Greg Weisman Interview, Part One: Developer and Producer

Finally, Greg hired Michael Reaves to story edit, and feels that Michael and he "were a great team." Frank Paur came on as creative producer, but Greg was so involved he "couldn't bear to give it up." His superiors at Disney did not let him become a credited producer; they required him to continue his development job while being a supervising producer on Gargoyles' first season. When it was renewed, Greg became a full-time producer.

For more information on Gargoyles, visit the websites http://gargoyles-fans.org or http://www.s8.org/gargoyles -- on the latter, Greg has a moderated message board where he interacts with fans of his work.

I asked Greg the difference between producer and developer; he responded passionately. He feels the producer gets the show done, while the executive does his best job "keeping out of the producer's way." Greg firmly believes that if someone's hired to produce a show, there should be enough faith the person can handle it. "If you're in his [the producer's] face, telling him how to get his work done, you're not respecting that hiring decision in the first place."

Multiple executives often reread the same script and give notes. To Greg, this "fosters an absolute system of disrespect." A lower executive's notes can be overruled by higher up and "you know who you'll have to listen to," so it's hard to take a lower executive's notes seriously. He also feels many of today's executives don't understand animation; it's perceived as a stepping stone, but many never escape. "When I came in, I studied it," Greg says. "Every facet of it… I went to recordings, mix sessions, edits."

Today's executives, Greg feels, rely too much on focus groups and trends; they are "people without the courage of their conviction." He also points out that "the largest successes often have passionate creators behind them" (though the two are not mutually exclusive). In short, "it's got to start with the passion."

Join me next month for Part Two: Voice Directing.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic