TALKING STAN LEE'S MOSIAC WITH SCOTT LOBDELL

[MattBrady]

by Daniel Robert Epstein

If you think that Scott Lobdell has dropped off the face of the Earth then you are obviously not a fan of teenage detectives nor are you enamored enough of Paula Garcés to rent Man of the House. But Lobdell is back working with comic folk through the ultimate back door, Hollywood and Stan Lee’s POW!

Lobdell was hired to write the DVD original Stan Lee Presents: Mosaic which is about an Interpol agent that is investigating a race of humanoid chameleons. The agent discovers an age old rune which he stores in his home. His curious college age daughter, Maggie Nelson [voiced by Anna Paquin], finds the rune and in a freak accident gains shape shifting powers. Now Maggie must help defeat an ancient enemy who is trying to rule the world.

We spoke with the writer.

Newsarama: How much time did you spend with Stan working on this?

Scott Lobdell: In the few times that we worked together, Stan will come up with a genesis of the idea and then we'll bat it back and forth and I'll absorb what it is that he wants. Then I'll try to figure it out in terms of the larger sense of the story. He’ll generally bring you to the point of origin where Maggie has these powers and her father is an Interpol agent. Initially he was a cop but I wound up changing him to an Interpol agent because that has a bigger arena for storytelling. Then from there, I'll go back and pitch an actual beginning, middle and end. Then he'll either say, "I don't find that as interesting as this” or “That's good. How about if this happens as well?" I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for Stan so it makes it fun to work with him.

NRAMA: So you’ve worked with Stan before?

SL: I had worked with him on several pitches. One for Showtime, another time we had a movie pitch that we took out. I’m currently writing a movie for Ringo Starr with Stan.

NRAMA: Who put you and Stan together originally?

SL: When I was at Marvel, Stan and I used to have a really fun road show. We'd find ourselves at conventions together and I would be the one that would interview him for the audience. That was because I knew all his best stories and how to push the crowd in a way that was a lot of fun for us. So over the years, we became friends and when he started POW! he called me and asked me if I was interested in writing for it. But it is not just about Hollywood money, it's always a tremendous amount of fun to work with him so whether it's for free or next to free, it is still fun [laughs].

NRAMA: Mosaic is pretty PG-13. There’s what looks to be an attempted rape, there's real blood and real killing. What guidelines were you given in terms of that?
SL: I have to tell you that I did not see that attempted rape scene until the movie came out. I guess that whole scene with the zoo was added afterwards. One minute Maggie is scared to death about her father and the next minute she's at the zoo then the next minute she back. So that left me scratching my head. It felt like it was grafted on at some point after I had turned in the script. But as far as the violence there were no guidelines that I was aware of. To me it's within the rules that apply to a comic book, where you don't necessarily want something terribly graphic but anytime, especially where superheroes are involved, you have to have a physical conflict with stakes.

NRAMA: At one point, Maggie walked up the wall like Spider-Man.

SL: That was strictly homage. It was intended to be funny, too. In one of the earlier drafts I believe she had actually been bitten by a chameleon. The idea that you’re writing a character created by probably the most famous comic book writer in the history of the medium so to do a nod to his character was intended to be silly. It wasn't intended to be a moment of “I wonder if I can get away with lifting something no one will notice.” I'll tell you that in the Ringo Starr movie, he has three fellow members of his band. At one point I made a decision to do something and I had them all put their hands one on top of each other then The Thing’s orange brick hand was placed on top but the studio said that was too silly.

NRAMA: Obviously in a comic book, the budget for special effects is limitless, is it the same when writing a cartoon?

SL: Yeah, the original story, if I remember correctly, was very New York-centric and my feeling was that if all this money was going to be spent making a cartoon then we should make the guy an Interpol agent so we could have a reason to go from New York to Italy to Antarctica. The idea was to really take advantage of the animation to allow for a whole bunch of different environments.

NRAMA: Were you involved with things like character designs?

SL: No, I was surprised to find that Maggie was a thin blonde. I was expecting a smaller brunette.

NRAMA: So she would look more like Anna [Paquin]?

SL: No, I believe there was one other person before Anna that they were sure was going to do it. I think it was Kristin Kreuk [of Smallville]. I wrote the script then they showed me the animatics like seven months later and then I got a copy the week it came out. So really me putting it into the DVD player was probably the same experience for you or anybody else. I was pretty much watching it unfold as pretty much anybody would.

NRAMA: What are the challenges of creating a franchise character now?

