So you may have seen Chris Rock present the Best Animated Feature at last week’s Academy Awards (I did not, sleep was more important to me at that stage of the day), and you may have noticed that he apparently loves doing voice work in animation. If you didn’t see it, the clip is here, but before you click, please take a moment to admire the idiocy of the Academy for putting it online but disabling embedding.
What I’m sure Chris meant by all of this was to slag off the live-action folks who go into animation thinking that it’s an easy gig. We’ve all seen it before, where in the “making of” you hear said actor gush about how they can show up to work in jeans or shorts or hotpants or whatever. The only problem is that Rock comes off as a bit self-congratulatory when he mentions he earns a million dollars.
What you may not have seen or heard was the aftermath of his speech, which took place over on twitter in the days following the awards, when respected tv and game voice-actors Tara Strong and Maurice LaMarche had this to say.
Batman: Arkham City actor Tara Strong argues against AI acting by sharing the powerful emotions she experienced while playing Harley Quinn.
"Can AI cry?"
Yes, yes it can. Train it with enough people actually crying and it'll imitate crying like the best of em
You know what's funny about all this, when people try to tell others that "tech can go too far" nobody listens and they say they're just fearmongering
But when it potentially puts their jobs and/or livelihood at risk, THEN they see the problem.
Tara Strong, the popular voice actress known for playing Harley Quinn in the later Arkham games, Injustice: Gods Among Us and Lego Dimensions as well as playing Batgirl in Batman: The Animated Series and Batman: The Killing Joke, decided to hit the convention yesterday cosplaying as Harley from Arkham Knight.
This is amazing
Much better then the one in the upcoming film...THIS is Harley Quinn, she could have provided the voice and she actually looks the part.
Why didn't they use that kind of design in the film instead of the Las Vegas pole dancer look.
There kind it is
It's now how "hot" she looks over anything else and that's not what Harley as a character is about. She has sex appeal but it was never full on in your face, it was her actions and what she was like as a psychotic character
She looks like a new Vegas stripper/pole dancer and the Joker looks like a Marilyn Manson pimp.
@fox
And this costume doesn't do the same? You know the whole "sexy nurse look" cause that's how the costume originated to a degree. She even wore a nurse hat that had to plus replaced with an H.
It's funny you say it was never full in your face, yet this costume is arguably the one that put more sexualization on her. It was always light with the jester costume, though that's very debatable to (pudding scene in the animated series, and all her rubbing against batman)
Its funny you say that this costume is the harley quinn when the majority of people grew up with the classic jester one.
Joker looks fine to, very close to his End game joker
Nitro has gone and made a good point...so we'll never hear from Fox in this discussion again.
Same, I always thought he could pull it off, but I'm glad he played trap master in the 1st generation of flash, and then played him in the new one, which was extremely joker like
@scatpants
I heard the same thing both when Jack Nicholson and Heath Leddger were cast, so I'm not sure about that.
@gangsta_red
No, just no. A lead role in one of the greatest movie trilogies of all time, the trilogy with so much influence among the movie industry and changed the science fiction genre forever.
@Deadpooled
And you truly believe Mark Hamill had anything to do with that?
If that were true then what iconic movies and great acting jobs has he had or been in since?
Because he didn't have the star power to really get people to go see him. He's famous, but not in the same league in terms of box office draw as Nicholson. Ledger had his own draw, and not as much as Nicholson, but still more than Hammil has really gotten in a long time.
Unfortunately, people just see him as Luke Skywalker. He's a good actor, and a phenomenal voice actor, and the part of the Joker isn't really about the looks, rather the personality. Nicholson, Ledger, and even Ceasar Romero back in the old series, all had different looks, but brought different aspects to the forefront. There is no reason that Hammil couldn't pull it off IMO, but he may be getting a bit too old now to play a younger character like that.
OTOH, given that comic book fans also tend to be Star Wars fans, it's likely they wouldn't mind him playing the part, since I've never heard anyone criticize his voice performance in the part.
