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Rob Paulsen Talks About The High And Low Notes Of Life in Voice Lessons

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I got a chance to interview legendary voice actor Rob Paulsen who is known for his character voices in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Animaniacs, and his current series Talkin’ Toons.

We now get an in-depth look at Rob’s career and what shaped his success in a new memoir entitled Voice Lessons: How a couple of Ninja Turtles, Pinky and an Animaniac Saved My Life.

The book is available for purchase on Amazon here:

That’s My Entertainment (TME): You had a very expansive, legendary career. You’ve voiced so many iconic characters over the years but you’re doing something new now. You’ve decided to write a book. Tell me how that came about and what went into that.

Rob Paulson (RP): Well the book is a culmination about a number of things. The most important of which I think, was three years ago…at this time,  I had just finished radiation and chemo therapy for stage three throat cancer which was a curve ball for a guy,  who makes his living with his voice; it definitely got my attention.

I had been asked by friends and fans for years before that particular surprise as to whether or not I would write a book… Look, I’m good at my job and it’s not false modesty but the last thing the world needs is another celebrity Hollywood bio; especially by a guy who’s not a celebrity. The characters are famous. Not me. And I’m fine with that.

TME: But that makes your story much different… doesn’t it?

RP: Yes it does and it makes the story different and more interesting in the context of the throat cancer. If I had got skin cancer, stomach cancer, or pancreatic cancer, that would have been a drag but Jesus…everybody has their stuff. And everybody unfortunately knows and loves someone who has been touched by cancer and often has died from it. But if its something that  affects you not only where you live but in the way in which you communicate with the world, it makes for a more interesting story. Spoiler alert: I lived.

The book called Voice Lessons,which i think was a particularly terrific  title thought up by my co-writer Mike Fleeman…the context of my cancer experience is in there but the due to the fact that I have had contact and continued to keep in contact with a great number of people who I’ve spoken to over the years, usually whose children have gone through horrible circumstances and want to speak to Raphael or Pinky or Leonardo, or Donatello or Yakko or Carl… whomever as a result of their particular horrible cancer circumstances and also often the children don’t make it.

After these really heroic struggles, the parents keep in touch with me, over the years even though their children are gone; they continue to remind me how brave they were. and that really crossed me up and gave me immeasurable strength to deal with my own circumstances…and I’m a pretty tough guy but this was really brutal for me. It screws up your mouth, your throat, your stomach. It was brutal; really difficult.

It is not impossible to survive; Michael Douglass survived it. Unfortunately Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times did not survive it…and others. Its a pretty brutal cancer treatment and if you don’t take care of it, it can leave you worse for wear.  I was more than happy to give it a shot and I’m fine now. That is what the book is about…how these children and their parents and the characters; most importantly, brought strength and joy to not only them but to me.

It was a pretty wonderful experience. Ill tell ya…it was incredible.

TME: Talking about your characters and you’ve done so much work, was there any character in the middle of a gig that gave you a sense of ” this is it, this is what you wanted to be doing as an actor”?

RP: I came out to L.A. 41 years ago to do live action and music. I was a singer first and became an actor and that was what I was doing. A lot of episodic television,commercials. and about mid 80s the opportunity presented itself to do animation and of course I jumped at it because I wanted to work. I never say no. I just like to be creative and work.And so the first shows I did were G.I. Joe and Transformers and I thought “Man this is great.

Nobody cares what I look like because as I’m not celebrity talent, and your work and opportunities for work are dictated often by your looks. In animation work, no one cares what the actors look like. In fact often, you will do characters that are of the opposite sex. A lot of young boy characters are all done by women. Finally at about 30, I decided “I wanna stay here. This is great”… And I’m glad I did because now… all these years later, after Pinky, Yakko and Carl, Arthur on the Tick and the Mask, Mighty Max and Fairly Oddparents…

TME: You just described my childhood.

RP: Yeah…how about that? Mine too!  My post childhood…and my son’s childhood who is now 35 and I’m glad I made that choice.

TME: Was there any character that you personally identified with?

