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Will Futurama's Return Come Without Its Stars?
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Bill-Lee
07/18/09

In reply to Will Futurama's Return Come Without Its Stars?
It's a ploy by Fox in the intricate dance of contract negotiation.
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Bress Tess Iz
07/18/09

In reply to Will Futurama's Return Come Without Its Stars?
looks like we're gonna be over-supplied with torgon's executive powder
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HurtsSoGood promoted this comment Bress Tess Iz was starred Bress Tess Iz was unstarred

cletar
07/18/09

In reply to Will Futurama's Return Come Without Its Stars?
Hey, Fox...I'll do Zoidberg for you for 60k an episode. If the guy who does Barney on the Simpsons gives you any trouble, I can do him, too. I also do a dead-on Wallace Shawn, for what that's worth.

What? Stop looking at me like that. I have kids to feed.
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BlueBeard
07/18/09

@cletar: Inconceivable!
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Grey_Area promoted this comment BlueBeard was starred BlueBeard was unstarred

Emmanuel_Goldstein
07/18/09

In reply to Will Futurama's Return Come Without Its Stars?
Yeah, OK, fine. Mind if I don't watch?
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Kpibca promoted this comment Emmanuel_Goldstein was starred

beckward
07/18/09

In reply to Will Futurama's Return Come Without Its Stars?
It's a tactic. Mark Evanier probably knows more about animation production than anyone else in Hollywood: see his post on this at his website: http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2009_07_17.html#017446
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Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. promoted this comment beckward was starred beckward was unstarred

Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.
07/18/09

@beckward: I've never known Mark to be wrong about anything. If he says it, you can believe it.
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thexpert
07/18/09

@beckward: He scripted Groo: the wanderer, right? That schmuck.
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Lassus
07/18/09

@thexpert: Futurama defiled, ok, whatever, but I WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY BADMOUTHING OF GROO!
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Grey_Area promoted this comment Lassus was starred Lassus was unstarred

twophrasebark
07/18/09

In reply to Will Futurama's Return Come Without Its Stars?
"but apparently Billy West, Katy Sagal John DiMaggio, Phil LaMarr, and Maurice LaMarche are all to be replaced by new voice actors when the show returns, presumably in an effort to keep costs low."

That's not what the article says, Graeme. How did you go from someone saying "I betting that" to announcing that the actors are "all to be replaced."
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twophrasebark
07/18/09

This is standard negotiating procedure when a studio and voice cast can't come to an agreement. See the HR article for more info:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ibdf529f18374f6c965f140dbc42...

Fox is trying to call the cast's bluff hoping fans will be angry at the cast. However, this will obviously backfire as no one is going to watch Futurama without most of the principal voices.
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vulcanized
07/18/09

@twophrasebark: It makes me angry at the studio, not the cast. I feel like Futurama had some of the most talented voice artists in the business (Billy, Tress, etc) and their voices MADE the show. Try to imagine another Bender or another Zoidberg. It's not like voiceover artists are paid as much as regular actors, either. I would rather see fewer episodes with the proper cast than a full season with strangers.
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zadek
07/18/09

@vulcanized:

Calm down, calm down. It's all just a stunt for Comic-con next week. There's going to be a panel with Groening and all the voice actors vs. someone from Fox (probably just an actor, rather than a known executive) to decide the 'Fate of Futurama'. It's just to generate hyhpe for the new season, although it seems to have backfired as it's caused a lot of heat!
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Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. promoted this comment zadek was starred zadek was unstarred

Kpibca
07/18/09

In reply to Will Futurama's Return Come Without Its Stars?
I don't know much about voice acting, but it does seem like, considering the ridiculously large amount of voices done by two or three people in the industry, they could be okay with making a little less money in order to portray characters they're really fond of. One of the articles I read on this made it sound like they were asking for like $75000 per episode, and that is not a small number. That is a BIG number!
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ManchuCandidate
07/18/09

@Kpibca:
That's considerably less than what the Simpsons voice actor regulars ($150-300K per ep) or even regular TV actors are paid (the Friends (bah/feh/meh/bleah) got paid a cool Mill an episode.)
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Kpibca promoted this comment Edited by ManchuCandidate at 07/18/09 8:32 AM ManchuCandidate was starred ManchuCandidate was unstarred

Kpibca
07/18/09

@ManchuCandidate: Ah, okay, see, that's where my confusion came from. It seemed like a lot to me but at the same time I had to admit I know nothing about how TV shows are budgeted, so thanks for clearing that up for me. Makes a little more sense now.
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brentbent: C.O.C.K.R.O.A.C.H. )for all the queer super villians out there(
07/18/09

