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.

Evil Iguana Productions has finally posted their sequel to Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight.” You can view it here:

For more information on Evil Iguana Productions, read our cover story from November here.

Evil Iguana Productions first attempt at a dark drama.

Taking place 2 months after Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight.” The Joker has broken out of Arkham Asylum and is now holding a family hostage on Christmas Eve. His goal is to once again prove that one bad day can break anyone. Now with Gordon and Monotya trying to devise a way to save the family, he must quickly prove his point and escape.

Directed By: Craig Deering & Allen Murphy
Produced By: Craig Deering & Allen Murphy
Written By: Kyle Bridges
Edited By: Craig Deering
Director of Photography: Allen Murphy
Lighting Designer: Tony Jordan

Joker-Craig Deering
Gordon- Kyle Bridges
Batman- Joe Korbel
Montoya- Katie Diedrick
Father- Tom Skobel
Chuckles- Tony Jordan
Grumpy- Daniel Drake
Grumpy’s Voice- Jon Drummer
Weepy- Tom Lavys
Mother- Adrianna Lombardo
Male Child- Zach Jones
Female Child- Kelsey Petersen
Police- Mark Deering
Patrick Clemens
Maynard Tan
Jeff Burnett
Franco Battista
Alreds Voice- Kyle Bridges

Evil Iguana Productions chose Blast Magazine to premiere the trailer for their upcoming “Silent Night,” a serious drama set in the Batman universe.

“We thought we would take a quick break from comedy for a little while and attempt a dark drama,” said EIP’s Craig Deering.

Cast:
Craig Deering as the Joker
Kyle Bridges as Gordon
Joe Korbel as Batman

Featuring Katie Diedrick and Tom Skobel

Directed by Craig Deering and Allen Murphy

Evil Iguana’s team is nervous about this movie, because it’s their first attempt at a “non comedy.”

“At first we where all very afraid at attempting a drama but after looking at some edited footage and seeing the trailer we are very excited now and hoping others will have the same reactions,” Deering said. “It took a little over a month to film, and now we are in the post production aspect.”

We offered our warmest “thank you” and a big hug to the Evil Iguana guys:

“No problem haha we are glad you guys can premiere it, hopefully you guys will enjoy it as well,” Deering said.

Here’s the info on the whole Evil Iguana Productions crew:

Craig Deering

Director/Producer/Editor/Writer/Actor
Age: 21
School: Columbia ’10, Film Major
Favorite Role: Craig, Joker
Favorite Film: Fight Club, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Dark Knight, The Departed, Smokin’ Aces
Favorite EI Production: The Dark Knight Trailer Spoof, The Allen and Craig Show Ep 5+, Fuzz
Quote: “I Swear one day I will save the world!”
Random Fact: He will marry Ellen Page or Hayley Williams one day … they just don’t know that yet

Allen Murphy

Director/Writer/Actor
Age: 20
School: DuPage ’09, Columbia ’11, Film major
Favorite Role: Officer Murphy, Himself
Favorite Film: Fight Club, Pulp Fiction, The Departed, Royal Tenenbaums, Rocky, Amadeus
Favorite EI Production: Fuzz, RIP EIP
Quote: “I’m not really an ass, I just play one online.”
Random Fact: Has never eaten Spaghetti O’s

Kyle Bridges

Writer/Actor
Age: 20
School: DuPage ’09, Columbia ’11, Film Major
Favorite Role: Mario, James Gordon, Kyle
Random Fact: As a child, Kyle used to be a model. Yeah, he doesn’t know what happened either.

Lars Heemskerk

Actor
Age: 20
School: Univ. Illinois ’10,‚ Music Major
Favorite Role: Aquaman, Captain Justice Dude Guy, Lars
Favorite Film: Lord of the Rings, Star Wars IV-VI, Anything with Jason Statham
Favorite EI Production: Allen and Craig Show, Fuzz
Quote: “Save the Cheerleader, Save the World”
Random Fact: Lars loves the Clarinet. if you think thats lame he will eat your unborn children.

Joe Korbel

Actor
Age: 19
School: DuPage ’10, Gen Ed
Random Fact: Joe is the cameraman for many of The Allen and Craig show episodes.

Dan Drake

Actor/Website Administator
Age: 19
School: University of Illinois-Chicago, ’11 Pre-Med
Favorite Role: Luigi, Harvey Dent
Favorite Film: The Boondock Saints, Fight Club, Iron Man, The Dark Knight
Favorite EI Production: Fuzz, Dark Knight Spoof
Random Fact: Dan was Luigi in “Fuzz”

The filmmakers took a break between shots to adjust the camera and lighting for the next take. As they reviewed the previous shots, their star received a make-up touch-up. The bright lights were causing his white face paint and green hair dye to run.

