The Mary Kay Bergman Memorial Project
Gookie
Tue, 1 Aug 2000 07:30:45

Thanks to the overwhelming support by the friends, family and fans of Mary Kay, the memorial fund in her name has made it possible for volunteers to work daily on the soon-to-be launched mental health outreach program:

THE MARY KAY BERGMAN MEMORIAL PROJECT A CONFIDENTIAL SOURCE FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES AND CRISES INTERVENTION FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY 
A program of the Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center

The Mary Kay Bergman Memorial Project is a non-profit mental health outreach program for the entertainment industry.  Its goal is to provide a confidential source for help through:

• the sending of printed information
• providing outpatient referrals
• access to 24 hour crisis lines
• a website where industry pros can find internet mental health resources ... as well as regularly updated stories of inspiration from fellow artists who have been successful in finding treatment and continue to live productive lives within the industry.

"Outside, my Mary Kay was a "larger-than-life" character; funny, outgoing, loving, admired and respected by all. Inside however, she was haunted by the pervasive fears, and pain of an untreated, advanced anxiety disorder. A consummate actress, Mary Kay managed to keep the true depths of her suffering hidden from her friends, family, co-workers, and sad to say, even myself.  In the end, the illness overwhelmed her, and ultimately led to her suicide on November 11, 1999."

"Therefore I make this plea: If you are suffering - if you live with pain, fear, anxiety, depression or despair - you must seek help.  If this plea can reach just one person, and help them to see the light in the darkness, then I will know that death of my beloved Mary Kay was not a waste, but a sacrifice so that others may live."

Dino Andrade
--Founder, The Mary Kay Bergman Memorial Project

Websites, 24hr project crisis lines, referral services, [and more] to be announced soon, but we still have a long way to go, so we need your help.

The tragedy of Mary Kay, is not just a concern of the entertainment industry, but to us all, whose souls have been touched by this bright and funny light that has gone out much too soon.  A soul whose only desire was to entertain.  But what other dedicated artist, who touches and enriches our lives will we lose next
if an effort is not made to reach out against the ignorance and stigma that surrounds mental illness?

You can make a difference - please send contributions to:

The Mary Kay Bergman Memorial Project
Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center
4760 South Sepulveda Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90230

Make checks payable to:
Mary Kay Bergman Memorial Project - Didi Hirsch CMHC

Greater Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Center Crisis Line:
310-391-1253

Special thanks for the news to Doreen Mulman, webmistress of The Mary Kay Bergman Memorial Website:
http://mkmemorial.cjb.net

Scooby-Doo's Invading Aliens
Gookie
Tue, 1 Aug 2000 07:30:45

I recently received a reply from Scott Innes (the new voice of Scooby-Doo and Shaggy) who relayed the news that there will be a special behind-the-scenes look at the October 3rd VHS/DVD release SCOOBY-DOO & THE ALIEN INVADERS that will debut in September on the video wall at Warner Bros Studio Stores all across the U.S. It will feature interview clips with Scott Innes, Mary Kay Bergman and other members of the cast as well, which includes Mark Hamill, B.J. Ward, Jeff Glen Bennett, Kevin Michael Richardson, Jennifer Hale, Candi Milo, Neil Ross, Audrey Wasilewski and Frank Welker.

A recent press release from Warner Home Video states that the DVD release for SCOOBY-DOO & THE ALIEN INVADERS will be "loaded" with extra features,
including: 

• Mystery, Inc. Bios
• The Making of the Movie
• The Making of a Scooby-Doo Video Game
• Interactive Game Demos
• Scooby's Steps to Solving a Mystery
• Sneak Peeks of Scooby-Doo Videos
• Sneak Peeks of Family DVD's

Furthermore, "on September 15, fans can log on to www.scoobydoo.com to get a sneak preview of [the movie], hear music from the soundtrack, see a special behind-the-scenes trailer of the movie and participate in live chats with Scooby and the gang".

For further details, please see:
http://www.dvdfile.com/editorial/./2000/07/13/bw/0000-
2467-ca-warner.scooby.html

As for Scott Innes himself, he recently launched his own keen official site:

http://scottinnes.com/
 
While you're there, be sure to check out his tribute to Don Messick and his "Snack Tracks" multimedia section, which includes the video clip from the making of SCOOBY-DOO & THE WITCH'S GHOST, featuring brief interviews with Tim Curry, B.J. Ward, Mary Kay Bergman, Frank Welker and Scott Innes (who also narrates the clip).

Static's 'Shocking' Voice
Gookie
Tue, 1 Aug 2000 07:30:45

Monday's edition of the Comics Continuum offered a brief interview with Phil LaMarr (MadTV, Futurama), the lead voice of Virgil Hawkins/Static in Kids' WB!'s upcoming Static Shock! animated series, who stated that the voice recording for all 13 of the first season episodes has just been completed.

"This is the first show where I'm the main guy," LaMarr said. "This is also the first time I've done basically animated drama."

LaMarr, a regular on Fox's MAD TV and an avid comics reader, said that the animated series is faithful to the original Milestone Comics series.

"It's interesting because Virgil is a good guy in the sense that he's a really good kid," LaMarr said. "He loves his father. He knows what's right and wrong and does it.

"But, at the same time, it's not goody-two-shoes. He's still flawed enough to be interesting. He hates his older sister in that brother-sister kind of hate, and he makes mistakes, even though he's a really smart kid and recognizes the importance of studying. Sometimes he jumps out without thinking and sometimes he can be selfish or inconsiderate to his friends and his family."

"It's great, because you can get the benefit of being a role model because he's a good guy and he's on the right side, but at the same time it's not boring."

