He said in an interview last year that he basically has to keep working to pay for his last divorce, which hit him very hard financially:
In my 70th year I will still be spending two months a year doing work that is of no interest to me and which is probably slightly spiritually depleting in order to feed the beast. - John Cleese
Probably got a good chance of getting him on board then.
Sure. He could be Tim Curry's twin brother, as they go about being evil in spiffing English accents...
AGAIN with Tim Curry? Also, Cleese doesn't really play evil characters. Just some pretty insane ones. (Basil Fawlty, The French Insulter, Mr. Praline, etc.)
I found the best voice actor replacement if Michael J.Fox wasn't available!
it's Richard Steven Horvitz! aka, Raz from psychonauts
I've been replaying Psychonauts and I found his voice's similarity to MJ's voice unbelievable.
His voice's breaks, his expressions, ... it's like he IS Michael J.Fox!
He just have to change Raz's voice's tone a little bit so it appears older
I found the best voice actor replacement if Michael J.Fox wasn't available!
it's Richard Steven Horvitz! aka, Raz from psychonauts
I've been replaying Psychonauts and I found his voice's similarity to MJ's voice unbelievable.
His voice's breaks, his expressions, ... it's like he IS Michael J.Fox!
He just have to change Raz's voice's tone a little bit so it appears older
OMG! I forgot about him! It's pretty much perfect for Michael, and I'm betting he has a lot of free time on his schedule since Invader Zim and Billy and Mandy ended.
Well ... That's why you got me!
Milkman08: Reminder of the Forgotten!
Hey that sounds cool!
or
Milkman08: Dispenser of justice ; or Vanquisher of evi ... wait ... these sound familiar ... now where did I heard them before?
I'm betting he has a lot of free time on his schedule since Invader Zim and Billy and Mandy ended.
yeah I hope they can reach him before he takes another project, if Michael wasn't available of course...
AGAIN with Tim Curry? Also, Cleese doesn't really play evil characters. Just some pretty insane ones. (Basil Fawlty, The French Insulter, Mr. Praline, etc.)
ALWAYS TIM CURRY. By the way, if they ever introduce Doc Brown's brother, and don't use Tim Curry, I vote for Christopher Walken to play Doc Brown's brother.
GRE-ATE SCATT.
...
WAN-POINT TWANTY WAN JIGGYWHATS.
I just checked the blog post, yes it has a paragraph talking about that, but it's a little bit confusing ...
That's right, we got Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd to contribute their likenesses to the game so you're going to be getting the authentic Back to the Future experience.
In this sentence they say both MJ and CL are on board.but, in the next sentence;
You'll also be hearing the dulcet tones of Christopher Lloyd as he reprises his role as Hill Valley's local scientist.
they confirm CL's involvement for 2nd time without mentioning MJ ...
So, TT please make it clear whether MJ is involved or not ...
That's right, we got Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd to contribute their likenesses to the game so you're going to be getting the authentic Back to the Future experience. You'll also be hearing the dulcet tones of Christopher Lloyd as he reprises his role as Hill Valley's local scientist.
So they got likeness rights from both for the visual look of the characters, but character voice over is only from Chris Lloyd for now.
Huh, so by "their likenesses" they mean they will contribute their Look and Gestures (probably for animating?) not their voices ...
This is pretty common for movie licensed games. It's why you'll sometimes see video games based off movies where the main character from the movie looks drastically different in game.
For example, look at the Bourne Conspiracy game that came out a year or two ago. This....
is clearly not Matt Damon. Here is some of the backstory on why Matt Damon didn't want his likeness used in the game for anyone who cares....
Link
Thankfully, I doubt TTG would have any problems getting the rights to use the likenesses of any of the BttF actors. Particularly when they're working so closely with the original creators of the films.
Thankfully, I doubt TTG would have any problems getting the rights to use the likenesses of any of the BttF actors. Particularly when they're working so closely with the original creators of the films.
