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08-07-2015, 11:40 PM | #1 |
Webmaster, Administrator
@TokuChris Join Date: Oct 2011
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This interview was done at San Diego Comic Con 2015 on Friday, July 10th. We were invited by Saban Brands to meet the cast and to interview Chip Lynn, the executive producer of Power Rangers Dino Charge. Chip was gracious enough to answer some of our questions and tell us some amazing stories.
The audio will be released on Saturday, August 8th. Below is the transcript. We apologize for the audio quality (it's not the best) which is why we've included the transcript as well. You can tell when listening to the audio just how excited Chip Lynn is to be part of the Power Rangers franchise and how much he adores the cast and crew of Power Rangers Dino Charge. Please enjoy the following interview. -------------------------- TokuNation: What’s the raw feeling like to be back with the franchise? Chip Lynn: it’s really awesome. It’s really awesome. You know what, I started with the pilot back in 1991, 1992, or something like that. I started off as the production manager. And then I eventually wrote it, and then I eventually directed it, and then I eventually became the story editor, and then the producer … I kind of did the nuts and bolts as well as I did the creative part. And so now, to be in charge of the creative and the nuts and bolts, is really amazing. But what makes it simple – well not simple but much more doable, because I’ve worn a lot of hats – is that I work with this crew in New Zealand who has been doing it for 10 or 12 years. And they’re the people who now and then do Lord of the Rings – I mean these people are REALLY good. And so I can imagine something like this episode that’s playing right now (there’s a monitor behind us playing episodes) – episode one – which is REALLY ambitious. And when I wrote it people said “Well of course it’s good - because you can’t make it – it’s too expensive”. And I said “Well but maybe I can” and so eventually they said “Okay go ahead and try”. And I tried and it turned out to be okay, right? It’s a pretty good episode. TokuNation: A lot of the fans they love it because – and especially after the last four years but I don’t want to get in to anything like that but – it’s (Power Rangers) a splice of the Super Sentai footage and the original footage created for it. So a lot of fans were talking about before everything started, “Oh how much footage is going to be original, how much footage is going to be Super Sentai?” and you managed to pull off a first episode with ZERO Super Sentai footage. There was nothing from Kyoryuger in that first episode. It was all homemade so to speak. Chip Lynn: Pretty cool, huh? TokuNation: That was amazing. Chip Lynn: It might happen again. TokuNation: Trust me – everyone is amped up for it. Chip Lynn: Good! TokuNation: The Internet last night blew up from the trailer that got put up for the reason of Season one and Super Charge you know everyone … I know you can’t speak much on it and I don’t want to ask any questions too much on it but we see the image of the character that was the Zeltrax reborn form and they (the fans) tried to find the footage in Super Sentai and they couldn’t find any footage to match that scene and so they start blowing up about that. Chip Lynn: Really? God, you guys are amazing I tell ya. You are astonishing. The work you’ll go through to try and figure things out – which is wonderful! But it just means I have to keep my guard up and not tell you anything because I can say a syllable wrong and you guys will start guessing. But I love it I think it’s really amazing. TokuNation: It’s one of those things where…you see, I’ve been a fan for years and involved in the (fan) community for 6 or 7 or so years and through our site for 3 or 4 years…and this is the strongest I’ve seen the franchise especially with Dino Charge’s premiere and everything … and we’ve only had 8 episodes and there’s already fans calling it one of their favorite seasons of all times – and we’ve only had 8 episodes. And like you said in the panel last night that’s not even the tip of the iceberg in the sense of what’s coming. Chip Lynn: Oh! I’ll tell you a funny story. So I’m the Executive Producer right? So all day long my job is to A) guide the show creatively and B) my job is to handle some problems, right? Okay, so I bring the cast over from the States. And they arrive and they’re in their hotels and we’re looking for a place for them to stay and they’re working out with the stuntmen, and everything is going smoothly and suddenly I get word that the Rangers all want to meet with me. And I’m like “Okay” and they say “They have a request”. And I’m like OH MY GOD you know? Like already they want something… I said how can this be? I cast such nice people how can they already have demands? So they show up in my office. And they say “We just wanted to have a few minutes of your time cuz there’s something that we all decided we want”. And I’m like oh no, the worst is when they call come together in force. TokuNation: (laughing) It’s started already! Chip Lynn: You know what they wanted? They said they all want this to be the best season