TannisRoot on 23/9/2016 at 18:11
@ValmontPhl: We're not copyright lawyers here and neither is SR. In the case of Mr. Handy he was being asked to grant a request. The law is very tricky regarding fair use. Some things are ok, but it's very possible SR has been advised against granting requests using characters owned by other parties as that may not fall under fair use.
It's hard to say as fair use has never been thoroughly tested in the courts, so artists must be extra cautious to avoid lawsuits.
tl;dr: The Karras voice may have been fair use. The Mr. Handy request may not.
Renault on 23/9/2016 at 18:37
Quote Posted by ValmontPhl
So does that mean that this community is in violation of Eidos' IP ownership?
Not really the same thing; Stephen Russell is a paid employee (or contractor), who has likely signed a legal agreement stipulating what he can and cannot do with the company that owns the IP. And none of us have any idea what exactly is in that agreement. That kind of restriction doesn't apply to anyone else around here.
And I'm sure Eidos could technically sue a lot of people around here for some of the things that have been posted over the years. They figure it's either just against their best interests or not worth their time.
R Soul on 23/9/2016 at 20:55
I agree with you Abysmal, but I think it's over the top to say 'he doesn't care' when he's going to do an interview for us.
Fallen+Keeper on 23/9/2016 at 21:03
Quote Posted by Abysmal
Look, I love FMs like the rest of us, but please, don't even touch on the subject. What an embarrassing question to have to answer. He's not going to voice fan missions, he doesn't even play Thief, he doesn't care. This is a career to him, and asking him about voicing someone's amateur fan mission for 10-20 year-old games would be so cringeworthy. That ship has sailed. His time with Thief is over. Just conduct a professional interview.
I'd love to know how he feels about the industry now, and how long he plans to continue.
Agreed, I can't imagine a more fanboyish, immature and unprofessional question to ask to a professional voice actor for whom voice acting is just one of many different activites he is committed to. It won't happen, and such a question would only put him in a difficult position, I'm sure you don't want that.
Renault on 23/9/2016 at 21:13
Yeah, you guys can relax, I wasn't planning to ask him to do any voice acting for my latest FM. It has more to do with what kinds of projects he's willing to do and/or can do, based on his previous agreements.
Fallen+Keeper on 23/9/2016 at 22:00
Quote Posted by Brethren
Yeah, you guys can relax, I wasn't planning to ask him to do any voice acting for my latest FM. It has more to do with what kinds of projects he's willing to do and/or can do, based on his previous agreements.
Yeah, I know you wasn't, my comment was aimed at those who would suggest you a similar question to ask him,
again. ;)
john9818a on 24/9/2016 at 02:10
Quote Posted by Yandros
No need to ask this one. He has been asked on at least one occasion to voice Garrett for FMs and politely said "No", saying it would be in violation of Eidos' ownership of the character IP. You can find the threads about it here if you search. As for voicing other non-canon characters, why would he work pro bono?
I think this also touches on the "no support" clause meaning that nothing further would be provided by LGS including resources and voice work (even though LGS is gone.) There also has to be a separation between professionals who do this for a living and amateurs who do voice work for free. IMO professionals maintain their value in their profession by declining requests for free services. This would not include charity work that is unrelated to their acting profession. Another point is to keep the playing field level for all dromeders as it would not be fair to have voice work done by Stephen Russell for specific fan missions but not others.
MoroseTroll on 24/9/2016 at 11:29
Quote Posted by Abysmal
He's not going to voice fan missions
Did
he tell you so? What if he
want to participate in it, not as Garrett, Benny or Karras but someone else, as a yet unknown character to us? What if he is too polite to offer himself for such a role?
Quote Posted by Abysmal
he doesn't even play Thief
Everyone knows this fact, so what?
Quote Posted by Abysmal
he doesn't care. This is a career to him, and asking him about voicing someone's amateur fan mission for 10-20 year-old games would be so cringeworthy. That ship has sailed. His time with Thief is over.
Once again, did
he tell you so? I assume that you're probably right with your conclusion on my question about voicing FMs, but what if you're wrong? Can you imagine that he can say to his wife and children something like, "
They told me that they love all the characters I've voiced in Thief. Bollocks! They even never asked me to voice someone else in their FMs."
But please calm down and put out the blaze of your auto-da-fe bonfire :). Perhaps I don't undestand a thing in
professional interviewing of actors. Hope you do.
Kurhhan on 24/9/2016 at 12:31
Quote Posted by Abysmal
Look, I love FMs like the rest of us, but please, don't even touch on the subject. What an embarrassing question to have to answer.
He's not going to voice fan missions, he doesn't even play Thief, he doesn't care. This is a career to him, and asking him about voicing someone's amateur fan mission for 10-20 year-old games would be so cringeworthy. That ship has sailed. His time with Thief is over. Just conduct a professional interview.
Agree, that is why he is not too much interesting person to interview in my opinion. He is just a voice actor, everything has been said. Interview with former employees of the LG or Le Corbeau, would be great. We need something more from the perspective of our forum. But of course, I appreciate your commitment Brethren.
Random_Taffer on 24/9/2016 at 13:51
Quote Posted by Abysmal
...he doesn't even play Thief, he doesn't care.
He definitely seems to care about the work he did on Thief. He certainly remembers all the characters he voiced- even after so long. And I'm sure he understands that this interview will be coming from the Thief fan community, so it'll be focused on that.
Actually, I'm not sure if anyone's asked this yet, but how did he come up with the Hammerite voice he does?