When they were ready to resume, the actor once again repeated his lines, strutting around in his green vest and purple suit, flicking his tongue out over his lips in an awkward habit.

The filmmakers cut the scene and congratulated each other on the success. They were filming a new Batman movie that took place two months after the conclusion of July’s blockbuster, “The Dark Knight.” It was their first filming session, and the groups of filmmakers were making great progress.

Their star went to drink some water between takes and was greeted by the owner of the house they were filming in. “Nice makeup,” she said.

They were not on a sound stage or the lot of a billion-dollar production. The actor playing The Joker was not a Hollywood prima donna but mild-mannered 21-year-old Craig Deering of Illinois.

The house’s owner was Deering’s best friend and fellow film maker Allen Murphy’s great aunt Mary’s. While watching the filming, she told her nephew that while she always supported the arts and was glad to help, she had not expected college students running around her house dressed as Batman and an evil clown.

“She watched a little bit through a window and like peered in a couple time, and I think she might have freaked out a little bit,” said Deering.

“In my family, she should have known better,” Murphy, 20, joked.

With their initial success tucked away, the guys decided to venture into feature-length territory. (Photo by Dan Drake)

Deering and the rest of the filmmakers are part of Evil Iguana Productions. The group creates and posts their films on YouTube and suddenly blew up when they spoofed “The Dark Knight” trailer in the summer.

The filmmakers are a bunch of college kids who have been making movies together since high school with nothing but Deering’s father’s video camera and some editing software.

It wasn’t until July when the group released “The Dark Knight” spoof that they became stars. In the four months since its release, the video has received over 5 million views. Their new Batman movie is a follow-up to their spoof of “The Dark Knight” trailer that they released in July.

“I am like really happy that it is getting that good of reviews and like people are still watching because, honestly, when we were making it, and we were about to release it, I was so scared to release that video because I thought we were going to get shot down,” said Deering sitting down to chat with Blast recently. “(I thought) everyone was going to yell at us for like trying to spoof Batman and telling us it was crap, and I was expecting to take it down. But, all the positive feedback and stuff is great.”

Deering is the director and editor of all of the Evil Iguana videos, and also came up with the ideas for the “The Dark Knight” spoof, as well as the mockeries they made of “Twilight” and “The Number 23.”

–

After the success of their Batman spoof, Deering and the rest of Evil Iguana decided to venture into unknown territory — a 30 to 45 minute serious film about the Joker, set in Christopher Nolan’s Batman universe.

Deering said that making the drama was a challenge and a big change from their previous work.

“This is like by far the most professional we’ve been with a movie, which I thought was really cool, because usually we just get our camera and improvise a lot of stuff,” said Deering.

Two buds

“I was a total nerd (in middle school): big glasses, comb over. ‚ I think my graduating class was like 21, it was really small. I tried my best to fit in with the rest of the class, though‚ I was never considered one of the “cool” guys, but it was alright,” said Deering.

Today, Deering has people requesting to be his friend on Facebook whom he has never met but feel they know him through his Youtube series, “The Allen and Craig Show,” and his various film spoofs.

We’ve just heard from Craig Deering, one of the bright minds behind Evil Iguana productions and the ingenious Dark Knight and Twilight spoofs.

Apparently the actual Twilight folks are so impressed with their spoof (and its 1.3 million views) that they asked them to come out to Dallas for the Twilight Convention.

“After seeing our Twilight Trailer Spoof, the staff for Twicon 2009 asked if we would like to appear as special guests,” Evil Iguana said in an email to viewers. “So from the spoof Robin Andrews, Craig Deering and Allen Murphy will be appearing to talk and answer questions and do other fun stuff.”

TwiCon will be held July 30-August 2, 2009 as the Sheraton Dallas Hotel.

Oh, is now a good time to say that Craig Deering will be on the cover of Blast in November?

Craig Deering will be on the cover of Blast in November.

Whether you are an obsessed Twilighter or a hater, these are absolutely hilarious, and we pay homage to the creative minds from Chicago’s Evil Iguana Productions, the same guys that spoofed 24 and Aquaman.

Twilight spoof cast:

Directed and Edited By Craig Deering

Edward- Allen Murphy
Bella- Robin Andrews
James- Craig Deering
Laurent- Eric Mercado
Victoria- Lauren Schwab
Emmett- Dan Drake
Charlie- Joe Korble
Hot Girl- Katie Larsen
Victim- Mike Guarino

Special Thanks To:
Veronica Zikmund
Tim Crawford
Monnie Aleahmad

Music Taken From “The Fountain” and “Harry Potter”