INTERVIEW: SCOTT THOMPSON ON IDW’S DANNY HUSK: THE HOLLOW world

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Scott Thompson

Scott Thompson is an actor as well as comedian who is finest understood as one of the founding members of The youngsters in the Hall where he played such characters as friend Cole, Francesca Fiore, Queen Elizabeth II, secretary Cathy, as well as lots of others. Their most current series, death pertains to Town, is currently running on IFC. Now, he brings one of his other KITH characters, businessman Danny Husk, to comics in Danny Husk: The Hollow world with Frozen beach Studio’s Stephan Nilson as well as artist Kyle Morton. Westfield’s Roger Ash just recently spoken to Scott to discover a lot more about the book.

To listen to an audio version of the interview, just utilize the player here:

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Westfield: For people who aren’t familiar with the character, who is Danny Husk?

Scott Thompson: Danny Husk is my businessman character from the youngsters in the Hall. I did him lots of times. He’s a mustachioed, middle aged man; a directly white male conventional businessman from the business world who’s never handled managed to get above middle management. His primary trait is he’s dogged. He never provides up as well as does whatever with a smile. He’s extremely earnest as well as extremely excited to please as well as get the task done. He’s a extremely deadpan type of character. I selected him since he’s kind of an everyman since everybody can look at him as well as go, “Hey, I’m smarter than that guy.” laughter I believed if I did friend Cole or Francesca Fiore, people would go, “Oh no. I can’t contend with that.” however with Danny, you can absolutely feel superior. He’s not the smartest man, however the most determined.

Westfield: exactly how did you choose to bring Danny to comics?

Thompson: Well, I’ve been working on this story for ten years. I had this motivation ten years back when I discovered myself stereotyped in a method where I believed I’d never get out of this box where all I ever got work-wise were tiring gay characters that made people feel great about themselves, however weren’t truly characters. You understand what I mean? Politically right function models, which is even tough to state without vomiting. laughter When I hear “positive function model” – ugh! Really? Why don’t we just do a character? So I believed to myself, “Who do I have in my steady that’s the straightest person?” as well as I went, “Oh, Danny Husk!” I thought, “Wow, he’s such a best person since he’s deadpan as well as I like playing him.” then I thought, “What genre do I like a lot more than anything in the world other than comedy?” That was fantasy. then I thought, “Hmmm. exactly how do I reinvent fantasy?” as well as I thought, “Oh! Why don’t we add comedy as well as then stir it up with a bit bit of sex as well as have Danny Husk be the hero?” I believed that’s the method to go, so I started composing what originally started out as a screenplay.

I composed this extremely long, involved, hideously costly screenplay. When I started to compose the story, I went “I want to compose it just for joy. I don’t want to believe about money or whether any type of studio would let me play this character.” I just wished to compose something, in a way, for myself. This is something that I would have liked when I was younger. It’s like the type of book that, if I discovered when I was 11 or 12 years old, I’d go, “Oh my God! I’m not meant to be reading this!” laughter That was the motivation as well as I just composed it for years. I tried to have it made as a motion picture for a number of years. It went with many, lots of studios as well as everybody stated to me, “Oh! This is amazing! It’s the most original thing we’ve ever read!” That equates as “We will never make your silly movie. who the hell do you believe you are? Jeez! You’re not will Ferrell.” laughter After a number of years of advancement heartbreak, I went “OK, I have to get this story out. What’s the method to do it?” very first of all, I believed “I’m gonna make it a novel. I like novels. I like books as well as composing a lot more than anything.” then I thought, “Oh! That’s a great deal of work! Why don’t I make it a graphic novel? then a truly excellent artist can draw it!” It’s a very, extremely visual story. It’s a huge experience at the center of the earth. So I started pitching it to graphic book business as well as a great deal of them bit. I went with Frozen beach since I truly like Stephan as well as he took me to Comic-Con two years ago. I went, “Well, you dance withthe one what brung ya.” So we started adapting it over the last year as well as a half. It was one of the most satisfying innovative things I’ve ever performed in my life. We discovered the ideal artist as well as the ideal colorist as well as all the ideal team. I’ve been working on this feverishly for the last year as well as a half as well as nearly all of it done online, which has been rather an experience. That’s generally its history as well as now it’s coming out. I couldn’t be prouder of my bit boy.

Westfield: Were you a fan of comics before you started working on this?

