|
Ed
Asner Stands For Goodness
Returning as Granny Goodness, in
Superman/Batman: Apocalypse
| |
| He
loves you. Remember that. |
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, 2010 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,
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.
| |
| "...she'd
have more balls than any of them." |
GARY
MIEREANU: 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 (The Importance of Being Earnest). 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.
GARY
MIEREANU: What do you use as a focal point
while voicing Granny?
ED
ASNER: 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.
GARY
MIEREANU: You’ve done it all and
had long-lasting success in the entertainment industry.
What’s the enticement of voice acting for you?
ED
ASNER: 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.
| |
| "I'm
thinking she's a lot of chest, a lot of high pressure
steam..." |
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.
GARY
MIEREANU: 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.
ED
ASNER: 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.
GARY
MIEREANU: How do you feel about spunk?
ED
ASNER: That all depends on who’s got it.
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).
For
more information please go to SupermanBatmanApocalypse.com
|
