Screen Actors Guild rejects video game voice deal
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Oct 29th 2009 at 11:30PM }
The main opposition in the contract appears to revolve around the "atmospheric" provision, which allows employers to use actors in 20 voice roles, for up to 300 words, at the "daily base rate" of $782 for four hours of work. That means Nolan North might not just be the lead in your next video game, but play every character in the adventure -- we wonder how his falsetto is for female voices.
[Via Big Download]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Markez @ Oct 29th 2009 11:41PM
I was hoping Keanu would lock down a contract to voice all of the industry's super-hero/god-type/master-gardener type characters in perpetuity.
Boooooooooooooooo
I guess at least maybe he'll still get the Johnny Utah contracts? For um, the beach, erg, amateur EA league game thingys? Right?
...
*flees*
Lurkero @ Oct 29th 2009 11:43PM
$782 for 4 hours ($195/hr)!?
I guess it is important for the actors not to get shafted if they are working on potentially million dollar properties. I am interested to hear how this whole situation turns out.
The nature of the work isn't that favorable either. It's not like a VA gets 40 hours a week or anything, so high pay for less hours would be the only way for them to make a living.
CH3BURASHKA @ Oct 29th 2009 11:58PM
195 bucks seems like a lot, but I imagine you can get a lot of voice work done in that hour.
weezer6676 @ Oct 30th 2009 2:33AM
Yeah, these Film Actor Guild people you would think could get alot of vocal chord stuff done in one hour.
Michelobius @ Oct 30th 2009 8:56AM
Honestly, acting talent spends most of their working hours securing work; auditioning, finding agents, etc. Not to mention a good chunk of their money goes straight to their agent.
It's a lucrative but very competitive business, and its pay structure should not be compared to other careers.
Jenks @ Oct 30th 2009 9:06AM
High pay for less hours?? Those pour souls!
Lurkero @ Oct 30th 2009 9:16AM
You're ignoring the amount of money that is involved in the entertainment industry. If a property is going to make millions, then those involved will want to be compensated proportionately.
It's the same reason movie stars and athletes are worth more than doctors and engineers (monetary value, not social)
AirIntake @ Oct 30th 2009 10:10AM
As an engineer I also work on multimillion dollar projects, yet I get paid standard salary, not a proportion of the project cost. I also don't get my name posted on a list of credits next to what I helped build, nor do I collect any royalties from the profits the facility makes. The actors are just greedy.
Lurkero @ Oct 30th 2009 10:29AM
That's true, but when you are paid on the basis of the project cost, are you referring to how much money will be MADE on the project, or how much will be SPENT to complete it?
There are millions of dollars put into the creation of a movie, and the movie studio expects to make millions of dollars when it is finished.
There are also millions of dollars put into an engineering project. That money gets split between multiple contractors, consultants, construction workers, materials, etc. When that engineering project is finished, how much more money will it generate for those involved in it's construction?
Basically what I am saying is that entertainment products have a lot of value because of the social value of them. Engineering might have a lot of monetary value, but it doesn't carry over once the product is finished. (ie. spending 50 million to complete a movie and making 100 million at the box office vs spending 50 million on an engineering project and making...?)
I'm not an expert on any of this stuff, so if anyone wants to school me please go ahead.
Freedom Town @ Oct 30th 2009 11:08AM
If they aren't employeed enough to work a 40 hour week, then they should get a second job. Not get payed almost $200 an hour for hardly doing anything.
Jawmuncher (PSN & XBL:Jawmuncher) @ Oct 29th 2009 11:43PM
For a second I thought this said Secret Actor's Guild
Cedarr @ Oct 29th 2009 11:48PM
Damn Unions, always getting up in everybody's business.
Seriously though, I'm not too knowledgeable about the average actor's pay. Is this unreasonably low or is it SAG being unreasonable?
Darth Bradwart, Dark Lord of the Sith @ Oct 29th 2009 11:55PM
It's pretty low in comparison. These guys do a lot-they should be paid more.
The Dark Wayne [Planeteer: Power of the Batusi] @ Oct 30th 2009 12:07AM
i doubt it's terribly low, but when you consider the kind of proffesion, you have to remember that might be their only gig for a month or more
WREturns [Planeteer I Power of Fucking Peter Moore's Mother] @ Oct 30th 2009 12:21AM
I manage a Jamba Juice, and I guarantee that I work harder for less money and deal with more stupid shit than the majority of actors. I don't feel bad for anyone earning $195/hour.
Reader @ Oct 30th 2009 12:25AM
Yeah, but are you in the top one thousandth percent of all food service employees? Low supply = high demand. You are not low in supply.
