Forum - View topicNEWS: The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Film Uses Late Christopher Lee's Voice for Saru
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NieR
 Posts: 220 |
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Could've got Corey Burton to voice Saruman.
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MFrontier
Posts: 13918 |
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Christopher Lee probably would have approved of Corey Burton, though does this count as using AI...?
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Connor Dino
Posts: 351 |
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I wouldn't count it as AI. It isn't a replication trained on Christopher Lee...just unused takes.
However, while not as ghoulish, I do feel like maybe the goal posts have moved such to the point that I am juat grateful for this small mercy... |
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Cardcaptor Takato
 Posts: 5213 |
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I don't know why companies are so allergic to just hiring a new actor other than they want to cut corners on paying actors as much as they can.
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HyperGatack
 Posts: 216 Location: MA |
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Honestly I feel the same way. It also kinda helps Lee made a joke like this about any potential live action last unicorn remakes so it doesn’t feel as… desecrating? |
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Melicans
Posts: 627 Location: Canada |
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I feel it makes sense in this case. He was just iconic as Saruman, and using the same actors for the same characters makes sense where it is possible to preserve the feeling of it being in the same universe. It is the same reason they've included Miranda Otto instead of somebody else in this film, or why the Amazon series used the same design for the Balrog as the Jackson films. |
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Fluwm
 Posts: 1042 |
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I dunno. I'm firmly on the side of, "this is ghoulish."
And even if it weren't... audio takes from on version of a story, in an entirely different medium, rarely (if ever) are going to translate well to another -- as we've seen time and time again. |
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Cardcaptor Takato
Posts: 5213 |
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Lord Geo
Posts: 2680 Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey |
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Personally, as long as Lee's widow gave approval of this, and from all indications even helped pick the specific take to use, then this is fine to do. This isn't even new for a Japanese production, as various long-running franchises have continued to use old recordings from voice actors after their passings, most notably Hirotaka Suzuoki, who passed away in 2006 but was still being heard in new Super Robot Wars, Gundam, Dragon Ball, & Rurouni Kenchin video games (or even just titles involving those franchises) as late as 2020(!), alongside moments where actors like Ken Narita have become Suzuoki's official voice replacement.
As long as it's being done with the approval of the actor's family, & is actually using lines performed by the actor, then this is fine in certain situations; recreating the actor themself using CG, though, is another thing entirely. I imagine if Saruman had a larger role in War of the Rohirrim then they would have just recast, but if it's just a line or two then let it be a post-humous cameo, essentially. |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18462 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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There's every indication that Christopher Lee probably would have approved of this, as he's well-known to have loved the LOTR movies. (According to a recent documentary, one of the LOTR movies was literally the last thing he ever watched.) And I don't find this any more ghoulish than Ian Holm's audio and likeness being reused for Aliens: Romulus earlier this year.
Fun side fact: Lee is the only person in the cast of the LOTR movies who actually met Tolkein in person. |
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