DELGO - My Love Hewitt - My Love Hewitt Websites

A former Fort Wayne resident – South Side graduate Jason Maurer – is in Georgia making what might well be the first independently financed, feature-length, computer-animated, action extravaganza. It is called “Delgo.”

Before you start envisioning a pie in the sky, a flash in the pan, and a nothing about which much ado has been made, get a load of the cast list: Val Kilmer, Michael Clarke Duncan, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Louis Gossett Jr., Eric Idle, Burt Reynolds and Chris Kattan.

OK, that Chris Kattan thing was a bit anti-climactic. Forget I ever typed it.

“Delgo” follows the methodology of the old “Star Trek” where vaguely futuristic situations were used to explore contemporary issues.

The film concerns two antagonistic alien races, the Nohrin and the Lockni, trying (not very) hard to just get along on the planet Jhamora.

There is prejudice on Jhamora, some of which will be familiar to inhabitants of Earth, and some not.

The Nohrins fly and the Lockni don’t, and this leads to arrogance on the one hand and resentment on the other.

The tension thickens when Delgo, a Lockni commoner, falls in love with Kyla, a Nohrin princess – a scenario straight out of Shake-speare and (come to think of it) “Star Trek,” which has never been shy about referencing The Bard.

“Delgo” began about eight years ago when Maurer and Marc Adler, Maurer’s boss at the Atlanta e-business firm where he works, started discussing the feasibility of producing a largely in-house computer-animated feature.

“Ever since I was a kid I’ve been in love with movies and storytelling,” Maurer says. “I always dreamed of one day making a film.”

The general public expects a lot from its computer animation, which is one of the reasons why privately financed features are rarely made for the multiplex crowd – or rarely made at all.

Non-embarrassing animation is expensive, time-consuming and labor-intensive.

But Maurer and Adler were (and still are) good businessmen, and they were confident that if they planned for every contingency and took every opportunity to be cautious in a business where caution is frequently thrown to the winds, that they would be successful.

“We developed a 90-second proof-of-concept piece that showcased the general story concept and provided an early glimpse of the worlds, characters and creatures,” Maurer says. “We presented this to several private investors across various business sectors around the country and ultimately secured funding.”

Maurer and Adler hired animators from Disney and DreamWorks and now, eight arduous years later, “Delgo” is nearing completion.

Maurer won’t say how much money has been spent on “Delgo,” but he will say “it is comparable to other animated feature films.”

Thoughtful animated sci-fi has a checkered past at the box office.

Movies like “Titan A.E.” and “Final Fantasy” have not appealed to a public habituated to anthropomorphic pets. But Maurer says, after you’ve reached a certain level of risk, additional risk hardly registers.

“Any film is risky, whether it is an independent or a studio-backed feature, animation or live-action. In fact, movies are probably the highest-risk enterprise one can undertake. You minimize your risk by working with the best people you can find and by testing your characters, your story, and the film with your target audience to make sure that you are on the right track. We have been very fortunate in that ‘Delgo’ has been well-received. In fact, our Web site, Delgo.com, sees hundreds-of-thousands of visitors every month who believe in the project.”

Delgo.com is as unique as the project that inspired it.

Every week since “Delgo” gathered a full head of steam, Maurer and Adler have posted sketches and mini-movies on the site and have encouraged visitors to post comments and critiques.

That way the “Delgo” folks have avoided a few errors in judgment and have built a considerable cult following along the way.

But Maurer knows there’s only so much polling you can do.

In the end, every visionary has to respect his vision.

“There’s no way to be certain. Even with focus-testing, there are many factors that can make a film sink or swim. But, at some point, you have to have faith in what you’re doing. If filmmakers concerned themselves with every movie that didn’t hit that sweet spot, no one would ever make another movie.”

