The S&V Interview

Frankie Goes to Hollywood: How Frank Miller conquered Tinseltown . . . by way of Austin, Texas.

Frank Miller: Renaissance man. He's had legendary runs as writer and artist on the comic book Daredevil (including the creation of Elektra) and the historic miniseries Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (about a geriatric Caped Crusader, a pubescent female Robin, and a sexually ambiguous Joker). Miller also scripted the two RoboCop movie sequels. Around this same time, he also thought up his predominately black-and-white crime anthology, Sin City, which he would ultimately direct, with Robert Rodriguez, for the big screen. The movie is now available in a stunning special edition from Dimension Home Video. Remarkably serious yet surprisingly soft-spoken, Miller recently honored us with an invitation to his New York City studio.

I could easily fill pages of this magazine with a complete list of Phil Ramone's credits and achievements, but I'll stick with this condensed rundown. He's won 12 Grammy Awards and one Emmy, and he's worked with a virtual who's who of music: Burt Bacharach, Tony Bennett, Ray Charles, Chicago, Gloria Estefan, Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, Elton John, Quincy Jones, B.B. King, Madonna, Luciano Pavarotti, Paul Simon, Frank Sinatra, the Rolling Stones, Barbra Streisand, James Taylor—and those are just the highlights. Ramone is chairman emeritus of the board of trustees of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. He is also a trustee of the National Recording Preservation Board of the Library of Congress.

Tune in to afternoon TV, and you're bound to run into a slew of children's programming. You may notice a tremendous presence of shows that look very similar to those native to Japan. Anime sagas such as Cowboy Bebop and Sailor Moon, as well as films by anime gurus such as Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Winds), have been around for several decades in the East; however, the genre is still relatively new to the American audience. There is no doubt that the influence of Japanese anime is on the rise. We had the opportunity to speak to one of the most innovative Japanese filmmakers, Satoshi Kon, a man known for his extraordinary vision and ability to take his audience by surprise.

"I put a good deal of thought into how my movies will look on home video."

With such Disney credits as Pocahontas, The Lion King, and, most recently, the restoration of the classic film Bambi attached to his name, lead restoration animator Dave Bossert shares his experience in bringing back the spirit of the famed deer and why we still chase after that light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how old we get.

"The minute I finished the film, I plunged into the dvd."

Toon Town has a new sheriff, and his name is Brad Bird. On small screen and big, Bird has always brought tremendous heart and an offbeat comedic sensibility to his work, most recently his Oscar-winning The Incredibles, the only opus in the Pixar canon with a sole "Written and Directed by" credit. Here, the humble auteur shares some insights on his unique creative spark.