Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Voices of the Ultramarines

Oooookay. I shared some excitement yesterday, and it didn't go *quite* the way I was expecting. Let's try it again with something that I think most of you will have seen already.

Now THATS exciting, right? Right?

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

1)Thats fantastic!

2)Gezze guys? Do not beat me up! You are right! So i repeat myself -Dan Abnett is my favourite (best) writer and i really like his books! And i have no problem with him personally on any level. I only wish him good health for him and his family! All i want to say that i really wonna read another new Ghosts book! And yes - Blood Pact ends on cliffhanger! There do they go? who greet them there? and what kind of warfare do we see this time?

3) We are all people. We have our own problems - i understand that. And everyone - even me, knew that the best writers do not rush the process! About double pousting - it was a mistake on my note - so iam sorry!

4)And i understand that everyone has its own unique taste for books in that matter! But Double eagle was and would be the best book from Abnett! So i really wonna read the sequel! And yeah iam trying to teach real english very hard!

Matthew Churchill said...

TERENCE STAMP AND JOHN HURT?
Fantastic. NOW I'm excited.
M

Anonymous said...

Aargh! I love John Hurt. It's not very clear what type of character he will play, though. Any hints?

Shadowheim said...

Two of the finest actors ever?! Are you serious?

Wow, Dan, you have outdone yourself this time - writing a screenplay to a movie containing these two is...well...amazing.

Hats off to you, sir! :)

Will Wright said...

I am assumeing the story is kickass
It is good to see that the producers are not going cheap on this.
This may be the start of something wonderful.

Xhalax said...

Nope. Still not even vaguely excited by any of this. And as much as I like and admire some of the guys in the video....I'm not sure they'll work as Space Marines. I hear their voices and immediately think of them or other characters they've played....and it breaks the illusion straight away.

For me, Space Marines sounds like....you know when you're at a gig and the music starts....the bass goes along the floor, put your legs and makes you organs tingle....that's how a Space Marine should sound. That and
growly/gruff.

And though I'll still get the film when I comes out, there'll be no pants wetting with excitement beforehand.

sredni vashtar said...

tentakel: probably a space marine.

Cor said...

While it is exciting that big name actors are in this I'm with xhalax in that there voices are so recognisable it's slightly jarring, having said that I am excited about the movie itself been the hopless fan boy I am and it certainly looks like the guys in charge if this are doing a good job

Anonymous said...

Hats off to you, sir! :)

Now your screenplay must live to their names!

Convectuoso said...

It's tough to say, really, how I feel about that. I suppose somebody has to do the voices and, unless they reincarnate Isaac Hayes or get James Earl Jones in, they're still gonna sound like common or garden humans. I'm guessing (and hoping)that they'll add some form of modulation or tweaking to make them a bit more rumbly, and to give their voices that processed, fuzzy sound when they have their helmets on speaking through comms.
Also, I suppose it's assuaged my one main gripe with the space marine voice acting in Dawn of War 2, which was that THEY WERE AMERICAN. Now, I know it's ridiculous to assume that an empire spanning hundreds of galaxies wouldn't have a similarly large span of accents and dialects in relation to ours, BUT, there's just something about the marines that needs the gravitas, purity and honour that, to me, is transmitted through an english accent (or british, I guess a welsh space marine would be a good laugh). To me, it would effectively represent the unity, dedicated singularity and, yeah, xenophobic nature that the chapters are founded upon. You don't see the same mix of tribal markings and gang tattoos seen in the guard within the marines do you? I think it's fair to assume that the initiates' indoctrination may well expand to them speaking 'the Emperor's english' too. I felt that the american accents in DOW2 cheapened it, and couldn't help but feel that they were a concession. For me it smacks way too much of the gum-chewing, wise-cracking colonial marines of Aliens.
That said, I cannot wait for the film. Seriously, I've dreamt of this for so long. I wonder if they'll dare do a film of the horus heresy? Maybe that's be heresy in itself. Still, I wish they've chosen Blood Angels instead:( I wanna see Mephistion and Dante!

sredni vashtar said...

... well damn, y'all.

The things people somehow manage to complain about never cease to amaze me.

(I mean, if you get up expecting your fictitious animated Space Marines to be voiced by... real Space Marines, then yeah: I guess you are always gonna be disappointed. Feh...)

Also, Convectuoso: the Edwardian era called; it wants its serene preconceptions back

e.molinski said...

@convectuoso you callin' my accent CHEAP!? just because i usually sound like an episode of 'the sopranos' doesn't mean i can't have gravitas, purity, and honour!

but alas... i agree... proper british voices will sound better and be more fitting... after all, it IS a british creation.

Xhalax said...

Srendi - My main gripe is that now, all Space Marines in my head have the same voice as a cuddly ickle bunny rabbit.

Needless to say, Grimaldus is not pleased.

Anonymous said...

@Xhalax: When Ben and I had one of our more serious discussions about voice casting the Horus Heresy series, we decided that there is only one person who could do the Emperor justice.

Joe Pasquale.

Note - that was one of our more serious discussions on the matter.

;)

Big said...

