VOICE ACTORS IN THE NEWS: 9.1
Written and Edited by Craig "Voiceroy" Crumpton

I've come across so many VA-related articles and interviews of late,
I had to split up my newsletter just to squeeze them all in. This is
the first part, as I'm leaving in the morning to go out of town for
the weekend.

=================

GEORGE LOWE FEATURED AT FANSVIEW.COM

For pictures and commentary on the voice of Space Ghost (Cartoon
Planet; Space Ghost: Coast-to-Coast), see GEORGE LOWE as the June 17,
2001 "Anime Convention Personality of the Week":

http://www.fansview.com/person/0617pers.htm


WILL RYAN INTERVIEWS JUNE FORAY & JANET WALDO

Continuing his series of "Nine And A Half Questions" for ANIMATION
WORLD MAGAZINE, Will Ryan gives us another unique interview - the
most recent one with the legendary June Foray:

http://mag.awn.com/index.php3?ltype=pageone&article_no=192

About a year ago, I reported in my newsletter that June had just
begun writing her autobiography. And since the above article says
that she's writing her introduction for the book, I think it would be
a safe assumption that it's very near publication.

Also mentioned in the article:

"June Foray is currently starring in ... the upcoming Judge Granny
for Warner Bros."

"Judge Granny"? A whole animated feature starring Granny? Cool!

Furthermore, the article mentions that "June has just signed a
multi-CD deal with Audible Records, her exclusive pact with
Turner/Warner having just expired."

If you'd like to read some of Will Ryan's other amusing interviews:

Nine And A Half Questions: Will Ryan Interviews Janet Waldo
http://mag.awn.com/index.php3?ltype=search&sval=will+ryan&article_no=159

Nine And A Half Questions (with writer David Stephen Cohen)
http://mag.awn.com/index.php3?ltype=search&sval=will+ryan&article_no=72

==============

JACK ANGEL IS A TEDDY BEAR

In a recent interview with TV Guide Online, JACK ANGEL (Transformers,
Darkwing Duck, Voltron) said of his character "Teddy" that he's
voicing in Steven Speilberg's "A.I.", "I said to [Tiger execs], Teddy
was a very stoic bear [in A.I.], he didn't say much and he didn't
emote very much," Angel recalls. "And they said, 'Yeah, but we can't
sell a bear that doesn't say much and doesn't do much. We have to
have a bear that growls and laughs and farts.'" (Alas, Tiger rep Lana
Simon clarifies that unlike Furby, Teddy won't be suffering from
flatulence.)

"He's a very sophisticated robot," counters A.I. producer Kathleen
Kennedy. "He's not just a stuffed teddy bear."

As it is, Karine Joret, Warner Bros.' senior V.P. of worldwide public
relations, insists that the interactive gadget will not be peddled to
the Rugrats-set. "Tiger Electronics is targeting the collector-based
adult market," she explains. "It's a very limited quantity that Tiger
is making and it's very limited distribution."

To read the full article, click the link below:

http://tvguide.com/newsgossip/insider/010702a.asp

An extended interview with Jack Angel on his role in "A.I." can also
be found at TV Guide Online:

http://tvguide.com/newsgossip/insider/010703c.asp

Jack Angel also has an official site: http://voicemale.net/

==============

MIKE MYERS SHREK VOICE CHANGE COST DREAMWORKS MILLIONS

"Shrek’s Four Million Dollar Edit"
From digitalmediafx.com

"A major decision had to be made during the production of Shrek that
cost DreamWorks $4 million dollars – a move the company fully
supported. The change was a request by Mike Myers to alter the voice
he had already recorded for Shrek to a voice with a Scottish accent.
Myers told The New York Post that he was surprised when DreamWorks
approved the request because DreamWorks had to throw out all the
character animation of Shrek in order to match the revised
soundtrack, costing the company $4 million. "Jeffrey Katzenberg told
me that this had never been done before in the history of animation,"
Myers told the Post."

Additionally, Joe Tracy, Publisher of Digital Media FX, wrote a
feature article on the Shrek voice cast that includes cast photos and
interview quotes from Dreamworks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, director
Andrew Adamson, and cast members Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz:

http://www.digitalmediafx.com/Shrek/shrekfeature05.html

Also see:

http://www.etonline.com/celebrity/a2884.htm

==============

From http://wire.scifi.com

CATS & DOGS VOICE BARKS ORIGINAL MOVIE ENDING

"Sean Hayes--who voices the cat villain, Mr. Tinkles, in the upcoming
fantasy film Cats & Dogs--told SCI FI Wire that the movie had a much
darker ending than the one that eventually ended up in the film.

