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Date: Tuesday, November 5th 2019 4:52pm CST Categories:Event News, People News Posted by:D-Maximal_Primal | Credit(s): Society of Voice Arts and Sciences
Thanks to a post on their Twitter page, we have word that the Society of Voice Arts and Sciences has announced this years Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Award is going to none other than our very own Peter Cullen, the longtime voice of Legendary Autobot Commander Optimus Prime!
The 6th annual Voice Arts Awards are scheduled this year for Sunday, November 17, 2019 at the Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank, California. The Voice Arts Awards celebrates the voice actors who have made up our favorite TV shows, movies, video games, and other types of media. Awards winners include voice actors themselves, agents, creative directors, authors, and more. The Lifetime Achievement is an award dedicated to special people who have dedicated their lives to giving us the gift of their voice and their vision.
Peter Cullen is well known in the Transformers community for his voicing of Legendary Commander Optimus Prime in both the Generation 1 cartoon, the Live Action movies, Transformers Prime, and Transformers Robots in Disguise. He has also provided the voice to other famous fictional characters such as Eeyore (Winnie the Pooh), K.A.R.R. (Knight Rider), the Predator (Predator), and many many more.
Mere days after the previous news of the sudden passing of voice actor Michael Lindsay comes the unfortunate news of voice actor Robert Axelrod having passed away yesterday, September 7, 2019, at the age of 70. This news comes to us from Facebook of Mobile Monicker Productions, who represented Axelrod for his many convention appearances. Axelrod is best known for having provided the voices of Lord Zedd, Finster, and other monsters on Power Rangers, as well as several English dub anime voice roles, such as Wizardmon, Vademon, Armadillomon, Ankylomon, and Shakkoumon (w/ Dave Mallow) on Digimon, and Rico on Robotech. He also voiced Marvel Comics character Microchip in the Punisher episodes of Spider-Man: The Animated Series, and appeared in live action on an episode of Family Matters where he played a Paul McCartney lookalike.
For Transformers, he was the voice of Movor in the 2001 Transformers: Robots in Disguise cartoon. One of the Decepticon Commandos, Movor was the space shuttle member who could form an arm or leg for the combiner Ruination. He was also one of the very few Commandos to star in his own spotlight episode, "Attack from Outer Space", which had the misfortune of being one of the three episodes that was banned from ever airing on TV in the United States due to sensitivities from the September 11 attacks in 2001.
Rest in peace, Mr. Axelrod. Your performances were a treasure to behold.
It is with deep sadness that I must report that, on August 31, 2019, voice actor Michael Lindsay passed away at the age of 56. This news comes to us from the Twitter accounts of Trevor Dylan, Rob Benoit, and Marissa Lenti. Best known for his work in anime dubbing, Lindsay provided the English dub voices for the likes of Joe Kido and Greymon in Digimon Adventure, Rick in DinoZaurs, Kankuro in Naruto, Kisuke Urahara in Bleach, Shinichirō Tamaki in Code Geass, and more.
For Transformers, he was best known as the voices of Skid-Z ("skids") and Rollbar in the 2001 Transformers: Robots in Disguise cartoon. Skid-Z was an Autobot racer who had an unusually high competitive edge, always needing to win every race he could, so much that he would enter any race of any kind, including car racing, bicycle racing, or even foot racing. Rollbar, meanwhile, was the green jeep member of the Decepticon Commandos, able to form an arm or leg of the combiner Ruination, and had a thick southern drawl and an easygoing demeanor, always cracking wise whenever he felt like it.
Rest in peace, Mr. Lindsay. You will be missed, dearly.
It's with a heavy heart and condolences that we report on the passing of a prolific Japanese voice actor that had strong ties to G1 Transformers. Yū Shimaka passed away July 28 at age 70 with funeral services held on July 31 and August 1. While Japanese audiences will most certainly recognize him as their language voice of Disney's Goofy for many years (and as recently as the Kingdom Hearts III game) he'll also be familiar to fans of the Japanese dub of the original Transformers animated series. Like many actors at the time he played multiple roles in the G1 series including Auggie Cahnay, Basso Profundo, Blitzwing (two episodes), Brawn, Bruticus, Dirge (one episode) Devastator (the Movie), Drag Strip (one episode), Huffer, Long Haul, Mixmaster, Nosecone, Onslaught, Ramjet, Ravage (in episode 3), Scourge, Shockwave, Sideswipe, Scrapper (one episode), Tantrum, Thrust, Thundercracker, Tornedron, Trypticon, and Wildrider.