Excellent job so far T.Stamp and John Hurt, all we need now is Patrick Stuart, with Brian Blessed in a Space Wolf cameo apperance......LOL

sredni vashtar said...

Big: Y E S.

frieslander said...

@Big Brian Blessed as a Space Wolf? You do know he's louder than you think, one heroic speach and he'd send all the other Wolves running with there tails between there legs.
I see that every one seems to be missing out Sean Pertwee is amoungst the top three too. Not as big as Stamp or Hurt, but he has voiced a 40k character before. The villanous govenor Severus from the Fire Warrior game. (I wonder If he's flexing his villain muscels here too?).
Actualy @Big, I take it back what I said about Brian Blessed, he did play an Imperial Admeral in the same game.

Convectuoso said...

Haha, nah I just think that with DOW 2 it was something of a concession to the mass market. Fact is, if they spoke with MY accent (Yorkshire) it would probably sound absurd; although that said, Sean Bean might be next on the list :p Obviously dialect is no indication of someone's real traits, but it's all about associations, hence why every token action film has its token evil british guy!
I'm holding out on Johnny Vegas actually, or Alan Carr. Now THERE'S some gravitas baby.

Rob Rath said...

Thanks for posting this, I actually had not seen it. John Hurt- that's just aces, love that guy, though he'll always be Caligula from I, Claudius in my mind.

I love how the technology of motion capture can allow a veteran character actor like Hurt to play a part in an action-heavy movie that he would otherwise be unable to pull off physically. Let's just hope a Tyranid Ripper doesn't pop out of his chest.

Convectuoso-

Marine accents never seem to bother me either way, but since it's a British production it's only right for them to cast British. Besides, a large percentage of Americans are closet Anglophiles, so we don't mind really. Besides, we're well used to almost all our historical figures having British accents anyway- Ancient Romans, Ancient Greeks, Vikings, etc.

The villains thing is definitely there too. Note how all the Imperial Fleet Officers in Star Wars are English. Even more odd, in Die Hard Alan Rickman portrays a German, and yet he still has an identifiably English accent. It's become a running joke how English actors get parts as the heroes of British productions and the villains of American ones- case in point, Sean Bean. I suspect you're right about different kinds of accents creating mental associations, perhaps it goes back to the Revolution?

Lars said...

Heh. Am I really the only one picturing T. Stamp voice acting as a Space Marine Librarian? Got that wise-and-ancient ring to his voice methinks.

I'm thrilled by this announcement. As far as I'm concerned, this is another proof that the studio takes it seriously. 1) hire one of the very best of BL writers. 2) hire a cast of known actors for voice acting.

The concept art looks great too, I must say that I'm looking very much forward to the finished result.

sredni vashtar said...

Rob: you don't really need to go back as far as the Revolution. In 2010 we're used to thinking of each other as bonded allies vis-a-vis the 'Special Relationship'--but remember that Britain and America have been each other's throats, commerce-wise, for most of America's history. Mistrust and residual prejudice characterised Anglo-American relations, really, until the Cold War era.

It'd be nice to think that we got over that via our shared experiences in the World Wars (or as we're consistently reminded, our common appreciation of "freedom"--whatever THAT means in 2010)... but as an historian, I suspect the real reason is that the decline of the British Empire led to recognition on both sides of the Atlantic that Britain was no longer a serious rival to America in terms of world trade. And certainly, there's plenty of tacit stereotyping that still goes on--of which transatlantic casting conventions are merely one harmless manifestation. People are just like that.

Cor said...

As a fellow Yorkshire man the idea of a Yorkshire space marine cracks me up having said that if they cast sean bean his character would probably die has since lott his characters always seem to inevitably die

Rob Rath said...

Sredni-

Absolutely agree, I was using 'Revolution' as shorthand- it's a complex dynamic with many, many modes of expression that changes significantly over time. I just didn't want to get into detail because I needed to get to sleep!

Even as allies during the World Wars there was a great deal of friction, since many Britons were unhappy with the isolationist policies that kept the US out of the wars for years (but tacitly supporting them with weapons and food sales). Also, US troops, most of whom had never travelled outside the country, were infamous for causing trouble at foreign duty stations. (See: The Battle of Brisbane.)

DrgnScorpion said...

OMG...The son of the Third Doctor...the Actor who played Hellboy...AHHHHHHH....i'm way too excited now.

Unknown said...

I absolutely can't wait to see this. Dan has been one of my favorite authors since the Marvel UK days and it will be tremendous to see his work on the silver screen. Until then I'll just have to settle for the other Abnett related film. What's that you say? Well if you track down images of Dan's promotional comic for the Nemesis roller coaster at Alton Park you will notice that the creature on the cover bears an uncanny resemblance to the redesigned Kraken from the Clash of the Titans remake. Coincidence?!?!?!

Scotty said...

Wow, looks like a great lineup for the movie, looking forward to it.

But, where was Ron Pearlman, someone mentioned the actor that played hellboy, but didn't see his name there, is he linked to it? That would be cool.

Unknown said...

Your books are amazing. what hooked you on Warhammer 40k? o, and when is games workshop going to make a movie of Titanicus? Please respond to your convenience. Happy Anniversary!