In it’s final stages of post-production, animation fans have been given a tantalizing glimpse of what they can expect with the official video trailer – which is creating quite the buzz. In less than  three weeks the video has received over 700,000 views and over 800+ VIP email sign ups at the website. Every 100th person to sign up on the VIP email list will win a free signed poster from John Di Maggio, the voice actor behind “Bender” in Futurama, “Jake the Dog” in Adventure Time, “Rico” in The Penguins of Madagascar and “Fung” in Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness.

“There is a fascination with hearing your favorite cartoon’s voice coming out of a live human,” says Di Maggio. “This documentary opens the doors into the lives of some of the greatest unsung heroes behind these animations that people of all ages have come to love.”

The documentary takes a positive, humorous, and entertaining look  at the lives and experiences of Matt Groening (The Simpsons), Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants), Seth Green (Robot Chicken, Family Guy), Billy West (Futurama, The Ren & Stimpy Show), Tara Strong (The Powerpuff Girls, My Little Pony), Jim Cummings (Winnie the Pooh), and more than 100 other talented voice-over actors from cartoons that have transcended the ages.

“I think this will be one of the most entertaining and educational documentaries ever made,” producer Tommy Reid said. “Whether you watched cartoons as a kid, as a parent, or are avid comic book fans or fans of animated series of today, like The Simpsons, this documentary is going to be addictive—you won’t be able to get enough of it.”

For exclusive photos, videos and news on “I Know That Voice” can be viewed on the Facebook Fan Page. The full cast list can be found on IMDb.

VOT: First, let’s talk about your role in Star Trek Into Darkness which is already signed on for the next installment of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek franchise.  What initially appealed to you about this role?

Beau Billingslea: Truthfully, the fact that it was a role in Star Trek.  When I auditioned, I didn’t know what the project was.  Now-a-days there’s a great deal of secrecy in Hollywood and for good reason. Then a week or so after auditioning on tape, my manager called to say that I had “…booked that little movie you auditioned for and by the way, it’s Star Trek.” Needless to say, I was elated to join the Star Trek family. When I found out what my actual role was, I was very pleased to be a starship Captain, and especially to be the Captain of the S.S. Bradbury which is homage to the great science fiction writer Ray Bradbury.

VOT: How long have you been a fan of the Star Trek franchise in general?

Beau Billingslea: I’ve been a fan since the original TV series with William Shatner.  I can’t say I’m a Trekkie because a true Trekkie knows all the trivia surrounding the franchise.  I did have the opportunity to work with Bill Shatner on 2 episodes of his show T.J. Hooker, and had positive experiences both times.  Those experiences rekindled my interest in Star Trek as did Michael Dorn’s being cast as Worf in Star Trek: The Next Generation.  We used to see each other at auditions all the time and became friends.

VOT: Why do you think the Star Trek legacy is so enduring?

Beau Billingslea: Star Trek was the first truly science fiction series on TV.  Lost in Space didn’t explore new worlds and had a completely different perspective.  Star Trek has created a future that we all can imagine would be fun to live in.  Really cool planets with really cool inhabitants and magical technology.  Coupled with exploring various social concepts, what could be more appealing?  Plus, as special effects became more sophisticated over the years, viewers eagerly anticipated what was coming next.  I also think the chemistry of the crew on the Enterprise contributed to its longevity as well.

VOT: A strong, commanding voice like yours is obviously important to the role of Captain Abbot. When developing a character’s personality traits do you imagine how they will sound? What process do you go through to find the ‘voice’ of the character?

Beau Billingslea: People are the sum of their experiences.  Where and how they grew up, their education level.  So when developing a character’s personality traits those factors lead you to who he is.  How he walks and talks will emerge out of the background that I create for the character.  The writer often provides a framework for the character’s background so clearly that would be the starting point.  Finding areas of yourself that converge with the character is also helpful.  There’s a lot of Beau in Captain Abbot.  I was a Captain in the Army so, obviously, that was the key aspect of myself found in Captain Abbot.  Out of that came Captain Abbot’s “voice.”

VOT: In addition to your film and television credits, you have an impressive voice-over background. How has your voice acting experience influenced or shaped your on camera performances and the purposeful use of your voice?

Beau Billingslea: I think an important aspect of voice work is the fact that we aren’t limited by what we look like.  What counts is, can you deliver the character through your voice?  Over the years, I’ve voiced Ogremon and many other characters on the animated series Digimon.  But what few people know is that I also voiced children in walla sessions for Digimon.  The other cool thing is that it matters not what you wear in a voice over session.  As an on-camera actor, you have your visual presence to assist you in communicating to the audience.  As a voice actor, it is the nuance of your voice that throttles your storytelling   Thus, the voice actor of necessity develops vocal subtleties that the on-camera actor may not.  So to answer your question, voice over acting has added to my on-camera arsenal of communication skills.

