Superheroes Among Us
Whether it’s working with well-canonized characters like the Flash or Captain Picard, or creating new cult classic characters like Queen Maeve, Terry Matalas ’98, Judalina Neira ’04, and Keto Shimizu ’08 all credit their Emerson experiences for setting them on a path that has landed them in this universe.
Think superheroes are just for fun? Think again. The genre has long been recognized as helping children build confidence, resolve interpersonal conflicts, and serve as support and comfort to them during challenging times. In fact, “The Batman Effect,” a 2016 study published in Child Development, showed how children were better able to complete a difficult task when they imagined themselves as their favorite character. Superhero movies are no joke, either, having grossed $1.3 billion at the box office last year in the US and Canada.
A MARVEL-OUS “VISION”
Like all the great superheroes, Terry Matalas ’98 never went into a fight without a plan. He spent his last semester at Emerson in Los Angeles pursuing his dream internship: working on a Star Trek production.
“I blasted them daily with faxes, and I wasn’t getting a response. Until finally, I got a call from the post department,” said Matalas. His plan worked and he quickly jumped into action, working on two Star Trek shows.
“I rode my bike around the legendary Paramount lot, soaking everything in, and it was like a master’s degree in how television got made from writing to post,” said Matalas. “Upon graduation, I was hired as a production assistant on Star Trek: Enterprise.”
Matalas went on to executive produce TV shows including creating 12 Monkeys and showrunning a MacGyver reboot. He then was showrunner and director of Star Trek: Picard, for which he received a Writers Guild of America nomination for
best episodic drama in its final season.
Growing up, Batman was his favorite character. At the time, he didn’t realize that eventually he’d be part of the unprecedented Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Earlier this year, Matalas was tapped to be the showrunner for Marvel’s highly anticipated Vision series.
“[The superhero genre] is modern mythos. It’s a reflection of who we are in the same way sci-fi is commentary on the kind of moral choices and changes that we face today, from social issues to the birth of AI,” said Matalas.
Before boldly going where no Emersonian has gone before (in the Star Trek world), Matalas relished his Emerson College experience.
“It was intense. With [Emerson Independent Video] you could make shows right away. I wrote a treatment right out of the gate, and as a freshman I made this bizarre quasi sitcom-dramedy called The Late Hour about two rivaling late night hosts,” said Matalas, who majored in Television/Radio at Emerson. “I was making stuff with my friends. I got that adrenaline rush of creating right away and seeing it to completion.”
No matter if he’s soaring in space or working with synthezoids, his college experience is in his DNA. “Emerson was a quintessential part of my journey, and I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for that school.”
GOING ROGUE
Keto Shimizu ’08 might be mistaken for her favorite super-heroine, Rogue. Shimizu purposefully dyes her hair like the classic X-Men character. (She’s the first to admit that it does make cosplay a lot easier at Comic-Con!)
“I love her attitude, her look, her accent. But deeper than that, it’s her resilience, and her ability to change,” said Shimizu. “She’s the absolute definition of badass, but she also feels deeply and stands by her morals and her friends. There’s no one better, in my opinion.”
Shimizu’s origin story of her passion for the superhero genre started when she was 8. The Batman animated series had opened her eyes to beautiful, dark storytelling. Then she read The Batman Adventures: Mad Love co-written by
Paul Dini ’79, who’s among the pantheon of Batman creators.
“That story got into my head and was so powerful. I said, ‘I want to tell stories that do that to people,’” said Shimizu.
Working nonstop at Emerson, where she was a film major, she joined numerous film and TV clubs.
“The first weekend I was on a set as the 2nd [Assistant Director] and shot a zombie movie in an actual condemned house,” said Shimizu. “Every weekend I was on someone’s shoot, or the EVVYs or [Emerson Independent Video]. I didn’t
sleep much in college. Every waking hour was booked with meetings, prep, or actual shooting.”
Unbeknownst to her, she would get to meet her idol, Dini. During her last year at Emerson, she arranged for him to receive an EVVY Alumni Award of Distinction. She interviewed his wife and his friends for a video tribute that aired at the awards ceremony. She also met him at a comic convention before presenting him with the alumni award on stage, and they stayed in touch.
“He and his wife, Misty, have been lovely friends and continue to be to this day,” said Shimizu. “Sometimes we have dinner together and mostly talk about life. Or we’ll talk about what’s happening with a certain character and say, ‘What do you think of that?’”
At Emerson Los Angeles, Shimizu hunted down an internship at the independent film studio OddLot Entertainment because the studio was producing The Spirit, directed by the iconic Frank Miller. Working for a smaller studio afforded her the opportunity to experience numerous elements of a
production. After graduation, she was hired.
Shimizu eventually worked her way up into writer’s rooms and went on to produce the DC Comics–based show Arrow and was the co-showrunner of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. And, 13 years after presenting her idol with Emerson’s EVVY Alumni Award of Distinction, Shimuzu received the very same award.
Today, she is executive producing and writing the NBC show The Hunting Party, which will premiere this winter. No matter the show, don’t expect Shimizu to always root for the superhero. She likes characters with compelling backstories and interesting relationships.
“Superheroes and supervillains. You can’t have one without the other. When done well, a superhero story can really inspire people to do good in their own lives and make heroic decisions and take on responsibility for the greater good,” said Shimizu.
A BEWITCHING LIFE
Judalina Neira ’04 did not always seem destined to produce shows like The Flash or executive produce the cult classic show The Boys and its spinoff Gen V.
A Writing, Literature and Publishing major at Emerson, she began her career in the music industry in New York and then LA. That led her to acting, which redirected her back to her writing roots and Emerson training. She landed a job writing for VH-1’s Hit the Floor.
“It’s a good reminder [that] there’s no one way into your path. Sometimes life is going to take you on these side quests, and that doesn’t mean they’re wrong,” said Neira.
A central power along Neira’s path has been fellow Emerson Lions.
“Everyone knows about the ‘Emerson Mafia.’ It’s a true force in LA,” said Neira. “When I first started, alumni friends helped me when I needed advice navigating situations and were just supportive in making my way through the business.”
After signing a TV deal with Sony, Neira is now working on a reboot of the beloved Bewitched show. She said adapting storied characters with rich backgrounds into new content, such as The Flash that debuted in 1940, is similar to creating plots for newly established characters like The Boys.
“It’s really bringing humanity, reality, and pathos to the version of the character you’re telling and the version of the story you’re telling,” said Neira. “You can get bogged down in canon or conflicting comic books. It’s about being committed to telling your version of your story, and giving that character the rawest experience you can.”
“On every show I write, I’m advocating for women and people of color because there’s been such a lack of representation in the genre,” she continued. “There’s been a shift in storylines giving [people of color and women] powers like on The Boys.”
And what about superhero fatigue? “I don’t believe in that,” Neira answered. “I believe there’s fatigue with traditional, straightforward storytelling of superheroes.”
“It’s an opportunity to find innovative characters we haven’t seen in the superhero world,” she added. “I think it’s exciting. I encourage people to think outside of the box.”
