Frank Paur's Cyclops/Rogue commentary

[dark-weezing.livejournal.com]

Back in 2007 or so, Toonzone.net had a rather in-depth interview with "X-Men Evolution" director Frank Paur. He, apparently, waxed heavily the series' Cyclops/Rogue pairing and its inner workings during a commentary of "On Angel's Wings." (His side tangent is in the block quotes below, the previous paragraph included for additional context.)

I’m not sure how many of the fans of these shows understand just what a director does. Sure, we break down the script and board out all the actions, which sound pretty simple on the surface, but in order to do that, we have to know the motivations of the players, and not just the scripted actions. The way we show the shot, what angle, how long do we play the scene? When do we go for the close up? How does the character act in a certain situation? We play a lot of back-story in our heads; stuff that is not in the script, aspects of personality and experience that cannot be scripted but still affect what is going on in the shot. Here are a couple of examples:

We played the relationship card with Scott and Rogue, she makes a play for him, and why not? If anyone has an idea of what she’s going through, it would be Scott. He lives in fear of losing control of his powers and killing someone; so does she. He had a lousy childhood; so does she. He always feels isolated because of his powers and of his responsibility; so does she. And he’s the one who reached out to her and brought her into an environment of warmth, family and friends. Why wouldn’t she make a play for him? She reads Jean's actions toward Scott as mean. Jean is a player, the cheerleader who has everything, and can’t make up her mind at what she wants. Scott is an item to her, just like Duncan, and who knows whom else. Rogue thinks Jean is a dumb ass and cannot recognize a good thing when she sees it, so yeah, she’s going to make a play on the guy. (Oh, as a minor side note; on the final episode, during the peek into the future, check out who is not included in the group shot and check out whom Rogue lands next to.)

Link: http://marvel.toonzone.net/xmenevo/interviews/paur/

While the mystery still remains on which of the writers first devised the Cyclops/Rogue concept, Paur's insight provided a key glimpse into their collective mindset. (Undoubtedly, the various fan/shipper factions will debate his assessments to eternity, if they have not already.) Regardless, the interview is a must-read, especially for behind-the-scenes wonks.