Press Release: Andy Serkis Stars in ‘Screwtape’ Audio Drama

For Immediate Release

The Screwtape Letters Stars Lord of the Rings’ Andy Serkis
Focus on the Family Radio Theatre® Introduces
First-Ever Full-Cast Dramatization of the C.S. Lewis Classic

Colorado Springs, CO – The Devil is back in time for Halloween in C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters, an audio production from Peabody-award-winning Focus on the Family Radio Theatre®. The full-cast dramatization of the diabolical classic debuted worldwide October 5th, 2009.

Hosted by C.S. Lewis’ stepson, Douglas Gresham, and starring Andy Serkis (Gollum, Lord of the Rings) as the voice of Screwtape, The Screwtape Letters was recorded in London by world-class actors with an original score and motion picture quality sound design, and includes a “making of” DVD that features footage from C.S. Lewis’ home, church and other frequented locations. Also included are a bonus CD of ten original songs and a collector’s booklet.

The Screwtape story centers around correspondence shared between Screwtape, a senior demon, and Wormwood, his apprentice, as Screwtape mentors Wormwood in the skills necessary to entrap, dominate and torture humans. Most of the 31 letters lead into dramatic scenes set either in Hell or World War II-era London. In writing this masterpiece, Lewis re-imagined Hell as a gruesome bureaucracy with demons laboring in a vast enterprise. Avoiding their own painful torment, as well as a desire for control, is what drives demons to persecute their “patients.”

Anticipation for the release of Screwtape has been building among audio enthusiasts as well as Lord of the Rings and C.S. Lewis fans. An entire website (www.screwtape.com) was built to support the production’s debut, providing downloadable ringtones, avatars and wallpaper. Guests can follow conversations between Screwtape and Wormwood on Twitter, and utilize available social media to join in the discussion.

“Bringing The Screwtape Letters to the world of audio drama has been a career dream,” said Screwtape director Paul McCusker. “To work with this caliber of cast and crew on such a beloved classic is an unparalleled experience. And the themes are timeless. The struggles, fears and failures addressed in this work still plague humanity today. In our culture, we’re hesitant to talk about evil. Here, in the character of Screwtape, evil speaks for itself.”

The Screwtape Letters was produced by Focus on the Family Radio Theatre® and is distributed by Tyndale, with full authorization from the C.S. Lewis estate.

Previous report: 8.20.2009 — Andy Serkis Starring in ‘Screwtape Letters’ Radio Drama

Jim Carrey, Colin Firth Talk Disney’s ‘A Christmas Carol’

Animation World Network has a behind-the-scenes video on Disney’s computer-animated feature film A Christmas Carol (directed by Robert Zemeckis) which features scene previews and interviews with the movie’s celebrity voices Jim Carrey and Colin Firth.

Firth voices Scrooge’s nephew Fred, and Carrey supplies voices for 8 characters in the film, including Scrooge and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. Other members of the voice cast include Gary Oldman, Robin Wright Penn, Bob Hoskins, Daryl Sabara, Molly C. Quinn, and IMDb.com also lists Cary Elwes and Michael J. Fox as lending their voice talents to the film although this has not been officially confirmed as of this writing.

[Thanks to Doreen for the heads-up.]

Mandy Moore on Voicing Rapunzel

Rotten Tomatoes has an interview with pop singer/actor Mandy Moore on her role as the title character for Disney’s next princessy computer-animated feature film Rapunzel which is slated for a Holiday 2010 theatrical release.

The article includes screenshots from the upcoming film and Moore discusses her character and other things celebrities commonly say about the animated films they’re cast for, such as the difference between voice acting and on-camera work:

“There’s a lot of imagination that goes into doing an animated film, and this really is my first proper, proper one. It’s a lot more draining than you expect. I’m sure you figure, you show up in whatever you’re wearing and you don’t have to be all made up and there’s no waiting around. I think because there’s so much that has to take place in your mind, there’s so much to imagine. And a lot of the time you’re not reading with anyone. It can be taxing in a different way than sitting around waiting all day on a set.”

