BY JENNIFER M. CONTINOOh, my! It was just announced that
Paramount Pictures has acquired the rights to
Mike Bullock's popular all-ages series,
Lions, Tigers and Bears. The story of Joey Price, and his magical stuffed animal protectors, is in the hands of
Transformers/ producer
Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who will be producing the feature. Bullock was very happy to share this news, and give THE PULSE a few more details about this project, which is very near and dear to his heart.
THE PULSE: For our readers who still don't know a lot about this, what is Lions, Tigers and Bears?
MIKE BULLOCK: Lions, Tigers and Bears is a story about a young boy named Joey, whose stuffed animals come to life to protect him from the monsters in his closet, better known as The Beasties. In the first volume, Joey found himself knocked into the Stuffed Animal Kingdom, where he soon discovers the fate of all the world's children rests in his hands. With the help of his stuffed animals, four big cats known as The Night Pride, Joey must save Courtney Donlolley, daughter of the man who makes the magic stuffed animals. Without her, there will be no one to make the magic animals, and without them, no one to protect our children from The Beasties.
THE PULSE: I always thought it was natural to see Lions, Tigers and Bears optioned. But how does it feel to have not just Paramount, but Lorenzo di Bonaventura involved in the future of this property's transition from comics to film?
BULLOCK: It's amazing. Lorenzo's body of work is awe-inspiring, from a storyteller's point of view. He really "gets" the source material, and puts one hundred percent into making it the best film possible. Knowing that he is so passionate about my little book is really a blessing. I can't wait to see the finished product.
THE PULSE: What else do you know about the film? Is it going to be live action or animated or CGI? Start in one form, end in another? I could see this kind of Wizard of Ozish ....
BULLOCK: It's my understanding this will be similar to
Transformers or
Chronicles of Narnia, where it will be live action with a lot of CGI animation to embellish the visuals. I'm thinking the Beasties, Stuffed Animals (in their true forms) etc will be CGI.
THE PULSE: What kind of role do you have in the film? What kind of say do you have in what happens to your creations? Since this was a property you owned and created, did you make sure you'd have a bigger place in the grand scheme of things?
BULLOCK: One of the nice things about
Di Bonaventura Pictures is that they greatly respect the source material. While changes always need to be made in translating a property from one medium to the next, the changes will enhance the story for moviegoers. I have had quite a bit of say in what's being done with the characters and story. I've also been really pleased, in that for the most part, the changes suggested by Lorenzo and (screenwriter)
Joey Aucoin have been right in line with what I'd want to see.
As for my role, I realize I need to step aside to some extent, as there are professionals at work here. I don't have any experience in making a film, so I try to stay out of their way. Conversely, they consult me regularly and value my input, which is very nice. If all goes well, and the franchise blooms as the plan would have it, I'm sure I'll look back on this as a wonderful time in my life.
THE PULSE: If you were casting it right now, and could get ANYONE you wanted, who would you like to see as your leads or voicing the animals?
BULLOCK: That is such a tough question. I've thought of that several dozen times over the years and don't know that I've ever come up with a solid answer. When I write their dialogue, I hear the voices in my head, but don't know that I can place those voices with a particular actor or actress. There was a time when I imagined
Harrison Ford doing Ares voice, and I've always though
Kevin Grevioux would do a spectacular Beastie (Grok specifically), but I just don't know. It's one of those things I'm excited to discover in the near future.
THE PULSE: How quickly are things going to be progressing here? What kind of time frame do you envision for this all unfolding?
BULLOCK: Honestly, I'm not really sure. I've been so busy working on my other projects and a few things going on in my personal life, that I haven't had time to really find out what the schedule looks like in the future. I hope it's soon, though, as I really can't wait to see Ares in CGI.
THE PULSE: Why do you think this is a story that will appeal to those outside the traditional realm of comics?
BULLOCK: I think the story itself has a lot of universal appeal. Everyone has had times of loneliness and fear as a child. And, I think during those times, we've all wished for a hero to spring to our defense and vanquish those fears. Sometimes, that happens, other times, we have to dig deep within ourselves and learn to "be brave" in order to defeat those fears on our own. As we follow the comics, Joey goes from that scared little boy a lot of us have inside, to the kid who is empowered by facing his fears and overcoming them.
