FOX screws the show again UPDATE: Everybody's signed

[Reply #40 on:]

You know, the more I think about this, the more I think its just some kind of publicity stunt.  The timing isn just too convenient for this to be legit.  Comiccon is in a week, and Fox has already advertised that they're going to have a "high level representative" "decide" whether or not the show will continue.  Of course, we already know that Futurama is going to continue, so there wont be much drama in some suit standing up in front of a bunch of fans and telling us again.  Unless, that is, if they spread some bs rumor a few days beforehand that the show might not really be coming back after all, at least, not the way we want it to.  Now there's some suspense (not to mention a great deal of attention by the internet), which will add to the spectacle of the panel.  I'll bet this was all a hoax, and we'll find out at Comiccon that Fox and the voice actors have "reached a deal".

If this whole recasting thing was egitimate, they wouldn't have announced it a week before comiccon; they would have waited until afterward.  Otherwise, like some article I read pointed out, comiccon will be a huge PR disaster.  Thousands of fans sitting in a room at Comiccon demanding the original voice cast stay with the project isn't going to help Fox's bargaining position, either.  If this is real, Fox either hopes they can get the voice actors to accept their offer within a couple of days, or they're just complete morons.  (I guess it could be both, actually)

A call for casting also doesnt make sense for other reasons.  How do you replace Billy West?  I don't care if you pay his replacements a fraction of what Billy is worth; the small army you'd need to replace him would cost you alot more!  Even the others, who only do one to a handful of voices, can't just simply be replaced.  You'd never find someone who could imitate the characters well enough that the fans wouldn't know the difference, and, if the voices change, the fans will stop watching.  

FInally, what sense is there in an open casting call if FOX is series about this?  THey'd have to thumb through thousands of applications- most of them garbage- which would waste time and money.  If they really wanted to hire new voice actors, they'd quietly approach individual people, and then make an announcement about a recast once they'd already made a decision about who the new actors were going to be.

[Reply #41 on:]

To be perfectly blunt, after the mediocrity of the movies and Groening's comments about doing a "reboot," I was already planning to approach a new season with caution.  I have four amazing box sets to cherish and can be content with that.

New voice actors mean it doesn't even get a chance from me and I imagine many other fans. 

[Reply #42 on:]

If this is real and 20th Century Fox Television hasn't reached a deal with the VA's by Comic-Con, it'll be nasty there. If the hundreds of thousands of attendees of the conference don't know their action right now, they will by the time the panel comes up. This will probably be one of the most sought after panels of the entire convention. If 20CFT doesn't play this right, they'll have thousands upon thousands of fans waiting outside of the ballroom starting in the morning for a panel later in the day, sitting through other panels, asking questions to Seth MacFarlene to see if he thinks it's right what 20CFT is doing, and then finally heckling/tomatoing any Fox representatives at the convention, regardless if it was a stunt or not. My bet is that if they don't settle it by the panel that 20CFT will have to pay more to the VA's. The already present solidarity in the VA community for the cast will have a massive fan uprising piled on top of it. If I was MG or DXC, I would tell 20CFT "our voices or no show" at this point. If they force them to do the show, I'd intentionally make it bad so it never saw the light of day.

[Reply #43 on:]

I'm thinking this isn't a ComicCon-related hoax on Fox's part, simply because I don't think DXC and MG would allow something like this to create such an uproar within the fanbase. If they're in on this--not as conspirators, necessarily, but as two guys who happen to know that the whole thing's a big publicity stunt--then I think they risk losing the trust and respect of their audience. (Or at least it would make me personally trust and respect them a lot less, which I'm sure would cause them to lose ample amounts of sleep every night.) Granted, this whole thing being a joke is preferable to it being true, but I don't think Fox is stupid or crass enough to think we as fans would find it amusing (especially considering the previous uproar when negotiations with the Simpsons voice-actors fell through. Fox knows that no one on the outside is going to support firing the original cast, so they'd really come off as assholes if they laugh about it at Comic-Con, saying the whole thing was a joke).

No, I'm convinced this is Fox's way of backing the voice-actors into a corner. I refuse to believe that they're brain-dead enough to think that we're going to watch a show with none of the original cast members participating.

[Reply #44 on:]

I can't imagine that Fox would actually make Futurama with an entirely new cast. It's a huge risk, especially with the executive producers presumably not on board. The fact that they're advertising auditions for every character just screams publicity / negotiating stunt. Either they'll make nice, or no new Futurama.