UPDATED JULY 16, 2004

From UGO/eFilm Critic.com

BIG-BUDGET CGI DELIVERED WITH AN INDIE SENSIBILITY:
MEET 'DELGO' DIRECTORS

by Scott Weinberg

I was clicking my way through one of the more reliable movie news sites when I caught a look at something called "Delgo". Hmm, wassat? A new adventure-type epic thingie? Why had I never heard of this one before? Wait a sec...this is a full-length CG adventure? Produced by an indie company? Hmmm, now this looks like something looking into...

So I spent some time at Delgo's official site, watching the trailer, clicking through the artwork, and being generally impressed with the vibe of the whole project. (I was particularly intrigued by the expansive supporting cast, which boasts names as varied as Jennifer Love Hewitt, Anne Bancroft, Chris Kattan, Val Kilmer, Eric Idle, Burt Reynolds and Malcolm McDowell!) So I dropped an email to the fine folks at Atlanta's Fathom Studios, basically demanding to know the story behind Delgo.

And while it dawned on me that perhaps I was helping to "hype" a movie I haven't even seen yet (which is an activity I try never to do), there's just something about an independently financed CG feature that seems worthy of our attention. If Pixar Animation Studios deserves all the praise it's ever earned (and surely it does), then it's only fair to offer a little spotlight to the new kid on the block, if only to level the playing field just a little bit.

In between numerous exchanges with Fathom email wrangler Jennifer Jones (a lovely lady if ever there was one) I was able to squeeze a good dose of Delgo data out of co-directors Jason Maurer and Marc Adler.

INTERVIEW:

SCOTT: Who had that first brilliant idea of "Let's make our OWN CG feature and deal with the distribution end AFTER we've made something cool"? What had Fathom done prior to the production of Delgo that gave you the confidence to take on such a large gamble?

MARC: Thank you very much. Delgo is largely the result of the right people coming together at the right time with the right technology. It's always been a dream of mine to create a feature film. Advancements in technology turned the dream into a reality. The story behind the film begins with Macquarium Intelligent Communications, one of the nation's top interactive agencies. As a division of Macquarium, Fathom Studios has been creating award-winning computer animation for more than a decade for television, video, and the Web. When we saw the early s! uccess of CGI features, we knew the time was right. As a relatively unknown studio in Atlanta, the only way we could move forward was to raise our own funding, pull together the right team, and produce it on our own. This is similar to the business model for live-action independent features. Certainly it's a risk; every feature film is, whether independent or backed by a major studio. But, well-calculated risks often have the greatest payoffs.

Did you guys have sort of a voice-actor wish list? Did you find that you had to "sell" the movie to prospective cast members?

MARC: We did have several wish lists for our cast when we were writing the script. As we got to know our characters, we shortened our list with top picks. It did take creative thinking to secure our cast, however. As a relatively unknown studio with an original story, we knew we had to do something special for our project to be given consideration. We! couldn't just send a standard offer letter that would be buried on an agent's desk. So, we created a casting kit. In it, we put a 42-page visual treatment filled with concept art to showcase the worlds, creatures and characters. We also included some CG images, a Delgo scrapbook, and a mock-trailer using voice actors in Atlanta. These are all available at the official site. We’re thrilled that it worked; bringing Delgo’s world to life with this collateral enabled us to sign some of the best talent in the business.

Who was the first "name actor" to sign on, and what was your reaction to their signing?

JASON: It's hard to say who was the first. I believe we signed Jennifer Love Hewitt, Val Kilmer and Michael Clarke Duncan within days of each other. When we found out they were on board, I was very excited. It was such an affirmation. It's one thing for me to believe in the work our team is doing, but to have talented actors choose your project above others, it's truly exciting. And, the excitement kept growing with each cast member that joined the film.

Would you have been willing/able to produce the film with a relatively "no-name" voice cast?

MARC: Producing the film with an unknown cast would absolutely be possible, especially here in Atlanta with so many talented voice actors who work with the Cartoon Network and other local companies. The difficulty would be selling it. Marketing and promotion is critical to any film and having famous faces that audiences admire is one of the best ways to get the word out.

Delgo is an original screenplay, in that it's not based on any pre-existing books or characters. But what were your i! nspirations?

