From Smallville to Lost in Oz: Mark Warshaw Interview

Mark Warshaw is a name that is probably familiar to Smallville fans, as he was one of the driving forces behind the Smallville Ledger and Torch websites as well as the Chloe Chronicles and related webseries. On Smallville itself, Warshaw wrote the episodes “Skinwalker” and “Jinx.” Now, Mark Warshaw has re-teamed with “Chloe” herself, Allison Mack, who performs a the voice of Dorothy’s mother Evelyn on his latest series, an animated project called Lost in Oz that is now available via the Amazon Prime Video streaming service.

We caught up with Mr. Warshaw recently for details about this ambitious project that should appeal to many fans, whether it’s fantasy, Smallville, or Allison Mack that you’re interested in. Before we get lost in Oz, though, we talked a bit about where you might know Mark from. And as a bonus… come back to KryptonSite tomorrow as we speak with Allison Mack herself!

KRYPTONSITE’s CRAIG BYRNE: How did you get your start in TV?

MARK WARSHAW: I got my start in TV working on the 70th Academy Awards as a production assistant and then as an intern at Tollin/Robbins Productions (TRP) – the production company that developed Smallville. I became (Smallville Executive Producer) Brian Robbins’ assistant when he started directing the film Ready to Rumble and later Hardball with Keanu Reeves and Michael B. Jordan. It was on the set of Hardball in Chicago that I read the first draft of the Smallville pilot by Al Gough and Miles Millar. It was love at first sight. I knew I needed to work on the show! I had been obsessed with this project ever since it began as Batman Year One. Then it became The Flash. And when it finally became the origin story of Superman, I was all in.

What was your first role at Smallville like? What responsibilities did you have?

Everyone at TRP knew I was obsessed with the TV and computer merging into a new form of entertainment one day. Smallville was the perfect place to start. I began by producing the Ledger, Torch and LuthorCorp websites. That work eventually grew into making all the websiodes and mobisodes for the show as well as producing the DVDs, soundtracks and just about anything else that extended the one hour Smallville was on TV each week. I was fortunate enough to write on the show too (the episodes “Skinwalkers” & “Jinx”).

What was different about creating websites like the Smallville Ledger and Torch back in 2001?

The difference was that those were the very early days of all storytelling extension in the digital space. We were making up the rules as we went along. It was a thrilling (and sometimes terrifying) time for experimentation. Warner Bros. was very open to trying brand new ways of telling stories over multiple platforms and Smallville was their favorite guinea pig because we were so open to pushing the boundaries of what could be done.

The Chloe Chronicles was one of the first-ever “webseries” featuring actual cast members from a show. How did that come about?

It’s crazy to think that it was one of the first! AOL came to Smallville because they were rolling out a beta version of their next big thing called “broadband.” AOL and Warner Bros asked us if we wanted to do an online-only behind-the-scenes video piece on the sets of Smallville to promote this new video streaming feature. You gotta remember there was no YouTube at the time. We were in the very early days of any video being on the internet.

Smallville fans were having a great time interacting with the extended story we were telling on the Ledger, Torch, and LuthorCorp sites. So, we pitched the idea of using the video opportunity as way to tell more Smallville stories instead of a behind-the-scenes piece!

More importantly, we saw Smallville fans craving more Chloe. At the time, she was getting about four lines an episode and I kept reading posts on the Kryptonsite message boards from fans who wanted more Chloe. So I called up Allison Mack and we got to work on the concept that eventually became the Chloe Chronicles.

Allison Mack said in a recent interview that you and she made a pact to always work on projects together. Was the Chloe Chronicles your first of those types of ventures?

The Chloe Chronicles was our first! We went on to do the Vengeance Chronicles and Justice and Doom together. After Smallville we did an animated series called Dirty Little Secret for Elle Magazine and now we are doing Lost in Oz together for Amazon Prime Video.

Did the Chloe Chronicles work specifically because it was about such a well-loved character?

Absolutely. Smallville fans asked for more Chloe and we were able to give them more Chloe and give fans a fresh perspective on the larger Smallville story universe.

After Smallville, you ended up working in transmedia for Heroes. What did you do there?

Former Smallville Producer Jeph Loeb and the gang at Heroes asked me to come over and help them co-create and produce the Heroes transmedia experience. I worked on the first two seasons of the transmedia on that show – from the comic books to the websites to all the Heroes Evolutions material. We did webisodes, mobile sites, games, interactive 2-screen experiences – you name it, we tried it on Heroes and we were very blessed by the success of those endeavors.

I also managed all the merchandise creation for Heroes. So I worked on the DVDs, the “Saving Charlie” novel, the action figures, apparel, posters, etc.

Can you talk about how all that transmedia material fit together in your career?

After Heroes, I was approached by a non-profit organization that wanted to use the transmedia storytelling principals we experimented with on Smallville and Heroes on a telenovela series specifically created for Latino teens living in East Los Angeles. I loved the challenge of creating transmedia for a non-superhero series and trying to help make social change happen locally in Los Angeles. The show used transmedia to provide teens information on the various reproductive health choices the characters on the show were considering.

So my company signed on to executive produce East Los High. We produced the show independently and Hulu decided to stream it. You can watch the first four seasons on Hulu now. A fifth installment is coming out later this year.