[Reply #45 on:]

Gorky, I am not so sure.  Think about it.  People are lot more willing to get out of their chairs and uproar when you piss people rather than making them glad.

Sure Futurama returning was good news, but were there an activity like this?  No!  Fox knows as well as I that pissing people is a lot better to get people talking than making them happy.

[Reply #46 on:]

Yeah, but pissing people off intentionally--when there's no real cause for concern--also makes Fox look bad. Perhaps the Fox executives have decided to use the fact that Futurama fans already hate them to their advantage?

[Reply #47 on:]

I think the show could probably get by without Sagal.

The rest, not a chance.

[Reply #48 on:]

maybe, but with her being the centre of fry's attention and everything it would just be silly. and they are all irreplaceable anyway.

[Reply #49 on:]

I think the show could probably get by without Sagal.

Nah. To me, her voice is so distinctive in its own right. That's like saying that you could fire Yeardley Smith from The Simpsons--"I mean, the woman only does one voice on the whole damn show; she's dead-weight, really." I couldn't imagine any other voice coming out of Leela's mouth, same as I couldn't imagine anyone else playing Lisa Simpson.

[Reply #50 on:]

Now you see why I used the qualifier "probably", and the ambiguous term "get by".

It would of course never be the same if an actor was sacked or resigned or met with an unfortunate death.

[Reply #51 on:]

Now you see why I used the qualifier "probably", and the ambiguous term "get by".

It would of course never be the same if an actor was sacked or resigned or met with an unfortunate death.

yeah, it could work, but it wouldn't be the same.

[Reply #52 on:]

I think the show could probably get by without Sagal.

The rest, not a chance.

I actually think the show could survive without Katey Sagal, Tress Macneille and Maurice Lamarche (they could eliminate a lot of Macneille and Lamarche's characters, and John Dimaggio could take over some of Lamarche's characters as well).  Dimaggio and Billy West are nearly irreplaceable imo.

[Reply #53 on:]

Fuck you, speedracer.  Maurice LaMarche is a incredible brilliant voice actor.  Eliminate MacNeille's and LaMarche's characters?  You mean no characters except the primary characters?

Sounds pretty stupid.

[Reply #54 on:]

I actually think the show could survive without Katey Sagal, Tress Macneille and Maurice Lamarche (they could eliminate a lot of Macneille and Lamarche's characters, and John Dimaggio could take over some of Lamarche's characters as well).  Dimaggio and Billy West are nearly irreplaceable imo.

Poor Lauren Tom doesn't even make your list.

[Reply #55 on:]

Do you even know who LaMarche and MacNeille do?
Maurice does:
    * Kif
    * Morbo
    * Calculon
    * Lrrr
    * Walt (the oldest of Mom's boys)
    * Horrible Gelatinous Blob
    * Donbot
    * Clamps
    * Destructor
    * The announcer from The Scary Door
    * Hedonism Bot
    * Dr. Perceptron
    * Raoul Inglis (three armed mutant)
    * Announcer of Anthology of Interest and various other episodes
    * Harold Zoid and The Robot Devil when Hank Azaria and Dan Castellaneta aren't available

And Tress does:
    * Mom
    * Turanga Munda
    * Hattie McDoogal
    * Linda
    * Guenter
    * Monique
    * Countess de la Roca
    * Mildred Fry
    * Tinny Tim
    * Ndnd
    * Gypsy machine robot
    * Fiona (female Nibblonian)
    * Nurse Ratchet
    * Suicide Booth voice


I don't think they're easily eliminated. And John isn't exactly "nearly irreplaceable" in comparison to them. Billy, maybe. But the point is that no one of Billy, John, Tress, or Maurice are "easily survived without". And do you think that they could get somebody to do the voices Phil and Lauren do? Even the more guest actors like Dave Herman and Frank Welker that you might not really know aren't easily survived without, especially Welker and his many animal sounds. How could we live without Dave's Scruffy or John's Fabulous Randy?!

[Reply #56 on:]

Do you even know who LaMarche and MacNeille do?

(snip)
  
I don't think they're easily eliminated.

I never said "easily" (if I did, I certainly didn't mean to), but I think that in that list, the only character that really, really needs to be kept going forward is Kif.  They could come up with new characters to fill out the universe and voice them appropriately.  Replacing Leela would be more difficult, but still doable imo.

And do you think that they could get somebody to do the voices Phil and Lauren do? Even the more guest actors like Dave Herman and Frank Welker that you might not really know aren't easily survived without, especially Welker and his many animal sounds. How could we live without Dave's Scruffy or John's Fabulous Randy?!

