King's Chronicles

Inquiring minds want to know...

2008-05-09T01:52:20Z

The question of continuity rears its head today at iFanboy. Wondering how my work on DETECTIVE fits in with the other Bat-books? Click over and read for yourself...

http://www.ifanboy.com/content/articles/200_Words_with_Paul_Dini__12_-__But_when_exactly____

On the stands today...

2008-05-07T08:16:30Z

...Detective #844, revealing the full, tragic tale of Peyton Riley. Also, more romantic drama in Bruce Wayne's life, with more to come next month when an old friend returns.

Dog daze II

2008-05-01T19:08:22Z

We have a new dog.

He is a rescued Boston terrier named Worf. We love him a lot and I will be writing more about him and posting photos once I figure out how.

In the meantime, here's a link to the latest 200 Words, a lesson for me in hubris and the whims of fame.

http://www.ifanboy.com/content/articles/200_Words_with_Paul_Dini__12_-_FAME

I have been meaning to post responses to the folks who write in to the 200 Words column at iFanboy but I am having much computer trouble each time I try. If you want a response, or to chat or whatever regarding the column, please leave me a message here and I will try to rectify the posting problem at iFanboy by next week.

Dog daze

2008-04-25T08:02:02Z

Are you looking for a pet? A unique animal we know of is up for adoption. You can read about him here.

http://www.ifanboy.com/content/articles/200_words_with_paul_dini__11_-_a_home_for_bitey

Bitey thanks you.

The Weekly Woozle

2008-04-17T07:12:39Z

First off, in answer to the question I've been asked no less than twelve times just today, no, I will not be going to the New York Comic Convention this weekend.

Please understand I have nothing against the con. Indeed, other than nearly mixing it up with a surly lout who pushed Misty aside and told me to go screw myself (not so politely) I had a pretty good time last year. However, last year I was a guest, and with no one footing the bill this time, and with no new projects for me to announce at the moment, I didn't see much reason in going.

Not that I don't looooove getting to New York every chance I can. I was born there and still feel close ties to the city. Back in the early to mid-ninties I was blessed with generous friends who lived in LA but maintained a usually vacant swanky mid-town Manhattan apartment. If I wanted to take a week and write a Batman script "at home" I would pack my laptop and write it out of their apartment, being canny enough not to tell the other producers exactly whose home I was writing from. I still have the same generous friends and they still have the same swanky apartment, though they have since long-term leased it to writers working on a New York-based sit-com. Now when I go to NYC, I have to pop for a hotel. Ah me, I sure do have it tough.

Though I won't be in New York this weekend, you can read about some of my favorite things to do there in an article soon to be printed in the New York Post. Reporter Chris Cassuto asked me what I would do with 50 bucks to spend however I wanted to in the Big Apple and I came up with a few ideas. I think it turned into a fun piece. I will post a link to it when it appears.

Speaking of links, the one below will take you to the latest installment of our home improvement adventures.

http://www.ifanboy.com/content/articles/200_Words_with_Paul_Dini__10_-_THE_AC_CHRONICLES_Part_Two

Air woes

2008-04-10T07:53:26Z

The imposing structure that is Castle Dinistein boasts many strange and unique things. A sofa made from an old navajo blanket. An electric piano that serves only as a base for a bust of Dr. Teeth. A stuffed grizzly in full indian war bonnet. Books of arcane mystic lore, devices of trickery and deception, living sock monkeys and a growing collection of robot beavers. The one thing we don't have?

Air conditioning.

All that changes this week as we begin our first major upgrade on the old family mansion. You can read the first installment here:

http://www.ifanboy.com/content/articles/200_Words_with_Paul_Dini__9_-_THE_AC_CHRONICLES_Part_One

More misery and merriment to come.

Yee-haw...

2008-04-03T21:58:39Z

Today at iFanboy, it's back to the ol' ranch as I spin a yarn about how I became a bullwhippin' son of a bitch.

Click here, saddle pals:

http://www.ifanboy.com/content/articles/200_Words_with_Paul_Dini__8_-_Bullwhippin____Son_of_a_Bitch

Pecos Paul

Sugar, Sugar...

2008-04-02T07:38:29Z

In comics stores today, DETECTIVE #843 reveals the true identity of the new Ventriloquist. One or two astute readers have already cracked the who, but no one has yet hit upon the why. This issue will shed a glimmer of light on Sugar's motivations, paving the way for our all hell breaks loose finale in TEC #844.