@gangsta
I believe Lucas is terrible at directing good actors. Hammil is a good actor. Not the greatest, although arguably he is one of the better voice actors out there, but one would be hard pressed to see his acting ability in anything that Lucas directed. I mean, Lucas had some of the best actors in Hollywood give some of their most wooden and worst performances in their careers in the prequels...if that puts things in perspective. Even Harrison Ford and Carrie Fischer had weak performances in the original series compared to their other work, despite Ford being the best part of the original films.
For the time Star Wars originally released though, Hammil's performance was in no way bad, and was not uncommon form for the day.
@gangsta red
He had an award winning role in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back as Cockknocker. Lol
He also does the voice of skips on the Regular Show. (I had no clue of this). Outstanding voice actor but fill in his film role with anyone else and you get the same performance.
Are you for real? This cos player has half her chest out yet you're saying the Suicide Squad version is the one that looks like a stripper? Right...
Wouldn't bother, she is aimed at teenage boys. Yes, she is overlysexualised in the new film but in terms of how she is as a female character in general: Harley has always been awful; she is a rape victim who has falled for her captor.
Teenage biys are downvoting you and telling you that you are wrong and there are far too many for you to deal with, ignore it.
Umm... she's not THE voice. Arlene Sorkin will always be Harley.
Now Tara does look amazing. Especially considering she's in her she's 43. But Margo is a different Harley and that's fine. One has her boobs out and the other is wearing tiny shorts....whatever... it all works
She looks great in Suicide Squad, you're not one of "those" people are you? :/
https://ladygeekgirl.files....
All they really changed was they removed the thigh high boots. Truthfully while she shows her legs more, she has less of her chest exposed in the movie.
Am I the only one who thought the girl who played Harley in the first Arkham sounded waaayy better?
That's because the voice actress from the first Arkham was the Original Harley Quinn's voice.
Nathan Misa of MMGN.com discusses and lists some of the most prolific and versatile voice actors that bring many of our favourite video game characters to life.
Troy Baker but no Nolan North
Nathan Drake
Dead Pool
Adventure Sphere
Space Sphere
The Penguin
David (The Last of Us)
If thats not being versatile then I don't know what is, he seems like a more well rounded voice actor then Troy in my opinion
Nolan needs to be on that list. He has such range. I didn't even know he was David in Last of US until I saw his name in the credits.
Agreed. The problem with Nolan North is, after Uncharted, I feel like everyone wanted him to do his "drake" voice, because of how well that went over, so everyone always hears that voice.
But if given the freedom, I feel he has one of the broadest ranges in voice acting.
Ex. David from the Last of Us.
I'm always happy to see articles giving video game voice actors the respect they deserve. Great to see two of my favorites Troy Baker and Tara Strong made the list.
I think what developers should be doing is auditions with people who would work on the cheap. It would save tons on costs, and liven the atmosphere in game. It's always nice to hear new voices.
A Zebra is all he can play lol....I'm not a fan of his voice, and wasn't really a fan of a lot of what he did. To say it was easy and doesn't take talent is extremely disrespectful. Go put him on a production of a video game where he has to say 500 lines along with groans and other noises. Bet he changes his mind, just make sure that game isn't something i want to buy....
Also lets here him actually change his voice....
What a pointless article! Can't believe I actually read it.
This isn't gaming news.
wow i feel bad for people that didn't find that remotely funny. Unfortunately for you, your sense of humor is limited. The best sense of humor is a flexible and unbiased one.
Dont take a joke personally, but whatever im glad it didnt offend me. I like laughing more then being offended.
Dont be mad because you took the seriousness instead of the humor lol look at all the actors, actresses/ voice actors laughing in the crowd they know whats up.
only people taking offence are probably full time voice actors that dont realize the complexity of having to say the exact same lines while looking believable.
do the math serious people if your a professional actor/actress chances are voice acting will be easier and less stressful. not to mention kids arent as harsh when it comes to criticizing so the pressure lower.
I love Tara Strong. At least she took the humorous route.
No, voice acting is not easy. Not as a primary job, especially if you've got more than one voice (which Chris Rock does not have). Not when you've got hundreds or thousands of lines of dialogue, possibly on multiple projects at once.
But the whole thing was meant to be funny, not taken seriously in the slightest.