VOT: Next month marks the 18^th annual June is Audiobook Month (JIAM) celebrations. You’ve also done narration work for the History Channel. Would you ever consider audiobook narration yourself? If so, what book would you most like to narrate?

Beau Billingslea:  I have great respect for VO actors who narrate audio books, especially those with multiple characters.  It’s not really my cup of tea, but if I were to do so, I would narrate the Bible.

Beau Billingslea currently stars as the voice of Raikage and Homura on the Anime series Naruto on Disney XD and is well known for his portrayal of Jet Black in the popular Anime film and TV series Cowboy Bebop. Other Anime credits include Bleach, Street Fighter, Digimon, and he is starring in the upcoming animated feature WARS of the Worlds and Goliath. Beau has numerous television credits including General Hospital, CSI: Miami, NYPD Blue, and West Wing. He has also appeared in many major motion pictures such as Aaron Sokin’s The American President and Hannah Montana: The Movie. Beau played football for the UConn and was a practicing attorney in the Army. He has travelled to 22 countries and 22 states and is rumoured to play a pretty good game of tennis and golf too.

The condition causes extreme pain due to hemifacial atrophy leading to a host of other debilitating symptoms, including an associated condition known as Trigeminal Neurgalgia. There is not a single doctor in Canada that specializes in the Parry Rombergs. Since December 2011, Nicole has been trying to get by with only symptomatic treatment.

So the voice-over community is rallying together to support Nicole and her loved ones in raising money and awareness so that she may travel to a Mayo Clinic in the US to obtain adequate treatment of the disease itself.

In an effort to help many voice actors and coaches are coming together to raise funds. Julie Williams presents The 2013 Audiobook Gold Rush webinar with Patrick Fraley and Scott Brick including special guest Bob Deyan.  100% of the proceeds will go to Nicole’s cause. The webinar will take place on Tuesday May 21^nd, 2013 at 6:00 PT (9:00 EST). Fraley is also accepting donations through his website.

Donations (and hugs) are also being accepted through Giveforward.com. There are many other ways to offer Nicole and her family assistance. Additional information on how one can help can be found on Facebook.

One or two stories will be released each day via the Going Public website and will also be hosted on a different industry blog throughout June. A full list of dates, times, stories, and narrators is available on the website. Going Public… in Shorts is a joint effort of the Spoken Freely narrators and many others who donated their time and energy to bring the project to life. Engineering and mastering is provided by Jeffrey Kafer and SpringBrook Audio. Graphic design provided by f power design. Published by Blackstone Audio. Project coordination and executive production provided by Xe Sands.

When asked about the meaning of the title, Sands explained, “Well, the project was born out of my side effort, Going Public, a weekly offering of recordings from work (mostly) in the public domain – hence the “Going Public” part of the title. Once we decided on a short story collection, we wanted a way to tie in both the “Going Public” origin, the public domain aspect of the stories, and a play on the short story aspect of the project. Hence, the tongue-in-cheek, “Going Public…in Shorts!” was born.”

The stories will be available to listen to for free, for one week as a special “thank you!” to audiobook fans. In association with Blackstone Audio the complete collection will be available for purchase at the end of the month. All proceeds from the Going Public… in Shorts project go to Reach Out and Read, an organization serving more than 4 million children and their families across the US, with an emphasis on serving those in low-income communities.

“Last Fall, it occurred to me that it would be amazing to offer a month-long “give-back” to listeners – a recording of a short story from a different narrator, for each day of JIAM. So I proposed the project to many of my colleagues, and was thrilled when they were overwhelmingly supportive of the idea,” said Sands. “Shortly after we came together, Karen White suggested that it would be wonderful if the project could also act as a philanthropic effort, and Johnny Heller suggested children’s literacy as a cause. We decided to pursue the fundraising angle, did a bit of research and settled on Reach Out and Read as the beneficiary due to their broad and innovative outreach efforts.”

JIAM is an annual event in its 18th year, started by the Audiobook Publishers Association (APA). Each year, the month of June introduces more and more people to the world of Audiobooks. According to the APA website, in 2011 “75 authors and narrators teamed up with publishers to reach approximately 7.5 million people through all forms of social media (adding to the nearly 4 million reached in 2010).”

