersey resort. The gritty true story has been adapted for HBO by Executive Producer Terrence Winter (“The Sopranos”) with the pilot episode directed by Martin Scorcese and starring Steve Buscemi.

Johnson’s historic novel takes us all the way back to the origins of Atlantic City. The story drags a bit in the beginning as it gets bogged down in the extensive history of the early days. It is clear how much research Johnson put into this historical work, but it makes for tedious reading to go through every person that was involved and all the railroad and other bureaucratic complications.

The story picks up steam when we reach the era of Louis “The Commodore” Kuehnle and thus begins the chain of Republican bosses. Kuehnle’s reign ends in the early 1910s with a conviction for political corruption, leaving the door wide open for a new leader. That leader was Enoch “Nucky” Johnson. Nucky (to be played by Buscemi) is described as a “ruggedly handsome man” and was the perfect charismatic boss to keep the Republican machine well oiled and running smoothly.

“In his prime, he strode the Boardwalk in evening clothes complete with spats, patent leather shoes, a walking stick, and a red carnation in his lapel” writes Johnson. Nucky was known for his lavish behavior and also his generosity; provided that said generosity could turn into votes for the machine-picked candidates come election time.

It will be interesting to see how Buscemi will portray Nucky and how the producers will handle the rich history laid out by Johnson. The dynamic between each political boss and the people of Atlantic City is another fascinating aspect that could bring some great drama to the HBO series. Eleven episodes have already been ordered and the show is due to premiere sometime next year. But if you want to get a head start on the story, you can pick up “Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City” now.