411 Movies Interview: Tommy Yune

Posted by Jeffrey Harris on 01.22.2008

Another adventure from the Anime Los Angeles 2008 Convention. This time The Vile One sits down with Tommy Yune, Harmony Gold's creative director and the director of the new Robotech movies.

Since I spoke with with Kevin McKeever of Harmony Gold way back in September for the theatrical screening of Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles at the Anime Bento Film Festival, I was also eager to finally get a hold of Tommy Yune. I finally got that chance at the Anime Los Angeles 2008 convention following the special Robotech panel.

The panel discussed Robotech's revival in recent years as well as the false start that was called, Robotech 3000. Yune also previewed the new Robotech cell phone video game, as well as the teaser trailer for the new Robotech animated feature in production, Robotech: Shadow Rising, which was the same trailer that debuted at the Anime Bento screening for Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles. Following the end of the panel, Yune took the time to sit down with me and discuss the past, present, and future of the Robotech brand.



The Vile One: It's a very interesting time for Robotech now. It took years and years for all this to finally start happening with The Shadow Chronicles and the new movie you are doing, Shadow Rising, and the live action movie at Warner Bros. So how does it feel after all these years for all of your labors starting to take fruit?

Tommy Yune: It feels rewarding to have the wonderful fan response to a lot work that went into this. This wasn't an overnight process. This was re-launching a franchise and being very methodical and going through the step by step by having a lot of our licensees come back. And having Robotech return as a viable merchandising franchise along with expanding the universe from where the original television series left off. It was something that was a pie in the sky. Many years ago it was just the turn of the millennium, 2000, where with Robotech 3000 a lot of people – to use the term - thought that Robotech had "jumped the shark". And some of our licensees had started dropping out. There were no more novels being printed. Our comics had—there wasn't a comic publisher anymore. Even our RPG publisher after many years of good Robotech sales had decided to say goodbye to the Robotech franchise. And now we have some of these very same publishers coming back to the fold for Robotech with The Shadow Chronicles.

TVO: What can you tell us now about Robotech: Shadow Rising?

TY: Unfortunately, I can't tell you very much. One of the things that we learned from The Shadow Chronicles, it's good to build the hype. But in terms of information surrounding the production, we have to wait until the time is right before we can speak more about it . . . All I can say is we are picking up from where The Shadow Chronicles left off, and we still have the question of the new threat of the Haydenites, and sending out another rescue mission to get back Rick Hunter.

TVO: What's it like basically as the way The Shadow Chronicles started as a 45 minute OVA, and ended up being a project you directed not only as a feature length movie, but a theatrical one as well, that was re-released in theatres a few months ago?

TY: It's a wonderful feeling. It was a very long drawn out, very technical process. There were different plans of attack – Do we make an OVA? Do we make a television series? Originally when we were planning the animation for this it was supposed to be standard definition. And it was supposed to be 4:3 aspect ratio. The producer had forbidden me from using the word "hi-definition" because hi-definition meant more money. However looking forward into the change of media, I could tell that hi-definition was on the horizon. And I pushed this as hard as I could to have the aspect ratio changed from 4:3 to 16:9 while keeping it within our budget scenario. And this forced me to do many strange things in the production which the producers were just unfamiliar with . . . have the animation delivered on hard drives. And some of the established folks at Harmony Gold were you know, "Hard drives?!" It was foreign to them because they were so accustomed to the formats they were dealing with in the years before, and that really liberated some of the process. We were having all sorts of problems with the digital medium, and once we had the digital media delivered in hard drive form, it made everything much more flexible in the production, then we were able to move it to D-5, our hi-definition source . . . and it also made the process a little bit cheaper . . . as a matter of fact it's made some of the side projects we are going into right now physically possible that wouldn't have been possible before without moving into the digital medium.

TVO: You attended one of the screenings of The Shadow Chronicles in California a few months ago. What was it like to be able to see an animated Robotech movie on the big screen and what was the response like with the audience?

TY: Oh it looks great. You know sometimes you look at things on the nice, big widescreen, flat screen TV at home and you think this is as nice as it gets, but you know there's still something wonderful about going to a public forum, big place where you can sit in with a lot of other people, and enjoy an old school Robotech movie. And ever since The Untold Story, that Robotech movie from 1986, Robotech had not been seen on the screen since then. And to have something produced finally go up on screen again, that really that really was a very rewarding experience. And I think that's something that fans had been pushing for a very long time. It was good to finally give them what they'd been asking for.



TVO: Funimation released two DVD's for The Shadow Chronicles, which were two best-selling releases. Do you expect Funimation to come on as a distributor for Shadow Rising?

TY: We've definitely been speaking with them about Shadow Rising. They're very interested in distributing it. But before we commit to too many things—one of the things we have to is learn more about what Shadow Rising is going to be. We've got the parameters in house of what Shadow Rising is going to be, but before we go out and sell too much of it . . . we've got a little ways before then.

