James Avery Video Interview at 'Unscripted'
Posted by
Kristy Sproul
on February 8, 2010 at 9:16 AM
Unscripted has posted a lengthy video interview with actor James Avery, the original voice of Shredder from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series. In it, Avery talks about his upbringing in Atlantic City, New Jersey, getting the role of Uncle Phil on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and working in theater, among other things. Unscripted also reveals he'll be voicing a new Autobot named Silverbolt in Transformers 3 (slated to be released next year).
You can watch the full interview here. The interview site also has a video interview with Ron Perlman.
Maurice LaMarche Featured in Simpson's Coke Super Bowl Ad
Posted by
Kristy Sproul
on February 7, 2010 at 11:55 AM
While you're watching the Super Bowl tonight, make sure to keep an ear out for Maurice LaMarche who lends his voice as The Newscaster in the new Coca-Cola "Hard Times" ad featuring a variety of characters from The Simpsons.
You can take a peek at the ad below:
Congrats to Moe on his first Super Bowl commercial gig!
And speaking of Super Bowl ads, check out this list of 10 Super Bowl commercials with notable voiceovers from Whose Voice is That?
Tom Kenny and Jen Cody Win at The Annies
Posted by
Kristy Sproul
on February 7, 2010 at 8:05 AM
William Shatner made his debut as Host of the 37th Annual Annie Awards Saturday night at UCLA's Royce Hall in Los Angeles, California.
Voice actor Tom Kenny, who served as the host of the animation awards the past five years, took home the 'Voice Acting in a Television Production' Annie for voicing SpongeBob SquarePants in the episode "Truth or Square." This is his first win and third Annie Award nomination for his performance as the voice of SpongeBob; he was also nominated in 2007 and 2000.
For voicing the spoiled and over-the-top character of Charlotte LaBouff, Broadway actress Jennifer Cody won the 'Voice Acting in a Feature Production' category, beating out celebs like John Leguizamo and Hugh Laurie.
Pixar's Up garnered the most coveted award of the evening, winning the 'Best Animated Feature' category.
Update: Several videos from Saturday night's Annie Awards have surfaced on YouTube. Below is a video of Jennifer Cody accepting her award for 'Voice Acting in a Feature Production' (that's Russi Taylor standing behind her:
Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane to Host Writers Guild Awards
Posted by
Kristy Sproul
on January 27, 2010 at 5:49 PM
In more award ceremony hosting news, Writers Guild of America West has announced that Family Guy creator and voice actor Seth MacFarlane will host the Writers Guild Awards on Saturday, February 20th at Hyatt Regency Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. The ceremony honors the year’s outstanding writing in film, television, and other creative categories.
"MacFarlane began his career studying animation and design at the Rhode Island School of Design, where he created the animated short film, The Life of Larry. Impressed executives at Hanna-Barbera encouraged MacFarlane to move to Los Angeles in 1995 to create and direct a short film for them. After moving to L.A., he went on to work on numerous animated series, including Ace Ventura, Jungle Cubs, and Johnny Bravo.
"Executives at Fox recognized his talent and offered him a chance to create a primetime animated series of his own. Over the next six months, MacFarlane created, animated, wrote, directed, and provided all the main male characters' voices for what became the hit animated TV series Family Guy. MacFarlane went on to receive an Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for his role as 'Stewie Griffin,' and Family Guy has garnered two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Animated Series. In 2002, he also received an Emmy for Outstanding Music and Lyrics for the show. In 2009, Family Guy was only the second animated show since The Flinstones in 1961 to be nominated for a primetime Emmy in the Outstanding Comedy category."
The show's producer, Spike Jones, Jr., said of the host's talents, "Everyone knows his extraordinary voiceover talents, but we’re only beginning to see him as a versatile live performer. He can sing, dance, spin plates…and we’re going to put him to work."
Additional presenters will be announced closer to show date.
William Shatner to Host the 37th Annual Annie Awards
Posted by
Kristy Sproul
on January 25, 2010 at 11:47 AM
ASIFA-Hollywood has announced that William Shatner will host this year's Annie Awards ceremony on Saturday, February 6th in Los Angeles.
Voice actor and comedian Tom Kenny was the previous Master of Ceremonies for the event, having hosted for the last five years.
The Annies recognize the year’s best animated features, television productions, commercials, short subjects and outstanding individual achievements in the field of animation. This year's event will be held at UCLA's Royce Hall with a champagne reception at 5:00 pm, the ceremony at 7:00 pm, and a Post Award Party immediately following the ceremony. General admission tickets (ceremony only) for the event are on sale for $25.00 and VIP tickets (including reception and post award party) are $150 for members, $250 for non-members). For those unable to attend, the Annie Awards ceremony will be webcast on annieawards.org beginning Tuesday, February 9, 2010.
For more information, including a list of this year's nominees, please visit annieawards.org.
While you're watching the Super Bowl tonight, make sure to keep an ear out for 
In more award ceremony hosting news, 