It's not giving anything away to say that the villain gets his
comeuppance in the end, but director Lawrence Guterman had a darker
idea of what it would look like, Hayes said.

"It originally ended where [Mr. Tinkles] goes ... into an asylum for
animals or ... like a ... kennel or something," Hayes said during
press interviews. "So this woman was typing, like, very [Tim] Burton-
esque, and Sophie brings Mr. Tinkles up to the counter, and she's
like, 'I'm here, Mr. Tinkles has been a bad kitty. He needs to be put
away' or something. And [the typist] just turns, and she's smiling,
and she's nodding and she's nodding, very odd, and her head just pops
open and all these cats come out of the body. And that's how it
ended, meaning the cats are going to take over the world. And they
shot the whole thing, and it was the coolest thing I've ever seen.
I was like, 'That's so freaky and like cool!' Which [also] left it
wide open for the sequel. I would have loved that ending, but it
freaked kids out."

Hayes voices the main villain, a Persian cat modeled on the one
stroked by James Bond's archnemesis Blofeld. The actor--best known as
Jack in the NBC sitcom Will & Grace--won the role by accident.
"I [originally] read for the Calico Cat [a role now played by Jon
Lovitz]. And then Larry said, 'Pick up the part of Mr. Tinkles, look
at that.' And so I looked it over, while he was standing there, just
reading it. And he said, 'Try it with a German accent.' So, I tried
it with a German accent, and it came out like Chinese, Japanese,
something. Then I did a French accent, and that didn't work. So they
just came up with this crazy ... It just seemed very, I don't know,
authoritative. Refined American, British, whatever. ... I would say
that Mr. Tinkles is a very frustrated Shakespearean actor who never
got in a theater and so decided to take over the world. ... They were
having a table read. I cut my vacation short in Florida to come up to
read for Mr. Tinkles at the table read, and I just let loose, and it
was great."

You'll find more quotes from the voices on "Cats & Dogs" in the links
below:

http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/301058p1.html
http://www.hollywood.com/celebs/features/feature/470522
http://www.hollywood.com/multimedia/detail/media/470223

=======================

Also from scifi.com:

MING-NA ON FINAL FANTASY

"Ming-Na--who gives voice to the computer-generated heroine in the
upcoming Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within film--told SCI FI Wire
that
she loved the chance to play an SF heroine, without risking injury.
"It was great," she said in an interview.

"I thought that my voice really fit the character, and for me, I was
so excited that I'm part of this history-making film. And being a
science fiction fan, this is my way of living out my fantasy of being
a female heroine ... without getting hurt. It's kind of nice."

Ming-Na's voice inhabits Dr. Aki Ross, a "hyper-realistic" computer-
animated heroine in the film, which is based on the Square Final
Fantasy video game series. The actress said the movie taps into
philosophical themes. "This is in the future, and the phantoms are
these aliens who have come to the Earth and are destroying it, to the
point where all the remaining cities ... [are] covered in this
protective shield ... where the remaining humans are living," she
said. "And Aki Ross ... is trying to figure out a way to combat the
aliens and either understand them or get rid of them. And in the
process, she learns that it's really about saving our Earth. It's
about saving the Gaia, which is the energy source
of the Earth and the spirit of the Earth. So it has a lot of, like,
Eastern philosophy incorporated in the film."

Ming-Na added, "It's really complicated, yet so simple at the same
time. To break it down, whatever energy source that we derive from to
give us energy, ... this is coming from the Earth, in essence. And
we have to give back to the Earth. We have to replenish it and, in a
way, recycle, whether it's through our demise, or whether it's just
through nurturing. Because otherwise we are going to end up living in
these small, shielded environments, to protect ourselves from the
elements."

======================

From dbzn.net:

BLUE GENDER VOICES ANNOUNCED

"FUNimation has chosen the voice actors of the two main characters in
the show. They both happen to play Trunks in DBZ, Eric Johnson plays
the voice of Adult (teen) Trunks, who you've already seen in CN. He
will be voicing Yuji as Laura Bailey, currently doing the the voice
of young (chibi) Trunks, will be voicing Marlene.

FUNimation is pleased to announce that we have cast the two main
characters for Blue Gender. The envelope please...and the winners are
Eric Johnson and Laura Bailey. Johnson will play the voice of Yuji,
who is the star of Blue Gender. Johnson had this to say about his
part in the series, "I am excited about the character Yuji because it
gives me a chance to play a character who is experiencing emotions
different from what I have played in the past. I think Blue Gender is
the best thing that FUNimation has produced so far. It is one
impressive piece of work." Johnson also plays the voice of Trunks in
the series Dragon Ball Z. Bailey will be the voice of Marlene, the
female lead in the series. Bailey said, "I am so excited to be a part
of something so new at FUNimation. Marlene is such a strong character
it is an honor to be able to bring her to life." Bailey is currently
the voice of young Trunks in the series Dragon Ball Z. Production on
Blue Gender is under way."

