A fitting tribute to an anime pioneer.
Some of you regular readers and podcast listeners know that we here at the RealmCast are Robotech fans, particularly myself. On top of that, we recognize anytime someone is a pioneer or trendsetter in the world of pop culture. So understandably, we were devastated to learn of Carl Macek’s passing last year.
As we are frequent attendees at various Southern California cons, I almost always make sure to catch any Robotech panels. Soon after Macek’s passing, Harmony Gold’s Tommy Yune began to speak, at these panels, of a documentary that was currently in the works on the history of the franchise, for its 25th anniversary (the series debuted in 1985). As a fan of both Robotech and documentaries, I was certainly looking forward to such a production.
But with Macek’s passing, Yune indicated, the focus of the documentary had changed from simply covering the history of the franchise, to a tribute to the man behind it all. After a couple of delays, the documentary was finally completed, and is set to see commercial release as a bonus feature on today’s release of the complete original series on A&E dvd.
Last night, however, Harmony Gold invited a selection of press, as well as a few lucky fans, to attend a premiere screening of the documentary, Carl Macek’s Robotech Universe, at the theater within their Hollywood headquarters. Quite a few of the original voice actors were on hand, as well as other behind-the-scenes folks from the original production, and current Harmony Gold staffers. It was an honor to be invited, and it was a wonderful evening. I was able to catch up with a few friends that attended, as well as hobnob with the members of the voice cast that showed up, including Michael McConnohie and Richard Epcar, who I’ve previously met at BotCons, due to their involvement with Transformers. There was a reception afterward, featuring a nice spread of food (including by far the best sliders I’ve ever had), and an open bar. Believe you me, Harmony Gold knows how to throw a premiere party!
As for the film itself, it was fun and informative, if a tad too short. I was hoping to get more of a glimpse into the day-to-day workings of the original production, or insight into Macek’s vision for the epic science fiction story, and while some of the folks quoted in the show revealed a few tidbits, it was clear that the focus was more on how Macek helped usher in anime to the western world, and nurtured a pool of voice talent that remain friends, and continue to work together on anime productions to this day.
Speaking of which, it is great to hear folks like Tony Oliver, Dan Woren, Melanie McQueen, Cam Clarke, Frank Catalano, Richard Epcar, and Reba West show their gratitude to Carl and for all of the opportunities that being involved with Robotech later opened up for them. Sometimes voice actors consider certain productions just another job, but it’s clear that this group recognizes how special this production was, and seemed to genuinely care about the story and characters.
Likewise, it was amusing to hear some of these folks speak downright frankly, including producer Frank Agrama, who’s about as blunt and a two-by-four. ”When Carl died, everyone was crying. But not me – I was pissed off! He’s supposed to bury me, I’m not supposed to bury him!” But quite possibly the best line of the film belongs to co-writer and voice actor Steve Kramer, on the series’ demanding production schedule, which often went into the wee hours of the morning: “Twenty-five years ago, Carl Macek tried to kill me.”
The film has an interesting genesis, aside from the aforementioned change of focus. It seems that the production was originally intended to be a series of video podcasts to be downloaded from Robotech.com. However, the decision as made to re-edit the footage into a full feature film. It is due to this origin that the talking head footage was filmed with the people’s faces so full in frame – the logic was, you had to be able to make out the faces on a tiny iPod screen.
All in all, it was a great evening, and I’m glad to have been able to see the completed film after having been teased with excerpts at cons for over a year. Especially since I will not likely be purchasing the new dvd release – at least not for a while. Having purchased the ADV Films release from the outset of the aughts, as well as the Protoculture Collection re-release circa 2006, I can’t justify another version of the series on my shelf, despite the plethora of new bonus features on the set. However, for anyone that missed out on previous releases, or who considers themselves anime experts but have yet to recognize the series’ place in anime history, run right out and get it today!