WREturns [Planeteer I Power of Fucking Peter Moore's Mother] @ Oct 30th 2009 12:29AM
I'm sorry, people that can read lines and...uh...talk are in low supply? Where the fuck are these people looking for voice actors?
Darth Bradwart, Dark Lord of the Sith @ Oct 30th 2009 12:33AM
Any idiot can read a line. But few can read it well. And still fewer can make it amazing, and memorable.
Nolan North's performance as Nathan Drake is memorable-hence why he's connected with the character. Do people connect the performance of Tricia Helfer to Dare? No, because it wasn't that memorable.
Good voice actors deserve to get paid more.
WREturns [Planeteer I Power of Fucking Peter Moore's Mother] @ Oct 30th 2009 12:35AM
Yeah, but Nolan North is kind of in a class of his own. If you wanna give him $195/hour, fine. But Dushku shouldn't get that same rate for WET.
Darth Bradwart, Dark Lord of the Sith @ Oct 30th 2009 12:38AM
Exactly, because the part wasn't memorable. But don't hurt the good actors who do this for a living.
Tabori doesn't do a lot, but he's immortalized as HK-47, and hence should have gotten paid a good amount.
The Dark Wayne [Planeteer: Power of the Batusi] @ Oct 30th 2009 12:46AM
that's another thing, with something like star wars, i wonder if voice actors get any royaltys from merchandising. There have been at least several HK-47 action figures I know of, I wonder if Tabori would get any of that, or maybe someone of slightly higher profile, Sam Witwer as the secret apprentice for example, i should hope they get some of the merchandising money for characters they helped immortalize. I dont think anyone would be buying HK action figures if he was just another beepy boopy droid
Darth Bradwart, Dark Lord of the Sith @ Oct 30th 2009 12:50AM
That's a good question. I'd bet he doesn't. They'd claim that anyone could have made the character (which is total bull-HK was classic because of the deadpan delivery).
The Dark Wayne [Planeteer: Power of the Batusi] @ Oct 30th 2009 12:53AM
yeah you're probably right, and it's a damn shame cause I cant imagine HK sounding any different.
CH3BURASHKA @ Oct 29th 2009 11:57PM
20 voice roles, 3000 words, 782 bucks for 4 hours? Seems AWFULLY complicated, even unnecessarily so. Is it really impossible to just get paid by the hour or by the game?
Massmass @ Oct 30th 2009 9:13AM
That's how it was once done but the unions and actors made sure to destroy that.
Their pricing structure should be similar to animation but a lower because a game doesn't use them as much. If they don't like it, then don't sign on to do a game. Pretty simple.
Autobot (Now with Vitamin D)! @ Oct 29th 2009 11:59PM
at the "daily base rate" of $782 for four hours of work.
Anyone else here feeling sympathy for screen actors?
Me neither.
Young_Nastyman @ Oct 30th 2009 12:01AM
I wish I had that problem
Darth Bradwart, Dark Lord of the Sith @ Oct 30th 2009 12:02AM
It needs to be more proportional based on the work and game. Giving the voices for Average Marine wouldn't worth much. Giving the voice, for , say, Samus, Master Chief, or Commander Shepard would be worth much more.
The Dark Wayne [Planeteer: Power of the Batusi] @ Oct 30th 2009 12:12AM
now come on, think about it this way. Let's say you make 30,000 bucks a year, that's what? 2500 a month? For a voice actor, that four hours of work and 782 might be it for an entire month. I feel like they should get paid more, Master Chief or Marine #3. I dont have an intimate knowledge of how it works, but I feel like i'd be right in assuming that game developers get some kind of royalty's years after a game comes out, I feel like voice actors should get that too, which if what ive heard is correct, they certainly dont
Wiizer ($299) Having BC On Your Launch Console? (Priceless) @ Oct 30th 2009 12:20AM
Oh shut up, Autobot.
If you could negotiate more money for your work, you'd do it too.
Additionally, their work should be equal with other SAG members, or at least competitive with what other actors get paid.
They're not bagging groceries, they're providing voice work that even some of the best actors can't pull off.
Autobot (Now with Vitamin D)! @ Oct 30th 2009 12:35AM
I would voice act any nintendo game for free.
XBL: xGeneral DEATHx PSN: Deeth82 [Planeteer | Power of General Hostility and Angst] @ Oct 30th 2009 8:11AM
"They're not bagging groceries, they're providing voice work that even some of the best actors can't pull off."
Agreed with Wiizer. If you think a film actor/actress can pull off voicework just as well as any voice actor, take Kirsten Dunst in Spiderman 3 (the game) or Edward Norton in The Incredible Hulk game adaptation. Floppy, boring voicework; practically phoned in. Nolan North, on the other hand, is awesome because he really draws you into the game. I even liked him in Prince of Persia despite his lack of any Persian accent.
