Carl Frank Macek (September 21, 1951 – April 17, 2010) was an American screenwriter and producer. Noted for his work on English-language adaptations of anime during the 1980s and 1990s, he was the creator of the Robotech franchise and the co-founder of Streamline Pictures. His work is considered to have been instrumental in creating mainstream awareness of Japanese animation in the United States.[2][3]
Career
Robotech and Harmony Gold USA
Macek came to public attention in 1985 as the producer and story editor of the influential animated television series Robotech, which he produced for Harmony Gold USA.[4]Robotech is considered one of the titles most responsible for igniting anime fandom in North America and internationally.[5] Macek intended to produce a sequel to Robotech, Robotech II: The Sentinels, but this project was canceled. While at Harmony Gold, Macek also produced the little-known, rarely-seen Captain Harlock and the Queen of a Thousand Years (which combines the almost-unrelated stories of Space Pirate Captain Harlock and Queen Millennia).[6][7]
Macek was a co-editor of Film Noir – An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style (1979) and a contributor to McGill's Survey of the Cinema. He authored The Art of Heavy Metal: Animation for the Eighties and Robotech Art 3: The Sentinels in which he chronicles in detail the conception and what went wrong during the production of the latter aborted animated series. He also worked as a scriptwriter for the animated series C.O.P.S., was the executive consultant for the animated film Heavy Metal 2000, and wrote the animated adaptation of Brian Pulido's Lady Death.[12]
Macek adapted the treatment by Merian C. Cooper (the producer of King Kong) for the unproduced film project War Eagles into a novel and screenplay in 2008. The book was published in the summer of 2008 by Angelgate Press.
Legacy in anime
Macek became one of the most controversial figures amongst English anime fandom.[13] Streamline Pictures-dubbed anime were among the first to be available on home video as well as broadcast on cable.[14] Over the years, he has seen his share of detractors and proponents, for while he did help to bring Japanese animation titles and series to the United States, his edits, re-rewrites and mash-ups (particularly The Robotech Saga) angered many fans of the original titles and series. To this day, anime fans still remain divided between appreciation and scorn for his work.[15]
Death
Jerry Beck, one of Macek's former business partners, revealed that Macek died of a heart attack on Saturday, April 17, 2010.[9][16] Barely three months before his sudden death, Macek recorded a lengthy two-and-a-half-hour podcast interview with Anime News Network, offering an extensive retrospective on his entire career.[17]
His brief obituary in the Los Angeles Times reported the place of death as Topanga Canyon.[3] The obituary shows a picture of him surrounded by several Robotech characters from all three series.
After Macek's death, a short documentary, Carl Macek's Robotech Universe, was produced.[18][19]
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