“… the quality of professional narration continues to amaze me. Audiobooks are truly performed by their narrator, not merely read. There is full expression of the author’s intent, so for the reader who is looking for an enhanced reading experience, audiobooks can add that extra wonderful layer,” Sands mused. “Also, the prevalence of devices that can play audiobooks make them so convenient to listen to while doing chores, yard work, exercising… you name it!”

With events like Going Public… in Shorts spreading the love for the written (and recorded) word, this year’s month long celebration is sure to give audiobook fans, publishers, and narrators much to look forward to.

Viewers will be treated to zany storylines such as the crime fighting pair attempting to defeat a super computer at chess and why an author/werewolf cannot finish a novel. The show will hold a fifteen minute time slot but when it will air has not yet been specified.

Tyson began a second career in entertainment after retiring from boxing in 2006, which has included a cameo in the 2009 hit comedy film “The Hangover” and a 2011 television documentary series about his own flock of racing pigeons.

Source: Reuters

(Photo by Axelle Woussen / Bauer-Griffin)

The film tells the story of a teenage girl who finds herself in a secret world, witness to a battle between the forces of good and evil. Once there, she must help a team of fun and whimsical characters to save their world and in the process save the real world as well.

An all-star cast rounds out the film with Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, Amanda Seyfried, Christoph Waltz, Aziz Ansari, Chris O’Dowd, Jason Sudeikis, rapper Pitbull, and Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler.

Director: Chris Wedge
Producers: Lori Forte and Jerry Davis
Screenplay: Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember
Based on the novel: The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs by William Joyce

Arrested earlier this year, Robbins pleaded guilty to the charges in April. He has already spent eight months in a rehab program, reducing his prison term to 110 days. Robbins has received a ten year “stay away” order from the doctor and will have to pay out $15,081 in restitution to his ex-girlfriend.

Robbins lent his voice to the cartoon movie specials “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

Source: CNN

On the heels of  the inaugural VoiceWorld Toronto, presented by Voices.com, there are many other industry conferences to attend this year. Some popular choices to look forward to in 2013 are:

Edge Studio – David Goldberg Road-Trip Multiple Cities, May, June, July, 2013

For those with an interest in voice-over or those who need more direction, these two day workshops offer a practical way to determine if  voice-over is the right career.

APA Conference and Audie Awards, New York, May 29-30, 2013

Presented by the Audio Publishers Association, this two day conference features a closing awards ceremony that honours Audiobook producers, narrators, writers and more.

THAT’S VOICEOVER! Los Angeles, August 17, 2013

Presented by some of the industries top voice actors and buyers this is a  behind-the-scenes career event for new and experienced voice talent or to those working in one of the supporting careers (producers, writers, directors, agents) that make up the broader industry.

FAFFCON San Antonio Texas, October 4-5, 2013

FaffCon is an unconference, driven by peer-to-peer professional development for working voice over talent.

Anime Conventions Master List of Anime Conventions

This is a huge list of Anime conventions and conferences throughout the US, Canada and the UK.

©iStockphoto.com/Skynesher

The film takes a witty look inside the Hollywood voice-over industry as it follows Carol Solomon (played by Bell), a down-on-her-luck voice coach trying to make ends meet. Carol becomes determined to break into the highly competitive male dominated world of movie trailer narration, all while flourishing a new relationship with her audio engineer. She soon finds herself competing for a lucrative gig against the voiceover king himself, who happens to be her condescending father.

The cast includes voice-over pros such as Joe Cipriano, Mark Elliott and Marc Graue. “In a World…” made its first appearance earlier year at the Sundance London Film Festival, winning Bell the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. Roadside Attractions picked up the US distribution rights and the film is slated for release in US theatres later this summer.

Director: Lake Bell
Screenwriter: Lake Bell
Executive Producers: Ross Jacobson, Sean O’Grady
Producers: Lake Bell, Mark Roberts, Jett Steiger, Eddie Vaisman
Cinematographer: Seamus Tierney
Editor: Tom McArdle
Production Designer: Megan Fenton
Composer: Ryan Miller
Principal Cast: Lake Bell, Demetri Martin, Rob Corddry, Michaela Watkins, Ken Marino, Fred Melamed

Now, for all those voice actors out there, you might be wondering who did the voices in The Croods movie.  Here’s a quick run down of the voice cast:

• Nicolas Cage stars as Grug
• Emma Stone co-stars as Eep
• Ryan Reynolds is the voice of Guy
• Catherine Keener does the voices of Ugga
• Cloris Leachman voices the Gran or Granny character
• Clark Duke voices Thunk
• Chris Sanders lends his skills to voice Belt
• Randy Thom is the voice of Sandy

What did you think of the voice acting in The Croods?  Let us know your favorite character in the comments below.