Spotlight Profile
April 2001
This month we take a walk on the wild side with Randy Lofficier, the Internet Chapter's PR Director. First stop: "Tongue*Lash."
This is a story of two detectives living in a projected reality where the Mayans still rule. Tongue is a serious babe, with costumes revealing more curves than a mountain road. Lash is seriously -- different. An ex-member of the Qaholom (or police force), he wears a suit and a leather bondage mask.
Pause here to explain just how Randy Lofficier spends her working hours. She writes and produces animation, science fiction and fantasy. That's the short version. Back to "Tongue*Lash."
The teleplay and bible written by Randy is based on a comic book she and her husband, Jean-Marc, co-authored, with their good friend, Dave Taylor, doing the artwork. Quoting from one of Randy's websites:
"TONGUE/LASH is CHINATOWN meets BLADERUNNER -- a film noir tale of murder and greed taking place in a fantastic universe where the Mayans still rule. TONGUE and LASH are two detectives asked to investigate the mistress of a powerful Lord. When she is later assassinated, they begin looking for her murderer and uncover a deadly conspiracy."
Quoting again: "The original TONGUE/LASH mini-series was one of Dark Horse's best-selling comics during 1996, ranking among the company's top 10 sellers. TONGUE*LASH has been translated in France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Brazil. A sequel was released by Dark Horse in 1999."
There's much, much more to Randy's work, but "Tongue*Lash" is a good introduction for those to whom comics and animation are strange worlds yet to be explored. You can catch up with these unusual characters at http://www.tonguelash.com.
Randy has been a professional writer since 1979, first covering the Hollywood scene for a variety of American and foreign cinema magazines. With Jean-Marc, she has co-authored several books about movies and television, as well as numerous scripts and translations, including the Moebius graphic novels. In 1990, this talented couple received the Inkpot Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comic Arts.
Randy and Jean-Marc both are principals in Hollywood Comics, founded in March 2000 with Evan Todd, to package comic-book properties for motion pictures, television and the Internet.
Currently, Randy and Jean-Marc are scripting their third DC German Cinema Elseworld, "The Blue Amazon," featuring Wonder Woman. Their latest fantasy novel is Arzach(Simon & Schuster 2000), and don't forget their French Science-Fiction Encyclopedia...well, what can you expect from a couple who met at a Mensa convention?
The photos at the top were Randy's little joke. Of course, she and Jean-Marc were not betrothed at an early age, unless Dame Destiny herself arranged it. Come to think of, the more you talk with Randy, the more time you spend at their websites, the easier it is to believe that, yesss! for once, Dame Destiny made the perfect match!
IC
How do you describe your work to someone who knows absolutely nothing about what you do?
Randy
First, neither of us is an artist, although JM comes closer than I do, because he can actually draw little cartoons. I cannot draw a straight line. What we do in the comic book field is work with artists.
To be fair, JM is really the comic book genius in the family. I'm a late-bloomer. He usually comes up with an idea for a story or a series. Most of the time there is an artist that we would like to work with. We tell him the idea and if he likes it, we go to the editor of that character (if it's a character from one of the major companies) and pitch him the story and the artist. If he likes it, we usually get the go ahead.
If it's an original concept, with new characters that we're creating and will own, then we find a comic book company to publish it. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't. We usually sell things to different companies here and in France.
After we know that we're going to get the story published, the way we proceed depends on the artist. Sometimes we write a full script with all the dialogue, and other times we just do a detailed plot, with a rough breakdown of what happens in each panel, giving the artist a lot of leeway to exercise his imagination. If we do it this second way, eventually the penciled pages are sent back to us, and we write the dialogue, and place the balloons on the page.
Beyond comics, we do lots of different things. We write books on a variety of subjects, and also develop projects to sell as film and television series in Hollywood. Plus, JM has a talent agent license and represents the projects of comic book creators for film and television.
Right now we have half-a-dozen projects that we're talking about with various Hollywood types. I never count any of those as done deals until the check is not only in the bank, but has been spent. Most of the time you get a little bit of money for an option, then the project is never made for one reason or another.
One of the exciting things that we're working on is a non-fiction project about the unexplained cures at Lourdes. It's a fascinating subject, and we've done a lot of research on it so far. We have a book proposal out on it, and we're talking to someone about doing it as a documentary as well. We're doing a different take on it than anything that has been done before, and I think there is a big audience for something like this.
IC
The lists of current projects on both of your professional websites are lengthy and varied. How do you manage it all?
Randy
What can I say, we like to keep busy! We've never believed in putting all of our eggs in one basket, if you'll permit me the cliche. I've seen too many of our friends get in trouble when things changed in the field in which they worked. I've always felt that there was no God-given right to make a living as a writer, and if one wants to do it full
time, then they have to make as many opportunities for themselves to earn a
living as possible.
That being said, sometimes even WITH all the work, there just isn't all that much money in any of it! I don't think anyone should become a professional writer with the hope of becoming rich!
IC
Those of us outside the business don't think of
cartoons as having writers. Educate us.
Randy
Animation works differently, depending on whether you're writing features or for television.