JASON: We've had so many inspirations for the story and look of the film, it's hard to pinpoint them all. We knew we wanted to tell a fantasy adventure in a world no one had seen before. The inspirations behind that, for me, were movies like The Dark Crystal and The Neverending Story, which had a major impact on me as a kid. I'm also a big fan of westerns and science fiction. A popular theme of both those genres is exploring what happens when different cultures come together. It's such a rich premise because there are so many roads to take in the story-telling. So, that was the initial spark for the story: a fantasy adventure where different cultures must coexist. From there, we had several writers on the project and each brought their own influences, experiences, and inspirations to each character and moment; the story continued to grow from there.

How important was it for Delgo ! to be an original story?

MARC: Looking back, it would have been easier to have created a feature around an existing story with a built-in audience. But we had a goal of creating our own film, telling our own story, in our own way. So it was important on a personal level to achieve that goal. However, we have been able to build the films’s audience through the website, which features the Digital Dailies, an online message board where our artists post and discuss their work, allowing fans to follow the making-of the film as it happens. We receive countless emails from fans aged six to sixty who visit the site and who tell us they can’t wait to see Delgo on the big screen.

Can you describe the plot in a way that will make potential moviegoers say "Hmmm, cool."??

JASON: Delgo is an animated feature combining magic, adventure, humor and romance. The story is a fantasy adven! ture about two divided civilizations that are brought together through an outlawed romance and the heroics of some unlikely friends. It's got a lot of heart and a lot of action. At it's core, it's the story of young people trying to figure out who they are and what they want their world to become.

After movie-goers have seen the film, they'll hopefully be saying "I liked it. It sorta reminded me of MOVIE X in a good way." What would MOVIE X be?

JASON: It's already been described as Shrek meets Lord of the Rings and I can't imagine a better description. It really does combine the humor, romance and fun of Shrek with the action-adventure and epic nature of The Lord of the Rings.

What are the main themes (morals, subtext, etc.) of the movie?

JASON: Ultimately, the film is about cultural unity. It goes back to our original goal of ! exploring what happens when two cultures come together. The simple fact is, no matter how different we are in appearance, history, customs, politics, we are all still the same at heart.

I have a theory about CG features, and it's one that I've repeated ad nauseum to anyone who'll listen: people seem to really respond to the scripts (particularly where Pixar is concerned), and I think it's because when you're forced to spend 2+ years actually "making" the movie in a technical sense, it leaves you plenty of time to hone and refine the screenplay. Jokes get tighter, characters become deeper, the themes are tweaked and double-tweaked, and this happens because CG movies take so LONG to make. So does this theory hold water? Does the amazingly lengthy production time of a CG feature naturally lead to a better screenplay? Or are you more or less "locked in" once the final draft is approved and the actual computer work begins? (Whew.)

JASON: Yes. And, at the same time, no. I think you do have flexibility for changes during the process, but you also must keep in mind budget and your production schedule. Some aspects of the story simply cannot be changed once the script is locked. Otherwise, you'll never finish. But I think more than the time factor, it's the vast collaboration between creative people that makes such a difference. Each recording session we've had with our cast members has brought forth new material that added to the humor and the heart of the story. Of course, that happens in live action productions. But with CGI features, the collaboration doesn't end with just director and actor. The artists come into play as well. There isn't a single scene in Delgo that doesn't have some added humor, or tug on the heart-strings delivered by our animators.

Hmm, well I'd like to ask what the total budget for the movie is, but I completely understand if you'! d rather not share the actual figure. If that's the case, let me know how the budget would compare to a Shrek 2 or a Finding Nemo. (Or a Titan AE!) Plus, I think the readers would like to know (in a general sense) why it is that CGI animation is so expensive, be it for a full-length feature or for the FX in something like Van Helsing. Once the technology is there, is it simply a question of man-hours at the animation banks?