THE PULSE: There have been a few volumes of Lions, Tigers and Bears in print, do you have plans to do an "Ultimate Collection" that would collect all of that in one place?
BULLOCK: Yes, but I think we're going to wait until v3 is out. We're currently in the process of having it colored, and once it's done, #1 should hit stores shelves soon thereafter, with the other three issues in the succeeding months from
Image.
Michael Metcalf is penciling and inking the new story. Mike is one of the best artists I've ever had the pleasure of working with. He's also doing everything -- pencils, inks, colors --for my next book,
Timothy and the Transgalactic Towel.
THE PULSE: Tell us a little bit about Volume Three, please!
BULLOCK: Sure! Joey, Courtney and Courtney's cousin, Beth run afoul of a new group of monsters, led by the Beastie pirate Captain Scurvy, scourge of the Emerald Sea. I don't want to let too much out, but be prepared to watch Joey buckle his swash and see what happens when someone is forced to walk the plank. Arrr!
THE PULSE: I know when you were originally working on this, Ron Marz was a great help for how some of Lions, Tigers and Bears took shape. Who are some of the other comic creators who have helped you a lot along the way?
BULLOCK: Erik Larsen, without him the book never would have been published through Image. Erik's also been a great guide in helping me sift through the various artists who have worked on the book.
Rob Schwager has also been a Godsend in helping with the behind the scenes headaches that come with comics.
Joe Gentile has been a great sounding board in navigating a lot of the mechanics of comic creation/printing/publishing and there have been many, many people who have been great for encouraging me, like the late
Mike Wieringo, Kevin Grevioux, Scott Sava, Mike Kunkel, Rob Osborne, JM DeMatteis, Gail Simone and many more.
And, it's certainly been a blessing to work directly with guys like
Michael Metcalf, Jack Lawrence, Dave Lanphear, Troy Peteri, Kevin Myers, Josh Aitken and
Bob Pedroza.
THE PULSE: What does your family think of Lions, Tigers and Bears? How excited were they to learn this movie news?
BULLOCK: My wife has been wonderful throughout the whole process. There have certainly been times where I was a bit consumed with the book or the business end of things, which isn't very fair to her, but she recognizes how much I love writing and stands behind me. She really thinks it's neat that her husband can come up with so much crazy stuff, as she's an accountant and not so in-touch with the creative side.
Our son is ecstatic. In fact, when he heard he made several helicopter noises, then coo'ed and waved his hands in the air. Granted, that may also have been a sign he wanted us to change his diaper.
The rest of our family is very excited also. They all know how hard I've worked on this project and are happy every time the book reaches a new milestone.
THE PULSE: Speaking of milestones, what other projects are you working on?
BULLOCK: Right now, I'm neck deep in the production end of
Timothy and the Transgalactic Towel, my newest all-ages book coming out this summer through
Silverline Books/Image Comics. Timothy is about a boy who is given a magic towel that can transport him to anywhere he can imagine. However, once he gets there, Timothy and Towel discover things aren't so much fun in real life as they are in his imagination. This is the book I think will shoot artist
Michael Metcalf into the stratosphere. Michael is doing pencils/inks/colors for this and I really believe it's his strongest work yet. You can follow the progress on
http://www.timothyandthetransgalactictowel.com After that, I have my next book
My Machine, in the development stages. It's my take on the giant robot genre and I have high hopes for the finished product. I'm buried in
Phantom work, plotting, scripting and editing various
Phantom books and projects for
Moonstone. Anyone wanting to stay up to date can surf over to
http://www.runemasterstudios.com for all the latest news.
PULSE readers can learn more about Lions, Tigers and Bears in this PULSE pieces:
http://www.comicon.com/ubb/ubbthreads.ph...true#Post362001http://www.comicon.com/ubb/ubbthreads.ph...true#Post358690
Previous Topic
Index