TVO: As unbelievable as it might be to certain critics, The Shadow Chronicles and Shadow Rising are both indie films.

TY: Yes, they're both independent films.

TVO: Made without distributors.

TY: Made without distributors . . . getting back to that; that's one of the things that our executive producer, Frank Agrama, really prides himself in, is that he really enjoys the fact that we managed to maintain control of the films and without too much undue interference from, for example specific merchandise licensees that just wants to partner in a film to move more product. We've now got a film together that was centrally put together to tell a story and functions well in that regard. But at the same time because it's a good film and people enjoy it, that it's also able to move the merchandising.

TVO: Now for the live action movie it will be a little different because I imagine Harmony Gold doesn't have the funds to make a multi-million dollar movie live action Robotech movie, so Warner Bros. will have to have some say in it.

TY: There are very few studios out there that can do a film of that magnitude. And for that, I can't think of very many entities other than Warner Bros. to tackle a franchise of that magnitude that would make the fans happy. They've done Harry Potter, they've re-launched Batman . . . they've had a really good track record.

TVO: I love the Toynami Robotech toys and collectibles. But they're a bit out of my price range. Is there any interest at all in bringing on a company to produce more affordable, mass market Robotech pieces?

TY: Yes, that's definitely going to happen when the feature film comes along because when you get into the mass market arena, you need to make within the reach of disposable incomes of the every day mom and dad who goes to the Toys ‘R Us and Target. Right now with Robotech it has a similar issue with other anime that are of the hardcore genre where you get the hardcore following where they absolutely demand ridiculous amounts of detail in the toys that they buy, and accordingly for the collectors' market you've got a manufacturer that is willing to deliver that kind of detail but for a small production run, for that small market, for that amount of detail, you're going to get a price point that's relatively high. Now when you run into the mass market where it becomes a mass market product for a major feature film then you can have huge production runs, and people are willing to accept that its going to be more of a consumer toy than a high end model that people are going to accept . . . you're going to end up with product that's going to be more in the impulse buy price range.

TVO: I really loved the Prelude To The Shadow Chronicles comic book. Do you think it's possible we'll see another comic before the release of Shadow Rising?

TY: This is definitely something we're speaking about with DC Comics who still has the license to Robotech. They've had an enormous amount of after-market interest in Prelude To The Shadow Chronicles where some of these collections were going for over $50 n eBay. And one of the questions that begs is, "C'mon guys let's get a trade paperback out there for some of these people." . . . So that's definitely something we're working on.



TVO: Robotech 3000 was being worked on before you had started working at Harmony Gold. So how did you get attached with Harmony Gold and became their creative director?

TY: At the time I was working with Speed Racer. I was working on getting that franchise re-launched in comic book form. And I worked an origin story for Speed Racer and Racer X that had come out seven years ago, and it did very well. And after that, one of the questions that came up was there another anime series from Tatsunoko Productions (the Japanese company that produced such shows as Speed Racer and Gatchaman) that I would be interested in to follow-up after Speed Racer. And the one that came up to me was really interested in working on was Robotech. But then, at the time the big push was Robotech 3000, and I saw it . . . and to put it in a nutshell it was one of those things . . . it just got too far away from the original anime look to me. And I thought if there was going to be something to follow-up on Robotech: You need a storyline to be somehow tied to the original series to be more relevant to the fans, rather than being based thousands of years in the future there's so much disconnect that it's hard to get people to care . . . and even though that anime had changed so much over the last twenty years you still needed to have some of the anime look in there for people to continue to enjoy it.

TVO: Do you have a favorite Robotech character?

TY: One of the characters I liked from he very original series was Rand because he was a very street smart, smartass. And unfortunately he was not one of the characters in The Shadow Chronicles but that was simply a judgment call based on he didn't have a role to play in The Shadow Chronicles. Therefore it was time for his character to be set aside for the time being.

TVO: With Shadow Rising on the horizon, does Harmony Gold know where they are going with Robotech and the story as well as releasing the animated movies up to the live action movie and even beyond that?

TY: Well the live action thing is – it's big. It's going to have a positive effect on the Robotech universe. And when we started development on Shadow Rising that was something that was not thrown into the mix, that was not part of the equation. Now that we have this big boost, this big, huge shot in the arm, and a growth path for Robotech in the near future this has forced us to take pause and re-evaluate everything. Just like the new Transformers animated series right onto Cartoon Network on the coattails of the big live action film. There's a lot more interest in all aspects for Robotech entertainment because—

TVO: So a new animated Robotech series could be more viable now?

TY: Definitely. Everything is more viable now because of the live action film. It's just that frankly speaking we're not at the stage to announce anything yet.

TVO: I understand, but do you hope to release any more animated films following Shadow Rising?

TY: Oh definitely. Shadow Rising is just one project we've had in mind and many other things that we would like to do. So don't be surprised if you see other products come out, and that we have other things we begin development on as well.