Chuck star Zachary Levi voices the male prince-type for the film. Rapunzel is being directed by Byron Howard (co-director of Bolt) and Nathan Greno (Bolt writer and story artist) with music by Alan Menken who scored such Disney animated features as Beauty & The Beast, Hercules, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Pocohantas, and Enchanted.

Previous news: 9.11.2009 — Mandy Moore to Voice Rapunzel for Disney CGI Feature Film.

[Source: Toonzone.net]

NY Daily News Interviews ‘Clone Wars’ Cast

The New York Daily News has an interview (and photos) with the cast of Cartoon Network’s hit series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, including James Arnold Taylor (Obi-Wan), Tom Kane (Yoda, Narrator), Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka) and Dee Bradley Baker (Clone Troopers).

Elsewhere, The Sacramento Bee has an interview with Anthony Daniels, who continues his legacy as the voice of C3PO for the TV series. Daniels discusses his involvement with Star Wars in Concert which is currently on a nationwide U.S. tour through December 2009.

[Thanks to Kyle Hebert for the heads-up on The Clone Wars interview.]

Batman: The Brave and The Bold Soundtrack Release

For Immediate Release

The Caped Crusader faces a new villain in the upcoming Batman: The Brave & The Bold episode, “Mayhem of the Music Meister!” The episode, from Warner Bros Animation, features the voice of Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog) as the Music Meister, a menacing villain who is able to exert powerful mind-control through song. Producers and cast members received a standing ovation following a sneak-preview at Comic-Con this past July and, after much anticipation, the episode will finally air Friday, October 23 at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on Cartoon Network.

On Saturday, October 24, New Line Records will release Batman: The Brave & The Bold: Mayhem of the Music Meister! – Soundtrack from the Animated Television Show digitally on iTunes and other digital music outlets. Amazon.com will offer fans the exclusive option of purchasing either a hard or digital copy of the soundtrack. The soundtrack will feature all five original songs from the episode as well as the highly sought Batman: The Brave & The Bold theme.

“Being approached by the producers to do a ‘Batman Musical’ was a complete surprise and total thrill,” said composers Michael McCuistion, Lolita Ritmanis and Kristopher Carter. The phenomenal cast and musicians brought each song to life and we are so happy New Line Records has agreed to release a soundtrack so that this music can be enjoyed by Batman fans worldwide.”

About Batman: The Brave & The Bold
Extremely popular on Cartoon Network with its combination of fast-paced action and humor, Batman: The Brave and the Bold is executive produced by Sam Register, with James Tucker and Linda M. Steiner as producers. The voice cast includes Diedrich Bader as Batman, James Arnold Taylor as Green Arrow, Will Friedle as Blue Beetle, Tom Kenny as Plastic Man, John DiMaggio as Aquaman and Corey Burton as Red Tornado.

The Great Atlanta Flood of 2009, and other reasons for a lack of updates

I apologize for the lack of updates recently, but I’ve been busy with quite a few TV/film gigs as well as live performances. Being that I’m a working actor, work takes priority over hobbies… such as this blog.

And I just booked working on “Due Date,” a Warner Bros. feature film directed by Todd Phillips (The Hangover, Old School) and starring Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis, Jamie Foxx and Michelle Monaghan. Although I look nothing like him, I’ve been hired as a stand-in for Zach Galifianakis, so I doubt I’ll have much time to update the blog over the next three weeks while I’m working on the film shoot in the Atlanta area.

Flood damage at Six Flags Over Georgia. Image courtesy ABC News.

Also, there’s kind of a major crisis where I live in the Atlanta area right now, with major interstates and many highways shut down due to flooding. And it looks like Six Flags Over Georgia may be changing it’s name to Six Flags Under Water. My wife and I are fine — we’ve only had about 10 inches of rain where we live, and no property damage at all, thankfully.

Speaking of the ATL flood, a Facebook friend of mine brought the following photo to my attention — I don’t know the source of this photo, and I certainly don’t mean to make light of the damage flooding has caused to surrounding Atlanta areas. But I just couldn’t help but laugh at this.

