The Goon

[MacGuffin]

'Goon' muscles in on big screen
Dark Horse, David Fincher, Blur team for animated film
Source: Hollywood Reporter

Dark Horse Entertainment, David Fincher and animation house Blur Studios are teaming up to bring cult comic "The Goon" to the movies as a CG-animated film.

Created by Eric Powell in 1999, the comic follows the adventures of a muscle-bound brawler who claims to be the primary enforcer for a feared mobster. The stories have a paranormal and comedic edge to them and concern ghosts, zombies, mad scientists and "skunk apes." Dark Horse has been publishing the comic since 2003.

Powell, who broke the news Wednesday on his Web site, would write the screenplay for "Goon," and Fincher would produce.

No studio is yet attached, and deals are being negotiated. Dark Horse, which has a first-look deal with Universal, is aiming to develop the project in-house before setting it up.

Blur is best known for its shorts, including the Academy Award-nominated "Gopher Broke," as well as its work in commercials and special effects. "Goon" be the company's first feature.

[picolas]

It looks like "The Goon" maybe moving forward a lot quicker than any other project on the scheduled David Fincher pile: Matt has spotted a first teaser poster for the film. And it says, "coming soon to a theater near you".



The material was released at this year's Comic Con and appears to follow the original series very closely -- which means (and looks like), the narrated cosmos will be somewhat like Hellboy. Interestingly IMBDpro has not yet listed a director for the project, so who knows:

If we get really lucky now-producing Fincher will get an itch and hop into the directing chair?

--The Works and Genius of David Fincher blog

[MacGuffin]

Eric Powell talks about 'The Goon' movie
Source: Los Angeles Times

Eric Powell has been in the comics field since 1995, but his career really took off with debut of his signature character, The Goon, in 1999 in the pages of Dark Horse Comics. And his success is building: He won two Eisner awards this year and five since 2004. The series follows the meandering underworld adventures of the title character, a brawny palooka who clashes with mobsters and zombies in a world that looks like "Sin City" channeled by E.C. Segar's Popeye universe. Early work on an animated film adaptation is now underway with Blur Studios.

The Tennessee-based Powell talked with Hero Complex correspondent T.J. Kosinski about the film venture as well as the 10th anniversary of "The Goon."

TJK: When you started "The Goon" in 1999, did you have any aspirations to see your comic book come to life in the world of film?

EP: I think everybody dreams about that, but it's not a rational dream. It's one of those "Wouldn't it be great if?" kind of things, but to actually think that it would? No, I didn't believe that. I had a hard time believing that I was even going to be successful at making the comic. My biggest ambition was: "If I can make a living off of this comic someday, that's all I want." And as far as it's gotten, I couldn't be happier that I've been able to make a living off of it and it's become this independent success.

TJK: How did this whole project come about?

EP: There was some initial interest from Blur, the animation studio, and they kind of were looking for other people to be interested, then David Fincher came along, and they came together and approached us and I went out to L.A. for some meetings with [Dark Horse founder] Mike Richardson, and that went really well and I liked their view of the comic and what they wanted to do with it, in terms of content and things like that. They seemed to have this willingness or desire to really capture what the comic was. So that really drew me in, and they had a couple of great pieces of concept art that they showed me and I was like, "Yeah, I want to do this."

TJK: With comic book movies skyrocketing in popularity, do you think the movie will find an audience and success? Or do you think it's too much outside the Marvel and DC paradigm?

EP: Well, I hope it's successful. I'm actually not looking at it so much as "Will it be successful as a comic book movie?" but as "Will it be successful as an animated film?" I really think now is the time where you're going to start seeing more animated films that aren't going to have a lot of singing animals, y'know? I think you're going to start seeing a lot more diverse animated material coming out there and you have this audience that's grown up with animation, the Adult Swim kind of crowd is there now, and I totally see that whole market really getting into this kind of film.

I actually was on the fence about going with an animated film, but the fact is that you couldn't really capture what "The Goon" is with a live action film. I mean, you just can't. There's something about it, it can't really be real. It's got to have that quirkiness to it. Like the fact that the Goon looks somewhat more realistic than Franky, but still, he's only somewhat realistic and Franky is this really over-the-top cartoony design, and to just have two guys, that just takes that interesting quirk away a little bit. To have it as an animated film, I think really, it will stay truer to the world.

TJK: What about the artwork? Are they taking liberties with the comic? Are you helping with design?

EP: Yeah, we've been working on some tests and they've been showing me everything and taking my input. I'm pretty happy with everything they've been showing me so far. It's just been great-looking stuff. I think the look is going to stay pretty close to the comic.

TJK: Speaking of your artwork, what are some of your inspiration or influences?

EP: I have so many that it's hard to sum them up. Will Eisner is a big influence, Jack Davis, Jack Kirby, a lot of the EC Comics guys, and some of the newer people like Jeff Smith and Richard Corben. My tastes are kind of all over the board.

TJK: Can you talk about the Goon and its retro style?