I didn't see anything indicating that anyone other than West, Sagal, Dimaggio, Macneille and Lamarche was involved in the salary dispute.

[Reply #57 on:]

The Variety website says it's just a rumor.  Wouldn't worry about it.  Besides, all the voice actors will be at the Comic-Con.   Indeed, it would be an outrage if the voice actors are replaced, but I'll still watch it anyway.

[Reply #58 on:]

And do you think that they could get somebody to do the voices Phil and Lauren do? Even the more guest actors like Dave Herman and Frank Welker that you might not really know aren't easily survived without, especially Welker and his many animal sounds. How could we live without Dave's Scruffy or John's Fabulous Randy?!

I didn't see anything indicating that anyone other than West, Sagal, Dimaggio, Macneille and Lamarche was involved in the salary dispute.

What about LaMarr?  Wasn't he the one who broke the news?

The Variety website says it's just a rumor.  Wouldn't worry about it.  Besides, all the voice actors will be at the Comic-Con.   Indeed, it would be an outrage if the voice actors are replaced, but I'll still watch it anyway.

No they didn't.  They had a public statement from 20th Century Fox Television, that is hardly a rumour.

[Reply #59 on:]

And do you think that they could get somebody to do the voices Phil and Lauren do? Even the more guest actors like Dave Herman and Frank Welker that you might not really know aren't easily survived without, especially Welker and his many animal sounds. How could we live without Dave's Scruffy or John's Fabulous Randy?!

I didn't see anything indicating that anyone other than West, Sagal, Dimaggio, Macneille and Lamarche was involved in the salary dispute.

What about LaMarr?  Wasn't he the one who broke the news?

I didn't see Hermes Conrad in the list of characters to be recast.  My guess is that he's simply trying to do his friends a favor.

[Reply #60 on:]

Well, Phil LaMarr did join the largest group on Facebook protesting the voice actor recasting. But I don't think he's a member anymore...

[Reply #61 on:]

And do you think that they could get somebody to do the voices Phil and Lauren do? Even the more guest actors like Dave Herman and Frank Welker that you might not really know aren't easily survived without, especially Welker and his many animal sounds. How could we live without Dave's Scruffy or John's Fabulous Randy?!

I didn't see anything indicating that anyone other than West, Sagal, Dimaggio, Macneille and Lamarche was involved in the salary dispute.

What about LaMarr?  Wasn't he the one who broke the news?

I didn't see Hermes Conrad in the list of characters to be recast.  My guess is that he's simply trying to do his friends a favor.

I wouldn't be so direct whether it is attack on specific voice actors with the list.  Main characters are just an easy threat.

LaMarr knows that these auditions could also be used for his parts.  I don't think you should be so certain he is not under loop from the company.

[Reply #62 on:]

And do you think that they could get somebody to do the voices Phil and Lauren do? Even the more guest actors like Dave Herman and Frank Welker that you might not really know aren't easily survived without, especially Welker and his many animal sounds. How could we live without Dave's Scruffy or John's Fabulous Randy?!

I didn't see anything indicating that anyone other than West, Sagal, Dimaggio, Macneille and Lamarche was involved in the salary dispute.

What about LaMarr?  Wasn't he the one who broke the news?

I didn't see Hermes Conrad in the list of characters to be recast.  My guess is that he's simply trying to do his friends a favor.

I wouldn't be so direct whether it is attack on specific voice actors with the list.  Main characters are just an easy threat.

LaMarr knows that these auditions could also be used for his parts.  I don't think you should be so certain he is not under loop from the company.

Sure, that's a possibility.  If every single voice actor is asking for a 4x-5x raise and they're banding together, TCFT should just shut down production entirely.

Not that he'd ever disclose it publicly, but I'd be very interested to hear DXC's thoughts.  He knows what the show's budget is like and what a reasonable salary range is.  The guy's life has to be hell right now.

I'm also curious to know how much the writers' salaries changed.  They'll certainly be held to the standard they set in years past, but will have to cope with a rushed schedule and smaller staff.  I think they're really getting the shaft.

[Reply #63 on:]

speedracer, aside from what others said, I don't think Sagal could be recast easily either. Like West and Smith before her, she basically used a version of her (unique) voice for her character. That makes her fairly irreplaceable. They could never get someone to replicate Leela perfectly. It would be noticeable.

