With the release of the Kickstarter for Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett, we are delighted to be joined today by storyboard artist Richard Bennett.
Hi Richard, it’s a pleasure to have you here with us.
Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?
My name is Richard Bennett, I’m a storyboard artist working in the film industry since 2003. Prior to that I worked in the Comic Book industry between 1990 and 2000.
You have spent many years in the comic industry; could you tell us some of the titles that you have worked on?
I started working at Neal Adams’ Continuity, with ‘CyberRad,’ I was doing pencils & inks over Neal’s layouts on that title. Then I worked at Marvel on several X-Men books; Uncanny X-Men, X-Men, Wolverine, X-Force and a special project the ‘X-Men Survival Guide to the Mansion.’ Following that, I got called by Jim Lee at Wildstorm/Image, and there I co-created the character ‘Brass’, for which I wrote, and did all the artwork on the mini-series. Besides that I worked there on the ’Wildcats,’ ‘Stormwatch,’ ‘Divine Right.’ Also did a special, ‘Gen 13: Wired’ with Mike Heisler, which I’m particularly proud of. During those years I also worked a bit with Marc Silvestri’s Top Cow, on ‘The Darkness,’ ‘Tales of the Witchblade.’ I’d say, though, the top project during that decade was the original “Brass” mini series.
Could you tell us about the origins of Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett book?
I’ve approached Clover Press with the idea of publishing a book with my storyboard work. At that time I had other movies in mind since I already had the authorization to use the material done for those. Ted and Robbie at Clover loved the coffee book compilation idea; however, they came back with the suggestion to use the work from the three Legendary Monsterverse films exclusively on one volume. I thought the concept was brilliant, so we started working on that. Hank Kanalz from Clover was amazing working with Legendary and Toho in order to get the greenlight to publish the boards. So, here we are!
On average, how long do you spend storyboarding a movie?
It depends greatly on the type of project. High budget blockbusters like these three involved many months of drawing during pre-production, and even after principal photography, when called back to draw for re-shoots. On smaller projects, either lower budget or independent films, then yes, the average is less time. Either a couple of months or even a few weeks.
Do you have a favourite scene from Godzilla vs. Kong?
For sure, I’d say the Hollow Earth Arrival, when the vehicles follow Kong’s lead. Very trippy scene.
As you are crowdfunding the book and dealing directly with consumers, does that make the book more special for you?
Of course, it’s far more personal in a way. So I appreciate immensely every one single pledger wanting to get the book. It feels similar to the interaction we had with fans at the artist alley’s booths during comic book conventions. I’ve been thoroughly going through the material, adjusting things to make sure the fans get the best possible presentation on the volume.
Do you have a favourite Kickstarter reward?
Probably the version with the original sketch coming along with the book.
Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?
I hope they will get the book and enjoy it as much as I did while working on the films. I invested myself in those movies’ work in a big way both emotionally and work wise, and it’s my goal they’ll be able to perceive that through the printed storyboard sequences in this beautiful volume! So, I’d like to send a big Thank You to all of them!
We would like to say thank you to Richard for talking to us about his new book. We would like to wish Richard the best of luck.
Feel free to check out the Kickstarter: Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett on Kickstarter.
