×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
INTEREST: Voice Actor Gōsuke Hatakeyama Points Out Pay Gap Between Pro vs Guest VAs in Film Dubbing


Goto page 1, 2  Next

Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Lactobacillus yogurti



Joined: 17 Aug 2011
Posts: 839
Location: Latin America
PostPosted: Sun Sep 22, 2019 3:21 pm Reply with quote
It's fair to say this happens everywhere where dubs are made. In Mexico, pro voice actors are paid a pittance compared to startalents, which are usually DREADFUL.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
DavetheUsher



Joined: 19 May 2014
Posts: 505
PostPosted: Sun Sep 22, 2019 3:40 pm Reply with quote
Pretty much describes American animated movies too. Not a single professional VA will be cast in a theatrical movie unless it's based on a TV show. Only actors, singers, and other celebrities will get to be in the latest Disney, Dreamworks, or Illumination film. When the My Little Pony movie came out the poster and adverts were plastered with the various guest singers and actors who had roles in the movie. None of the actual voice actresses for the main characters even got a blurb on the official movie poster. Professional just means it's your career. Nothin' more, nothin' less. And nobody really cares about professional voice-actors. Professional singers and actors will always be valued more than you.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Oneeyedjacks



Joined: 21 Dec 2009
Posts: 307
PostPosted: Sun Sep 22, 2019 4:20 pm Reply with quote
I think this also happens with American TV animation, where famous "celebrity" actors and comedians will get cast in guest/recurring roles for shows and they get paid a lot more than the regular cast members do.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Escaflowne2001



Joined: 29 Jul 2006
Posts: 468
PostPosted: Sun Sep 22, 2019 6:33 pm Reply with quote
Doesn't surprise me, I'm sure it happens in all forms of entertainment. I remember the old story of Michael Biehn being paid more for letting them use a photo of him in Alien 3 then he was for the whole of Aliens.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Silver Kirin



Joined: 09 Aug 2018
Posts: 1105
PostPosted: Sun Sep 22, 2019 6:52 pm Reply with quote
Lactobacillus yogurti wrote:
It's fair to say this happens everywhere where dubs are made. In Mexico, pro voice actors are paid a pittance compared to startalents, which are usually DREADFUL.

Oh yeah, I remember when Toy Story 3 came out and Woody's voice actor Carlos Segundo (who also voices Piccolo in DB) demanded a raise in his salary considering he voiced the main character while the celebrity guests who had minor roles got paid much more than him. In the end he quit working for Disney despite some fans trying to collect some signatures and wirting to Disney Character Voices International. Eventually he returned working for Disney last year and ironically the celebrity guests weren't brought back for Toy Story 4 (save for one), sadly he couldn't reprise his role as Woody.
Speaking of celebrity voice actors, Netflix has started to cast some celebrities for the spanish dubs of some shows and in Saint Seiya they made a horrible choice regarding Seiya's new voice. It's the main complaint that people had with the show here.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Juno016



Joined: 09 Jan 2012
Posts: 2377
PostPosted: Sun Sep 22, 2019 7:06 pm Reply with quote
Steven Universe usually has guest voices for their fusion characters. One of their fusions, Sardonix, has a 4th-wall breaking power(?) and she mentions another fusion voiced by Niki Minaj in an episode. Then she turns to the side and, looking annoyed, says, "She's not actually in this episode. Do we still have to pay her? Yes? Fair enough."
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
crosswithyou



Joined: 15 Dec 2007
Posts: 2892
Location: California
PostPosted: Sun Sep 22, 2019 7:17 pm Reply with quote
It's not touched upon in the tweet or main article, but seiyuu get paid the same regardless of how many roles they have in a series/episode. You can also probably infer from the tweet as well, but pay rate is dependent on seniority too, so for example, someone who's more known but in a supporting role will be paid more than a newbie who voices the lead. I remember Nozawa Masako talked about this on a show before.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Weird Guy



Joined: 24 Jan 2018
Posts: 139
PostPosted: Sun Sep 22, 2019 7:26 pm Reply with quote
Silver Kirin wrote:
Lactobacillus yogurti wrote:
It's fair to say this happens everywhere where dubs are made. In Mexico, pro voice actors are paid a pittance compared to startalents, which are usually DREADFUL.

Oh yeah, I remember when Toy Story 3 came out and Woody's voice actor Carlos Segundo (who also voices Piccolo in DB) demanded a raise in his salary considering he voiced the main character while the celebrity guests who had minor roles got paid much more than him. In the end he quit working for Disney despite some fans trying to collect some signatures and wirting to Disney Character Voices International. Eventually he returned working for Disney last year and ironically the celebrity guests weren't brought back for Toy Story 4 (save for one), sadly he couldn't reprise his role as Woody.
Speaking of celebrity voice actors, Netflix has started to cast some celebrities for the spanish dubs of some shows and in Saint Seiya they made a horrible choice regarding Seiya's new voice. It's the main complaint that people had with the show here.


