The new film "Surrogates" is based on a graphic novel, but before the characters in the novel became fleshed out with big-name actors such as Bruce Willis, they were drawn and created by Great Falls native Brett Weldele.

Weldele told KRTV,  "When I came on, my biggest contribution was the visual language of it. I designed the characters, I set out to create the general noir-ish feel of the book."

Brooks Kelly, co-owner of Action Cards & Comics in Great Falls, knew the graphic artist before the artist signed on to the Surrogates in 2004, when Weldele would come by the store to chat about comics.

Kelly said, "When I knew him, he was pretty reserved. But we mainly just talked about what he was doing, where he was at. He did know more than I did, more than I do about comics."

And before Weldele got his start and moved to the West Coast, he actually worked right here at KRTV in what is known as the Master Control Room.  In fact, Weldele said, the KRTV control room is where it all began.

Weldele explained, "My time at KRTV was actually a big part of my artistic growth, funnily enough, because while I was there at Master Control it allowed a lot of time to work on art as well. And I actually did the first part of 'Surrogates' while I was at KRTV."

Weldele says he's thrilled to see his characters come alive, albeit somewhat surreal: "It's kind of crazy to see it hit the big screen. It's really something I've always wanted to see happen."

As for his future, Weldele says he'll continue in the comic business, but wouldn't mind a couple more movies as well.

The film opens this Friday at movie theatres nationwide. Weldele plans to see it with the stars of the film at its premier in Hollywood.

WEB EXTRA: You can learn more about Weldele at his website. And IMDB.com offers a synopsis about the movie, and you can also watch a trailer.

People are living their lives remotely from the safety of their own homes via robotic surrogates -- sexy, physically perfect mechanical representations of themselves. It's an ideal world where crime, pain, fear and consequences don't exist. When the first murder in years jolts this utopia, FBI agent Greer (Willis) discovers a vast conspiracy behind the surrogate phenomenon and must abandon his own surrogate, risking his life to unravel the mystery.