Scarface sez: "Buy it, ya bums! Better yet, steal it!"

Announcements

2008-04-02T01:57:11Z

New podcast up today at Dinicartoons. I spill the beans on a bunch of new, top-secret comic projects, Misty announces a completely new career direction and Rashy confesses his fraternal love for his much abused brother, SuperRica.

http://www.dinicartoons.com/podcast/Almost%20Live%20Episode%2012.mp3

kingofbreakfast @ 2008-03-27T09:11:00

2008-03-27T16:20:56Z

Today at iFanboy, journey back to 1979 with me as I go shopping for my first car.

http://www.ifanboy.com/content/articles/200_Words_with_Paul_Dini__7_-_Cruisin__With_Dr__Teeth_-_Almost

My two options were an old Malibu and the tour bus once used by the Electric Mayhem band. You know, these guys:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuA6EHAOd3o

Spring cleaning

2008-03-20T18:38:12Z

This week at iFanboy I attempt to clean my office after a year of "Countdown."

It does not go so well.

http://www.ifanboy.com/content/articles/200_Words_with_Paul_Dini__6_-_Countdown_Digout

Anyone want to buy a shark head?

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2008-03-17T16:34:33Z

Sure and here's a wee bit of fun to enjoy with your Irish Coffee, a foine piece of cartoon blarney by that darlin' Chuck Jones. Watch it quick before the Warner Bros. banshees yank it off You Tube, ah wurra, wurra!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5hXlc_qBpA

And Happy Birthday to Calla and Grandma, too!

Today at iFanboy...

2008-03-13T16:35:56Z

...A tale of the wild and woolly west - "Cougar Hunting With Retarded Dogs."

And when I say cougar, I mean the cat kind, not the women in "Sex & The City" kind.

http://www.ifanboy.com/content/articles/200_Words_with_Paul_Dini__5_-_Cougar_Hunting_With_Retarded_Dogs

New podcast

2008-03-07T22:21:47Z

Yes, Misty and I are back with the first new podcast of 2008. Among the topics discussed:

1. What we're up to and where we've been.

2. Rashy's new projects for '08.

3. The stairs fell on Alabama (and on everyone else).

4. Our trip to Wondercon, GPS troubles and a stormy night in SF.

5. Misty's desire to parade as a dancing rice bowl.

6. My expulsion from Children's Fairyland.

7. A new drinking game guaranteed to get you thrown out of most comic conventions.

8. When (if ever) The Carpenter will be returning to Detective Comics.

All this and ever so much more right here:

http://www.dinicartoons.com/podcast/Almost%20Live%20Episode%2011.mp3

Animal news...

2008-03-07T07:32:17Z

While this is not a cryptozoology report per se, it does deal with the rediscovery of an animal long thought gone from its home range. Last Sunday a grad student doing research on pine martens in California's northern Sierras near Lake Tahoe snapped an even bigger prize -- a picture of a never before photographed California wolverine. Growing up in California and spending summers near Tahoe, the wolverine had for me a legendary, almost supernatural appeal. An animal always discussed but rarely seen and never, EVER credibly photographed, the last one in the state was killed in 1922. Since then scientists have been on the fence about whether it still existed. Every now and then someone would see something that looked like a wolverine, but outside of some inconclusive tracks, proof was hard to come by. It time it became like the Tasmanian tiger of Northern California -- known by a few skins but most likely extinct. Now it's back. Or maybe it never went away. Some people think it's a stray from up north, others think it might be from an equally legendary splinter group in the Southern Sierras. However it got here, it's here and I hope it and its kin critters will be around for a long while.

Read the story and see the photo here:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080306144240.htm

Happiness

2008-03-04T19:07:33Z

Feeling low down, sad and blue? You won't be after watching this:

http://www.gigglesugar.com/953887

Today's 200

2008-02-28T19:21:26Z

An examination into why writers prefer to write at their local Starbucks, and a few reasons why this one shouldn't. Follow the link to read it on iFanboy.

http://www.ifanboy.com/content/articles/200_Words_with_Paul_Dini__3_-_Writing_at_Starbucks

Weekly Wrap-Up

2008-02-25T09:40:26Z

Misty and I are just back from Wondercon in San Francisco. We had a real good time and got to hang out with such lovely folks as Mark Evanier, Bruce Timm, Darwyn Cooke, J. Bone, Stephen Silver, Bill and Kayre Morrison and many, many others. Saw THE NEW FRONTIER. It's awesome.

