It was pretty interesting….Take a look:

I’ll let you know the regular schedule I’ll be doing them live. So, if you want to participate…ask questions, etc, you can. Or you can always watch the recorded video of the broadcast. I’ll have the all archived and they’ll cover all the different aspects of Voice Acting. Plus, we may even throw in some craziness and fun to break things up from time to time! 

It’s coming….tick, tock…this week….maybe tomorrow….

Mike Mortensen here….back in the saddle after taking some time to take care of some family matters.

I’m chomping at the bit and ready to dive back in and get things rolling! Sorry to leave some of you in the dark, but as they say, sometimes, sh#t happens!

Stay tuned…a lot more posts and videos coming up soon!  MM

The Fox animated TV series, The Simpsons is reaching a new milestone… TV’s longest-running scripted nighttime series marks its 450th episode!

After 20 years these animated characters (and the Voice Actors behind the animation) can easily claim the title as TV’s longest-running scripted nighttime series — period…. With the same Voice Actors that started it all! That the great thing about Voice Acting….you can play roles outside your age, gender or even species!

Had this not been an animated series, no doubt the actors would have been written out because they started aging or gaining weight, etc. But not so in Voice Acting! You can forever be the same lovable character you were 20 years ago…(as long as you keep training and exercising your intrument(s)).

So, that is why Voice Acting is the best gig in entertainment….the opportunities are endless!

Congrats to the Simpsons…. Dan Castellaneta  as dimwitted dad Homer, Julie Kavner is mom Marge, Nancy Cartwright is first-born Bart and Yeardley Smith is daughter Lisa…Also regular Voice Actors - Hank Azaria, for numerous characters including police Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy and convenience-store owner Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, and Harry Shearer, whose stable of roles includes Mr. Burns, Waylon Smithers, Ned Flanders, Reverend Lovejoy, Kent Brockman, Dr. Hibbert and Principal Skinner….Plus EVERY celebrity in the last 20 years has made guest appearances.

Here’s to another 20!

Sad news in the world of Acting and Voice Over…

32 year old Brittany Murphy, who starred in movies like Clueless and Girl Interrupted, as well as the voice of Luanne in the animated series King of the Hill, (in which she won a 2005 Annie Award for Voice Acting in an Animated Television Production), was found unconscious in the show, early this morning by her mother.

After a call to 911 from her Los Angeles home, paramedics were not able to revive her and she was transported to Cedars Sinai Medical Center where she was pronounced dead of cardiac arrest at 10:04am.

I’ll be emailing you regularly (if you’re on the mailing list…if you’re not, you can sign up at the upper right column of this page.) I’ll let you know when I’m going to be on live, so if you have questions or comments you can ask then and get answers right away…even follow up questions.

So sign up for the newsletter, if you haven’t already….you just need to leave your email address in the form on the upper right column of this page, and we’ll be talking soon!

But recently it hit me. Since I’ve really started blogging and coaching so much more…I’ve been heavily emphasizing that this is Voice Over ACTING…Not just a disconnected voice, over some cartoon or visual imagery. It’s ACTING…and in the truest form!

So…That being said…I guess I really have no right to be upset or deny a fellow actor the right to practice his or her craft. We’re all in the same pool…just different areas. And if you really want to look at it as: “The glass is half full”, this is really a great wake up call to a lot of the seasoned voice actors to step it up…go back to get some more training/coaching…expand your offerings, etc.

Whatever the case… Don’t let this deter you from pursuing the dream and becoming the absolute best and most successful Voice Actor you can be! Bring on ALL contenders! Famous actors or not! 

Voice Acting in a Television Production

• Danny Jacobs – Voice of King Julien – “Merry Madagascar” — DreamWorks Animation
• Nicky Jones – Voice of Chowder – “Chowder: The Dinner Theatre” — Cartoon Network Studios
• Tom Kenny – Voice of SpongeBob – “SpongeBob SquarePants — Truth or Square” — Nickelodeon
• Dwight Schultz – Voice of Mung Daal – “Chowder:The Party Cruise” — Cartoon Network Studios
• Willow Smith – Voice of Abby – “Merry Madagascar” — DreamWorks Animation

Voice Acting in a Feature Production

• Jen Cody – Voice of Charlotte – “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Dawn French – Voice of Miss Forcible – “Coraline” — Laika
• Hugh Laurie – Voice of Dr. Cockroach Ph.D. – “Monsters vs. Aliens” — DreamWorks Animation
• John Leguizamo – Voice of Sid – “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaur” — Blue Sky Studios
• Jenifer Lewis – Voice of Mama Odie – “The Princess and the Frog” — Walt Disney Animation Studios

Congrats and best of luck to all the nominees!!

“I have discovered over the years that theater actors make the transition to voiceover acting for animation easier, smoother, and faster than feature-film actors. Many performances are barely more than a whisper in on-camera acting, but in animation it’s got to be bigger and broader.”

Click here for the full article on Casting for Animation

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Screen Actors Guild thesps have thrown a wrench into the world of videogame voice work, rejecting a tentative deal for a new contract and asking employers to return to the bargaining table.

The American Federation of Television & Radio Artists, which covers the lion’s share of unionized voice work for vidgames, is sending out the same deal to its 2,200 members who work the contract with a Nov. 12 deadline for response. AFTRA’s national board OK’d the deal Saturday with “an overwhelming and strong” recommendation for a yes vote.

Click here to read the rest of the story…