Other credits include roles in Tekkaman Blade, Powered Armor Dorvack (where the original Whirl and Roadbuster toy molds originated), Code Geass, Gundam 0080, Yamato 2199, Brave series Dagwon, Fighbird, and Might Gaine along with Japanese voice replacement on TV shows like The X-Files, ER, and Lost. Most recently he worked as a lecturer at Tokyo Announce Gakuin school. A cause of death wasn't given.
This year is a big year for the Transformers brand, as we celebrate the 35th anniversary of the brand as a whole! This anniversary brings with it a new and different type of celebration for the brand involving people who work or have worked closely with the brand in its 35 years. This celebration is call the More Than Meets The Eye Call to Action, and it involves showcasing members of the Transformers brand and something that makes them unique, such as a hidden talent, a charitable action or something that celebrates individuality; Anything that embodies the notion that individuals have the strength to become something MORE than what others expect.
Today, we feature John Warden, the Senior Hasbro Designer. John Warden's More Than Meets The Eye Call to Action involves goats, as Warden volunteers on weekends as a Youth volunteer and he loves to hang out with both the kids and the goats.
You can watch his short video below, and let us know what you think of this initiative below!
Earlier today, we received a message from Mark Watts. Mark is most well known amongst Transformers fans for being an artist who worked on Transformers Generation 1 brand back in the 1980s, primarily package and promotional art (most recently worked on the G2 Fall of Cybertron Bruticus exclusive set). Here is the information that Mark provided us to share with all of you about his Kickstarter.
Mark Watts wrote:Table-Art Wall Art that Transforms into Coffee & Desk Table
Transformer Artist Mark Watts is the Original G1 Transformer Artist from 1981 and beyond he Illustrated 45 + boxes for the Transformer kids toys.Table-Art KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN LIVE
Transformer Art Table:
Save $100.00 Limited Supplies + Get Transformer Art Included ... + 3 other prints Included !
Link Below
Help fund this great new well made product ... Thank You!
Table-Art Wall Art that Transformers into 2 Tables!!
New patented idea In decor designed and invented by Mark Watts 24" X 36" beautiful anodized aluminum framed wall art that becomes an art faced coffee table and extends into a desk table. Hanging picture frame size is 24" X 36", 2" thick / Coffee table height 17" high / Desk table height 28". The art is changeable and ships with 2 or 4 great prints of Mark Watts Art. You can hang horizontal or vertical with 2 holes on Horizontal side and 2 on Vertical side. Also hangs well with 3M 17 Lb Velcro. Unit Weight is 14Lb.
Also the Inventor of this Transforming Table-Art.
Own some of his Transformer Art for Table-Art
Hasbro has a question for you. To celebrate the Transformers franchise's 35th anniversary Hasbro is launching a year-long campaign asking fans how they are "More than Meets the Eye". To kick off the celebration they have a special video from Angela Bassett (Shatter in Bumblebee) where she explains how she's "More" and is asking fans to do the same across social media using #MorethanMeetstheEye.
HASBRO REVEALS ‘MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE’ CAMPAIGN IN CELEBRATION OF TRANSFORMERS 35TH ANNIVERSARY
Angela Bassett Kicks-Off Campaign - Activating Fans, Celebrities and Creatives
to Showcase How They’re MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE
PAWTUCKET, RI – April 29, 2019 – In honor of the 35th anniversary of the TRANSFORMERS franchise, Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS) today revealed a new brand campaign that celebrates how we’re all MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE. The MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE campaign will activate fans, celebrities and the creative minds behind the TRANSFORMERS franchise to embrace and showcase how they are MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE through videos. For 35 years MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE has been associated with the TRANSFORMERS brand and is reinforced across all elements of the franchise.
