We’ve recently reported (here) that ‘Dylan Dog: Dead of Night’ was coming out to theaters and our very own Dave Taylor recently saw and reviewed it for us.  No doubt fans of the comic series are excited about their favorite paranormal detective coming to the silver screen!   But now we have a very special treat for you.

Meet the man behind the movie!  Scott Rosenberg, Producer of ‘Dylan Dog: Dead of Night,’ took time out of his very busy schedule to sit down and answer some questions for us.  He gives great insight into how the movie came to be, what audiences should expect about the rumored changes that have occurred as the story of Dylan Dog has moved from print to the big screen, and why he chose the stars he did.

Keep reading to find out all of this and more.  And don’t forget to catch ‘Dylan Dog: Dead of Night’ in theaters everywhere!

1.      I’d love to hear about your interest in the story of Dylan Dog.  How did you first come across the comics?

I came across Dylan Dog in the 90s—and even though I didn’t speak Italian, I spoke comics, and I loved them. And when I got into films, I thought it’d be a great story that could be told for the screen. I found a duo of writers that I still love, and honestly, I geeked out on it. I have a collection now, and I’m only missing a few out of the hundreds that have come out.
 
2.      At what point did you realize this would be a good movie? 

I held it in my hands and saw it on the screen.

3.      There is some speculation that the personality of Dylan Dog in the movie is going to vary greatly from the one in the comic book.  Can you confirm this and perhaps share some examples of how this may be true?

I’m a believer that different media allows for different ways to tell a story—but in the case of Dylan, there’s twenty-five years of publishing history, and he’s changed and evolved just like a human would. And the atmosphere of what Dylan is remains on the screen, but takes pieces of his whole existence.

4.      What kind of difficulties have you run into attaining the rights to make this movie and in terms of production itself?

We didn’t run into any difficulties, really. Obtaining the rights wasn’t difficult; it was just like the normal process of making a movie—trying to push a boulder up a hill with your nose.
 
5.      Dylan Dog is popular in Europe but so far is quite unknown among most Americans.  What attributes do you hope Americans will grow to appreciate about him and his story?

Like most of us, he has something to overcome from his past in order to move on to his future. He deals in the world of monsters, but he knows that often, humans can be worse monsters than the living dead. So like the best of us he doesn’t look at a person’s appearance or what they “are” –  he just sees the inside, and that’s something that we all aspire to.

6.      It’s been said that director Kevin Munroe was a fan of the Dylan Dog comic series before he received the script.  Was his passion for it a factor in being picked to be the director?

Yes, wholeheartedly. He loved the project, loved Dylan, and it’s why we brought him on board.
 
7.      In terms of the script, how important was it that fans of the comic series accept ‘Dylan Dog: Dead of Night?’   In other words, do you feel as though the script adheres closely to the comic book?

 We actually hired a huge fan of the Dylan Dog comics to guide us through the process, we spoke with fans throughout the process, to try to get a story as close as we could to the way they play out in the comic, that would also work for a different medium.

8.      Some diehard fans aren’t happy about Dylan Dog’s hometown being changed from London to New Orleans.  How do you feel about the change?  What should fans take into consideration about the change of location?

New Orleans is a cool place to have supernatural things going on because of all the supernatural things going on in the area—we did get some benefits from the state for choosing to produce it in that state and help the local economy. But as to how I feel about it, Dylan himself says it best: “It’s the perfect place for people to hide, it’s the perfect place to mingle in society and hide in plain sight.
 

9.      What made you decide to go with Brandon Routh as Dylan Dog?  To your knowledge is he a fan of the comic series, or comics in general?

Brandon loves the Dylan Dog comics, and what’s been very important to Brandon was really paying attention to the character and being Dylan. He lived Dylan. He cared what fans would think Dylan would do and he really took the role to heart, so much so that everything he did was Dylan. There’s one fun story from the set I love to tell: when I walked into the dressing room the very first time he put his outfit on, I didn’t realize it was him. I thought it was our professional cardboard standee because it was so perfect, and I didn’t realize it was him.
 
10.    How did ‘Being Humans’ Sam Huntington become involved in the film?

When we did readings—Sam stood out as being absolutely amazing, and he was and still is a great guy that we wanted to have on board.