Today, my TMNT fans, I'm interviewing a man we all know and love by now.
Hi Kevin thank you for joining and for talking TMNT with me. How's life at the moment?

Hey Rutger. Nice to finally get to this interview. Thanks for the patience. The good news is you get the sanest interview with me in the last 5 months.
Life is good right now. Much quieter as of late, which is a nice change. I just saw the menus and box art of the TMNT DVD, so it’s exciting to see that coming together. I’m also in the middle of pre-production on “Gatchaman”, hopefully the next film I’ll be doing with Imagi. Otherwise, looking at a bunch of projects and seeing what’ll happen with TMNT 2.

The first question I always ask is, how did you get into writing and directing. Did you always get straight A's for essays?

I was one of those kids who was always drawing and writing stories when I was younger. I would make my own comic books and short stories. (Battle of the Planets, i.e. Gatchaman, was actually one of the first things I did that with) As soon as I got access to a vhs camcorder, I was constantly shooting short films… which looking back, really sucked, but I was already bit by the bug, so to speak. Then animation seemed like a natural combination of my interests, and the directing/writing thing sort of grew from there.

TMNT was your first mayor movie project, how did you prepare for such a mega project?

It’s funny, you can really psych yourself out when prepping for stuff like that. But then you realize that, at some point, everyone has to do their “first” movie. It was more about just trying to picture what you would like to see as a TMNT fan and also what would make for a fun movie. If you’re excited about a project, it goes a long way in every facet.

Being a fan for so long, you probably know how much all the other fans are expecting a kick-ass movie like the original comics. And it seems hard to try and keep up to that promise. Was there a lot of pressure?

Yeah, there was a lot of pressure, but I love pressure. It’s a tightrope, and I don’t think I’ll look at those other directors who adapt big properties the same way again. At the end of the day you go in with great plans, but at some point you have to make a film. And that is more than just writing fan fiction and posting acerbic messages on forum boards. Which is cool and all, but it’s not making a movie. I say all that not as an excuse for anything in the movie, but it’s a big challenge to try and hit the mass market, fan base, and also deal with the minefield of Hollywood. I still think we hit pretty close to target, though.

Was IMAGI your first choice for doing the animation and what made you choose them?

They actually chose me, not the other way around. They had acquired the rights from Mirage, and then I weaseled my way into meeting Peter. Ha!

It's a boys dream to actually get to write your own big TMNT storyline. Where you and Peter immediately on one line concerning the story-line?

Yes and no. The only thing that would keep me from saying “yes” flat out is that you have to get to know each other first. And we did at the beginning. But we quickly realized that we both dug a lot of the same things. He’s a great guy, and incredibly smart.

Who's idea was it to come with big names like Patrick Stewart and Sarah Michelle Gellar and what was it like working with such great people?

We always had a “star cast” list. For the longest time we thought we were going to go “anti-celebrity” for the entire picture, but then reality sort of sets in with the Hollywood scene. But we held our ground on the TMNT themselves, which I’m very proud of. But that said, I think Patrick, Sarah, Mako and Chris did a great job and suited the characters really well. Mako was a blast to work with. He was such a nice man. We had a lot of nice chats in between takes.

It was also great hearing Mako as Master Splinter (May he rest in peace). I read that most of his lines where already recorded at the time. Did anyone else finish the remaining lines and will that person voice Splinter in a possible sequel?

No, we got all his lines in before he passed away. As for his voice in a sequel, I don’t know. In a way, it would be nice for him to sound the same, but a sound alike isn’t the same thing. I don’t know at this point, honestly. My gut right now would think that it might be better to just recast, as anything less than that might be a bit of an insult in some weird way.

The movie, which I've seen 3 times now, is rated PG. When you first started the project were you going for an R rated movie or PG13 in the lines of Spiderman and other comic book movies?

No, unfortunately it was pretty clear from the start that we had to do a PG movie. I think this franchise could thrive well in a PG13 world. And despite overzealous fanboys, in my opinion, the TMNT aren’t meant to be R rated characters beyond cool one-offs like Bodycount. (which kicks ass, btw) People seem to forget that they fell in love with TMNT when they were younger. I love the idea of continuing that tradition. That said, Spiderman, X-men and Batman fall into that category, so it’s far from impossible to think of amping things up.

I loved Patrick Stewart in X-men and I'm very curious about the spin-off movies of Wolverine and Magneto. How would you feel about making a Casey Jones movie after this and any sequels of TMNT about his years before he met up with the guys? Or maybe a Raph/Casey movie?

I think a Casey Jones movie could work great. I’d make it live action, though. A Casey Jones origin story could be cool.

During (pre) production have you ever considered getting any actors from the previous 3 movies or cartoons to voice their characters?

We listened to everyone’s voices, but in the end, it felt better to reboot things a little. That said, Elias Koteas’ voice is still awesome.

He totally is! Are you already thinking about any additional characters/villains for a sequel? Who would be your personal favorite? Leatherhead, RatKing, Utroms or a new villain again?

I love Rat King, Leatherhead, and of course, Shredder. But I can’t really say what of any would be in there. Utroms and Triceratons are cool, but I’d almost see “otherworldly” things like those in a third installment… but again, that’s just my own preference as a fan. I think after the first movie’s monsterfest, it’d be nice to ground something on this world in tone and villains. (which wouldn’t exclude any of the above) If we move on a sequel, it’ll be nice to just pick up the first few volumes of the original comics and let our minds wander.

Let's hope that'll happen! Well I'm all out of questions. I guess I'm like the millionth interviewer here! Thanks for your time and for reviving the TMNT for all us fans! You rock!

It’s my absolute pleasure, Rutger!