EP: My style has definitely been evolving. If you look at the collections that Dark Horse has put out, you pick up the first collection and you pick up the last collection and flip through them, it doesn't even look like the same guy drew it. So the style has definitely been evolving and I think that's partially because I like to experiment. Just doing the same pen and ink sort of thing over and over again, I just get burned out on it. So I like to throw some pencil stuff in there and some washes and watercolors and that kind of thing, just to change it up a little bit and add some depth to the art.

TJK: Could you tell me anything about the film's potential storyline?

EP: Well, what we've been talking about is taking the material we have and making it work in the context of the film. So it'll be relatively the same story, however, we're going to change things and make it work in the context of a film instead of issues of a comic book. Like, "Sin City" was done in this completely page-by-page adaptation. You can't do that with the Goon. The Goon is kind of all over the place. It'll be close, but it will be changed just enough to make it work in the context if the film.

TJK: What is your level of creative control?

EP: They're keeping me in the loop. I think we're all getting a vote, kind of a thing, which is the way I want it. Everyone's input is being heard, everyone's input is being listened to, and they definitely want me involved. They keep me involved, and they just want to make sure that I'm happy with what we make. It's such the preliminary stage that there's really not a whole lot to talk about, right now anyway. We are working on character design and test footage and stuff like that, but that's about where it is.

TJK: What's next for the Goon as far as the comics?

EP: I've been doing this, what we call "Goon Year," which is this promotional thing where, because "The Goon" is usually a bimonthly series, but we took it monthly for a year to do this big storyline that I had in mind. So the last issue of that will be coming up in December and it kind of wraps up a whole lot of stuff really from the very first issue. So there's a lot of material coming to a head in that issue. And then in 2009, it's actually the 10th anniversary of "The Goon," the first issue came out in March of '99, so we're planning on doing a couple of cool things. Dark Horse might get upset if I say too much about them.

[MacGuffin]

David Fincher's 'The Goon' Is Up and Running
Source: Cinematical

Back in July, Eric Powell announced that David Fincher would be producing a CG animated movie of The Goon. I think we were all a bit skeptical that the movie would come to pass, given Fincher's notoriously busy plate. But it is actually up and running, and Ain't It Cool News has the first look, which we've reposted here. They're also running a Q&A with Powell, so you really should run over there to ask your deepest, darkest question of the author.

[MacGuffin]

Eric Powell Says 'The Goon' Movie Is 'In Good Shape,' David Fincher 'Won't Just Be A Figurehead'
Source: MTV

It's been a while since we received any news regarding "The Goon," the animated feature based on Eric Powell's award-winning comic book series. When we caught up with the creator last month to discuss his upcoming return to the "Goon" comic and "Buzzard" spin-off series, we made sure to get an update.

According to Powell, the first draft of the "Goon" script is finished and receiving some necessary tweaks, animators Blur Studios are working on some test footage, and he hopes to see producer David Fincher ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button") pushing the project forward in the near future.

"I think as soon as Fincher is finished working on the film he's on now, they're going to try and get this thing up and going," said Powell. "It's in good shape. We're slowly grinding forward, but all the blocks have to be in place first."

"I fell into a perfect situation with guys who really get the comic," he added. "You have to change things to make it fit in a format like this — especially with 'The Goon,' because the comics were such self-contained stories and so episodic. You can't do it like 'Sin City' and do a linear telling of the comic."

As for any changes that come about as part of the adaptation process, Powell reiterated that fans shouldn't be too worried — after all, he's the one writing the script.

"We had to adapt it for the film, but I wrote the script — so The Goon doesn't fall from the sky in a meteor or have superpowers or anything like that," he laughed. "It is The Goon and it has the feel of the The Goon. The story had to change a little to get it to work in a film format, but the characters, the world, and the interaction between the characters are all the same."

After an appetite-whetting teaser wowed fans during last year's Comic-Con in San Diego, Powell told MTV News he can't wait to show off more of the film. However, the team wants to get the project set up at a studio proper before revealing too much.

"I can't wait for people to see more of this stuff, because the stuff I've seen just blows my mind," he said. "They're holding off on all that stuff, but as soon as we get a studio announced, I'm sure Blur is eager to show off all the good work they're doing."

"Once that stuff is in place, there's going to be a flood of new material coming out of there," he promised.

As for the other big question surrounding the project, Powell said Fincher is likely to take an active role in the film even if he doesn't direct "The Goon."

"Directing an animated film is a little different form directing a live-action film, but they're still making those decisions," he explained. "Fincher is heavily involved and he's going to have final say over everything, so we will get his input — he won't just be a figurehead."

[MacGuffin]

Trailer

[polkablues]

I'm equal parts intrigued and baffled.

[Reel]

looks awesome. r rating?

[matt35mm]

I'm pretty sure that that's not a trailer, but a test/promotional clip that they made before the production of the film started, I think to try and get the funding together before this film was a definite go-ahead. I know that I first saw it around two years ago (those pictures a couple of posts above are screenshots from this clip, posted in March 2009).

[SiliasRuby]

Brilliant, just brilliant.