June 10, 2005
LOS ANGELES — Movies like "Madagascar" and "Shrek" have been hits at the box office, and it can't be denied that much of the movies' praise has been for the voice over talent behind the 'toons.
There was a time when the voices behind the cartoons were unfamiliar. But today, high-profile actors are eager to raid the animated gold mine.
"Nowadays, you can be unbelievable and you still won't get a job in an animated cartoon, 'cause you have to be a celebrity now," Billy West, a voice-over artist, told FOX News.
As celebrities bask in the limelight, professional voice actors are being left out in the cartoon cold. The star appeal of celebrity voices is simply selling tickets at a rate that other voice actors can't compete with.
Providing voices for animated films may be a nice way for actors to capitalize on their fame. But the A-listers say it's not just about the money and publicity that come with these films. It's also about sharing their voice over talent with a G-rated audience.
Source: foxnews.com
June 06, 2005
'Madagascar' Boots the 'Sith'
LOS ANGELES — A talking lion became king of the box office as the animated tale "Madagascar" climbed to the No. 1 spot with $28.7 million in its second weekend.
At No. 2 was Adam Sandler's football remake "The Longest Yard," which took in $26.1 million in its second weekend. In third was "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith," which grossed $26 million in its third weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.
"Madagascar," featuring the voice of Ben Stiller as a zoo lion returned to the wild, debuted at No. 2 a week earlier and took over first-place from "Revenge of the Sith," which had held the top spot for two weekends.
While those three holdovers remained strong draws, the weekend's new movies debuted quietly, contributing to Hollywood's 15th-straight weekend of declining revenues compared to last year.
The top 12 movies grossed a solid $128.3 million, yet that was off 30 percent from the same weekend in 2004, when "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" opened with $93.7 million.
Ron Howard's "Cinderella Man," starring Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger in the story of Depression-era boxer Jim Braddock, led the newcomers, debuting at No. 4 with $18.6 million.
Source: foxnews.com
May 24, 2005
'Ali G.' Steals the Show in 'Madagascar'
"Madagascar" is full of comedians, from Chris Rock and Ben Stiller to Cedric the Entertainer and Andy Richter.
But the breakout star, test audiences agree, is Sasha Baron Cohen -- the man behind outrageous HBO talk-show host Ali G.
While all the actors improvised lines in the studio, Cohen -- who voices King Julien, king of the lemurs -- was the recording booth cutup.
"We gave him one little line and he would just go off on it for eight or 10 minutes, which was just the funniest thing you'd ever hear," says writer/director Tom McGrath.
"When they're all hiding in the bushes, and Julien's going, 'Shh, we're hiding. Who's making that noise? Oh, it's me again.' That was all on the fly.
"There's no time in the film to put it all in, and sometimes it would go off into areas where maybe you couldn't go, but it was always really entertaining and stretched the boundaries," McGrath says.
Source: foxnews.com