And the local weather forecast calls for rain through Sunday, so this isn’t over yet.

So anyway, I’m having to take a break from the blog for a bit. In the meantime, updates here will be extremely limited, and I apologize to my readers for having to go on temporary hiatus but blogging doesn’t pay the bills.

While I’m away, I would encourage new readers to poke through the archives. And my regulars should browse the ever-increasing blogroll, to which I’ve quietly made many additions every single week.

Thanks to everyone for their patience while I’m away, and I promise to have lots of new content and updates whenever I’m able to find some free time to do so.

Voice Chasers Gives Birth to a New Voice

I’d like to wish a hearty congratulations to the webmaster of my favorite voice actors database, VoiceChasers.com. Kristy Borkes Sproul and her husband are recently the proud parents of a beautiful new baby girl, born September 16th.

IGN Interviews Frank Welker

To coincide with the 9.15 release of Shout! Factory’s Transformers Season 2, Volume 1 DVD box set, IGN.com interviews Frank Welker with a focus on his Transformers work as the voice of Megatron and Soundwave for the original TV series, the 2007 Activision video game, and Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen.

Related post: 7.13.2009 — Transformers G1 DVD Complete Box Set Features Voice Cast Reunion.

‘Family Guy’ Cast Guests on ‘Inside The Actors Studio”

Bravo’s Season 16 episode of Inside The Actors Studio featuring the cast of Family Guy premiered on Monday, September 14th with host James Lipton interviewing Seth MacFarlane, Alex Borstein, Mike Henry and Seth Green (previously reported here back in April). Eight video excerpts from this episode are available online at BravoTV.com.

Lipton described this episode on his blog thusly: “I recommend seatbelts in your armchairs as the creator and cast of “Family Guy” assemble on our stage for a hilarious, irreverent look at themselves, each other, their characters and their spectacularly successful show. This is, quite simply, unlike any Inside the Actors Studio you’ve ever seen.”

Bravo will air an encore presentation of this episode on Sunday, September 20th at 10:00 AM (EST). Check your local listings for showtimes in your area.

Additionally, the Monday September 21st episode of Inside The Actors Studio will feature Saturday Night Live star Amy Poehler. Poehler is the co-creator of Nickelodeon’s hit animated series The Mighty B!, and also voices the title character. Poehler will also voice Eleanor in the upcoming Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, and has voiced characters in Monsters vs Aliens, Horton Hears A Who!, Shrek The Third, and SpongeBob SquarePants.

Several preview clips from Poehler’s episode (which airs 9.21 at 7:00 PM EST) are also available on BravoTV.com.

Mandy Moore to Voice Rapunzel for Disney CGI Feature Film

Reuters reports that Mandy Moore has been cast as the voice of Rapunzel for Disney’s “Digital 3D-animated musical action-adventure” currently scheduled for a Holiday 2010 release.

Zachary Levi (star of the sitcom Chuck) was also announced as providing the voice of a “dashing bandit who finds himself on the road with the rebellious teen ‘hair apparent.’”

(This corrects previous reports that these two characters would be voiced by stage stars Kristin Chenoweth and Dan Fogler.)

Rapunzel will be directed by Byron Howard (co-director of Bolt) and Nathan Greno (Bolt writer and story artist) with music by Alan Menken who scored such Disney animated features as Beauty & The Beast, Hercules, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Pocohantas, and Enchanted.

In related news, Walt Disney Home Studios Entertainment has announced (via Video Business) that it is “expanding its high-end Blu-Ray Disc line, the Diamond Collection,” to include several of their animated classics: The Lion King, Bambi, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, The Jungle Book, 101 Dalmatians, Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Beauty and the Beast.

Disney will release two Diamond Collection titles each year, beginning on 10.06.2009 with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Fantasia and Beauty and the Beast are scheduled for release in 2010.

Video Business adds that “each title will be packed with fresh bonus features and will be available for a limited time at retail.” One of the features to be included on Snow White will be a ‘Backstage Disney’ featurette, exploring Hyperion Studios where the film was produced in 1937.

[Source: Toon Zone]