And now for some idiocy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07z-tVnCYAM

Laters.

What's up

2008-02-20T23:57:32Z

In comics stores today, more thrills, chills and doublecrosses in MADAME MIRAGE #5. Then flip over to COUNTDOWN #10 for lots of Amazon action on Apokolips, and a sweet new origin of Harley Quinn by Bruce Timm!

In tomorrow's 200 WORDS column at iFanboy.com, read about my checkered job history and the not-so-secret origin of the column. This was meant to be the kick-off colum but it was delayed thanks to last week's Valentines Day theme.

Starting this week at iFanboy.com...

2008-02-12T17:35:05Z

A new weekly column written by me titled 200 WORDS WITH PAUL DINI. Sometimes I'll be writing about animation, comics, and the business and craft of the writing process, sometimes I won't. It's whatever flashes through my mind at the time I sit down to write the column, wherever I write the column. Weird stories, oddball observations, rants, rumors, recounts of bizarre stuff I've done throughout my life, it's all food for the column as long as it fits within 200 words.

The first column goes live this Thursday. Swing by http://www.ifanboy.com/ and check it out.

Yes, we have no Zatannas...

2008-02-06T22:50:10Z

Just a note to remind confused Bat-Fans that Zatanna's next appearance in DETECTIVE has been moved to April. The issue released today features the Mad Hatter and Tweedledee and Tweedledum.

Also, in the latest COUNTDOWN, the fight moves to Apokolips for a few weeks.

Well, today was the annual San Diego Comic Con hotel room clusterf**k. We called on automatic redial from three different phone lines and got three solid hours of busy signals. When we got on the site via computer, it noted our room choice, told us it needed to take our credit card information, then put up the goddamn spinning ball on our screen for forty minutes. Then the goddamn spinning ball stopped spinning, the screen asked us for our credit card info again, then the ball went back to spinning for forty minutes. At no time were we allowed to actually access the screen to give our credit card info.

Madness.

Breaking Bat-news...

2008-02-02T19:55:40Z

Zatanna will be returning to Detective Comics for another multi-part run, but not next week as previously reported. She'll be back in the April issue along with Penguin and the new Ventriloquist. But if you've been jonsing for a top hat fix, don't worry. Next week the villainy is supplied by our old friend the Mad Hatter and his brand-new Wonderland Gang. Should be a wild trip down the rabbit hole.

The news this week...

2008-01-25T19:34:51Z

Damn shame about Heath Ledger. I never met him, but I thought he had a lot of talent and I almost always liked him in the movies I saw. A bunch of other writer and director types and I said some nice things about his portrayal of the Joker recently at this site: http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1576855/20071219/story.jhtml and I was really looking forward to seeing him in the role. Last I heard his work on THE DARK KNIGHT, including post production, was complete, so at least we'll have that one last finished performance from him. I'm not so sure that applies to the Terry Gilliam feature he had just started filming.

***

Scientists in England claim to have created a helmet that reduces and possibly reverses the effects of Alzheimer's disease by beaming infra-red light directly into the brain. The thing looks like something out of Buck Rogers or possibly the Happy Helmet from "Ren and Stimpy."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_article_id=510172&in_page_id=1774

***

The photo of that "creature" on Mars? Bigfoot. Trust me on this.

***

Lots of rain this week in Southern California. Snow too, up in the mountains. I like rainy winters as that means more water reserves for summer. The problem is we get all our rain now and virtually nothing again until November. That means the scrub brush that looks so pretty and green now will be brown and dry by May. That's like filling the canyons with kindling wood. All we need is that one little spark and it's fires all summer and fall. I guess that means the water we're stocking up now we'll be using to spray down our homes in September.

***

Also here in LA, the Writer's Strike drags through another month. The WGA has taken animation and "reality" shows off the bargaining table, meaning we have basically lost the fight for automatic royalties on those two issues. For more information on why that may not be a total defeat, I direct you to Mark Evanier's blog:

http://www.newsfromme.com/

Mark puts a much more detailed and hopeful spin on it than I ever could. At any rate it's good that both sides are negotiating again. Hopefully this will mean an end to the strike fairly soon.

kingofbreakfast @ 2008-01-24T00:02:00

2008-01-24T08:17:41Z

Misty and I went to a political comedy show tonight at the Comedy Central Theatre. It was very well done and the roundtable debate between several political comedians was funny and thought-provoking. I'm following the campaign pretty closely this year though I am still undecided as to whom I will ultimately vote for.

