pannoni1
10-03-2011, 11:38 AM
You may have seen on the General Discussion a thread of some of the original cast/crew from the Fred Wolf series from the late Ninja Turtles Network. Here, I find the VA of Michelangelo from the 2003 version for those who missed out.
Hello Mr.Wayne Grayson, I'm assuming you've seen the talk online about the 'Batman' connection in your name. Coincidence? . Anyway, one of the
things I never cared for in the original show, was the surfer talk they gave the character of Michaelangelo. The Cowabungaing was OK. But the
Dudes, the Holy Guacamoles, and 'Fellow Dudes', + other sayings got old after a while. Was there a conscious effort to stay away from that in the
new series? OR are you just itching to throw in a few of those old lines during recording sessions? Mike is my 3rd favorite turtle in the new series, because I'm a bit of a goof myself, and would also be upset if my DVD collection got trashed in a Mouser invasion on my house.
Yeah, of course I've heard the Batman connection. My dad (whose name, oddly enough, is Richard Grayson) was a big Bats fan growing up and my mother is exceedingly tolerant, I guess. Never read any discussions on the internet though. Not sure where to look-let me know.
Mike was always my favorite growing up, but I wasn't all that happy with the surfer aspect myself. At the auditions, they showed us clips from the first live-action film as prototypes, but we've since evolved as Sue and the writers are working with each VAs particular strengths. Personally, I'm happy that we're shying away from "Cowabunga" in the new show. It seems too mired in the 80's. I do like when the word is cut-off, usually by Raph, since that sends a message that this show is different from previous ones. Plus, it's funny. So, yeah, I think it has been the plan all along to steer clear of certain elements that might be considered too much like the original show or too dated anyway. "3rd favorite turtle"? Come on, Neil!
Question 2: From Toni: "This question is for Wayne Grayson. In Shredder Strikes Back part 1, how did you make that loud burp, that Michelangelo did?"
I'll add to that by saying, Lots of soda before hand?
Well, Toni. It shames me to say it, but I have a stunt burper. I can't do that on cue, and even if I could, it would be nowhere NEAR as disturbing as Mike Sinterniklaas' amazing gaseous powers. What his technique is, I don't know.
From the mailing list....3)'The TMNT source book from Toys "R" Us says Mikey is learning the guitar, but we haven't seen him do that yet. If that's true, and we see him play, will he also sing? I've neverheard him sing before (other than the Coming Out of Their Shells Tour), and I wonder if he really can.'
Thus far, it hasn't come up. We're about four episodes into season 2 and I haven't had to sing yet. That's not to say I wouldn't. Lord knows I've had to do stranger things. Incidentally, Frank does a killer "Jenny From The Block" in Raph's voice... seriously.
4)I was doing my research, and saw that you provided a voice for Ultraman Tiga, a Power Rangers type show, if Imdb.com is to be beleived. What are the pro's and cons of dubbing a Japanese live action show? When voicing the character, is there alawys a conscious effort to try and not have what I like to call 'The Speed Racer Effect'? Where the characters have to speek so fast in order to fit in all the words to match the mouth movement?
Imdb is dead-on. I played Daigo in Ultraman. There are, obviously, immense differences between dubbing anime and dubbing live-action stuff. With Ultraman, it seemed as if they intended for the show to be dubbed as they were filming it. There were many scenes where the actors' faces were obscured by helmets or masks, and oftentimes, certain scenes were shot entirely from the backs of the actors. In that regard, dubbing was a snap-no lip flap. On the other hand, as opposed to animated characters, actual human actors have far more subtlety and nuances to their facial expressions and gestures which makes conveying emotion solely through vocals more difficult. That being said, it's much more fun dubbing anime, if only for the license to go completely nuts. (Watch any episode of Ultimate Muscle to see what I'm talkin' about.) I don't particularly enjoy live-action dubbing, but a gig's a gig
5)In the original series, Michaelangelo's Voice actor managed to voice a few other characters on the show, including a replacement voice for Shredder for half a season. Since the credits are so darned small, it's tough to tell who's voiced what minor character. Have you provided any other voices for the shows guest characters? And if so, what are some of the challenges in 'disguising your voice', and coming up with a whole new sound for another character?