To kick off the campaign, a video featuring Angela Bassett, who starred in 2018’s critically acclaimed BUMBLEBEE film, debuted revealing how she is MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE. In the video, Bassett mentions that besides being a Golden Globe Award recipient, she is also a graduate of Yale College and Yale University. In BUMBLEBEE, Bassett voiced the Decepticon character SHATTER.
The MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE video campaign will be promoted throughout 2019 – with new videos dropping every month. Fans can expect to see familiar faces – both new and old – who have greatly impacted the franchise over the last 35 years. From individuals involved in the creation of the 1986 Transformers animated movie, to Transformers game designers and comic book creators, a wide variety of people have been tapped to contribute to this campaign.
Each video that is part of this campaign will feature the same call to action – “how are you MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE.” Using #MorethanMeetstheEye, we’re asking fans to post videos to social networks that showcase how they are MORE. Whether it’s a hidden talent, a charitable passion, or a hobby, we’re looking to hear how they are MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE.
About Hasbro Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS) is a global play and entertainment company committed to Creating the World's Best Play Experiences. From toys and games to television, movies, digital gaming and consumer products, Hasbro offers a variety of ways for audiences to experience its iconic brands, including NERF, MY LITTLE PONY, TRANSFORMERS, PLAY-DOH, MONOPOLY, BABY ALIVE and MAGIC: THE GATHERING, as well as premier partner brands. Through its entertainment labels, Allspark Pictures and Allspark Animation, the Company is building its brands globally through great storytelling and content on all screens. Hasbro is committed to making the world a better place for children and their families through corporate social responsibility and philanthropy. Hasbro ranked No. 5 on the 2018 100 Best Corporate Citizens list by CR Magazine, and has been named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies® by Ethisphere Institute for the past seven years. Learn more at http://www.hasbro.com, and follow us on Twitter (@Hasbro) and Instagram (@Hasbro).
It is with great sadness that we let you know of the passing of Larry DiTillio, at 79 years old. He was one of the two main story editors for Beast Wars (the other being Bob Forward), the show that saved the Transformers Brand in the 90s and introduced it to a whole new generation. It is very easy to say in this case that if it were not for this man, the brand we all love would not be where it is today. For those curious, here are the episodes he wrote for Beast Wars:
"The Web"
"Power Surge"
"The Spark"
"Spider's Game"
"Other Voices, Part 1" (written together with Bob Forward)
"Other Voices, Part 2"
"Aftermath"
"Other Visits (Part 1)"
"Other Visits (Part 2)"
"Deep Metal"
"Other Victories"
He and Bob Forward also wrote together the Transformers Animated episode "Predacons Rising" (not to be confused with the Transformers: Prime TV movie of the same name).
His passing was announced by an old colleague of his, J. Michael Straczynski. We wish to extend our deepest condolences to Mr. DiTillio's family. May he rest in peace.
Anyone who had hopes up for a "Live Action" Beast Wars film may want to tone down some expectations. With the Bumblebee movie opening in Japan, Lorenzo Di Bonaventura was back for some more interviews. While the latest interview is in Japanese, and certain aspects may be lost in translation, there are some key points that we can get from it.
Mainly, that they way Paramount is set to do a Beast Wars film would not be financially viable. The estimates for a full running time Beast Wars live action film would be $450 Million USD. And Lorenzo was quick to point out that investors would not pay that. This does not mean that there couldn't be a Beast Wars themed segment or elements in another film. The fact that Paramount is also unsure about the interest in a Beast Wars themed movie from the general public is also an issue.
You can read the full interview from The River here and translate it for yourself and let us know what you derive from it.
While The Cybertronic Spree, a metal band hailing from Iacon, have been around for a while, they are gathering a nice boost in popularity due to their latest video showcasing them performing Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song. Arcee knocks it out of the park with the vocals and it's a video sure to make Transformers fan smile. The video is uses footage from two performances, one with Shockwave on the drums while the other with Frenzy.
You can watch the video below.
Let us know what you think of this rendition on the forums!
* Price and quantities subject to change. Shipping costs, taxes and other fees not included in cost shown. Refer to listing for current price and availability.
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