Thompson: Oh, yes. I was a significant fan. When I was a kid, I devoured comics. I’ve always been a reader, so I’ve always checked out comics as well as books. I was a significant science fiction as well as fantasy fan. This book is influenced by a number of different writers I checked out when I was young, like Jules Verne. it’s got that old fashioned feel to it. journey to the center of the earth is absolutely one of the models. Also, H .Rider Haggard who composed She as well as King Solomon’s Mines as well as people of the Mist. That type of traditional Victorian fantasy. Edgar Rice Burroughs is one more huge inspiration; the Pellucidar series as well as John Carter of Mars. all of that stuff plus traditional 50s, 60s science fiction/fantasy stories, however funny as well as character driven. He’s not a superhero. Danny couldn’t be a lot more average. He’s like Frodo. You don’t expect him to be the hero. That’s what I discover so satisfying about it.

Westfield: What can you state about your partnership with Stephan on the book?

Danny Husk: The Hollow Planet

Thompson: It was great. His company, as well as Stephan, comprehend this world a lot more than I do. The very first thing we had to do was discover the ideal artist as well as that was Kyle Morton, this young person from Nebraska. That was tough since we went with a great deal of different artists. I didn’t want anything anime. I desired it to look kinda retro, type of old fashioned, nearly like a Frank Frazetta cover however with less muscles. I didn’t want to spend a year in the fitness center if this ever becomes a movie. laughter We requirement muscles, however I can’t be Conan the Barbarian. when we discovered Kyle, we started building the primary characters as well as there’s potentially 14 primary characters. That was all done by sending Kyle different photos of people that I believed they looked like, or doodles of my own . He would provide me drawings as well as we’d go back as well as forth on Skype as well as online. when we settled on the drawings, then it was time to tell the story. Stephan took my screenplay as well as would adapt it into comic form, three or four pages at a time. It would come back to me as well as I’d provide him notes on it as well as he’d provide it back to me. It went back as well as forth this way. when we made a decision on it, Kyle would begin drawing it, then I’d provide notes once again on it. We serviced this for the last year as well as a half doing it this way. It was a truly excellent education since originally I believed this would be like an very sophisticated storyboard. however in lots of ways, it wasn’t that. It ended up being its own thing. It ended up being a comic book; a long graphic novel. The a lot more it went along, I would look at these as well as go, “Oh my God. This drawing is so excellent it doesn’t requirement this line or it needs different lines.” It’s kind of like a script being directed. when you bring in the director as well as the actors as well as the art director, it’s a totally different animal. now I look at it as well as I can’t believe it’s here. I’ve wished to do this for such a long time as well as to see it now is exceptionally interesting for me.

Westfield: Is there anything you can expose about the story?

Thompson: It’s about a guy who loses everything. then loses some more. When he believes he has nothing left, he discovers out that he has a great deal left. It starts off in the genuine world as well as then it goes to this fantasy world. I don’t want to provide as well much of the story away but, one more motivation was John Norman. I don’t understand if you keep in mind him, this person from the 70s.

Westfield: The name’s familiar.

Thompson: He composed the Gor books; like the Tarnsman of Gor. They were these extremely adult books that were marketed to young people however truly shouldn’t have been. It’s a world of slaves where women are kidnapped from earth as well as they’re taken to this world as well as they all eventually, at the end of every book, go “Boy! I like being a slave!” They were extremely subversive. Now, they’re thought about extremely politically incorrect. however as a kid, I devoured them. before I understood it, I’d been subverted as well as it was as well late. laughter in that way, this is about slavery. Danny Husk becomes a slave, however it’s about the natureof slavery. He becomes a sex toy, a sex slave, as well as he type of enjoys it. laughter Of course, he escapes as well as leads a rebellion, however it’s about what slavery is. On this world, Danny’s life is nothing. He’s never going to development any type of additionally in his company, his wife’s having an affair, his daughter’s out of control, he’s lost his son. It’s extremely hard. Then, when Danny discovers himself in this world that he’s swept up into, which is supposedly a lot more barbaric than ours, he discovers himself. however it’s funny. It’s comedy first. With whatever that I do, number one, it’s comedy. I assumption that doesn’t provide as well much of it away.

There’s likewise a 28-foot lady who uses extremely bit clothes as well as a telepathic mammoth. The very first thing when I started composing was to go, “I have no concept where this story’s going, however there need to be a mammoth in it.” laughter I thought, “What would I like as a kid? Oh, God if there were a mammoth, I’d be out of my mind! as well as if he was telepathic, I’d get every book.” laughter That was my thinking. Not extremely logical, however that’s my thinking. laughter

Westfield: If this does well, do you want to do a lot more comics with Danny?

Thompson: Oh, absolutely. as well as this conceived as a trilogy. This is the very first book as well as I’ve already started composing the second one. I absolutely want to do a lot more as well as there’s likewise plans to turn one of my other characters, friend Cole, into a comic book series as well.

Westfield: extremely cool.

Thompson: I like the genre. I’m a storyteller at heart as well as I feel extremely blessed to have found this world.

Westfield: any type of closing comments?

Thompson: get the book, obviously. You’ll like it. It’s extremely different.

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