Those credits do fly right by, don't they? Other than the Turtles, Splinter, Shredder, April and Casey, I don't think any other characters are listed next to the actors' names in the credits, so you ain't missing much. Most of us play other small roles. All the Foot ninja are us turtles as well as several sundry punks, cops, monsters and homeless people in "The Garbageman".
I was Razorfist for both the show and the videogame. Pretty much, to differentiate from Mikey, I try to speak in a lower register and get rid of the gravel. But, it depends on the role. Frequently, when we rehearse, we get to examine character designs and storyboards and shape a voice from the sketches. Sue Blu is great at getting us to find voices that we wouldn't normally think would be in our range. Also, voices evolve from us just messing around in the booth.
6)I've noticed that along with Mike Polluck, you have also done some announcing for the shows on Fox Box. I don't know if you've done any contest promos, but has there been any talk for a contest that older fans can enter? Many aspiring artists where dissapointed that the last contest had an age limit, including myself who would love to of added a 3D turtle or mouser to the submission list .
I've done some promo work, as have all the other Turtles, in Mikey's voice and as a straight-on announcer. The only contest promos I've done have been for the recent "Awesome Art" contest. There's really not that much involvement in planning the contests on the actors' part. As far as that age limit thing goes, well, the company is called 4Kids after all.
7)Are there any other Mike themed episodes set for Season 1? Or what has been recorded for Season 2? Since poor Mike had his chucks taken away from him in the original show because of the UK board of conduct, it would be interseting to have an ep based on how he chose the chucks for a weapon
or something..
Beyond the Turtle Titan episode, I can't recall another Mikey-centric episode. Towards the end of Season 1, most episodes are multi-part ones with bigger storylines. Without spoiling anything, Season 2 so far has been composed of one super-long plot with the spotlight shining equally on everyone (well, maybe not Splinter so much...). I agree that a storyline concerning the turtles' choice of weapons would be killer, plus I've often wondered how they replace lost swords and sais. Bos and the chucks are fairly easy to make, but katanas?
8)Have you read many of the original Mirage Comics? Is there a particular story, or 'guest character' from those issues that you'd like to take a crack at? I'm also curious to see who will be voicing the Utroms. Judging from the series Finale title, I'm assuming they may make an appearance in the final 2 episodes... </pre>
At some point in the first 20 or so issues of the original Mirage series, there was a group of superhero-types who reminded me of the Mystery Men. For the life of me, I can't remember their names (Metalhead was one, maybe?), but I think they'd be cool guest characters. Then maybe the Silver Sentry could return too. Where was he when we had all that Shredder trouble anyway? Like with the other ninjas, cops and various extras, us turtles provide some voices of the Utroms with Dan Green (of Yu-gi-Oh fame)
playing the lead Utrom.
9)Now that I think of it, the Raph Micro Series One shot has been animated in the form of Meet Casey Jones. Leo one shot in the form of 'Shredder Strikes Back PT1'. The Donatello one shot in 'The King'. When is Mike going to get his due and have his one shot animated? Has there been any talk about this? It would make the perfect 'Christmas in New York' type theme, perhaps with a few cool new scenes added showing NY off at Christmas time.
Yeah, yeah, YEAH!!! Where is the adaptation of the Mikey one-shot? I loved that comic! It might've been the first turtle comic I ever bought. That would be a great episode for the holidays. Don't know if it's in the cards, but we only started season 2 recently, so it could well be on the way.
10)Don't want to take too much of your time schedule up, so I'll keep it limited to 10 questions each. Are any of you involved in the writing process of the show? As time goes by, surley you must really start to get to know your characters inside out. Do the writers ask for suggestions for certain scenes if they suddenly come up with writers block? Or do you think that you or your fellow cast members might be allowed to write a new one
shot episode focused soley on your character?
None of us have written a show, nor have we been asked. We do tweak dialogue sometimes in rehearsals if there's an out-of-character line in the script, but that rarely happens. There's not much direct communication between the writers and the actors and so far there haven't been any cases of writers' block, but I suspect that on occasion they write certain scenes or exchanges of dialogue that play to our particular strengths. Frank's wry delivery, Sam's proficiency with technobabble, Mike's leadership qualities, my impressions and energy.
