Super Seattle Morning Segment

Interview transcript promoting Blaze Born, premiering at the Seattle International Film Festival

“Hi I’m Cathy Hewitt and you’re watching Super Seattle Morning!” proclaims a sugary voice. “Right now we have Gene Damage, recently claiming the super hero name BioRad and a very buff looking Alan Tduyk, sci fi fan favorite for his roles on Firefly, Dollhouse and V. We’re here this morning to talk about the movie Blaze Born, the Gene Damage story, which is going to premier later this week at the Seattle International Film Festival.”

Christine Hewitt: Gentlemen how are you this morning?

Gene Damage: (shell shocked stiff and doe eyed) Ummm good real good!

Alan Tudyk: (very animated) Great and thanks for having us! I’m a slob, dressed like I am though I must say you look striking this morning as well.

CW: Well thank you, on the topic of striking, I was about to mention Gene’s suit, Gene I’m guessing you have to have most of your clothes tailored? Can I ask which designer crafted your look?

GD: (Smiling, nervous) Well it’s not anyone famous, I have a tailor from Millennium City’s West Side, Tommy Chen, he makes most of my clothes.

AT: (laughing casually) Well Gene, Tommy’s famous now.

GD: I guess so, he did the shoes too.

CW: Tailor and Cobbler? (with a little mock lechery) Those are some impressive shoes.

GD: (looking at his feet and oblivious) Yeah, I like green.

CW: So let’s jump right in, the story of your accident in film, premiering in Seattle, Gene have you seen the film yet?

GD: No... I read the script, and I’ve seen the opening sequence, talking about all the testing we did on cold war weapons there, scary but… honest.

CW: (wary, off script and covering?) What’s this opening sequence, can you tell us about it?

AT: Annie, that’s Anne Richmond, the director, wanted to the set the stage without dialogue, so the opening sequence starts in the pristine desert and then shows one shot from each weapons test conducted at White Sands, with the date of the test with a newsreel voice over covering the Russian achievements that pushed us into building bigger bombs. It’s not apologetic; it just focuses the magnitude of what we did there.

CW: (pleased) ah, I smell a scoop here, that’s the viral video called ‘a brief history of fire’ that popped up on You Tube last week.

GD: uhh… yes.

CW: How do you feel about the script?

GD: Well… I liked it, it managed to catch the spirit of all the people I know from then. I was afraid they’d twist people around to make somebody (huge finger quotes in the air) the villain. The whatcha call it, antagonist (pauses) yeah well the antagonist is consequence. I’ve seen a lot of movies and that is a very hard story to tell, but that’s the story.

CW: What’s your take Alan?

AT: Hey, it’s an indie film, the reason anybody does an indie, is the script and the story. Though I have to say I think it’s a little early in my career for indie films, I mean I’m not really schmoozen wit the goober smoochers yet, but I want to be one of those actors that does an indie a year for craft. This one was just too important to me to pass up. Gene has endured so much that mainstream Hollywood would say he has to be a hate filled monster. And yet by his thinking, he’s the luckiest man in the world.

CW: (concerned) Are you okay Gene?

AT: He’s just embarrassed, he blushes green.

CW: (getting a little overwhelmed) Oh! Well Gene how do you feel about Alan playing you?

GD: (smiling) Just great, when this project started I wanted Alan, not like stomping up and down an making demands, but I Alan has more talent in his left eyebrow than most of the big money male leads in Hollywood.

CW: And now your blushing Alan, this is turning a real love fest here. (quickly flipping note cards) So Gene you’re now working under the name BioRad, just how far in your life does this movie cover?

GD: (looking up thinking) Well, it starts with my squad and my first exposure and then tells through to the events that surround my second exposure.

AT: The two tragedies mirror each other and the story of recovery is told in between.

CW: Do you think there will be a sequel?

GD: ermm… I really don’t see the need, I mean after that, there’s a lot stories, but they kinda run into each other. A big problem is found, a paranormal gets the call, fights somebody, hopefully winning the day. It’s to... Common? … Real?

AT: (nodding) Mundane.

CW: And yet Gene, that’s your whole goal in life. Why do you do it?

GD: Umm… When I was recovering after the first exposure, one Sunday morning Stanley Lieber, the CBS news anchor from the 70’s was talking about the embassy bombing in Kenya. This would have been… 1998 yeah. Anyway he was talking about America’s responsibility to the world with the Cold War over and he said… “with great power comes great responsibility”. Well… like I just said, there’s a big problem, but the call goes out to the person that is big enough to handle it. I’m one of the big guys.

CW: Yes you are! And I heard somewhere that the last scene in the movie is a close up of a scrap of paper with seven names on it. What’s that about?

GD: (carefully Gene pulls a scrap of paper out) It’s this one. I carry this all time. One of these names is mine, I don’t know which. The others are the six remaining members of the squad I was with. So it’s kind of like … rolling the credits, only they are the life credits instead of the acting and directing and editing credits.

CW: That’s nice. I understand that your life credits now include being a Guardian?

GD: Yep, I’m in, just got off probation so I’m a full member now. There a great bunch of people hopefully I’ll be able to add something worthwhile there.

(camera goes to Tudyk, sitting back, nodding, smiling)

CW: I’m sure you will, and Alan, I hear you signed for Transformers 3, excited?

AT: (sitting forward quickly with a got caught grin on face) Absolutely, I love sci fi and it’s a great franchise.

CW: Well I’m looking forward to the film, well both films really. Thank you both for coming out this morning.

GD and AT: (over top each other, smiling) Well, thank you as well.

CW: Were going to go to break now, but were going to play that viral video on our way out. By the way that’s a sharp way to get your clip out. Here’s the opening of Blaze Born, also called ‘a brief history of fire’.

OOC

As a player to this point I have tried to deliberately misleading, by omission, when talking about the film project. The film project was never intended to be a movie of the likes of an Ironman or Batman that we would see in our world. From the idea's inception the thought on my end has always that it was a small scale low budget, indie vehicle for a story that is more Forrest Gump than Spiderman.

What I tried to portray here, and try to portray every time I play Gene, is a man who is admired because he is empathic, is without malicious guile, and is so earnest that he comes across as extraordinary. Much like Forrest Gump. I hope my writing lived up to the challenge.

Within the Champions world, Super Stories are not a successful medium. Mostly because they'd become pretty mundane if you can spot a flying Super Hero every time you turn around.

If Stephen King is correct when he writes "There are other worlds than these", then it is my hope Stan Lee always gets to say his most famous and best words, even if he has to become a news anchor to say them.

For the Permanent Record, I agree with GD's assessment of Alan Tudyk, and I wish him nothing but continued opportunity and success.

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