SL: I know that early the studio was very much about taking the Stephan character [voiced by Cam Clarke] and making him get kidnapped then she has to track him down and save his life. They kept saying “Well, he’s the normal guy and he’s our way into the story so he should be at risk.” I said, “Well, actually, Maggie is the normal person and she is our way into the story and she’s risking her life to save her father and then inadvertently to save the world.” But I think the problem with franchises sometimes is that they want to pour so much into that first story that there is no reason to watch any more. Whereas I feel that by the end of the story, Maggie has as many complications really in her life as she did before, if not more because of her powers. But it also leads you up to where she’s going to be having more adventures and not knowing who to trust. Her father has made a vow to stamp out these chameleon people, unaware that his daughter is essentially one of them. So I think it’s just a matter of setting up elements to carry on. The best comic books are big stories but at the end of each individual story you’ve gotten your money’s worth but you also are intrigued to pick up the next issue. That’s different from a lot of other stories, especially movies. Generally the rule of the movie is that unless it’s a trilogy, you should wrap it up at the end of the movie.

NRAMA: Did you write lines that explain things like where Maggie’s clothes go when she turns into a bear or do you say “You know what; this is not the kind of movie that explains those kinds of things”?

SL: I’ll tell you a funny story. Alan Davis and I were re-launching Fantastic Four. I had come up with an opening scene with Ben and Johnny at the North Pole. Ben gets taunted by Johnny and winds up in this giant avalanche and yada, yada, yada. I sent it to Alan and about a week later he sent me back six pages of broken down pencils of Mr. Fantastic completely out of control and screaming in pain. Alan said, “I thought it would be interesting if we learned that every time Mr. Fantastic uses his powers his bones have to break a little and reset every time?” I said, “I really don’t think anybody has even the remotest interest in Mr. Fantastic’s process of stretching.”

I guess if I was looking at it from the outside I might have that same question but it just never occurred to me what would happen if she turned into a bear or why she winds up with the face and clothes of Mr. Bullwraith [voiced by Scott McNeil]. I can buy that she can change her face and her physicality but is she really going to change her wardrobe? Having said that I will venture an answer. Since chameleons are reptilian and there are snakes that shed their skin, one could conceivably say that her clothes function as that outer layer of skin. That would allow her to either change them in accordance with how she’s changing her physical self. That’s what I would do if somebody asked me to explain it in the very next episode of Mosaic.

NRAMA: As someone who left comics for Hollywood ten years ago or so, why is this one of the first things we’re seeing from you?

SL: I did have a movie coming out - Man of the House with Tommy Lee Jones. He starred as a Texas Ranger who had to protect a squad of cheerleaders who witnessed a murder. I’ve sold five pilots and had two of them shot but they didn’t get on the air. As a feature writer I’ve sold six features and have had one made so anyone in Hollywood would say that is a ridiculously, phenomenally high success record. Many writers will sell 30 scripts and get one made. But having said that, it took me from the time I was 22 to the time I was 30 to get into comic books and get my first series. So I think I have a pretty good record. It is frustrating when you get a pilot shot and you’re waiting to find out whether or not it goes to series and you get that call saying it didn’t get picked up. But I’m sure the more experience I have the more I’ll get to a point in the next year or two that I’ll have a show on the air. I would say that 98 percent of the people that write pilots are people who have written on Home Improvement, have written on six seasons of Law & Order and now they’ve written enough that they get to go in and pitch pilots. The fact that I have had absolutely no experience whatsoever working on a TV show and that I’ve been able to make my way into the pilot business is ridiculous. As ridiculous as a guy who wrote eight page stories for Marvel Comics Presents and winds up writing the X-Men

NRAMA: Does Ringo Starr have superpowers in this movie you’re writing?

SL: I could answer that question but I don’t think I’m supposed to because I think they’re waiting to announce it at a particular time.

NRAMA: Have you met up with Ringo?

SL: Sure. He’s a really nice guy and not at all what you’d expect from somebody who has achieved international superstar status. He didn’t have an ounce of pretension in him. At least when you meet Stan Lee he can be a little bombastic and at least pretend that he’s self-absorbed even though he’s not. He gives you something, whereas Ringo is like meeting your sister’s new boyfriend or something. After several drafts finally gave the script to Ringo and I got a call from the studio over the holidays. They said “Ringo wants you to know that you’re brilliant.” I told my father, “Oh my God, one of The Beatles said that I was brilliant.” He said, “Yeah, but does he really know anything more than anyone else.” I said, “That’s beside the point.”

Check out the official site for Stan Lee Presents: Mosaic here.