@Kpibca: Seinfeld and Friends cast members were making over a million per episode towards their ends and Futurama is a proven commodity. 75k seems like a lot, and it is, but for Hollywood it is not, especially considering how much money Fox will make in the end as they will be airing Futurama repeats for decades to come.
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Kpibca promoted this comment

Kpibca
07/18/09

@brentbent: I forgot that famous people money is different from peasant money. And man, the thoughts of reruns never even occurred to me! That's going to make them a crapload of cash.
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Purple Dave
07/20/09

@Kpibca:
Voice work is a much quicker process than live action footage, since you can basically show up in your pajamas and bunny slippers with a near-lethal case of bed-head, run your lines in a few hours, and pretty much write that episode off unless they need something they didn't get in the first session. That is, if you actually know what you're doing. Of course, you'll then go into cold readings for the next episode soon after, so it's not like it's a half-day job for each ep.
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Purple Dave
07/20/09

@brentbent:
Don't forget the DVD sales. That's a pretty fat penny as well.
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Julius Seizure - Canuck
07/18/09

In reply to Will Futurama's Return Come Without Its Stars?
Mom? They can't replace Mom. Sniff sniff sniff.

Not a month goes by when I don't at least once respond to "What are you doing this weekend?" with "Oh I've got some charity BS for knocked-up teenage sluts."
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Grey_Area promoted this comment Julius Seizure - Canuck was starred

Strangebomb
07/18/09

In reply to Will Futurama's Return Come Without Its Stars?
It's like...they're trying to fail on purpose...hmmm...

I wonder.
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Alasdair5000 promoted this comment Strangebomb was starred Strangebomb was unstarred

Strangebomb
07/18/09

Also...not like Brannigan's a surprise...

Too soon?
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GarjaWhchi
07/18/09

@Strangebomb:
Are you implying that Fox would set a series up to fail??? To you sir I say "good day!"
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RandomFrequentFlierDent promoted this comment GarjaWhchi was starred GarjaWhchi was unstarred

ManchuCandidate
07/18/09

@Strangebomb:
Fox NEVER fails on purpose. It's just the natural result when you have morons in charge.
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RandomFrequentFlierDent promoted this comment Edited by ManchuCandidate at 07/18/09 8:41 AM ManchuCandidate was starred ManchuCandidate was unstarred

jbq
07/18/09

In reply to Will Futurama's Return Come Without Its Stars?
I'm calling bullshit. There's no way even those stooges at the BOX company are that stupid. Bullshit, I say!
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Alasdair5000 promoted this comment jbq was starred jbq was unstarred

Kell06
07/18/09

In reply to Will Futurama's Return Come Without Its Stars?
To paraphrase a quote from a fantasy book series - How do you hurt someone who's lost Futurama? Give it back to them - broken.

I know Fox is hoping that they can get away with this, that fans and newcomers will focus on the jokes, and the drawings, and bank on finding almost-but-not-quite-the-same voice acting. And given the current economy, they're probably hoping there'll be plenty of applicants, and existing artists and writers will do their best to just hang on to their jobs.

Which brings to mind another quote - evil flourishes when good people do nothing.

Please everyone - don't petition Fox. Petition the writers and the artists and everyone who actually has a heart and a love for Futurama. Don't allow this show to come back half-baked and malformed. Stand up and defend the real voices of Futurama. Refuse to work for a studio that indulges in the worst bullying this side of the financial crisis.
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Alasdair5000 promoted this comment Kell06 was starred Kell06 was unstarred

Mark Kardwell
07/18/09

In reply to Will Futurama's Return Come Without Its Stars?
Oh for Fox sake.
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Alasdair5000 promoted this comment Mark Kardwell was starred Mark Kardwell was unstarred

lectricsheep
07/18/09

In reply to Will Futurama's Return Come Without Its Stars?
Why do they always try so hard to ruin absolutely everything?
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Kpibca promoted this comment lectricsheep was starred lectricsheep was unstarred

HurtsSoGood
07/20/09

@lectricsheep: Because they're Fox. They'd get D-list Bollywood actors to do the voices for $500 pop if they thought they'd get away with it.
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Scotland
07/18/09

In reply to Will Futurama's Return Come Without Its Stars?
"Waka waka, who wants to hear a funny ass joke?"
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Alasdair5000 promoted this comment Edited by Scotland at 07/18/09 7:45 AM Scotland was starred Scotland was unstarred

ManchuCandidate
07/18/09

@Scotland:
Heh. So true.

Look at the whole mess with Maude Flanders (on the Simpsons.) It didn't work out so hot and they eventually had to kill her off.
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ManchuCandidate
07/18/09

In reply to Will Futurama's Return Come Without Its Stars?
Fox can kiss my not-so shiny non metal ass.
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RandomFrequentFlierDent promoted this comment ManchuCandidate was starred ManchuCandidate was unstarred

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