Not Frank Welker. The role has apparantly gone to Hugo Weaving. I was really hoping that we'd get both Cullen and Welker, but I guess not.
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
Guy Megatron
Posted by Hobbes (Member # 138) on :
D for Decepticon.
Posted by HopefulNebula (Member # 1933) on :
Hugo Weaving as in Agent Smith?
Well, I'll be damned.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
So, is this because they couldn't get Welker, or because they wouldn't?
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
From what I gather he wanted the gig, but I imagine they want to distance themselves from Welker's old characterisation of Megatron. Presumably they think Weaving will help deliver a more credible villian. They might be right. Still it would be nice if they could give Welker something to do, I mean the bloke's vocal talent is undisputed. Perhaps a break with convention and give hime an onscreen cameo?
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
The last posts from one of the producers on the film reported that the studio HAD pushed back on some of things, including some transformer design changes made to appeal more to the older fans, and the casting of Cullen as Bigbot instead of a "Name" actor (which in my view is stupid - who goes to watch an animated film for the big star voices?!). But the production team held fast to some things, and we got a re-designed Prime with the voice we wanted.
I agree that Welker's Megatron lacked the ability for real depth of character - David Kaye's Megs leads the pack for that. We'll see what Weaving can do...
"Misssster Optimus... We've missed you."
Mark
Posted by Johnny (Member # 878) on :
In theory, they surely could have recorded both Welker and Weaving, then seen which proved more popular in test screenings.
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
Not very practical since the voice and the performance often inform the animation. Two different actors means two different performances, they'd have to animate to one of them over the other, which would mean one of the tracks wouldn't gel.
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
In this case, it would be a matter of dubbing after the fact. The animation would take so long to do, that it would have had to have ben completely recorded at LEAST two years ago (this is the case for most Dinsey flicks). Cullen's casting was announced only last year - therefore, the odds are that they animated the machines to a temp voiceover, and the "name" voices were brought in later to loop the temp voices.
Mark
Posted by bX (Member # 419) on :
Peter Cullen looks a little bit like Robert Goulet. That's all I've got.
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Polite golf clap.
Nobody wanted an obviously insane Leonard Nimoy vocal performance?
Posted by B.J. (Member # 858) on :
I'm curious who will do Starscream, if he has any lines, that is. Personally, I think Mark Hamill could do a teriffic job there. I love his version of the Joker!
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
Michael Dobson would be my choice - his work with the Armada/Energon/Cybertron versions of the 'Screamer were one of the better parts of those shows. But I personally know the actor, so I'm biased. However, the studio is pressuring to use "name" actors (hence Weaving) so I'm guessing it'll be someone we know.
Mark
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
You know him? Does he sound like Naraku all the time?
I sure would.
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
Naraku is voiced by PAUL Dobson, Mike's younger brother. I know Michael and his other younger brother, Brian, well. I think I've already posted this... But here's a pic of them plus Scott McNeil and Kirby Morrow with myself and my improv comedy team, when we were performing together at a comic show last year:
And here we all are a few seconds later, just before we were crushed by a falling air conditioning unit:
Great people, all. Though believe it or not, they all sound like regular people when not in the booth.
Mark
Posted by B.J. (Member # 858) on :
Um, care to be a bit more specific about who's who in that picture? (You're the one with the cowboy hat, right? )
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Interestingly enough, IMDb lists Welker as Meggie, not Weaving.
Posted by Fabrux (Member # 71) on :
Front row, second from right.
Posted by Mark Nguyen (Member # 469) on :
Yup. Full cast listing, left to right, including Stagate references:
Top row: Voice actor Scott McNeil (possessed townsfolk in "Nightwalkers" and the evil Kefflin in "Company of Thieves"); voice actor Kirby Morrow (the helmsman of the Daedalus in Atlantis and a free Jaffa in "The Warrior"); voice actor Brian Dobson (the voice of practically every male person sho dies on Stargate); improv performers Will Wood and Dan Ross.
Bottom row: Performer Brendan Dery; voice actor Michael Dobson (Jaffa guard in "The Serpent's Lair"); me; performer Mark Leonard.
At this year's comic show, it's us again plus Trevor Devall (Mu La Flaga in Gundam SEED, and the Asgard Hermiod on the Daedalus), Brad Swaile (Quatre in Gundam Wing), and Tiffany Grant (Asuka in Evangelion). We also hope to get Robert Picardo on stage for our show - we know he's an improv guy.
Anwyay, since we're clearly straying, here's a pic I use on the board I run...
Mark
Posted by Shik (Member # 343) on :
Y'know, I've always wanted to be a VA...
Posted by B.J. (Member # 858) on :
A new trailer is up at Yahoo. Sweeeeeeet. I'm SO looking forward to seeing this! They've even got a bit of the original cartoon's transforming sound in there!
Posted by Jason Abbadon (Member # 882) on :
Megatron looks like ass- Really nothing like the prior incarnations and the face is...inhuman. No real humanoid features from what I can see (making character bonding difficult in a bad guy).
Posted by Mars Needs Women (Member # 1505) on :
That yellow Transformer(the kid's car), is that supposed to be bumblebee?
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
Reverend:
quote:Perhaps a break with convention and give hime an onscreen cameo?
Break with convention, like Stan *CoughBusdriverPedestrianHotdogvendorZambonisalesman* Lee?
Posted by Krenim (Member # 22) on :
We know from the trailors that at least some of the TFs have holographic/robotic drivers/pilots to blend in better. I'm still not clear on what Megs' alt-form in the movie is (if he even has one), but it would be a nice tip of the hat to see Welker driving/piloting Megs.
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
quote:Originally posted by Nim: Reverend:
quote:Perhaps a break with convention and give hime an onscreen cameo?
Break with convention, like Stan *CoughBusdriverPedestrianHotdogvendorZambonisalesman* Lee?
I think what I meant was to actually have the bloke on screen. With all the movies, tv shows etc. that he's leant his voice to, I'm not sure if he's ever been in front of the cameras.
Posted by Masao (Member # 232) on :
I never watched the cartoon or had the toys. So I have absolutely zero emotional investment in this movie. About the same as I had in Pirates of the Caribbean. So, looks like fun to me!
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
You didn't miss much. Like allot of cartoons we might have loved as children it doesn't hold up very well. The movie they did in the 80's wasn't too bad though. It had the odd distinction of being Orson Welles' final performance (or near as damnit.) Also it had Judd Nelson and Leonard Nimoy. Groovey.
I'm sure there's plenty of clips on youtube if you want a giggle.
Posted by B.J. (Member # 858) on :
To me, it's kind of like the Superman phenomenon - the concept is cool enough to surpass the relative cheesiness of any of its incarnations.
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
However, the studio is pressuring to use "name" actors (hence Weaving) so I'm guessing it'll be someone we know.
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