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U.S. Cast on Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Siliconera writes "Last night in Hollywood Square-Enix and Sony showed the English version of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children on the big screen. Fans lined up overnight to snag tickets to the premiere event where many of the voice actors/actresses and director Tetsuya Nomura showed up. After seeing the film Rachel Leigh Cook said the movie was "stunning" and she's a 'fan (of Final Fantasy) as of today.' Mena Suvari (Aerith) said 'it was a great experience to be part of something with such a following.' About the movie, director and character creator Tetsuya Nomura said, 'This is a special piece for us and I hope it is for you.'"
It's good to see the professional voice-actors getting some props alongside the stars in this article (though admittedly this is a gaming blog, not Variety).
As Billy West has noted in the past, when animation goes Hollywood, the professional voice actors who draw a normal-sized paycheck get pushed out in favor of big-name movie stars. But the big names don't do much more than just stand there and read their lines, because they don't know the first thing about breathing life into a character or making the character memorable.
The problem is not Mena Suvari, it's movie studios and game producers relying on "famous voices" as opposed to "voice actors" when they create new works. While a lot of famous voices make pretty good voice actors (see: SSX Tricky, the GTA series), I think you'd see a bigger payoff in using real voice actors than just someone famous. Look at Futurama for example: with the exception of Katey Sagal, the entire cast is made up of voice actors who do (did?) a fantastic job. But everytime I see a Hollywood starlet used as voice "talent" in an animated show or game, I cringe. Half of the time, these women are used because they're attractive and their acting qualities come in second, third, or N/A. What would make anyone think you'd want to hear their voices?
Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.