====================

From hollywood.com:

GILBERT GOTTRIED IS THE WEAKEST LINK

By Lew Irwin, Studio Briefings

HOLLYWOOD, July 5, 2001 -- Gilbert Gottfried, the onetime Saturday
Night Live cast member whose voice is regularly heard in animated
films (Iago in Aladdin, the obsessive-compulsive dog in Dr. Dolittle)
has emerged as the front-runner to host the daytime syndicated
version of The Weakest Link, the New York Post reported Thursday.
NBC's primetime host, Anne Robinson, also hosts both the British
primetime version and a daily afternoon version of Link on the BBC.
On Wednesday, BBC Worldwide, the broadcasting corporation's
commercial arm, said that it expected to earn about $45 million from
overseas sales of The Weakest Link over the next five years.

==========================

From http://www.awn.com/ :

BEN STEIN SUES SHOCKWAVE.COM

According to a June 21, 2001 report in the Los Angeles Times, BEN
STEIN (Animaniacs, Duckman, The Mask), host of the Comedy Central TV
game show "Win Ben Stein's Money" has sued Shockwave.com for breach
of contract.

In the suit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Stein claims
he is owed $212,250 for his work in helping to develop an online quiz
show.

In exchange for the use of his name, voice and likeness, Stein
reportedly was to receive 75,000 shares of Shockwave stock valued
at 50 cents a share, with an option to sell back the stock at
nearly $3 per share. The show has yet to launch on the Web. The
lawsuit claims Shockwave.com, now AtomShockwave after their recent
merger with Atom Films, used “stalling tactics” to avoid making
good on the buyback. As originally reported on AWN -
http://news.awn.com/index.php3?ltype=search&search=Ben+Stein&newsitem_no=2585
- Stein originally signed the deal in April of 2000. The deal called
for the
development of an online game, a series of e-greeting cards and a
daily poll for Shockwave visitors. In early September 2000, AWN
reported on Shockwave.com’s decision to change its focus from big
celebrity toon deals to interactive games. At that time, the
company laid off 20 people, but pledged it would continue work on
productions already in development. Stein’s suit comes on the heels
of a massive layoff at the company. In early June, AtomShockwave
announced that it had laid-off 2/3s of its staff, leaving
approximately 150 people without jobs. In addition, the online
entertainment said it would be shutting down its Los Angeles and
New York offices.

===================

CREE SUMMER TO RECORD NEW ALBUM

In a recent interview with VIBE.com, CREE SUMMER (Atlantis, Tiny Toon
Adventures, Rugrats) announced that she was "currently working on her
new album, which will probably be released on Dream Works next year."

Cree says, "I never really considered myself much of an actress, I
like the music first and as unnoticed as the album was, it was like
the greatest experience of my life. And I've discovered a kind of
underground thing going on and the fans that did notice, were so
genuine and so supportive and kind."

To read the full interview, see the link below:

http://vibe.com/new/vibewire/20010622/news01.html

Cree was also recently interviewed by BET.com and The Toronto Sun -
and you'll find these linked in Cree's category at The V.A.U.L.T.,
where just today I have added over 2 dozen new links just for Cree.
(Sorry, I got a little carried away. ;^)

http://dmoz.org/Arts/Animation/Voice_Actors/S/Summer,_Cree/

==================

DAVID WARNER -- MONKIFIED!

Okay, clicking on any of the links below will reveal spoilers, but if
you'd like a sneak preview of DAVID WARNER (Freakazoid, Toonsylvania,
Batman: TAS) in full make-up and costume for his role in Tim Burton's
"Planet of the Apes" remake, have yourself a look-see:

http://www.prophecysite.com/david.jpg

http://www.prophecysite.com/makeup14.jpg

http://www.prophecysite.com/request-magazine.jpg

==========================

Part 2 will include news coming direct from Pat Fraley, Corey Burton,
Debi Derryberry, and Mark Evanier, as well as news bits on Stan
Freberg, David Warner (again), Paul Rugg, Gargoyles "Gathering"
photos, The Simpsons, Atlantis, Alyson Court, ...and whatever else I
happen to decide to include between now and then.

=====
Craig Crumpton
Assistant Editor "Gookie" for http://www.toonzone.net
Host: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/voice_actor_appreciation
Editor "Voiceroy" for http://voiceactors.cjb.net/
The Voice Actors Ultimate Links Treasury
(Exclusively at Netscape's Open Directory: http://dmoz.org )

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