No G1 voice actors in upcoming TF movie?

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Nevermore
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Nu G1 voice actors in upcoming TF movie?

Post by Nevermore »

Interview with producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura:

http://www.iesb.net/dreamworks2005/072405.php
IESB: Is the Transformers movie going stay true to the comics and the very well known Gen 1 cartoons and storyline?

di Bonaventura: We are going to stay true to the Transformers.

IESB: How much did the John Rogers script change or was it a complete rewrite?

di Bonaventura: It will be a completely different movie and it is a completely different script.

IESB: Don Murphy has been very vocal of his desire of using some of the original voice over actors such as Frank Welker and Peter Cullen in the film, do you, Spielberg and Bay feel the same?

di Bonaventura: No, I don't believe that is going to happen, I don't know why you would want the original voice over actors. Here you go, this is going to be the process, we are going to meet a lot of people for the voice over's and those guy's might end up being it but making the assumption going in [that the original actors will be used] is I think kind of silly actually. I think people want the best actors to do it. The best Optimus Prime and the best you know, all these characters, you know you want , hmm, I understand I grew up with them too, so you want to be true to characters. I think what's important is being true to them. I don't think being true to them means in literally using the same voice over actors. Some of those guys are TV cartoon guy's. I want get better characters if we can. Some of them might be able to do that and some may not, I am sure that they will get the opportunity.

IESB: Michael Bay has said that the Transformers will be shot 100% in the gold ole U.S.A., is that still the plan?

di Bonaventura: Yes, I think that will be the case.
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Post by Heinrad »

But..... Cullen is the best Optimus Prime. Why would I shell out 8 bucks to see a movie with Gary Chalk playing Prime when I can watch Cybertron? Or reruns of Armada or Energon, for that matter?
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Post by Jaynz »

IESB: Is the Transformers movie going stay true to the comics and the very well known Gen 1 cartoons and storyline?

Translated Answer: No

IESB: How much did the John Rogers script change or was it a complete rewrite?

Translated Answer: Complete rewrite. It sucked, but we wanted to find ways to highlight our actors, not those stupid toys.

IESB: Don Murphy has been very vocal of his desire of using some of the original voice over actors such as Frank Welker and Peter Cullen in the film, do you, Spielberg and Bay feel the same?

Translated Answer: God no! We want 'sellable names'. Look for Brad Pitt to play Bumblebee, and other super-stars to phone in their bad voice work!

IESB: Michael Bay has said that the Transformers will be shot 100% in the gold ole U.S.A., is that still the plan?

Translated Answer: That's the plan, until we don't want to do it to save some cash, or we want to spend money stupidly on location shots.
I get a sinking feeling more and more about this movie, and am now firmly in the 'please, God, don't let this actually be made' camp. I mean, these guys obviously don't LIKE Transformers.. they just want to cash in on the nostalgia...
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Post by Ghirox »

Originally posted by TFVanguard
I get a sinking feeling more and more about this movie, and am now firmly in the 'please, God, don't let this actually be made' camp. I mean, these guys obviously don't LIKE Transformers.. they just want to cash in on the nostalgia...


Unfortunately, i have to agree with this .... for that matter, Don Murphy don't like US, te transformer fans .... :(
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Post by Cyberstrike nTo »

I would rather have Chalk playing Sparkplug Whiticky (he reminded so much of that character in Freddy vs Jason) and Cullen
doing the voice of Optimus Prime. Besides it's a double bonus for
the fans.
But frankly I want Micheal Bay removed the director's chair more than anything.
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Post by Springer007 »

I tend to agree with you all. Hi I am new, but I have been a transformers fan ever since i was a wee lad. The director does seem to just want to make money through the good memories that the first movie accomplished so durned well. It is extremely difficult in my book, however, to replace the man who did the voice of Unicron originally, Orson Welles. Then a rewrite of the original story?? It sounds like another corny Hollywood remake like Bewtiched, Dukes of Hazzard, Herbie, etc. that some of us loathe to pieces and wish to destroy with many ballpeen hammers. Was there not some mention earlier that the original movie was under-appreciated? I do not see how that is possible really because thats when the series really did their durned best in colors, character animation, etc. On none of the original voice actors being used :wall: by Odin's big fluffy raven Batman this movie will be a dissapointment like Transformers: Armada and Cybertron have been somewhat dissapointments for me (please msn me for me to explain my feelings on those because they are long and drawn out). Thankyou all for having this forum to post one's feelings on this. :D
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Post by Jetfire426 »

thats crap if they don't use Cullen and Welker... get as many as the OG voices as they can.. with this.. i can see some problems...
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Post by Nevermore »

Originally posted by Jetfire426
thats crap if they don't use Cullen and Welker... get as many as the OG voices as they can.. with this.. i can see some problems...


I never understood this. What's so hot about some guy that voiced a cartoon character 20 years ago? What did he do better that another voice actor, who's giving it a fresh approach, can't ever do no matter how much he tries?
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Post by Bingo1 »

For. The. Love. Of. The. Wee. Man.

How can you fear for the quality of the film based on the fact that they're not going to use the G1 voice actors?

Look chaps, what's wrong here? Sure it would be nice if the original voice actors were chosen for the new film, but in what possible way could not using them be seen as an insult? It's time to get away from what was, frankly, not a very good cartoon show. I'm sure everyone involved in it were lovely, talented people, but can we please, please, just move on here and see how these things develop?


I'm looking forward to it whatever anyone says.
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Post by RID Scourge »

Oh no! My world is coming to an end! We're all gonna die because Welker and Cullen aren't going to do the voice of cartoon characters!

