King of Movie Trailer Voiceovers is Dead
Trans Fatty Acids
02-09-2008, 21:00
Don LaFontaine (the guy most associated with "In a world where...") died yesterday from complications due to a collapsed lung. It's stunning to think about how many people knew his voice intimately without really being aware of who he was.
CBC obituary (http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/story/2008/09/02/don-lafontaine-obit.html)
Chicago Tribune blog with examples of LaFontaine's work
(http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_popmachine/2008/09/that-voiceover.html)
Question for non-US Generalites: was LaFontaine's ubiquity just a US thing? Is there, say, one guy who does pretty much all the voiceovers for UK movie trailers?
Fassitude
02-09-2008, 21:06
Question for non-US Generalites: was LaFontaine's ubiquity just a US thing?
Yup. I should venture the only people who'd know of the whole "in a world..." are people who like to mock the USA's penchant for superficial dramedy.
Cannot think of a name
02-09-2008, 21:26
Aw, who will tell us what world the movie is set in now, or ancient evil is unleashed, or what kind of guy Kevin Marks was before X happened? Well, there are actually a couple of these guys, Fontaine was just the most prominent, but he was iconic.
Hydesland
02-09-2008, 21:39
Yup. I should venture the only people who'd know of the whole "in a world..." are people who like to mock the USA's penchant for superficial dramedy.
The voice is used all the time in the UK, so it's not just a USA phenomenon.
Ashmoria
02-09-2008, 21:41
wow thats like losing an icon you never knew was an icon.
ive always wondered why there are so few trailer-voice-guys out there...
maybe tom selleck can take over, he seems to be doing loads of voice work these days.
Hydesland
02-09-2008, 21:48
wow thats like losing an icon you never knew was an icon.
ive always wondered why there are so few trailer-voice-guys out there...
maybe tom selleck can take over, he seems to be doing loads of voice work these days.
A challenger appears. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBE5B_fYKaU&feature=related)
Trans Fatty Acids
02-09-2008, 21:48
The voice is used all the time in the UK, so it's not just a USA phenomenon.
Thanks, I was wondering that. It's funny how some things get re-voiced for the trip across the pond (e.g. the inexplicable "Doogal") and some don't.
A challenger appears. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBE5B_fYKaU&feature=related)
Haha. He did the voiceover at my University's Summer Ball this year. It was epic.
Hydesland
02-09-2008, 21:53
Haha. He did the voiceover at my University's Summer Ball this year. It was epic.
Holy shit, what uni is that!?
Holy shit, what uni is that!?
Roehampton. Small uni building its rep. I loved it.
Hydesland
02-09-2008, 22:02
Roehampton. Small uni building its rep. I loved it.
Awesome!
Noooooooo! He was the best voice ever! Now who will tell me what movie to watch?!
Conserative Morality
02-09-2008, 22:34
Awwww....:(
I never knew that it was all one guy. A great talent has died today.
German Nightmare
02-09-2008, 22:43
Wow. That is (or should I say was) the movie voice.
Sorry to hear he passed away. That was one awesome talent. Man, didn't know his name or what he looked like, but I for sure knew his voice!
And no, there is not a single guy who does all the trailers over here either.
Lerkistan
02-09-2008, 23:52
Question for non-US Generalites: was LaFontaine's ubiquity just a US thing? Is there, say, one guy who does pretty much all the voiceovers for UK movie trailers?
I knew that voice, since I prefer watching English original versions of movies to the dubbed ones. In a world where movies aren't translated from English to English, and English movies come with English movie trailers, it would be kind of difficult not to come across this voice.
Then again, I never thought about this as being the same guy all the time.
Chumblywumbly
02-09-2008, 23:53
Yup. I should venture the only people who'd know of the whole "in a world..." are people who like to mock the USA's penchant for superficial dramedy.
Och no, that throaty motherfucker got all over the shop.
A challenger appears. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBE5B_fYKaU&feature=related)
He most certainly does (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDtTe7gJnAo&feature=related)...
Lerkistan
02-09-2008, 23:56
A challenger appears. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBE5B_fYKaU&feature=related)
Does he mean to suck? (After all, he's voicing Buffy the movie)
New Limacon
03-09-2008, 00:16
Don LaFontaine appeared on the NPR quiz show once, and they had him do the openings for NPR shows like Fresh Air and Car Talk. It's hilarious.
Link (http://www.npr.org/programs/waitwait/archrndwn/2005/may/050514.waitwait.html) (Scroll down to the middle of the page to the "Not My Job!" and click Listen.)
New Manvir
03-09-2008, 00:16
A challenger appears. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBE5B_fYKaU&feature=related)
"In a time, when the world is in need of a movie announcer. One man will rise to the challenge..."
And there you have your next summer blockbuster. Just make these guys direct it (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Seltzer). It will make 100 million dollars.
New Limacon
03-09-2008, 00:21
"In a time, when the world is in need of a movie announcer. One man will rise to the challenge..."
And there you have your next summer blockbuster. Just make these guys direct it (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Seltzer). It will make 100 million dollars.
Worse than Uwe Boll, according to the Slate commentator. That's pretty bad.
Gauthier
03-09-2008, 00:39
Worse than Uwe Boll, according to the Slate commentator. That's pretty bad.
"Worse than Uwe Boll" is tantamount to "Kill Them Before It's Too Late" in any industry.
Dododecapod
03-09-2008, 05:02
LaFontaine's work was pretty common here in Australia too. He had the advantage that his US accent wasn't too strong, so few of his trailers needed to be redubbed.