out of all 23 seasons. TokuNation: Wow…! Chip Lynn: And they all wanted to know what they could do. And of course it was shocking of because I was programmed to think they were going to want something FROM me but what they really wanted was to give something TO me. It was so touching and I told that story over and over because it was just phenomenal. It shows from what they do and when I go to the set and I see them interacting with the crew and I see how excited they are. And even when we built the sets I would bring them in and – oh wait no that’s not true. When we built the sets I would tell them all “Okay you guys, please…don’t go on any of the sets. Don’t step inside the sound stages and see what they’re doing. And at the very end the person who designed them, whose name is Tracey Collins, I want Tracey to have the honor of introducing you to your sets." And so they did that, none of them went in. And sure enough the day came when all the sets were built. And they were all lighted and and Tracey got to show them around and they were like awestruck. TokuNation: That’s awesome. Chip Lynn: And it was really really cool. And I tried to make it – I’m a kind of a warm and fuzzy person and I’ve tried to make it a warm and fuzzy experience for them. And I think that it’s worked because they are all you know … Some of them weren’t really so familiar with Power Rangers before and others were huge fan boys and girls. Like Yoshi of course is huge but the other ones maybe didn’t know so much about it. I wanted to make sure that they understood that what they’re joining is not just a season – they’re not just working for 9 months or a year – they’re working for something that will kind of follow them for the rest of their lives. And I said every scene you do, you’re creating something that the fans are going to watch for the next 20 or 30 years. You’re going to be at conventions signing autographs. So you want to create something that you’re proud of. And that means if you want another take? You whisper in the director’s ear, “I want another take please”. And if you have an idea of how your character would handle a situation or you think that I wrote it wrong? You’re welcome to come to me before we shoot and offer your suggestion. And they may not all be taken and the director may say that we don’t have time to do another take. But it’s your responsibility to watch out for the legacy of your Ranger. And if you find something that you think can be improved upon, you need to speak up. And it gave them that license to do that, and so they did it. And it’s special. It’s really, really special. TokuNation: That’s so awesome. So! Let me ask you one last question. And I know you can’t give away too much but maybe just a tid bit for the fans who are really big in to Kyoryuger and are curious about a few things. And again you have to forgive fans because they dig through computer listings for toys and things like that. The Deathryuger character. Managed to match something with the toys called the Talon Ranger. Any hint on whether that’s something we might see. Chip Lynn: About the Talon Ranger? TokuNation: Yes. Chip Lynn: Uhh….well…what can I say? I’ll give you a clue, but I can’t give you an answer. TokuNation: Oh hey that’s fine, we love clues. Chip Lynn: For people who are really familiar with Kyoryuger, they’re going to understand we have to use as much footage as we can. The elements that are in the footage a lot you simply have to use. We don’t have to use them the way that Sentai did, but we have to use them none the less. So I can’t say yes or no, but I can say things that are in the footage a lot we are going to use. But I can tell you that they’re going to be used differently than the Sentai. TokuNation: Cuz I’ll tell you that the fans have already come up with a monster that was the Deathryuger was in the ship in the prison in the first episode. I mean, fans are watching. They’ve already dissected that first— Chip Lynn: I know, I know they have. And I’ll tell you that some of the reasons that they’re seeing things like – some of the things they’re seeing in the jail cells will come up in episodes. And when I put in the jail cells I knew it was going to be cool idea, right? But it was a HUGE task to ask of the monster department to have (the prison). Because you know it used to be they have to dress three people in monster costumes and they have to come to the set and for the day they maintained three costumes. Now, every time we shoot in Sledge’s ship, they have to dress twenty monsters and that’s seven times the work. They have to make sure the costumes look good, that there’s enough of them, and as the season goes on the monsters get eliminated and they have to somehow come up with replacements. So it was a real challenge and not a single complaint. And the crews were phenomenal and not ever a single complaint because they read the scripts, and they met me, and they realized “Hey wow this guy really wants to make this, and this is a really good story, so I’m on board”. And that’s what they’ve decided since day one. But I will say this – be careful, because some of the monsters you see on the ship are space-fillers and some of them are clues on what will come up. So don’t read