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NEWS: The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Film Uses Late Christopher Lee's Voice for Saru




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NieR



Joined: 29 Apr 2012
Posts: 218
PostPosted: Mon Oct 28, 2024 7:33 pm Reply with quote
Could've got Corey Burton to voice Saruman.
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MFrontier



Joined: 13 Apr 2014
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 28, 2024 7:53 pm Reply with quote
Christopher Lee probably would have approved of Corey Burton, though does this count as using AI...?
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Connor Dino



Joined: 20 Dec 2010
Posts: 343
PostPosted: Mon Oct 28, 2024 10:08 pm Reply with quote
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



Joined: 27 Jan 2018
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 29, 2024 12:31 am Reply with quote
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



Joined: 20 Dec 2006
Posts: 216
Location: MA
PostPosted: Tue Oct 29, 2024 6:16 am Reply with quote
Connor Dino wrote:
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...


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



Joined: 01 Feb 2012
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 29, 2024 10:23 am Reply with quote
Cardcaptor Takato wrote:
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.


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



Joined: 28 Jul 2009
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 29, 2024 9:37 pm Reply with quote
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



Joined: 27 Jan 2018
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 29, 2024 10:41 pm Reply with quote
Melicans wrote:
It is the same reason they've included Miranda Otto instead of somebody else in this film
Miranda Otto is still alive.
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Lord Geo



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 2660
Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey
PostPosted: Wed Oct 30, 2024 8:39 am Reply with quote
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


Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18419
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Wed Oct 30, 2024 10:25 am Reply with quote
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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