Actually I am very surprised they managed to get likeness rights from MJF. Through the early 90s till now, MJF or his people/agents have been reluctant to grant likeness rights to any of the BTTF merchandise. That is why we don't have BTTF action figures, statues etc. Michael probably didn't want to commercialize his image too much, especially with BTTF.
Eg: The BTTF pinball has likeness of Chris Lloyd but not of MJF.
This quote of MJF is from the Dec 2007 issue of Esquire magazine.
I was never big on lunch boxes and all that stuff, and I look at it now and think, God, how much money I turned down. Oh, f***, I’d do it in a heartbeat now.
So, TT please make it clear whether MJ is involved or not ...
Well, no, please don't. There's the single announcement of Christopher Lloyd right now, I really don't want them to announce all the actors they COULDN'T get. Hopefully aleae non iacta sunt, and they might still get more actors on board to be announced later.
Nonetheless, here's my plea: PLEASE GET A CAMERA INTO THAT RECORDING STUDIO. And 30 seconds is not enough!!
Well, no, please don't. There's the single announcement of Christopher Lloyd right now, I really don't want them to announce all the actors they COULDN'T get. Hopefully aleae non iacta sunt, and they might still get more actors on board to be announced later.
Call me an optimist, but I still hope that the reason that we have heard no more about casting is that they are still in negotations and cannot reveal anything just yet. In the immortal words of Catbert, "False hope is okay".
In the immortal words of Catbert, "False hope is okay".
Here's the full quote:
Catbert: Halt! I'm detecting signs of hope.
Dilbert: I was hoping that I would be appreciated for my hard work.
Catbert: False hope is okay. Carry on.
I don't know if this has been suggested yet, but if they can't get Michael J. Fox for some reason, a good alternate would be James Arnold Taylor. Best known as the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Clone Wars and other Star Wars projects, and well-known among Final Fantasy Fans as the voice of Tidus in Final Fantasy X and related projects. He's been a voice double for Michael J. Fox on several occasions, including the direct-to-dvd sequel to Atlantis. And he sounds quite a bit like him, too.
I don't know if this has been suggested yet, but if they can't get Michael J. Fox for some reason, a good alternate would be James Arnold Taylor. Best known as the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Clone Wars and other Star Wars projects, and well-known among Final Fantasy Fans as the voice of Tidus in Final Fantasy X and related projects. He's been a voice double for Michael J. Fox on several occasions, including the direct-to-dvd sequel to Atlantis. And he sounds quite a bit like him, too.
Goddammit I was just about to say that! xD
He's also the voice of Ratchet from Ratched & Clank, Wooldoor Sockbat from Drawn Together, Captain Jack Sparrow and Timon in Kingdom Hearts 2, and he's the current voice for Fred Flinstone.
Something tells me it will definately be James doing Marty, if only the fact that he has plenty of experience working on high profile games before.
He was also the voice of a certain vertically-challenged thug, hard of hearing laundromat owner and cocky fisherman in Monkey Island 2 Special Edition.
However, I've got the feeling that Fox will return, but that his return will be similar to Earl Boen's return to Monkey Island: Boen agreed to play LeChuck once again but only if they did one recording, if I'm not mistaken. Maybe it was only a day of recording, I don't know... My point is that they'll convince Fox for something similar, and that MAYBE he'll play an older version of Marty.
Honestly, this is really making me happy for the overall quality of this game (not that I was all that worried). James Arnold Taylor is one of the best voice actors working today.
Now I just need to hear that Thomas Wilson is doing some recording.
Comments
That would indeed be cool, but hasn't he retired?
... unlike a certain Tim Curry...
Nope. At the very least, Cleese is touring in the UK next May.
He said in an interview last year that he basically has to keep working to pay for his last divorce, which hit him very hard financially:
Probably got a good chance of getting him on board then.
Sure. He could be Tim Curry's twin brother, as they go about being evil in spiffing English accents...