Voices In My Head
Gookie
Tue, 1 Aug 2000 07:30:45

Jess Harnell, the voice of Wakko Warner on "Animaniacs" and Hunter on "Road Rovers" recently did a video interview with Hollywood Screen Test in which he discusses the craft of voice acting.

Additionally, author/voice artist Tom Bodett, the "Good Idea, Bad Idea" narrator on Animaniacs and widely known as the voice of Motel 6 has his own official site at TomBodett.com.

And for those who'd like to hear the professional demos of the voice talents featured in various WB cartoons, many of them are available at voicebank.net - including Jim Cummings, Maurice LaMarche, Jess Harnell, Tom Bodett, Charles Adler, Loren Lester, Mark Hamill, Billy West, Frank Welker and many more. Some of them are absolutely amazing to listen to, and should be of special interest to any aspiring voice actors.

You can find several of them linked here.

Are You Pondering What I'm Pondering?
Jeff Harris (CNX: Toonami Revolution)
Fri, 28 Jul 2000 18:36:04 EDT

According to Jerry Beck's Cartoon Research, it looks like Cartoon Network isn't going to be the home of every WB cartoon under the sun.  Starting on September 4, Pinky and the Brain will be seen every weekday at 3:30 PM EST/PST on Nickelodeon. 

Fall Season Info
Rembrandt
Fri, 28 Jul 2000 10:53:34 EDT

This article from Zap2it.com has some info on Kids' WB! fall season. Here is what it said:

"Kids WB, which finished last season at the top of the Saturday morning ratings, is looking to expand into Fridays and to bring a second series based on "Pokemon" to its schedule.

"Pokemon: The Joto Journeys," which will run Saturdays and during the week, will introduce many new characters to the Pokemon family, while keeping close to the formula that has been successful for the series and two movies. Kids WB is also expanding into Friday afternoons by introducing "Fraturday" -- original programming in the afternoon meant to lead kids into the weekend. In addition to the new "Pokemon," the net is airing "Generation O" during the period. In "O," a young girl named Molly O fronts a pop band, and the show features an original song each week.

On Saturday, where The WB's 4.0 rating among kids 2-11 was tied with Nickelodeon, four new shows including "Pokemon: The Joto Journeys," will mingle with new episodes of "Men in Black," "Batman Beyond," "Max Steel" and the original "Pokemon."

"Jackie Chan Adventures" will feature the action star in live action segments
and will try to mix in his style of action with his sense of humor. The net
has ordered 13 episodes of the cartoon so far.

"Static Shock" will attempt to go where no mainstream cartoon has gone
before. The show features a teen-age African American as the lead -- a hero
with electrifying powers. The character will have a "Chris Rock-like" sense
of humor, according to WB entertainment president Susanne Daniels, and
"real-life issues" will be covered in episodes.

Also, the net will premiere a new series based on "The X-Men." "X-Men
Evolution" is still being developed, but comes on the heels of the successful
premiere of the movie based on the popular comic book characters."

Ok, so from what I understand from this, "Pokemon: The Joto Journeys" is
apparently "Pokemon GS" retitled.

Static Shock!
Rembrandt
Fri, 28 Jul 2000 11:20:06 EDT

Comics 2 Film has some info on the series Static Shock! from Comic-Con 2000.  Here's what the site had to say:

"Warner Bros. Animation previewed a number of upcoming projects today at
Comic-Con international including the Batman Beyond spin-off The Zeta Project, a seriously bizarre prime-time show called the The Oblongs, a live-action/2-D-animated/3-D CGI-animated feature called Osmosis Jones and the Kids' WB! series Static Shock!

Denys Cowan, who co-created the Milestone comic Static and serves as director for the new show, was on had to answer questions about the show.  Cowan was joined by producer Scott Jeralds, actor Phil LaMarr (who provides the voice of Static) and actor Jason Marsden (who voices Static's pal Richie Foley). The show was pitched to WB execs as "Chris rock at 14 with super powers."

Fans were shown character designs, which include a revamped look for Static. According to the panelists, the look was changed to be more like something Static could throw together with things from his closet.

The characters origin has been retooled only slightly.  Our hero Virgil Hawkins is getting harassed by a gang-banger named F-Stop. A rival gang member convinces Virgil that he needs to come down to the docks with his gang for a rumble a with F-Stop's gang. Haz-mat canisters are also stocked near the dock, which explode during the gang war, causing the "Big Bang" which was central to the Milestone universe.  The Big Bang transforms Virgil into Static, F-Stop into Hot Streak.

The show's creators also hope to include other Milestone characters in the show. If the response to the show is favorable, Hardware could show up as well as Rocket from the Icon comic.  When fans asked about the Blood Syndicate, Cowan replied that he didn't thing that a super-powered gang with that name would fly on Saturday morning TV, at which point LaMarr chimed in that the name could be changed to "Bruise Syndicate."

A new Static comic is due out from Milestone/DC with co-creator Dwayne McDuffie writing and original Static artist John Paul Leon illustrating.  Reprints of the original comic are also planned."

Updated WB Events Schedule
Gookie
Tue, 1 Aug 2000 20:11:27

WB updated its events schedule today. Here's the scoop:

On August 5th, there will be a Batman Animated series event at the WB Studio Store at Woodfield Mall, Schaumburg, Illinois.

On August 19th, Kevin Conroy (Batman) will be appearing at the WBSS at Lenox Square, in Atlanta, Georgia.

And also on August 19, Noel Blanc (son of Mel Blanc) hosts a special event celebrating the life and contributions of Mel Blanc to the animation field, to be held at the San Francisco Center in San Francisco, California.

[Source: http://wbstore.com/store/stores.asp ]