Autobot (Now with Vitamin D)! @ Oct 30th 2009 10:17AM
I just think that it's ridiculous that these guys get more pay then what a crane operator gets. You tell me who does more work. (The crane operator works longer btw)
ohozephat @ Oct 30th 2009 12:02AM
Anytime SAG wants to go fall off a cliff so the grownups at AFTRA can get real work done, that'd be just fine.
Phish @ Oct 30th 2009 12:00AM
professional Voice Actors have traditionally gotten the shaft, be it, for cartoons, video games, movies.
I have heard Billy West go on about this a lot when he use to be on Adam Carolla's old radio show. Also, he would complain about something that is starting to happen in games more often, celebrities being chosen over real v/o people , so the movie/cartoon could have a "recognizable" voice in the role.
DubiousCow @ Oct 30th 2009 12:03AM
He was saying it in cartoons, not games.
The Dark Wayne [Planeteer: Power of the Batusi] @ Oct 30th 2009 12:09AM
Phish didnt say he did, he said billy talked about cartoons, but it's also a rising problem for games, even if billy didnt mention it. Lrn2read
DubiousCow @ Oct 30th 2009 12:29AM
"Also, he [Billy West] would complain about something that is starting to happen in games (reiteration: GAMES) more often, celebrities being chosen over real v/o people , so the movie/cartoon could have a "recognizable" voice in the role."
The Dark Wayne [Planeteer: Power of the Batusi] @ Oct 30th 2009 12:35AM
well great, you can read. Lrn2comprehend. Even if I am wrong and Billy was complaining about games (I'm not wrong either, I too used to listen to billy on corolla, he wouldnt talk about games) you just disproved your own point, you proved he was talking about games
DubiousCow @ Oct 30th 2009 12:43AM
That literally made no sense. Thanks for making me spend about 1 minutes attempting to unscramble that bullshit in my head and still failing because of your inability to make any sort of point.
DubiousCow @ Oct 30th 2009 12:45AM
Fuck, I meant "minute". Whoops.
The Dark Wayne [Planeteer: Power of the Batusi] @ Oct 30th 2009 12:52AM
maybe you couldnt figure out what I said cause you're still trying to figure out what the fuck you meant. First you say billy west was talking about cartoons and movies, not games, and then you turn around, quote Phish, placing emphasis on Billy West on Games, indicating that you felt Billy West WAS talking about games. Maybe if you stopped being such an asshole and left comments a little more meaningful than "Haha MOTHERFUCKER","Haha fuck gamestop" and "Haha lord dorkington" you could figure out what the hell you're on about
DubiousCow @ Oct 30th 2009 1:46AM
"Phish" said Billy West talked about games, I said he talked about cartoons. How are you not understanding this easy thing to grasp?
RageOverdose @ Oct 30th 2009 4:59AM
Uh, yeah, he never said Billy West was referring to games, only compared the two.
The Dark Wayne [Planeteer: Power of the Batusi] @ Oct 30th 2009 12:13AM
shoulda photoshopped the logo to have double sad faces
Philip (Fernando Rocker Defence Force) @ Oct 30th 2009 12:17AM
Unions suck, that is all.
Wiizer ($299) Having BC On Your Launch Console? (Priceless) @ Oct 30th 2009 12:21AM
You don't get to have an opinion until you learn how to spell "defence" correctly.
Darth Bradwart, Dark Lord of the Sith @ Oct 30th 2009 12:30AM
Yes. US English, please. No British English.
Fane [Grammar Police - Power Of Pedantry] @ Oct 31st 2009 4:55PM
It's not even a matter of U.S. English vs. English English.
The Latin root of "defend" is conjugated with two endings, "-end" and "-ens", so "defense" is the ONLY correct way to spell it. You wouldn't write "defencive" (well, maybe you would, but you shouldn't).
Power used.
kevin @ Oct 30th 2009 12:32AM
they are reading lines ,sitting or standing they are still reading lines .they are not running around in costumes or jumping thur hoops .they are reading lines in an air controled booth . am not saying they should get paid ,but let's remember every game is not going to be a hit or sell millions & millions of copies .what happens if you pay them what they want now ,then two years from now they come back & state they want more money base on sell # of games or they need to be paid more cause thier not working enough . remember some of these actors have reg. gig that pay them millions .the industary needs to set a standard rate no matter who you are or who you think you are .we already wait ages for a game to be released,can you imagine how long we would have to wait if they ever go on strike .we need a set rate & we need now to avoid any forseeable delays .