Recently, we got a chance to interview the Juniquera Brothers about the making of Judge Dredd: Superfiend and how it relates to the 2012 film starring Karl Urban and Olivia Thirlby... IGN: To start, how did you meet Adi and get involved with this project?
Luis Pelayo Juniquera: A few months after Adi released "Dirty Laundry," I was releasing another fanfilm featuring The Punisher, "Do Not Fall in New York City." I sent it to Adi by Twitter, and he seemed to like it.
IGN: How familiar were you with Judge Dredd before you started working on this? Were you a fan of the universe?
Luis: We are Spanish, and although Carlos Ezquerra, one of the creators of Judge Dredd, is Spanish too the truth is that in this country it was extremely difficult to buy any comic of the character. I liked Adi Shankar's movie, and I had a vague memory of Stallone's, but that was everything I knew about the character. When Adi proposed we adapt the Boyhood of a Superfiend comic book, we started to buy imported Judge Dredd comics.
Enol Juniquera: My earliest personal memory of Judge Dredd was watching Stallone's movie on the sofa. I was five or six years old. In 2012, I started to notice a lot of people talking about the new Dredd movie. So I went to the cinema and enjoyed it. I loved Karl Urban's angry face -- he did a great job. After watching it I started imitating him -- until I had to go to the doctor because I felt a muscle pain in my face. It's a true and ridiculous story.
IGN: This miniseries has secretly been in the works for quite awhile. Was it interesting for you as directors to create this project knowing that fans were totally unaware that it was happening?
Luis: It was horrible.
Enol: It was great.
Luis: We were three people working for almost 20 months, doing a 30-minute animated movie -- without earning money, without talking about it with anyone. There were some terrible moments in which we thought we were not going to finish the movie, and not having the fans' support was devastating. IGN: We know the miniseries mainly focuses on Judge Death, so can you talk a bit about his role in this? Will this be an origin story for him?
Luis: The miniseries tells Judge Death's origins, beginning with his childhood. He started out as the son of a mad dentist. Initially, I wanted to tell only his origins, introducing the character in the Mega-City One universe and leave it with an open ending. But how many chances was I going to have to work on a Judge Dredd movie? This miniseries is an origin and an ending. It's our full vision of Judge Death -- everything we have to say about this character.
Enol: I must add that this story is not only about Judge Death. Judge Dredd is also important, and we've included other important storylines about other important characters in the Judge Dredd comics.
IGN: Would you say these webisodes are more episodic, or do they share an overarching narrative?
Luis: We started working on a 7-minute short film, like "Do not Fall in New York." However the story grew and grew and we ended up making a 27-minute film. The length was excessive for the Internet, and Adi had the idea of separating it in small chapters. Finally, the film became a six-chapter series -- only six. But if the public wants a seventh one, we've still got Fire, Fear and Mortis warming the bench.
Enol: I agree with Luis. Making a seventh chapter bigger, longer and uncut would be great. However, it depends on the public. We are willing to put the Dark Judges together and also use some great ideas, like exploring the emotional conflict of Judge Dredd in Necropolis. And, above all, I am willing to make the Gaze Into the Fist of Dredd.
IGN: Obviously, in the comics, the Dark Judges have pretty wild and crazy character designs: one completely engulfed in flames, one with a sheep's skull for a head, etcetera. In terms of presentation, how did you go about portraying them in Adi's Bootleg Universe? Was that a particular challenge?
Luis: Great question, because the subject we have learned the most, working on Dredd's universe, is character design. Because we focused our film on Judge Death's storyline, we explored all animation possibilities, changing as little as possible and embracing the style of the great artists who have worked on the comic series for the last 30 years.
Enol: In terms of animation techniques, we tried to mix 2D and 3D animation, taking advantage of each one. As for the character animation, we used 2D animation above all. However, we've got great ideas for the rest of the Dark Judges' style. I love composing 3D and 2D. The mixing is my favorite aesthetic. Continued on Page 2, as Luis and Enol talk about how Superfiend connects to the 2012 Dredd movie...
IGN: Can you say how, if at all, this miniseries ties or fits into the 2012 movie starring Karl Urban? Did you take that film into account when directing this?
