Director Lauren Montgomery Discusses Animated Wonder Woman
After her successful co-directorial debut on SUPERMAN DOOMSDAY, Lauren Montgomery takes full command of the helm for WONDER WOMAN, the next entry in the popular series of DC Universe animated original PG-13 films. Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation are set to release the all-new film on March 3, 2009, distributed by Warner Home Video. The animated original movie will also be available OnDemand and Pay-Per-View as well as available for download day and date.
Montgomery has directed an origin story for WONDER WOMAN that remains true to the title character's various incarnations, while setting the tale in more modern times to allow greater accessibility for a wider audience. Working alongside producer Bruce Timm, Montgomery has brought to life Michael Jelenic's script with a balance of action and humor. A talented artist with a lifetime of experience devoted to drawing and animation, Montgomery is proud to give Wonder Woman her first feature film treatment.
Montgomery, who is already involved in other superhero films, discusses the upcoming WONDER WOMAN movie, her love of drawing, artistic influences on her style, lessons from Bruce Timm, and Cheetara's lonely place among female heroes.
Question: You've gone from directing one-third of SUPERMAN DOOMSDAY to helming the entirety of WONDER WOMAN. What's that progression been like for you?
Lauren Montgomery: It's mostly in scale of responsibility. On DOOMSDAY, it was all about my one section of the film. Now, it's everything from background design and color to character design and camera angles, helping select the voices for the cast and approving every storyboard for the entire film. So it was all a lot harder. It's been an incredible learning experience, it's probably the most hands-on I've ever been on anything, and it's really prepared me for more of those responsibilities in the future.
Q: What were the driving factors behind the final design of Wonder Woman?
A: We kept the designs simple enough for animation, but we wanted to give them a slightly more detailed, less cartoony look for the PG-13 content. Wonder Woman went through a lot of different versions. Gradually, and for the betterment of the film, we determined that she should look strong and athletic without being manly. She's an Amazon, so I wanted her to be able to be taken seriously. We wanted her to look like she worked out, and not just make her a curvy, busty pinup. So I tried to give her slightly slimmer hips versus the hourglass figure, and I think it makes her more believable and engaging in a lot of action.
Q: Did you utilize a different color palette from previous DC Universe films?
A: We wanted the film to be vibrant, but we also needed our characters to fit into their settings. Our color stylist, Craig Cuqro, used colored filters to set the characters into their backgrounds, and our overseas studio Moi added a lot of diffusion, which gives the characters a really nice kind of glowing look -- especially during the scenes in Themyscira. The soft diffusion throughout the scenes in Themyscira makes everything seem much nicer, like a paradise. The style adds a lot of quality to the overall look of the film.
Q: Are you a mythology aficionado?
A: I always liked epic stories, and Greek mythology was a subject that kept my attention in school. The characters were larger than life -- they were gods and each had their own nuances and specialties. Being an artist, I could really visualize those characters and that made their stories that much more interesting. WONDER WOMAN is based in mythology, but it doesn't follow it to a 'T' by any means. I really just had to bone up on my WONDER WOMAN version of mythology, so I could make sure that we pleased the fans. We wanted to stay true to the legend but we did eliminate or underplay some of the sillier aspects of that mythology.
Q: Like the fact that the Amazons have an invisible jet, but they with fight swords and don't appear to have indoor plumbing?
Montgomery has directed an origin story for WONDER WOMAN that remains true to the title character's various incarnations, while setting the tale in more modern times to allow greater accessibility for a wider audience. Working alongside producer Bruce Timm, Montgomery has brought to life Michael Jelenic's script with a balance of action and humor. A talented artist with a lifetime of experience devoted to drawing and animation, Montgomery is proud to give Wonder Woman her first feature film treatment.
Montgomery, who is already involved in other superhero films, discusses the upcoming WONDER WOMAN movie, her love of drawing, artistic influences on her style, lessons from Bruce Timm, and Cheetara's lonely place among female heroes.
Question: You've gone from directing one-third of SUPERMAN DOOMSDAY to helming the entirety of WONDER WOMAN. What's that progression been like for you?
Lauren Montgomery: It's mostly in scale of responsibility. On DOOMSDAY, it was all about my one section of the film. Now, it's everything from background design and color to character design and camera angles, helping select the voices for the cast and approving every storyboard for the entire film. So it was all a lot harder. It's been an incredible learning experience, it's probably the most hands-on I've ever been on anything, and it's really prepared me for more of those responsibilities in the future.
Q: What were the driving factors behind the final design of Wonder Woman?
A: We kept the designs simple enough for animation, but we wanted to give them a slightly more detailed, less cartoony look for the PG-13 content. Wonder Woman went through a lot of different versions. Gradually, and for the betterment of the film, we determined that she should look strong and athletic without being manly. She's an Amazon, so I wanted her to be able to be taken seriously. We wanted her to look like she worked out, and not just make her a curvy, busty pinup. So I tried to give her slightly slimmer hips versus the hourglass figure, and I think it makes her more believable and engaging in a lot of action.
Q: Did you utilize a different color palette from previous DC Universe films?
A: We wanted the film to be vibrant, but we also needed our characters to fit into their settings. Our color stylist, Craig Cuqro, used colored filters to set the characters into their backgrounds, and our overseas studio Moi added a lot of diffusion, which gives the characters a really nice kind of glowing look -- especially during the scenes in Themyscira. The soft diffusion throughout the scenes in Themyscira makes everything seem much nicer, like a paradise. The style adds a lot of quality to the overall look of the film.
Q: Are you a mythology aficionado?
A: I always liked epic stories, and Greek mythology was a subject that kept my attention in school. The characters were larger than life -- they were gods and each had their own nuances and specialties. Being an artist, I could really visualize those characters and that made their stories that much more interesting. WONDER WOMAN is based in mythology, but it doesn't follow it to a 'T' by any means. I really just had to bone up on my WONDER WOMAN version of mythology, so I could make sure that we pleased the fans. We wanted to stay true to the legend but we did eliminate or underplay some of the sillier aspects of that mythology.
Q: Like the fact that the Amazons have an invisible jet, but they with fight swords and don't appear to have indoor plumbing?
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