Early on I thought Huckabee had some intriguing possibilities, but then I learned he was not actually a blue cartoon dog. Pity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3z6d2dLVNM

Your animation feature template

2008-01-17T21:33:11Z

While answering a question about Musical Dance Number Endings in animated features, I decided to explore the subject in depth here. Yes, the MDNE has become a cliche of modern animated films, but no more than other tired contemporary animation storytelling devices. Note them, copy them, hold fast to them like a gila monster's jaws to a screaming Cub Scout's leg and you too can have a career in scripting/storyboarding animated features.

Trust me, this process is so simple you could break out the Crayolas and storyboard the whole thing yourself using nothing more complicated than stick figures and tracings of your own hand. Be warned however, most studio execs don't have the attention span to follow the most energetic and entertaining of storyboard pitches for more than three minutes before they start checking their Blackberries for their lunch reservations. If you write your ideas as a treatment or script, the execs can make their readers read it and give them coverage. The good news is these story elements are so tried and true (translation: stale) that even the simplest of readers will get it and enthusiastically pass it along to their boss, who still won't read it but will take credit for all the amusing gags once he sees the completed picture.

Anyway, let's begin. Most cartoon features begin on the plot set-up, usually a revelation of the villain (or villainess) and their plan (usually take over a kingdom, or kill a rival, or get rich or a combination of all three) then establish your hero or heroine, usually a likable loser if male (Aladdin, the guys in Treasure Planet or Atlantis, that dumb panda that's already showing up everyhere), a comically-scattered, sweet, smart, ugly duckling type if female (Belle, Anastasia, the girl in "Enchanted") and the obligatory wacky sidekicks, always one, sometimes as many as three (Flounder, Scuttle, Timon, Pumba, monkey, flying rug, etc., etc.). The villain also usually has a sidekick, either the bungling nincompoop type (Kronk) or the loudmouthed asshole (Iago) or very rarely, some actually sort of threatening creatures (the hyenas in "Lion King.").

The screen action lumps along for 80 minutes or so, consisting of initial skirmishes between hero and villain, the set-up of the traditional hero/heroine love story (these days they usually hate each other at first sight, snark back and forth until the end, then inexplicably fall into each other's arms), songs that explain what the hero, the villain and the heroine each want, a vomit and/or fart joke or two from the sidekicks, and action sequences designed to pad out what could usually be a story told in 10 minutes.

Your primary objective as a modern animation feature storyteller is to get the audience members emotionally charged (i.e., distracted from logic gaps and not thinking too much) so they will be ready for your big finale. This usually consists of the hero defeating the villain (almost always by some initial violent action of the villain that the hero has "cleverly" used to boomerang back on the bad guy; real heroes never being allowed to slay dragons on their own these days) and the villain falling to their death from a great height, the only acceptable way for a baddie to meet their end in a cartoon (Gaston, Frollo, the bear in "The Fox & The Hound," Scar, the poacher in "Rescuers II", anyone notice a trend here?). If the villain can trip over the edge while trying to get in one last cowardly stab at the hero, so much the better. The demise of the bad guy puts everyone in a good mood, so the sidekicks fire up the juke box, or strike up the band, or simply break into song, and while the hero and heroine share a modest kiss, everyone rocks out over the end credits.

Any key dangling story points are lazily and cynically tied up in quick "funny" cut-aways during this sequence. In well-written movies, those points would have been melded skillfully into the plot, but most modern animation execs don't want the audience to have to mentally process new information that close to the picture's end. They want to send their audience out on an emotional high, so kill the bad guy, cue the music, and get in the next load of kids. If the villain has been more funny than evil, a credit sequence cut-away reveals he has survived the fall and is either plotting a return, or is in another comical predicament we can all laugh at before we cut back to the heroes gettin' down with their bad selves to an old Motown song. If a villainous sidekick has been found not all that bad, like Kronk, he is also given a inter-credits tag that shows he was really an okay guy all along and will likely be back as a good guy in the sequel. A few more credit cut-ins handily wrap up whatever the heroes' sidekick's big dream was ("Ah always wanted to fly in a helicopter." Right, explain that one to me), or bring about some family healing between the leads and their respective parents, or provide one last gag with that squirrel-weasel trying to open his nut.

Viola! The perfect contemporary animated movie template. Be sure to thank me when you're collecting your Oscar.

Also note - this template can be used for most current comedies and any Bruce Willis action picture.