AGAIN with Tim Curry? Also, Cleese doesn't really play evil characters. Just some pretty insane ones. (Basil Fawlty, The French Insulter, Mr. Praline, etc.)
it's Richard Steven Horvitz! aka, Raz from psychonauts
I've been replaying Psychonauts and I found his voice's similarity to MJ's voice unbelievable.
His voice's breaks, his expressions, ... it's like he IS Michael J.Fox!
He just have to change Raz's voice's tone a little bit so it appears older
OMG! I forgot about him! It's pretty much perfect for Michael, and I'm betting he has a lot of free time on his schedule since Invader Zim and Billy and Mandy ended.
Milkman08: Reminder of the Forgotten!
Hey that sounds cool!
or
Milkman08: Dispenser of justice ; or Vanquisher of evi ... wait ... these sound familiar ... now where did I heard them before? yeah I hope they can reach him before he takes another project, if Michael wasn't available of course...
Actors don't retire, they just stop getting work.
ALWAYS TIM CURRY. By the way, if they ever introduce Doc Brown's brother, and don't use Tim Curry, I vote for Christopher Walken to play Doc Brown's brother.
GRE-ATE SCATT.
...
WAN-POINT TWANTY WAN JIGGYWHATS.
All we can do now is nicely ask Richard Horvitz and hope for the best.
So, TT please make it clear whether MJ is involved or not ...
This is pretty common for movie licensed games. It's why you'll sometimes see video games based off movies where the main character from the movie looks drastically different in game.
For example, look at the Bourne Conspiracy game that came out a year or two ago. This....
is clearly not Matt Damon. Here is some of the backstory on why Matt Damon didn't want his likeness used in the game for anyone who cares....
Link
Thankfully, I doubt TTG would have any problems getting the rights to use the likenesses of any of the BttF actors. Particularly when they're working so closely with the original creators of the films.
Eg: The BTTF pinball has likeness of Chris Lloyd but not of MJF.
This quote of MJF is from the Dec 2007 issue of Esquire magazine.
http://www.esquire.com/features/what-ive-learned/michaeljfox0108
Well, no, please don't. There's the single announcement of Christopher Lloyd right now, I really don't want them to announce all the actors they COULDN'T get. Hopefully aleae non iacta sunt, and they might still get more actors on board to be announced later.
Nonetheless, here's my plea: PLEASE GET A CAMERA INTO THAT RECORDING STUDIO. And 30 seconds is not enough!!
Call me an optimist, but I still hope that the reason that we have heard no more about casting is that they are still in negotations and cannot reveal anything just yet. In the immortal words of Catbert, "False hope is okay".
Here's the full quote:
Catbert: Halt! I'm detecting signs of hope.
Dilbert: I was hoping that I would be appreciated for my hard work.
Catbert: False hope is okay. Carry on.
Ohhhhhhhh yes, it has been suggested.
Goddammit I was just about to say that! xD
He's also the voice of Ratchet from Ratched & Clank, Wooldoor Sockbat from Drawn Together, Captain Jack Sparrow and Timon in Kingdom Hearts 2, and he's the current voice for Fred Flinstone.
Something tells me it will definately be James doing Marty, if only the fact that he has plenty of experience working on high profile games before.
However, I've got the feeling that Fox will return, but that his return will be similar to Earl Boen's return to Monkey Island: Boen agreed to play LeChuck once again but only if they did one recording, if I'm not mistaken. Maybe it was only a day of recording, I don't know... My point is that they'll convince Fox for something similar, and that MAYBE he'll play an older version of Marty.
But who knows? Maybe Fox will do the whole thing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jXCqU2tJcs
James' facebook suggests hes doing something for BTTF at least (probably old news
http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=155500204468774&id=55377877783
Awesome!
JAT is doing a great, great job, but the chances of Michael J. returning are really plunging with his involvement.
(not old news)
Honestly, this is really making me happy for the overall quality of this game (not that I was all that worried). James Arnold Taylor is one of the best voice actors working today.
Now I just need to hear that Thomas Wilson is doing some recording.
I'm hoping for an MJF cameo in one episode.