MARC: When it comes to CGI, independent doesn't mean inexpensive. We don't release our budget, but I can tell you we're on par with other CGI features. There are many reasons computer animation is so expensive: the software and hardware, the research and development, and most importantly, the cost of talented people's time. Consider a live-action film may require a similarly-sized production team as compared to a CGI feature, but where one may only take four months, the other may take four years. ! Time is money.

How long has the movie been in production?

JASON: Production began in 2001. But pre-production (character design, storyboards) dates back to 1999. We spent much of 2000 modeling and texturing the characters, creatures and sets, and we cast the film in 2001, recording the voice work at that time, with pick-up sessions as recent as this year.

In the early stages, did the fact that you were working "without" a distributor ever send you into a panic? That maybe you were working without a net? It's a brave approach, to be sure, but it must have caused a few gray hairs along the way.

MARC: In my case, there's no hair to turn gray. But, seriously, there've been a lot of times when our independent position has been a cause for concern. However, we've been very fortunate to have the support of so many people throughout this production. Whether it's! veteran industry consultants offering advice, connections, and guidance, or the genuine enthusiasm of our cast, fans and media, there's always something that helps us overcome our challenges and takes us to the next level.

How are the nibbles so far? The Delgo website is a lot of fun, but it also works as a brilliant little calling card for the film. Is a deal "close" to being done? If you had your choice, what time of the year would Delgo be released?

MARC: Thank you. The site has been remarkable in helping us reach our audience, particularly due to the Digital Dailies. As far as distribution, we're working with Ken Kamins to help us choose the best distribution partner. Ken is no stranger to independent filmmakers and Hollywood outsiders. He’s represented Robert Altman for many years and brokered the deal for New Zealand’s Peter Jackson to helm The Lord of the Rings, along with the more rec! ent deal for Kong Kong. Ken is guiding us through the process and helping us determine the best partner and the best timing for the film.

I think by this point you've probably typed your fingernails bare, so I'll end with a quesiton you'll probably enjoy: Disney/Pixar, Dreamworks, Fox, WB and all the other studios are hard at work on their own CG features. What role do you think an independent studio has among this landscape? How does Fathom, at this point, compare to the pre-Toy Story Pixar?

MARC: I think there is always a role for independent filmmakers. They, more than any risk-averse studio responsible to shareholders, are the ones that push the envelope and challenge convention. Independent filmmaking offers freedom to break molds and disregard orthodoxy that places limits on creativity. Of course, the Internet is already the willing distributor for these unconventiona! l visions and other new paradigms of distribution are emerging, allowing independent filmmakers to not only make their movies, but to find an audience for those movies. As for CG features specifically, the bar continues to be raised by the impressive work of Pixar and Dreamworks. But, what is always most important is the story - and that's something which doesn't require monumental funds from a studio to create. Pixar has always been a company with great ideas, great people, and great execution. They are the best in the business. I believe Fathom has a similar potential and hope other Fathom-like companies emerge to provide audiences more choice in the marketplace.

I've linked it a few times already, but once more won't kill ya. Stop by the official site and click around a bit. There's lots of flashy colors, shiny buttons and rather! beautiful artwork. We here at EFC/HBS wish the Fathom crew all the best; anyone who can create Hollywood-style product in Georgia is someone we wanna party with. Good luck with the movie, guys.

ANNE BANCROFT as Sedessa	MICHAEL CLARKE DUNCAN as Elder Marley	LOUIS GOSSETT JR. as King Zahn

JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT as Princess Kyla	ERIC IDLE as Spig	CHRIS KATTAN as Filo

SALLY KELLERMAN as the Narrator	VAL KILMER as Bogardus	MALCOLM McDOWELL as Raius

UPDATED JULY 16, 2004

From UGO/eFilm Critic.com

BIG-BUDGET CGI DELIVERED WITH AN INDIE SENSIBILITY: MEET 'DELGO' DIRECTORS

by Scott Weinberg

BIG-BUDGET CGI DELIVERED WITH AN INDIE SENSIBILITY:
MEET 'DELGO' DIRECTORS