Luis: When we started working on this, we were very influenced by Karl Urban's Dredd, and I loved the coupling of Dredd and Anderson. We wish we had made something with those characters, but when we read Boyhood of a Superfiend, everything changed. We realized it was not an action movie; it was a macabre tale with a lot of dark humor and gore. The background, the environment, the characters, the whole story took us to a very different place than the one we saw in [screenwriter Alex Garland and director Pete Travis's] movie.
Enol: Working on a cartoon lets you make whatever you want, so we took advantage of that. We tried to make it very similar to the comic books. However, if we had made a live-action movie, we would have continued with Dredd's style, of course. Even in Judge Dredd: Superfiend, you'll notice a little tribute to Karl Urban, but you must look at the details. IGN: How involved was Adi in the making of this? Were there any specific notes or requirements he had for you going in?
Luis: There was a moment where I proposed we include an Alien in the story, and he said to me, politely, "Luis, I don't think that's a good idea," and thank goodness he did. Seriously, he suggested we make a Judge Death movie, and he gave us great feedback. Since then, he never got tired of repeating, "You've got complete freedom. I trust you." It has been a pleasure working with him and his team.
Enol: Let's not forget his excellent taste in selecting the voice actors and musicians -- incredible! He gave us the opportunity to work with an extremely professional team. David M. Saunders and Sir Nolan gave the movie a spectacular and varied soundtrack. And all the voice actors did a great job, without exception.
IGN: What are your general thoughts on digital distribution and the idea of delivering content directly to fans online?
Luis: The best part of digital distribution is the immediate feedback. I am a fan too. If I watched a movie I did not like, I would be able to remake it in my computer. I could upload it to YouTube and know what the whole world thinks about it in just few minutes. Some guy will watch Judge Dredd: Superfiend and think, "I can make it better." If he does, we will watch it. Some other guy might love it and continue it with that seventh chapter featuring Fire, Fear and Mortis, and we will watch it -- and we will learn from him. We'll evolve together. In the last century, spectators have been tied, hand and foot, in the chair of a cinema hall, but now we have our own voice.
IGN: For Dredd especially, digital distribution has been a successful paradigm. Do you see that trend continuing, going forward?
Luis: Of course. Pay attention to Marvel. They are working on different movies and TV series, all of them sharing the same world and characters. Why not? Marvel is focused only in youthful entertainment, but if someone made something similar with an adult-and-acid universe -- as Judge Dredd was, focusing on social criticism and irony -- the possibilities would be infinite.
IGN: By introducing Dredd's most notorious villains on-screen, do you think Superfiend could serve as a precursor to a potential Dredd sequel, be it another movie, miniseries or something else?
Enol: If that happens, the effort would have been worth it. Dredd's universe deserves it. I think Judge Dredd: Superfiend will help make more movies or series with the character soon. The public should love Judge Death. He is a great, sadistic and interesting character.
Luis: Dredd's universe is big and attractive. It has got big metaphors and hyperboles, complex and contradictory characters. Judge Dredd works fine as an oppressive system personification. The best aspect of it is that everything can happen: a post-apocalyptic world where there are mutants, aliens, witches, zombies and fatty competitions -- and Dredd works in every medium.
IGN: It seems like Adi is always surprising us with these online shorts -- first with his Punisher and Venom videos, now this. Any idea what might be next as far as future shorts?
Luis: Sorry, I have no idea, but I think that's the funnest part of Adi's Bootleg movies: they don't have an established format, nor a continuity. They share nothing in common except for their devotion to concepts that everybody is free to reimagine again and again.
Enol: He does a great job of listening to what the fans want. So if we have doubts about his next project, maybe we should just listen to what the fans are asking for.
IGN: Finally, who is your favorite Dark Judge and why?
Enol: Judge Fear. He's the perfect personification of fear -- fear of the unknown. He's also the protagonist of one of my favorite Judge Dredd comics.
Luis: Of course, Judge Death. He is a very polite guy -- although I would prefer not to meet him myself. Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love by following @Max_Nicholson on Twitter, or MaxNicholson on IGN.