Plus, on a second point, none of these guys are replaceable. In childrens/bad animation most of the characters have simple voices (relatively speaking) that could easily be filled in by most any competent actor (didn't Tom Kenny say something to this effect?). However, in a good/adult-friendly animation, most of the time characters are not so simple. They have arcs and stories and personalities. It's simply insulting to even suggest some sort of midway replacement (like switching Daren's on Bewitched) could do as well.

Good actors, of any sort, become tied to their characters, injecting a bit of themselves into the character without even realizing it, due to the closeness. To suggest that anyone knows Fry or Leela better or as well as West or Sagal (or any of the other character/actor combos) is to show a lack of respect for what they have done. They are irreplaceable.

[Reply #64 on:]

I thought Hermes was on one of the lists posted, but don't think it was on the one Phil did though. Perhaps he deleted his character for job security.

Speaking of membership in Facebook groups, Frida, Leave the cast of Futurama alone!, which seems to be the largest with 631 members already, has Maurice LaMarche as one of its admins. I think we can now safely rule out that this is a viral marketing ploy that the VA's are in on.


Also, Fistful, I think either Tom or Billy said that. I know that Billy said that he made his voices sound like himself so it would be hard to recast.

[Reply #65 on:]

Alternatively, they just make up a new line of characters.

That'll solve this.

[Reply #66 on:]

They could get a totally new cast, new characters, bring the date back a few years, call it "the prequels", have some of the old favorites back as younger versions of themselves, and call it "Not Too Distant Futurama"!

[Reply #67 on:]

It doesn't make any financial sense to me to replace the core cast of the show. FOX would be spending all of that money to have a show get canceled. Someone other than Billy doing Fry or the Professor would immediately turn me off of the new show. This is probably just a pissing match between the studio and the actors that will end up being resolved soon.

[Reply #68 on:]

They could get a totally new cast, new characters, bring the date back a few years, call it "the prequels", have some of the old favorites back as younger versions of themselves......

Why does this sound so familiar and why does it scare me?

[Reply #69 on:]

They could make the characters yellow, too, cause that seems to have worked well in the past... maybe include a young mouthy boy and a swatty girl... perhaps throw in a fat dad for good measure....

[Reply #70 on:]

They could make the characters yellow, too, cause that seems to have worked well in the past... maybe include a young mouthy boy and a swatty girl... perhaps throw in a fat dad for good measure....

You mean like Family Guy?

[Reply #71 on:]

They could get a totally new cast, new characters, bring the date back a few years, call it "the prequels", have some of the old favorites back as younger versions of themselves......

Why does this sound so familiar and why does it scare me?

Um, no reason at all! It's a brand new and original concept!

They could make the characters yellow, too, cause that seems to have worked well in the past... maybe include a young mouthy boy and a swatty girl... perhaps throw in a fat dad for good measure....

Family Guy? Dammit Svip!

[Reply #72 on:]

They could get a totally new cast, new characters, bring the date back a few years, call it "the prequels", have some of the old favorites back as younger versions of themselves......

Why does this sound so familiar and why does it scare me?

Um, no reason at all! It's a brand new and original concept!

Midichlorians!!!

[Reply #73 on:]

how closely someone can replicate a voice is irrelevant in my opinion.

say they managed to recast and get it note perfect for every character, would you watch it?
i know i wouldn't.
honestly, thats a promise.
it probably sounds daft, but the simpsons, which is a stale old turd (with the odd decent episode) is still on the go, with the voice actors getting payed a fucking bomb. and futurama "a beautifuly subversive comedy" struggles to keep going, never mind keeping the original caste (if this is true).
anyway, im ranting.
all i have to say is, the stingey bastards responsible are cunts.
good night.

[Reply #74 on:]

Me too, Mossy. Even if they got it right (and they won't), I still wouldn't watch it, out of principle.

[Reply #75 on:]

thank christ someone gets what im saying 
this shit is just the icing on the cake when im feeling glum.

[Reply #76 on:]

Personally, I think the majority of the characters have such distinctive voices & voicings that it would be virtually impossible to replace the VA's who voice them.  Who could do the voice of Bender?  JDM, that's who.  Take him out of the equation by replacing him & it's a totally different sounding character.  If that happens, I won't be watching.

[Reply #77 on:]

speedracer, aside from what others said...

Me too, Mossy...

FistfulOAwesome is hobbitboy?!

[Reply #78 on:]

Speaking of membership in Facebook groups, Frida, Leave the cast of Futurama alone!, which seems to be the largest with 631 members already, has Maurice LaMarche as one of its admins. I think we can now safely rule out that this is a viral marketing ploy that the VA's are in on.

Well, I've just joined that group...

[Reply #79 on:]

me too