For episodic television, the screenwriter is also directing the action on the page. That is because once a script is completed, it is given to a storyboard artist who then has to draw everything that you just wrote.
So, for example, if you have a scene where a vase is going to be thrown at the end, you had better put that vase in the description at the beginning, so that the artist knows he has to draw it. You need to actually visualize all the action as you are writing, almost as if there is a little movie playing in your head.
I do have to say that writing television animation is one of the least satisfying forms of writing that I have done. That is because there are so many constraints on content, etc.
Even the things that were the most fun, like "Ghostbusters in Paris," and "Magica's Shadow Wars" for Duck Tales, had a fair amount of mucking around that had to be done. Plus, sometimes the animation doesn't live up to your expectations. Ultimately, I stopped doing it because I wanted to concentrate on other things.
IC
On your personal website, there's a charming family photo and story about growing up in Philadelphia. How did your early life prepare you for the life and career you have now?
Randy
I suppose you could say I'm an accidental writer. Unlike most of my writer friends, I didn't grow up always knowing I was going
to be a writer. Although I did write and draw a picture book called What is a Friend when I was about 10! After that, I didn't do any writing
for years that wasn't something I had to do for school.
Then, when I was in my early twenties I started writing essay pieces for my local Mensa newsletter and also writing poetry just for myself. When I met JM, he was doing some writing for a French science fiction/film magazine. I started doing interviews of filmmakers to help him out, and just sort of fell into writing those articles with him. Eventually, we wound up doing articles for a wide variety of American magazines as well.
It's kind of like a disease, I think. The more you write, the more you have to/want to write. At one point it just seemed natural for us to move into doing our own scripts and comic book stuff, and the magazine writing stopped. That was mostly because it became a conflict of interest to interview people one day, then try to sell them a movie project the next.
IC
How did you and Jean-Marc meet?
Randy
JM and I were both members of Mensa. I had decided to leave Philadelphia for Los Angeles, and just before I left, I saw in the local newsletter that the French National Mensa Representative was arriving in Philadelphia the weekend after I left. I don't know why, but I was very disappointed not to meet him.
Flash forward a few weeks, to the annual Mensa convention in San Diego. My mother told me that the French guy I wanted to meet was there, and pointed to some middle-aged guy. I felt nothing when I saw him, and thought I'd been wrong about the feeling I had. Then, about fifteen minutes later, JM came up to me and introduced himself. He told me that my friends from Philly had said he should look me up. We've basically been together ever since. We never really had a date, just were together from that first day.
IC
You often sign your posts on the SinC-IC list with one or two French phrases. Can you give us an informal translation into English?
Randy
Avant l'heure c'est pas l'heure; apres l'heure c'est plus l'heure.
This is something JM's grandfather used to say, and for some reason it always makes us laugh! Probably the way we use it to each other, not so much what it says. The translation that most captures the feeling is,"Before the time, it's not yet time; after the time, it's no longer time!"
Ne cherchez pas midi a quartorze heures.
This one is a phrase that reminds us that sometimes things are what they
seem, and not to look for things that aren't there. It translates as "Don't
look for noon at two o'clock."
IC
Can you describe a day in the life of Randy Lofficier? Do you and Jean-Marc work side by side, or
work separately, compare notes, and do the final work together?
Randy
The way we work depends on the project. Jean-Marc
is a stronger plotter than I am. Usually he does a plot breakdown, then I sit at my computer and he tells me what the scene is about and we work on
the writing together. I like using words, so once I know kind of what the
characters are going to say. I enjoy crafting the way they say it. That's
how we work on comics and most scripts.
For other projects, we do things differently. For the Lourdes book, I've been writing the first draft, then passing it along to him, and he does a polish. At this point, we've developed a style that is so much a blend of the two of us, that it is often difficult to remember who wrote what in the end.
My personal "life histories" and poetry I do completely on my own. I'm a very emotional writer, and Jean-Marc is a very logical writer. I suppose that is why we complement each other so well when we work.
IC
A few weeks ago, you said you were writing a mystery. Are you still working on it? What kind of mystery -- cozy, detective, police?
Randy
This is something that is really different for me. It's the first time that I'm plotting and writing fiction entirely on my own without Jean-Marc. I'm
excited and nervous about it all at the same time, because up to now all of
my personal writing has been more of the essay type of thing, and poetry.
Never a novel! But the idea for the character and the plot just came to me,
and I wanted to see if I could do it.
It's going to be a cozy, and will probably have some light humor in it, since I'm a cozy kind of gal! Also, although we've written some pretty gritty scripts, I don't think that on my own my mind runs to the grisly.
I'm still in the early stages, and if the Lourdes project goes ahead, it will probably take me longer than I had hoped to complete the mystery. But I have promised myself that no matter what, I'll get it finished.
IC
You've been in the entertainment industry for a long time. Any good stories you can share with us?
Randy
If you really want to understand the entertainment industy, see if you can catch reruns of a series called "Action" on FX, or one that is being called "The Industry" that Bravo has picked up from Canadian television. (The original series name is "Made in Canada.") They both tell the painful truth.