This also happening in the Brazilian dub of Pirates of pirates of the caribbean dead men tell no tales...but that's not the first time Disney has issues with voice actors...
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
TarsTarkas



Joined: 20 Dec 2007
Posts: 5821
Location: Virginia, United States
PostPosted: Sun Sep 22, 2019 9:25 pm Reply with quote
Follow-up tweet sounds more like damage control.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
kotomikun



Joined: 06 May 2013
Posts: 1205
PostPosted: Sun Sep 22, 2019 10:00 pm Reply with quote
He's assuming that people normally get paid an amount corresponding to how hard they work. Common mistake.

This is a more obvious and extreme example than most, but snarkiness aside, I don't know why this stuff still surprises people. Capitalism is not designed for, or capable of, fairness. Going by where their paychecks proportionally come from, celebrity actors are basically walking publicity magnets who do some acting as a hobby--they can demand huge payments (ten grand is nothing compared to Hollywood A-listers, who often make tens of millions per movie) as an investment by the showrunners for the right to use their name/face in advertising. Money attracts more money. Beyond a certain point, self-sustaining cash gravitation completely dwarfs the amount you could make through actual work.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Acrylic6



Joined: 07 Dec 2018
Posts: 28
PostPosted: Mon Sep 23, 2019 2:24 am Reply with quote
There's a reason why many people make voice acting as their step career and become celebrity. Is it fair ? no, but life is unfair.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Banjo



Joined: 13 Dec 2010
Posts: 779
PostPosted: Mon Sep 23, 2019 2:32 am Reply with quote
its not fair to pay some nobody the same amount as someone who brings tons of viewers with his acting.. if he is not satisfied with how much he is getting then better find a different job or get good (not everyone can be good at this job..).
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
dark_bozu



Joined: 03 Sep 2012
Posts: 208
PostPosted: Mon Sep 23, 2019 5:16 am Reply with quote
That's what to be expected - it would be true in every field of work, celebrity would be able to earn more money compare to others.

No publishers would pay the same amount of $ they pay to Ninja to average streamer, even if he's professional streamer, has partnership with twitch and a big amount of subs.
Different pro football players has different cost/different salary.

Tom Holland got around 1.5KK $ for his main role in Spider-Man: Homecoming, while Robert Downey Jr received 10KK $.

And this is true to VA - sometimes their involvment plays a huge (HUGE) role in marketing, like Ryan Reynolds voicing Pikachu in Detective Pikachu.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
DavetheUsher



Joined: 19 May 2014
Posts: 505
PostPosted: Mon Sep 23, 2019 5:34 am Reply with quote
kotomikun wrote:
He's assuming that people normally get paid an amount corresponding to how hard they work. Common mistake.

This is a more obvious and extreme example than most, but snarkiness aside, I don't know why this stuff still surprises people. Capitalism is not designed for, or capable of, fairness..


Just working hard isn't worth anything in itself unless the work you're doing is valuable. A house-cleaner you hire to scrub toilets, mop, vacuum, dust, clean windows, do laundry, and everything else arguably works harder than a doctor does but their work is not as important and they are much easier to replace since it's all menial work, thus why they make less money. In this case the VA can work as hard as he wants but his image and name will never catch as many people's eyes and ears like a celebrity guest would. Anyone can voice the character, but only a select few can draw as much attention to a project like a celebrity guest can, so they're way more valuable. Steve Carrell was highest paid actor on The Office and was making over double what every other actor was making. His character was the face of the show, and when he left the show it quickly went downhill and was cancelled. Other actors leaving instead might have hurt, but the show would have moved on just fine. It only seems unfair if you try to break it down into pure numbers of hours worked or energy exerted and don't take into account other intangible factors
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
geepee



Joined: 26 Aug 2017
Posts: 109
PostPosted: Mon Sep 23, 2019 7:32 am Reply with quote
crosswithyou wrote:
It's not touched upon in the tweet or main article, but seiyuu get paid the same regardless of how many roles they have in a series/episode. You can also probably infer from the tweet as well, but pay rate is dependent on seniority too, so for example, someone who's more known but in a supporting role will be paid more than a newbie who voices the lead. I remember Nozawa Masako talked about this on a show before.


yeah.Akira Kamiya is supposedly one of the most expensive voice-actors to hire in Japan,which is probably why he doesn't get much work these days(and probably why he was replaced as Koguro in Detective Conan years ago.)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page 1, 2  Next
Page 1 of 2

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group