[GOSD]

He is in fact alive.

I saw him @ NYCC.

He was harrassing Gail while I was trying to get her autograph.

[theodoros2]

Originally Posted by GOSD

He is in fact alive.

I saw him @ NYCC.

He was harrassing Gail while I was trying to get her autograph.

He was in Greece in a convention last weekend. We had a drink and he was harassing a friend of mine, in a nice way...

She said NO!! hahahahhahahahahhahhha

So Scott, are you going to kill any cheerleaders in your new movie?

[DoctorDoom]

Originally Posted by GOSD

He is in fact alive.

I saw him @ NYCC.

He was harrassing Gail while I was trying to get her autograph.

huh? who was?

[Billy Tucci]

I have just left Scott and Greece and am very sad...

Scott's filled me in on all his new projects, but also sworn me to secrecy to wait for all the press releases and offical statements coming this year. Damn, I want to spill the beans but since the two of us conquered Athens we share a Hoplitic bond that must never be broken.

Regardless, I am very excited for one of my favorite comic scribes and his rekindled love of the craft, and also for the huge stuff he has coming out again. I think all of us fans of the medium will be very, very excited!

It's now 20 degrees F in NY, while it's 60 in Greece. Not only am I sad, I'm really pissed now!

[Billy Tucci]

Oh and too I love Paula Garces as well -- the hottest cheerleader in Scott's "Man of the House!"

[JLAJRC]

Can't wait to watch it on CN this Saturday. I also like that Mr. Fantastic idea.

[thomas_mason]

i was an extra in man of the house... we shot our scenes the weekend of the first wizard world tex ass!!!

[christosgage]

Originally Posted by Billy Tucci

I have just left Scott and Greece and am very sad...

Scott's filled me in on all his new projects, but also sworn me to secrecy to wait for all the press releases and offical statements coming this year. Damn, I want to spill the beans but since the two of us conquered Athens we share a Hoplitic bond that must never be broken.

Regardless, I am very excited for one of my favorite comic scribes and his rekindled love of the craft, and also for the huge stuff he has coming out again. I think all of us fans of the medium will be very, very excited!

It's now 20 degrees F in NY, while it's 60 in Greece. Not only am I sad, I'm really pissed now!

I love the way these Greeks bring Italians and whatever the hell Lobdell is over there but don't even invite their own countrymen. I renounce Hellenism!!

[AdamYJ]

Say what you will about Scott Lobdell, but as I sit here looking at the Generation X poster that hangs near my computer with both his and Chris Bachalo's names on it (as well as the names of all the Generation X members) I can't have anything but the utmost respect for him.

Why?

Because the story that introduced that team absolutely rocked my socks when I was 12 and just getting into comics. That's why.

[Lord MaGnUs]

Matt, the title says "mosiac" instead of "mosaic"... just wanted to point that out.

[Angelophile]

That was a nice article. Nice in the sense that it's good to catch up with Scott and he seems to be happy with what he's doing in life. I'd love to see him writing more comics again. Generation X under his pen was a joy and he created many of my favourite characters.

[pan-man]

Originally Posted by christosgage

I love the way these Greeks bring Italians and whatever the hell Lobdell is over there but don't even invite their own countrymen. I renounce Hellenism!!

.......NOOOOOOO......you know very well you are not!!!!! (actually because you just can't do so even if you wanted to...)

You don't have to be so hard on us poor little Greek comicbook fans.... It was only the second year of the Comicdom Con in Athens and from what I've been told it's really hard (and expensive) to have some REALLY BIG NAMES to honour this effort. And you seem to be A REALLY BIG NAME those days....(am I nice or what??? )

I am sure ANYONE would have liked to see you there!Actually I was wondering if anyone had tried to invite you in Athens and if you would be interested to come.It would be huge for us (well at least for me and some folks I know) to meet "enan diko mas" who is doing so well in comics!

Wish you the best and the same goes for mr Lobdel and his new projects!

For the story, Lobdel and Tucci were just GREAT guests and their Q&A session was a real pleasure for anyone who followed it!Thanks guyz!!!

OH Chris..."kai toy xronou" see ya in Athens!!!!!

[christosgage]

Oh, I couldn't really renounce Hellenism. My theitsas (aunts) would kick my ass.

I did try emailing some woman who was listed on the Athens con's web site but never heard back... Just as well, though, I went to NYCC instead where I met many Greeks and struggled to remember how to write Greek well enough to sign their books in "Ellinika." It was fun. But I would like to get back to the old country one of these days!

Take care,

CNG