My favorite story happened to me about three or four years ago. I was having lunch with a friend who had had a metoric rise at one of the big studios. He started out as a script reader, and within a few years had become a production executive. I was telling him how frustrating it was to go to a meeting with an executive and pitch a project, then never hear back. I didn't mind being told "no," I just wanted an answer so I could move on.
My friend looked embarrassed and said, "I had to go to 'No' therapy." Honest! He needed a therapist to teach him to tell people he wasn't buying their projects. I just stared at him; after all, what could I have said to top that!
IC
Does your work require research or sheer imagination? If research, how do you do that?
Randy
It really depends on the project. For "Tongue*Lash" we researched the Mayan culture, then postulated how it would have evolved if their civilization hadn't disappeared.
All of the Mayan sigils in the story are accurate. We chose names for most of the characters that were realistic Mayan names. We used the functioning of their society as the basis for our evolved society. The Mayan beliefs in time were an important part of our universe. The Mayans did not invent the wheel, so there is no technology based on wheels in our stories.
We've always got our eyes out for research materials that will be useful for one thing or another. Our newest series Hogoun Temu, is a West African, Dogon, based society. These are also mysteries with fantasy elements. Some of Jean-Marc's university studies provided the background for these stories.
IC
Let's go back to your statement that all of the Mayan "sigils" in Tongue*Lash are accurate. My dictionary defines "sigil" as: "(1) Seal, signet; (2) a sign, word, or device held to have occult power in astrology or magic." Can you clarify this as it applies to "Tongue*Lash"?
Randy
The sigils in "Tongue*Lash" are any place in the art where there is a sign or something else that is written. For example, if you look at the illustration
at http://www.tonguelash.com/galback3.html, there is a sigil on Tongue's
dress that is basically her name written as a Mayan sigil. We used books on Mayan history as reference, and sent them off to the artist, Dave Taylor.
IC
Do you ever suffer creative blocks? How do you deal with them?
Randy
Like everyone, I do. Luckily there are two of us. If we're blocked on something we talk about it. Or, just put it away for a few days and let our minds work on it.
IC
What are your plans for the future, say 10 years from now? Where would
you like to be and what would you like to be doing?
Randy
I can't project that far. Our lives have been filled with the most amazing opportunities and surprises. I would hate to guess. I suppose that we'll always be doing what we do now, in one way or another, the universe willing.
IC
What are your favorite books, favorite films, favorite music?
Randy
There are so many books and films, in two languages! My absolute favorite
author is the French writer, Marcel Pagnol. Several movies based on his
work have been done in recent years and shown here with great success: "Jean de Florette," "Manon of the Springs," "My Mother's Castle," and "My Father's Glory." He wasn't a mystery writer, but a writer who spoke of the human condition with humor and passion. I would be a happy writer if I could capture one quarter of his emotion and humanity in my work.
There are many, many movies that I adore. I can watch most of Hitchcock's work over and over, the same for "Casablanca." But what I want to see at any given time depends on my mood at that moment. My musical tastes are pretty eclectic: classical, celtic, flamenco, classic rock, swing, movie scores. I'm not into heavy metal or rap at all though!
IC
What is your greatest creative challenge?
Randy
Right now it is plotting my mystery!
IC
When you read this you will just be back from a trip to Paris. Is your trip business, pleasure, family, or all of those?
Randy
A little of everything. But for us, business and pleasure are inextricably linked. All of our best friends are other writers, artists and creative people.
IC
Do you have a favorite place in Paris -- a café, a
restaurant, a park, a walking route?
Randy
That's tough, because there are a lot of wonderful places in Paris. When the weather is nice, we like to walk to our appointments and take in the sights. But if I had to pick one special experience/view, it would be having an ice cream at the Berthillon's café on the Ile St. Louis, looking across the Seine at the back of Notre Dame Cathedral.
But to be honest, I'm happiest when we have time to leave Paris and go to the South of France. That is where we're the happiest and most relaxed.
IC
You have so many avenues of interest and expression in this life. If you could have a second lifetime to live concurrently with this one, how would you use that time?
Randy
I'm so happy with my life as it is, that I can't think of anything that I want to do that is different. I feel very lucky to be able to do something that I love, and to share my life and work with a wonderful partner.
IC
Our thanks to Randy for taking time to answer our questions while preparing for a 10-day trip to Paris.
Randy's personal website has some intriguing pages. Under "Soft Landings," she offers a travelogue of personal remembrances, with photos from places that she and Jean-Marc enjoyed visiting. "Life in the Fat Lane" is a series of essays about her decision to have Weight Loss Surgery -- specifically, the Biliopancreatic Diversion with Duodonal Switch. When she wrote the final essay in the series, she had lost 77 pounds. The website also includes the meatloaf recipe that she makes for her dog, Maggie. There are links to her professional website, and to Jean-Marc's website, among others.
This interview was conducted during the month of March 2001 for SinC-IC by Pat Browning.
Visit Randy's Site
E-mail Randy
E-mail Pat
Read an earlier Spotlight Profile