Seriously, I'd rather see it go to Chalk/Kaye because they've had more Prime/Megs experience, and I think current voice actors (who have been with this franchise since Beast Wars, for the most part) should get first dibs, but if they don't want to cast them, that's the movie maker's prerogative.

As long as they get people, who sound good, and the story's good, I'm sold.
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Post by Jetfire426 »

the reason for me wanting the OG guys.. is the fact that i grew up with them as a kid.. and would like to see them replay the role... i know for a fact that i'm not the only one that thinks like this... thats just my 2 cents
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Post by Transfannabeel »

I don't really care too much if it is Cullen or Welker doing the voice, as long as whoever does it does a good job.
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Post by Bountyhunter »

i AGREE WITH NEVERMORE. PLEASE STOP WHINING! He said that they would look for the best voice for the part. Translation Sean connrey( or however he spells his name) will not play prime, or other casting explosions of sheer abject stupidity. Speilburg has a tendency to have good casting in all of his films. Calm down. Geesh. By the way with ilm doing the effects (as soon as the confirm it) we all no that this is going to be absolutely incredible anyway. I prefer orginal voice (back on subject as do most of you) but if they find that someone can play the part better maybe with all of those year experience they could be right lets wait and see. Not panic and scream and whine at the drop of a hat.
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Post by Nevermore »

Originally posted by Jetfire426
the reason for me wanting the OG guys.. is the fact that i grew up with them as a kid.. and would like to see them replay the role... i know for a fact that i'm not the only one that thinks like this... thats just my 2 cents


Did Batman Begins suck because they didn't cast Adam West as Batman?

For that matter... G1 season 3 SUCKED. They replaced Nimoy with lame Welker.

Eat this, fanboys.
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Post by Jaynz »

Originally posted by RID Scourge
Oh no! My world is coming to an end! We're all gonna die because Welker and Cullen aren't going to do the voice of cartoon characters!


No, I think the movie's going to suck because it appears that the principals involved don't want anything more than a few names, and the idea of transforming robots, to make their movie - and that's it.

This is a nostalgia cash-in piece, and little more than that. If it manages to be on par with Godzilla or Armageddon, I'll be incredibly (but pleasantly) surprised. I expect, however, that this will be a dog like Mars Attacks, the Punisher (Lundgren version), or Highlander II.
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Post by Orion1 »

I personally would like to see Cullen and Welker back providing the voices for their respective characters, because for me, they were, and still are the definitive Optimus Prime and Megatron. I still like Gary Chalk and David Kaye, but for me Peter Cullen always seemed to make Optimus seem more human to me, and Frank Welker always sounded evil and cunning to me. I know the world won't end if Cullen and Welker don't provide the voices, but it would be a nice homage to the millions of Transformers fans out there, who grew up listening to these two outstanding actors. I admit it took me awhile to get used to Chalk and Kaye providing the voices in Beast Wars, but after awhile, they grew on me, who's not to say that whoever ends up providing the voices for Prime and Megatron don't do an equally good job as the actors I mentioned? There's only one way to find out fellow Transfans. Go and watch it. That's how I'll find out.
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Post by Nevermore »

Originally posted by TFVanguard
No, I think the movie's going to suck because it appears that the principals involved don't want anything more than a few names, and the idea of transforming robots, to make their movie - and that's it.


And this is different from any comic book movie adaption how exactly?

They didn't use Nicholas Hammond as Spider-Man. They used Tobey Maguire.

They didn't use Adam West as Batman. They used Michael Keaton (okay), Val Kilmer (erm), George Clooney (IRKS) and now Christian Bale (WOW!).

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Simple as that.
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Post by RID Scourge »

Originally posted by TFVanguard
No, I think the movie's going to suck because it appears that the principals involved don't want anything more than a few names, and the idea of transforming robots, to make their movie - and that's it.


Ah, so you want a clone of the original cartoon, then?

I'm glad they're not going to make it the same. I want a new story, and maybe these guys can give a fresh perspective. So far, we know nothing about this movie, other than the fact that they want different voice actors, and you guys are all-ready going on about how much it will suck (not that it can do much worse than your beloved cartoon did).
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Post by Heinrad »

Mainly, I want Cullen and Welker simply because they haven't voiced the characters in so long. Nothing against Chalk and Kaye, but with the exception of Car Robots/RID, they've been voicing Op and Megs(in one form or another) for about 10 years now. Yes, for a half hour cartoon, getting Cullen and Welker(who probably aren't as cost effective to hire as they used to be), it's better for the budget to hire the newer guys.

Unfortunately for Chalk and Kaye, they've been saddled with ADR stuff(I'm guessing Mainframe did the "put actors in room, let them record together" thing), and to be brutally honest Armada didn't impress me, Energon was good for a nostalgia kick(but little else), and the one ep I've seen of Cybertron isn't getting my hopes up. Would I watch if they shelled out the money for Cullen and Welker? Probably not.

But if they're going to make a movie based on G1, then they should use the G1 cast, where they can. For the parts they'd need to fill......

Get, say, Jeremy Irons to play Starscream. Hearing Starscream as a cold and calculating schemer would be neat, I think.

Pierce Brosnan to play Nightbeat.

Denzel Washington to play Jazz.

Judd Nelson to play Hot Rod.(I don't think he's been in anything for a while....)

But you see my point. Getting, say, Ben Affleck to play Prime, while you have the name draw, isn't going to work on the group this movie's being unintentionally aimed at.

Edit: And I thought Season 3 sucked, too.......
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Post by Nevermore »

Originally posted by Heinrad
But you see my point. Getting, say, Ben Affleck to play Prime, while you have the name draw, isn't going to work on the group this movie's being unintentionally aimed at.


... you mean the X million people who have no clue who "Peter Cullen" and "Frank Welker" are?
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