TVO: The Robotech: Battlecry video game was released on the last generation of video game consoles. The Robotech cell phone video game is coming. Is there a plan on the horizon for a new Robotech game on the next-gen consoles?

TY: Yeah, definitely it's something that's on the horizon. The budgets on these next-gen games are becoming so huge that definitely it's something that we want to coordinate—it would be foolish of us not to coordinate with marketing for the live action film.

TVO: Battlecry itself worked off of the original Macross saga and series. If a new video game was made would you rather continue off of Battlecry or tie into the new animated movies?

TY: I don't think it has to be limited to one game. If you even look at the Batman franchise, there are games based off the comic look, the Bruce Timm series, and there are games that follow the look of Batman Begins. So I don't see why not—

TVO: You could have have an original series game, a Shadow Chronicles, and a live action movie game as well.

TY: Right, absolutely.

TVO: What is your favorite Robotech vehicle from any saga?

TY: The one mecha that always drove me crazy, and I always wanted, and maybe it was because the one thing I couldn't have, was the Beta Fighter. And when you watch the TV show, the Beta Fighter was such a rare mecha, and the one that they found was so indestructible it was never shot down, that it had this air of indestructibility about it. And for me, that was the one that was the Holy Grail to me, and one of the reasons everyone's been going nuts about Toynami's Beta [Fighter] sculpt (which was previewed at the earlier Robotech panel). And I'm hoping that we'll have one out this year.

TVO: So you'll hopefully get one of your own Beta Fighters?

TY: Yeah, finally. Then I can die now.

TVO: Was there any perfect moment of Robotech of the original series that made you a fan forever and now that you are working on it yourself? Can you narrow it down to any moment or couple of moments?

TY: There are several moments of Robotech that are amazingly well done. The very first Macross Saga episode, Boobytrap, which throws the kitchen sink at you—so much action occurs in that first episode that you're just dumfounded with awe after it, and you're stuck watching the rest of Robotech even through the badly animated episodes chasing that high. And you're waiting for that one episode that looks that good, and occasionally you get the Max/Miriya showdown or so forth, but I had seen Robotech backwards. When I saw it on the air, I caught it from the New Generation episodes first. It was just by happenstance when I was flipping through the channels. The episode that really got it for me was Ghost Town. Where Scott Bernard and his band of resistance fighters were straggling with the occasional applifier that they could dig up or the Cyclone armor they had against the Invid. And all of the sudden they found a battle fortress crash landed in a city. They get to work and they get in touch with these old veterans, and they take on the Invid with this battle fortress. You're just filled with so much hope you're like, "Oh my goodness! This is the most fire power I've ever seen them many, many Robotech episodes!" And you know what happens? It blows up. They go on a suicide mission, and these old geezers kill themselves. Scott and his group start all over from where they began the episode at. And you're just like, "Oh my goodness. That didn't just happen?!" They didn't just introduce all this cool stuff, they took it away, and the very relevant characters they introduced were killed off as well. I think that was what added to the greatness and the realism of Robotech.

TVO: It always feels like there are high stakes, even in The Shadow Chronicles, the stakes always felt at a high level. If there was a single moment for me it was probably the death of Roy Fokker.

TY: The funny thing about that is that Roy's death was written into the original Japanese anime (Macross). But when Harmony Gold introduced the death of Roy, I mean even NOW when Robotech was re-released on DVD we would get complaints on the forums, "How dare you kill off Roy! How could you kill off Roy?!" That we introduced one of the coolest characters, to kill him off after 18 episodes. And you know this happens all the time even in The Shadow Chronicles, its like "Oh my goodness! We finally get to see Space Station Liberty, and you guys blow it up!!! I can't believe you did that!" The thing is if everybody in Robotech only made the perfect, right decision, and everything worked out perfectly—

TVO: It wouldn't be Robotech.

TY: It would be a very dull series. And I think that's part of what makes Robotech compelling is everything always doesn't work out right.

TVO: Like when we finally think they are going to get back the SDF-3 it goes through the black hole to God knows where the other side of the universe. And it's like ugh, Rick's in a black hole somewhere. But for Rick Hunter, that's probably a fitting crisis for him.

TY: Well, you know you didn't see it on camera. You can only assume you saw what happened until the very last frame—

TVO: So for all we know the SDF-3 could be having a party on one of Jupiter's moons, with Rick Hunter drinking Jupiter mai tais?



TY: Were you reading our script or something? *laughs*

TVO: *laughs*

TVO: I'm really looking forward to the future of Robotech, I'm very excited, and thank you.

TY: Oh, thank you.

While Harmony Gold and Tommy Yune have kept mum on Robotech: Shadow Rising so far there were a couple noticeable teases and hints in there, if you can call them that. So we shall wait and see. Many thanks go out to Kevin McKeever for helping arrange this interview, and Tommy Yune for sitting in.