The movie will see the "good" Lex from an alternate reality arrive to recruit the Justice League to help save his Earth from the Crime Syndicate. What ensues is the ultimate battle of good versus evil in a war that will threaten both planets, through a scheme concocted by Owlman.
Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths is an original story from Dwayne McDuffie. Bruce Timm is the executive producer. Lauren Montgomery (Wonder Woman, Green Lantern: First Flight) and Sam Liu (Superman/Batman: Public Enemies) are co-directing the feature.
Here is a Q & A with Chris Noth.
QUESTION:
You’ve had an extensive career in a number of acting mediums – is this
really your first animation voiceover experience?
CHRIS NOTH:
I think I did about three lines of Mike Logan on Family Guy. That was
a quick little gig. The character (Stewie) on the show carries a
picture of Mike Logan in his wallet, so I was very flattered by that.
But that was just a few lines – so Lex is pretty much my first real
animated role.
QUESTION:
In that case, can you describe what your first “actual” animation
voiceover experience was like?
CHRIS NOTH:
I felt I had an instinct for it, and it was a lot of fun. It's an
interesting technique and, like any medium, whether you're doing radio
or certain kinds of narrative voiceovers for stage or movies, it has
its own sort of rules and performance values. I think the choices had
to be bold and succinct and clear. To me, it appears that super heroes
have to be powerful, but it also has to be real. You have to make bold
choices and go all the way through with them. That’s true with a lot
of acting anyway. But with animation, it seems to me there’s nothing
coy about it. The acting has its own subtleties. So you have to find
that balance. And as long as you go with that instinct, it's a blast.
Did you take a different approach to this Lex Luthor – a good guy Lex
– than you would’ve taken with a typically villainous Lex?
CHRIS NOTH:
I was extremely excited to be playing the ultimate villain from my
youth. I remember how Gene Hackman portayed Lex Luthor with such great
delight in the films, and I thought I’d be getting that Lex. So I was
surprised to see that in this script, Lex is actually on the right
side of the law. It required a whole new thinking on my part on how to
approach him. I mean, he's a super hero who's in this very complex,
parallel universe. He's actually trying to save all of reality from
being destroyed. So I just took that adjustment and said, “Wow, I need
to get up to date on my super heroes.” I'm guess I'm a little bit
retro. (he laughs)
QUESTION:
Do you feel any special significance to be joining the canon of actors
– Gene Hackman, Kevin Spacey, Michael Rosenbaum, Clancy Brown – to
have brought Lex Luthor to life?
CHRIS NOTH:
Initially when I heard about the role, I thought about that great
tradition of actors associated with Lex. And I really feel honored to
be a part of that group. But this is a complete departure from those
performances. This time, Lex is on the right side of the law. He's
worlds away from the old Lex.
QUESTION:
You’ve done your share of Shakespeare. Can you characterize Lex within
the context of some of the great literary or stage heroes/villains?
CHRIS NOTH:
Not this Lex. I find super heroes to be more archetypes of values of
courage and fortitude and things like that. It’s interesting to me
that the new world of animation, compared to when I was growing up, is
so much more diverse in its characters. There’s so many more of them,
and it’s a much more complicated world. The old comic books that I
grew up on had these characters that were in many ways Shakespearean.
They were very big with their evilness in the same vein as Richard III
in Shakespeare. Those characters relished being bad, and that's always
fun to play.
How did you find working alone in a sound booth versus playing off other actors?
CHRIS NOTH:
It presented a different challenge in the same way that a radio play
is different from being on stage, and being on stage is different than
being in the movies, and the movies are different than being on a TV
series. They all have different values that are fun to explore and to
take a crack at. So I found it challenging and interesting to jump
into that world.
QUESTION:
Did it get easier when Bruce Davison joined you at the microphone?
CHRIS NOTH:
That was even more fun because I know Bruce and it's always more fun
to work off another person. Sandy Meisner, the great acting teacher,
used to say that what you do doesn't depend on you. It depends on the
other fellow. In other words, they make you respond. So when Bruce
came in, there was a new kind of energy that I sort of relished. I
didn't have that many scenes with him, but he was a lot of fun and I
think he made a great President.
QUESTION:
As you are new to animation voiceovers, you’re also new to the
direction involved. How did you find Andrea Romano's direction?
CHRIS NOTH:
(Animation) is very quick, it's to the point, and very on message, and
you have to just go with it. Andrea was extremely helpful to me to get
some of the tone and in knowing what you have to keep in mind with
what's happening to the character in the scene. Whether it's an
intimate scene or there's a lot of action, she keeps you on point. So
she's a very good field marshal.
For more information, images and updates, please visit the film’s
official website at www.JUSTICELEAGUECRISIS.com.