Hello Mr.Wayne Grayson, I'm assuming you've seen the talk online about the 'Batman' connection in your name. Coincidence? . Anyway, one of the
things I never cared for in the original show, was the surfer talk they gave the character of Michaelangelo. The Cowabungaing was OK. But the
Dudes, the Holy Guacamoles, and 'Fellow Dudes', + other sayings got old after a while. Was there a conscious effort to stay away from that in the
new series? OR are you just itching to throw in a few of those old lines during recording sessions? Mike is my 3rd favorite turtle in the new series, because I'm a bit of a goof myself, and would also be upset if my DVD collection got trashed in a Mouser invasion on my house.
Yeah, of course I've heard the Batman connection. My dad (whose name, oddly enough, is Richard Grayson) was a big Bats fan growing up and my mother is exceedingly tolerant, I guess. Never read any discussions on the internet though. Not sure where to look-let me know.
Mike was always my favorite growing up, but I wasn't all that happy with the surfer aspect myself. At the auditions, they showed us clips from the first live-action film as prototypes, but we've since evolved as Sue and the writers are working with each VAs particular strengths. Personally, I'm happy that we're shying away from "Cowabunga" in the new show. It seems too mired in the 80's. I do like when the word is cut-off, usually by Raph, since that sends a message that this show is different from previous ones. Plus, it's funny. So, yeah, I think it has been the plan all along to steer clear of certain elements that might be considered too much like the original show or too dated anyway. "3rd favorite turtle"? Come on, Neil!
Question 2: From Toni: "This question is for Wayne Grayson. In Shredder Strikes Back part 1, how did you make that loud burp, that Michelangelo did?"
I'll add to that by saying, Lots of soda before hand?
Well, Toni. It shames me to say it, but I have a stunt burper. I can't do that on cue, and even if I could, it would be nowhere NEAR as disturbing as Mike Sinterniklaas' amazing gaseous powers. What his technique is, I don't know.
From the mailing list....3)'The TMNT source book from Toys "R" Us says Mikey is learning the guitar, but we haven't seen him do that yet. If that's true, and we see him play, will he also sing? I've neverheard him sing before (other than the Coming Out of Their Shells Tour), and I wonder if he really can.'
Thus far, it hasn't come up. We're about four episodes into season 2 and I haven't had to sing yet. That's not to say I wouldn't. Lord knows I've had to do stranger things. Incidentally, Frank does a killer "Jenny From The Block" in Raph's voice... seriously.
4)I was doing my research, and saw that you provided a voice for Ultraman Tiga, a Power Rangers type show, if Imdb.com is to be beleived. What are the pro's and cons of dubbing a Japanese live action show? When voicing the character, is there alawys a conscious effort to try and not have what I like to call 'The Speed Racer Effect'? Where the characters have to speek so fast in order to fit in all the words to match the mouth movement?
Imdb is dead-on. I played Daigo in Ultraman. There are, obviously, immense differences between dubbing anime and dubbing live-action stuff. With Ultraman, it seemed as if they intended for the show to be dubbed as they were filming it. There were many scenes where the actors' faces were obscured by helmets or masks, and oftentimes, certain scenes were shot entirely from the backs of the actors. In that regard, dubbing was a snap-no lip flap. On the other hand, as opposed to animated characters, actual human actors have far more subtlety and nuances to their facial expressions and gestures which makes conveying emotion solely through vocals more difficult. That being said, it's much more fun dubbing anime, if only for the license to go completely nuts. (Watch any episode of Ultimate Muscle to see what I'm talkin' about.) I don't particularly enjoy live-action dubbing, but a gig's a gig
5)In the original series, Michaelangelo's Voice actor managed to voice a few other characters on the show, including a replacement voice for Shredder for half a season. Since the credits are so darned small, it's tough to tell who's voiced what minor character. Have you provided any other voices for the shows guest characters? And if so, what are some of the challenges in 'disguising your voice', and coming up with a whole new sound for another character?
