A Video Game Star and His Less-Than-Stellar Pay

Michael Hollick never thought his big break would come in a video game.

"Obviously I'm incredibly thankful to Rockstar for the opportunity to be in this game when I was just a nobody, an unknown quantity," Mr. Hollick, 35, said last week over dinner in Willamsburg, Brooklyn, shortly after performing in the aerial theater show "Fuerzabruta" in Union Square. "But it's tough, when you see Grand Theft Auto IV out there as the biggest thing going right now, when they're making hundreds of millions of dollars, and we don't see any of it. I don't blame Rockstar. I blame our union for not having the agreements in place to protect the creative people who drive the sales of these games. Yes, the technology is important, but it's the human performances within them that people really connect to, and I hope actors will get more respect for the work they do within those technologies."

[Time Lord]

just reading scripts and got $100k for it but he wants more?! How about the programmers, animators, ect who worked on this day and night for past 3 years, how much should they ask for? His probably getting more then them.

[jvsantos]

I agree.

The people that really worked the hardest are probably getting the least out of it. Maybe the little stock they own for their company goes up and hopefully they earn an extra $2,000 or something. The way these things are set up all the money goes to people who already have the money.

Who is this guy and why do I care what he earned? Anyone could've done that job.

[PirateThom]

100,000 for 15 months?

Sign me up, I can talk with a Yugoslavian accent.

[Excalibur]

Try digging a ditch for 10 hours a day for 8 bucks an hr. and stop complaining.

You sat on your A$$ in some air conditioned studio reciting lines from a script, probably for a few hrs a day and a few days a week while people fell all over you telling you how great you are and bringing you milk and cookies.

Be lucky you got the break you got, this could lead to tons more money for you.

Pity poor me...jerk. Boo Hoo

I don't feel sorry for you.

I am so sick of these people thinking they deserve more money when something does well.
Are you gonna make up the losses on a game that doesn't do well?

In the Article it says
"the general guild-negotiated rate for actors is around $730 a day. Mr. Hollick said he had been paid about 50 percent more than the standard rate, or about $1,050 a day."

$1,050.00 a day and you are complaining?!? WTF!?!

You did a job, you got paid now shut your mouth and be happy you got what you got.

[You bought an Xbox]

I get paid more than that for saying " Ha Ha "!!!!

Ha Ha

Get a better Agent Looser

Ha Ha

Just think of what Homer get's for saying " Doh "

Ha Ha

[PS360WII]

I posted this on a dup but here we go ^^

He's got a point. As the gaming industry grows into a bigger and bigger money maker the voices in them will want more just like the writers guild wanted money for DVD and internet sales.

If the gaming world wants to be taken into heart like movies and TV they will also be taxed like them as well.

[Time Lord]

whereas not everyone can act or sing.

[Excalibur]

I helped build a new Super Walmart in area that made it tons of profit and I was on that job for six months so I deserve a percentage of all the profit it makes.

You are an employee, you got paid, that's how the world works.

Get used to it.

[PS360WII]

You guys aren't understanding the industry. This is nothing similar to a store employee. This is someone whos acting made the character real and made the game better. This is in the same league as the acting guild. You as an actor are paid for your performance on the project and if you are in TV you get paid for all the times it's on TV and re-runs and if you are a movie star some get a piece of the pie as well. This is how it works in the realm of entertainment. It's a different world then your retail stores!

The voice in the game makes it as real as the guy who made the polygons of the character.

[adalwolfe]

well, acting isn't that easy honestly.. mocap and voice. But still he made 100,000 bucks for 1 year of work, thats probably twice as much as the programmers or animators and their jobs are not easy either! not to mention the recognition he gets from this job.

For him to think that 'his' work is what sold the game is completely wrong, it wasn't the voice acting that sold previous grand theft autos, not so much as the gameplay/graphics anyway. When I went to the store to buy GTA4, I wasn't like "yes, this game is going to have such awesome acting".. i bought it for the gameplay, the designers/coders are the hereos of this story, not the actors.

oh well actors typically have an inflated sense of self importance, it is the problem of our idolizing society/media i suppose.. I hope it does not penetrate into the gaming world.. an actor shouldn't make millions to make a movie.. or a game for that matter.. 100-200k is more then enough.. I don't care how famous or beautiful they are..