We also used the transmedia to build out the fun parts of the world of East Los High – like the dancing, the food, and the fashion! We even had a school newspaper and a strong female editor who liked to make videos and write articles about the provocative issues in her hometown. Sound familiar?

Am I correct in thinking that East Los High had been nominated for Emmys?

Yes! East Los High has been nominated for five Emmys over the course of it’s first four seasons – including Outstanding Digital Drama Series.

How did you connect with Amazon for Lost in Oz?

We were fortunate enough to have a great relationship with an Amazon executive named Monica Dennis. Monica worked with us while we were executive producing East Los High. She knew we were huge fans of L. Frank Baum’s Oz storytelling universe. Baum was one of the original transmedia storytellers. One of my mentors is the USC media scholar Henry Jenkins Jr. III. Henry is a massive Oz fan and helped me understand how far storytelling over multiple platforms can be taken with a property like Oz.

Baum made stage plays, movies, games, toys – you name it, he had it for Oz – long before George Lucas and the Wachowskis were doing it for Star Wars and The Matrix. So we’d been looking at ways to make Oz into a series. Then Monica went to work at Amazon. She told us Amazon was looking to do an Oz series and asked us to come in and pitch our take on a show. So my partners, Darin Mark, Jared Mark, Abram Makowka and I asked the question, “What would happen if Dorothy went to Oz today?” and Lost in Oz was born.

What is the story pitch for Lost in Oz and who is it created for?

Alright, here’s the official write up:

In Lost in Oz, 12-year-old Dorothy Gale (Ashley Boettcher) discovers her mother’s (Allison Mack) magical travel journal hidden beneath the floorboards of their Kansas home. The book triggers a tornado, which rips her house from its foundation and transports Dorothy and her dog, Toto (Chris Cox), to Emerald City, a bustling, modern, metropolis. In order to get home, Dorothy learns she must acquire every element on Oz’s “periodic table of magic” – while the city faces the worst magic drought in eons!

Along the way, Dorothy and Toto meet unlikely allies in West (Nika Futterman), Ojo (Jorge Diaz), Reigh the Lion (Keith Ferguson), Scarecrow (Stephen Stanton), and Glinda the Good (Jennifer Hale), who are each eager to help, but struggling with their own challenges. Together, they navigate the magical landscape of Oz, take on the dangerous witch Langwidere (Gina Gershon), and embark on their own unique journeys of self-discovery.

It was created for 6 to 11 year olds but designed to appeal to both the young and the young at heart – we are seeing whole families binge watch the show together. It’s serialized and definitely something everyone in the family can enjoy together.

Might we see or hear of any Smallville or Heroes Easter eggs within?

LOL – of course! But you are gonna have to watch to find them.

How and when did Allison become involved in Lost in Oz? Who is she playing?

As soon as we started casting the series I reached out to Allison. We asked her to read for both Dorothy and Dorothy’s Mom – Evelyn. She had done voice over work for me on the Elle series and also worked on The Ant Bully. Her take on Evelyn blew us away right from the start. Evelyn is a strong, intelligent, witty character with a mysterious past in Oz. Allison does strong, intelligent, witty and mysterious so well. She was a natural choice. Here’s a little character description for Allison’s character:

EVELYN GALE: Caring, compassionate, and witty, Evelyn left Oz to give her daughter a normal life in Kansas. But when Dorothy finds her mom’s old journal and blasts off on a magical tornado, Evelyn is forced to revisit the world she thought she left behind.

Why might Lost in Oz appeal to the audience that knew you and her from Smallville?

Lost in Oz is modern take on a timeless and familiar story we love. Just as Smallville was to Superman, we aim to be the same for a new generation of Oz fans. To be clear, we aren’t telling the story of the original Dorothy in Oz. Our Dorothy and Evelyn come to Oz after the original Dorothy from Baum’s books. Lost in Oz is a heroes’ origin story. Much like Smallville was.

How different is Allison’s new character from Chloe?

She’s a grown up. She’s a mom. She runs a Natural History Museum. She is a rock climber. She has a mysterious past. But she has a ton of similarities. She lives in Kansas! She is brilliant! She is a person of action!

How can people watch Lost in Oz?

Ok, here goes the official plug:

Lost in Oz is currently available to stream and enjoy using the Amazon Video app for TVs; connected devices, including Amazon Fire TV and mobile devices; and online at www.amazon.com/originals. Customers who are not already a Prime member can sign up for a free trial at www.amazon.com/prime. For a list of all Amazon Video compatible devices, visit www.amazon.com/howtostream. Lost in Oz is also available as part of Amazon FreeTime Unlimited, the all-you-can-eat subscription service designed from the ground up for kids. FreeTime Unlimited is available exclusively on Amazon devices, including Amazon Fire TV and Fire tablets, and a year-long subscription is included with every Fire Kids Edition.

What other projects are you working on?

My company, Bureau of Magic Studios (BureauofMagic.com) is about to launch a slate of fun new projects geared for the whole family. I can’t say much more than that at the moment other than if you like Lost in Oz (and shows like Smallville), you’re gonna love what we have coming next!

Our thanks to Mark Warshaw for participating in this interview. Come back tomorrow to hear from Allison Mack and be sure to check out Lost in Oz on Amazon Prime!