Those credits do fly right by, don't they? Other than the Turtles, Splinter, Shredder, April and Casey, I don't think any other characters are listed next to the actors' names in the credits, so you ain't missing much. Most of us play other small roles. All the Foot ninja are us turtles as well as several sundry punks, cops, monsters and homeless people in "The Garbageman".
I was Razorfist for both the show and the videogame. Pretty much, to differentiate from Mikey, I try to speak in a lower register and get rid of the gravel. But, it depends on the role. Frequently, when we rehearse, we get to examine character designs and storyboards and shape a voice from the sketches. Sue Blu is great at getting us to find voices that we wouldn't normally think would be in our range. Also, voices evolve from us just messing around in the booth.
6)I've noticed that along with Mike Polluck, you have also done some announcing for the shows on Fox Box. I don't know if you've done any contest promos, but has there been any talk for a contest that older fans can enter? Many aspiring artists where dissapointed that the last contest had an age limit, including myself who would love to of added a 3D turtle or mouser to the submission list .
I've done some promo work, as have all the other Turtles, in Mikey's voice and as a straight-on announcer. The only contest promos I've done have been for the recent "Awesome Art" contest. There's really not that much involvement in planning the contests on the actors' part. As far as that age limit thing goes, well, the company is called 4Kids after all.
7)Are there any other Mike themed episodes set for Season 1? Or what has been recorded for Season 2? Since poor Mike had his chucks taken away from him in the original show because of the UK board of conduct, it would be interseting to have an ep based on how he chose the chucks for a weapon
or something..
Beyond the Turtle Titan episode, I can't recall another Mikey-centric episode. Towards the end of Season 1, most episodes are multi-part ones with bigger storylines. Without spoiling anything, Season 2 so far has been composed of one super-long plot with the spotlight shining equally on everyone (well, maybe not Splinter so much...). I agree that a storyline concerning the turtles' choice of weapons would be killer, plus I've often wondered how they replace lost swords and sais. Bos and the chucks are fairly easy to make, but katanas?
8)Have you read many of the original Mirage Comics? Is there a particular story, or 'guest character' from those issues that you'd like to take a crack at? I'm also curious to see who will be voicing the Utroms. Judging from the series Finale title, I'm assuming they may make an appearance in the final 2 episodes... </pre>
At some point in the first 20 or so issues of the original Mirage series, there was a group of superhero-types who reminded me of the Mystery Men. For the life of me, I can't remember their names (Metalhead was one, maybe?), but I think they'd be cool guest characters. Then maybe the Silver Sentry could return too. Where was he when we had all that Shredder trouble anyway? Like with the other ninjas, cops and various extras, us turtles provide some voices of the Utroms with Dan Green (of Yu-gi-Oh fame)
playing the lead Utrom.
9)Now that I think of it, the Raph Micro Series One shot has been animated in the form of Meet Casey Jones. Leo one shot in the form of 'Shredder Strikes Back PT1'. The Donatello one shot in 'The King'. When is Mike going to get his due and have his one shot animated? Has there been any talk about this? It would make the perfect 'Christmas in New York' type theme, perhaps with a few cool new scenes added showing NY off at Christmas time.
Yeah, yeah, YEAH!!! Where is the adaptation of the Mikey one-shot? I loved that comic! It might've been the first turtle comic I ever bought. That would be a great episode for the holidays. Don't know if it's in the cards, but we only started season 2 recently, so it could well be on the way.
10)Don't want to take too much of your time schedule up, so I'll keep it limited to 10 questions each. Are any of you involved in the writing process of the show? As time goes by, surley you must really start to get to know your characters inside out. Do the writers ask for suggestions for certain scenes if they suddenly come up with writers block? Or do you think that you or your fellow cast members might be allowed to write a new one
shot episode focused soley on your character?
None of us have written a show, nor have we been asked. We do tweak dialogue sometimes in rehearsals if there's an out-of-character line in the script, but that rarely happens. There's not much direct communication between the writers and the actors and so far there haven't been any cases of writers' block, but I suspect that on occasion they write certain scenes or exchanges of dialogue that play to our particular strengths. Frank's wry delivery, Sam's proficiency with technobabble, Mike's leadership qualities, my impressions and energy.