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Dante

Futurama Voices To Be Recast

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Updated!

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It turns out to be true after all. :sad::cry:

 

When "Futurama" returns to TV next year, it might be without the show's original voice cast.

 

Talks have broken down between 20th Century Fox TV and stars Billy West, Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio, Maurice LaMarche and Tress MacNeille over how much they should be paid to take part in the show.

 

The studio announced last month that it would produce 26 new episodes of "Futurama," and that Comedy Central was on board to begin airing the new episodes in mid-2010. As part of the announcement, the show's producers said stars including West, Sagal and DiMaggio had all signed on to return.

 

Turns out that wasn't true.

 

The stars had all expressed interest in returning. But with the budget for "Futurama" dramatically slashed, the salary offers came in well below what the thesps were asking.

 

As a result, 20th has put out a casting call to find replacement voice actors for the show.

 

It's not the first time 20th has gone that route during a tough negotiation on one of its toons. The studio previously made a similar move on "The Simpsons" when it couldn't come to a deal with its stars. Casting feelers were sent out for replacements, but a deal was eventually made with the original cast.

 

The situation is unusual this time around in that 20th and Comedy Central have been kicking around ways to make "Futurama," originally produced for a broadcast network (Fox), make financial sense for a cable run. Yet there's also still a possibility -- and a window built in -- for "Futurama" to run on a broadcast network first.

 

It's believed that the "Futurama" cast members were asking for around $75,000 per episode; it was not clear what 20th was offering. Calls to the voice stars' reps were not immediately returned.

 

Created by Matt Groening and David X. Cohen, "Futurama" originally aired on Fox from 1999 to 2003. The success of the show's repeats on DVD and cable, as well as a series of first-run DVD releases, led to the decision to revive "Futurama."

 

Other costs slashed in the process led to a smaller writing staff and a shorter delivery schedule.

 

"We love the 'Futurama' voice performers and absolutely wanted to use them, but unfortunately, we could not meet their salary demands," 20th Century Fox TV said in a statement. "While replacing these talented actors will be difficult, the show must go on. We are confident that we will find terrific new performers to give voice to Matt and David's brilliantly subversive characters."

Edited by Dante

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But fans may recall that Fox TV tried to muscle the original Simpsons voice cast in a similar fashion. That didn't go so well, so here's hoping the original Futurama cast remains intact.

i think the simpsons is just gunna run 'till one of the less noticeably replaceable voice actors dies/quits/is assassinated ... :indeed:

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It's all publicity, and nothing to worry about (hopefully).

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Thanks News-Bot!

 

Sounds crazy to me, cutting cost is a good idea... But those voices ARE the characters.

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If the voice actors are re-cast, then it'll be a serious injustice! It's doubtful that they'll do that, but the principle of it is bad enough!

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I doubt this will happen.

 

Futurama should have ended when it ended anyway. If the new show is anything like those god-awful movies then I won't be watching.

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Maybe Fox knows it's alright because they used the What If machine?

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That's ridiculous. Some of the characters voices would be fairly easy for someone new to impersonate, like Zoidberg for example, but I can't see anyone being able to get, say, Fry or Leela spot on. When the voice actress who played Maude Flanders and Miss Hoover left The Simpsons, watching scenes with the new voice actors just didn't feel right, so to replace the whole Futurama cast with new voices would destroy the show. :(

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the skill was creating the characters voices... now that has been done, any old impressionist can do a good job and I doubt we would notice. Its not like home and away when they replaced pippa.

 

Its like the artists who draws the pictures thinking that any old harry can't copy their style

... the only thing that is irreplaceable is the chief-big-wig who decides if a joke (not necessarily his own) is funny enough

Edited by blender

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Gah, this sucks! ><

 

Though Blender does have a good point, if they get some decent enough impressionists, then it might not be too bad. It's still not the same though. :(

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In the community I run, we went through this thing ourselves several years ago and there was massive outrage. Unfortunately, once they make the decision, they wont go back on it :(

 

This kinda kills the revival for me

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If Zap Brannigan (Billy West) leaves, then that's the best character on Futurama ruined.

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Yeah.... No. It wouldn't be the same, might as well not bring it back if they can't retain the voices. They are so unique...

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DiMaggio Comments on Futurama Recasting.

Futurama fans have been understandably less than pleased (to say the least) since news broke that the entire voice cast may be replaced for the upcoming return of the series, as new episodes go into production for Comedy Central. Today at Comic-Con, I managed to speak to one of those beloved voice actors, John DiMaggio, who plays the integral role of Bender.

 

While casting notices have gone out for new actors to play the roles, certainly all Futurama fans still hope that the salary disputes between the cast and the studio can be resolved and DiMaggio, while reluctant to say too much, did hint that there could be reason for optimism.

 

When I asked him what he could say about the situation, DiMaggio first broke into song, singing some famous Elvis Presley lyrics: "Caught in a trap. I can't walk out! Cause I love you too much, baby!" He then smiled and told me, "In other words, no comment. I really can't talk about it. All I can say is that Matt [Groening] and David [X. Cohen] have such a wonderful project and I love it dearly – love it to death. And hopefully we'll be able to work it out. And I think we will. It's just going to take a little time and that's about it."

 

I mentioned to DiMaggio how tremendous the fan support has been for the actors since the story broke and DiMaggio nodded, saying, "Yeah, the fans have been really wonderful and that's really great. But you know, that's just the way it goes. That's just the way this show business works. And we'll see what happens. Hopefully… I have a good feeling it's going to turn out for the best. That's about it. That's all I've got. That's all I have to say about that!"

 

Interestingly, the Comic-Con listing for Futurama's panel tomorrow (Saturday) still lists DiMaggio as taking part, along with Billy West, Katey Sagal and Maurice LaMarche - though it's unclear whether this is simply because no one has been told to update it, or if it could mean they will still be taking part. This panel has become a very notable one now, given the current situation and how upset fans are by what has been going on. Check back tomorrow on IGN TV to see our report from the Futurama panel.

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huzzah! Victory!

 

From the Toronto Star:

 

Los Angeles, Calif.-The Star has learned exclusively that the voice cast of Futurama has just signed a new contract with Fox after weeks of intense salary negotiations.

 

As late as last week, the network was threatening to replace the original voices of Matt Groening's cult-hit cartoon, to the point of actually announcing a casting call for voice actors to replace them.

 

The compromise agreement, with the studio paying more and the actors accepting less, comes after the announcement of a 26-episode pick-up here by Comedy Central. Futurama also airs internationally in syndication, has produced four bestselling straight-to-DVD movies (later cut into episodes) and an upcoming feature film.

 

Look, I don't know why the Toronto Star would have this news, but I've never heard them to just make shit up like many of the British "papers" do. So... FUCK AND YES. THANK YOU, SWEET ZOMBIE JESUS. And thanks to John S. for the amazing tip

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