Review Fix Exclusive: Richard Cunningham Talks ‘Dead Man Walking’

Review Fix chats with animator, writer and director Richard Cunningham, who discusses his newest production, “Dead Man Walking.” Breaking down the creative process and goals for the series, Cunningham gives us an inside look into the inspiration for the series, as well as his love of noir.

Review Fix: From zombie and femme fatale, you’ve done a lot, but all of your pieces have that noir edge. Why? What makes noir so sexy to you?

Richard Cunningham: The Sweet Smell of Success was like a muse to me after I saw it. I was instantly attracted to the vernacular of noir. At its best it’s seductive, cynical and gritty all at once. There’s a lot of room to be creative as a writer in the space.

Review Fix: What was the inspiration for this production?

Cunningham: A story by my friend, Clancy Smith. Grim and supernatural it followed a Jewish character’s investigation into a recent hate crime. His protagonist, Elijah, was put in a place and time (1936) that hated him solely because of his religion. It really wanted to explore that perspective myself.

Stylistically I had some ambitions of infusing the punchy language of noir, the jazziness of ‘50s beat poets and the literary artfulness of hip-hop into one experiment. So I adapted Clancy’s writing, and Elijah became a target not just for his religion, but because of his skin color too. Elijah’s new home was moved to poverty-ridden Harlem gripped in the violent race riots of the mid ‘30s. The more I researched the more inspiration there was to draw from.

Review Fix: What’s your favorite element of this production?

Cunningham: It’s always great to collaborate with the actors! I am incredibly lucky to have talented friends. Americk Lewis brings Elijah to life. It took us a dozen recording sessions over the span of a year to complete all seven audio chapters.

Lip Sync and Vector! I’ve been cutting my teeth on Toon Boom’s Animate Pro with this project, which have given me more freedom as an animator.

Review Fix: What have you learned from your previous work and how it affects this piece?

Cunningham: I look at each animation as a stepping-stone in the process of development. So whether a work is recognized or not, I have gained something from the time I put in. Also: do what interests you.

Review Fix: What are your goals for this production?

Cunningham: I’m going to be releasing Dead Man Walking in installments on my website, with animated chapters and character segments essentially forming a series. (Think: Gorillaz) While the first animated chapter has the vibe of a live performance, for the next 6 chapters, the animation will represent more of the narrative.

Ultimate goal: Adult Swim to be broadcasting Dead Man Walking next season.

Review Fix: Bottom line, why should someone watch this?

Cunningham: I think it’s the audio, visual, and story elements that supply Dead Man Walking its unique breath. If you’re someone – like I am- who’s kinda over the countless Hollywood remakes and reboots, it’s refreshing to watch something original.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Cunningham: More animated projects!

Dead Man Walking ties loosely into characters from A Clean Break, my previous animation, so I could play in the noir sandbox for a while yet.

I’m also currently putting together an animated series called, Storm Trooper Yoga, exactly as it sounds, just for the fun of it, really.

And in pre-production, I have an animated short following the love story of two 17yr Cicadas!

To watch my stuff and check for updates, go to my website: www.IdeaHatchMedia.com

You can also listen to Dead Man Walking actor Americk Lewis’ latest album (my favorite is “Swanky With the Heels) here: http://music.easymac.tv/album/the-future-is-now

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14316 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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