too much in to everything you see. TokuNation: Chip – thanks for taking the time to talk. Chip Lynn: It was my pleasure. I really wish you the best of luck with all that. BONUS! After our interview had finished, Chip was just so excited to be talking about the show and the time he spent on it, he continued talking. I turned the mic back on and caught, in my opinion, a quote that summarizes the type of person he is. It's a powerful quote, gives us some insight in to Haim Saban's interaction with the show and production, and just gives you hope as a fan of Power Rangers that the show is truly in the best of hands right now. “You know there’s a lot of different things you can do with the time in your life. I always tell the writers that you can write a show that kids will watch. But why not write something that if you’re going to give them a half hour of their Saturday you gotta do something responsible with that. Show them something that is wonderful. Don’t really teach them a lesson or preach – but show them an example of something nice. Because in the end you can be proud of that. If you just show a bunch of action and a bunch of crap, at the end of the day you’re going to take home a paycheck and say at least I made a buck. It’s at least worth that money to say I made something that I’m proud of and that kids will remember. That’s what Haim Saban always says. He wants episodes with enough heart and humor that when kids go from being 5 years old to 25 they still remember it. And that’s a formula that not everybody gets. He brought it from the beginning with Mighty Morphin and he pushes me every single day. When he sees an episode that’s missing one of those elements he’s the first one to send me an E-mail and say ‘This should have been that and that should have been this’. He’s a huge fan but he’s also a strong critic. And I enjoy that you need somebody able to say that’s great. So the fact that you’re here is actually doing me a favor, I’m not doing you a favor. And that’s wonderful.” - Chip Lynn TokuNation founder Kickback with Chip Lynn, SDCC 2015 MP3 of the Interview direct download: Click here to download!
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08-07-2015, 11:49 PM | #2 |
@thepowerscoop
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 651
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Great interview and well worth the wait. You can tell Chip was not only excited to be working on the show again, but he's also excited to see how the fans react to it as well.
(Despite my watching LA airings), August 22nd, can't arrive fast enough.
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08-08-2015, 12:04 AM | #3 |
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Lexington, Ky
Posts: 16,328
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Such a fantastic interview!
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08-08-2015, 12:09 AM | #4 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 2,250
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For the Talon Ranger part, he said their going to use the footage in their own way, so is that hinting at the Talon Ranger being a good guy?
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08-08-2015, 12:12 AM | #5 |
Gathering Rangers for D&D
Join Date: Oct 2012
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Quote:
P.S. If I'm right about this you all owe me a cookie! |
08-08-2015, 12:33 AM | #6 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 2,250
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Maybe the Deathryuger version could be Talon Ranger's Dino Steel mode and Kyoryu Navy is his regular form.
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08-08-2015, 12:41 AM | #7 |
Webmaster, Administrator
@TokuChris Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 4,697
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Direct download link to MP3 of interview is at the bottom of the first post. The "live listen" version will be on the front page at 12pm EST.
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08-08-2015, 08:19 AM | #8 |
Warrior of Delusions!
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Wait, you dont know either?
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That is an awesome interview. Nice to see the show is in such good hands
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08-08-2015, 10:13 AM | #9 |
Energon Warrior 3 Red
YEEEHAWWWW Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Crockett County, TN
Posts: 6,958
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Great read and excellent interview. Chip is an awesome dude!
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08-08-2015, 11:02 AM | #10 |
Master of Water
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 6,246
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Awesome interview Kickback, great work. Chip really is a great guy. What really struck me is how he takes his job in writing children's entertainment so responsibly. It is extremely tempting to say, "Oh it's just for kids." But Chip shows that he knows there is value in imparting something good for kids to remember. That really makes me happy.
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