RP:  Yeah I gotta say because of the smart ass attitude I gotta say Rafael and Yakko are closest to me in my own personality because I’m a bit snarky and I have a saracastic attitude that I think is a sense of humor that certainly was helpful during my cancer experience; not take myself and my treatment too seriously and when things got pretty gnarly I would just say to myself “Well you know what? I reckon you better find a way to get on it because if you don’t find a way to do this it’s gonna kill you so you might as well find a way to enjoy the ride. You’re not living under a bridge; you got every type of medicine to get through it so why don’t you just take a handful and hook yourself to some fluids because you can’t eat and drink and listen to Pink Floyd. Start getting the cure done so you can get on with your life.All these children before you who didn’t make it and the brave men and women who tried this treatment; not knowing what the outcome would be…they’re a lot tougher than you. I reckon you better shut your mouth.”

That attitude helped me keep my head down and take a punch. I’m glad I have it. And those characters that I identify with and helped me be successful because they are utterly natural and organic and I didn’t have to stretch. Yakko and Rafael are the easiest to slide into and the two that come to mind.

Check out this story of Rob’s incredible journey and how his fans helped him through one of the toughest challenges of his life. See link above for purchase details.

*The following is an edited transcript of the conversation.

 

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‘Abigail’: Bite Me Harder Tiny Dancer

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A gang of misfit kidnappers find their tiny target far more bloodthirsty than they bargained for! 

So, unfortunately, the trailers gave it away and let’s be real that’s why most of us are here, the knowledge that the kidnap victim Abigail (Alisha Weir), codenamed by the would-be kidnappers appropriately as ‘tiny dancer’, is in fact, a vampire. Not a spoiler, point of fact, one of the film’s actual great selling points. And the reactions from the misfit club when faced with a real actual f*cking vampire, range hilariously from the blunt “no such thing as vampires” all the way to, “Are we talking True Blood or Twilight rules or what?” all while covered in buckets and buckets of blood. 

Anyway, the gang manages to subdue and abscond with the aforementioned Abigail, in a pre-prepared duffle bag, like you do, and converge to a new location, a house oddly similar to the one she was just taken from. Welcomed and given codenames by a man who introduces himself as Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito), our misfit club is told to simply hold down the fort in this strange old house with the girl chained up in a room and one person to attend her, for twenty-four hours, and they’ll all get paid. 

As inevitable as the tides, the dopey druggie Dean (Angus Cloud) is the first to die, and we’re going to give that death-style points for inspiring terror right off the bat. The very controlling Frank (Dan Stevens, holy crap yes that is the guy from FXs Legion) is also of course the most suspicious – of everyone around him, sure, but also he himself is totes sus. We don’t learn terribly much about the musclebound tank who gets dubbed Peter (Kevin Durand), he’s your pretty typical little-brains-heart-of-gold muscle-for-hire any proper gang needs, right down to the bottle problem. Sammy (Kathryn Newton), well, even for being a purported hacker-type, she has, like, reality issues. Rickles (William Catlett), he’s arguably the most dangerous among them, ex-military and yet somehow here and involved in kidnapping for a few mills. Joey (Melissa Barrera) is our Final Girl, and though she has the inevitable problems in her recent past, she seems more capable of doing the hard thing and still somehow empathizing at the end of the day. Must be her burning desire to get back with her son. 

The fit hits the shan pretty quickly, and Abigail morphs from tiny dancer to tiny monster, though honestly, the way Abigail spoke the entire time in the film, if the ‘nappers had been paying close enough attention, would have been a solid clue. The performance from Alisha Weir as Abigail is incredible, as she literally dances a fine line between comedy, tragedy, and outright monstrosity. With a face full of makeup and the force of a tiny tornado to back it up, Weir brings to mind the great performances of the vampires in 30 Days of Night who saw the practicality in the need to trap their food, but also, play with it a bit first before feasting! Anything else would give away the absolute fun time that is Abigail, so you should go see it, out in theaters now!

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Scrubs Reunion: The Band Gets Back Together

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Fans of the beloved medical comedy series Scrubs were recently treated to a thrilling surprise when John C. McGinley, who portrayed the iconic Dr. Perry Cox, dropped a photo on Twitter hinting at a potential reunion project. The image, showing McGinley alongside his former co-stars, sparked a wave of excitement and speculation among fans who have been longing for more adventures with the beloved Sacred Heart Hospital staff.

While details about the reunion project are still scarce, the mere possibility of seeing the gang back together again has sent waves of nostalgia through fans who fondly remember the show’s original run from 2001 to 2010. Scrubs was not just a sitcom; it was a heartfelt exploration of friendship, love, and the chaotic world of medicine, all wrapped up in a quirky and often hilarious package.

At the heart of the show was the bromance between JD (played by Zach Braff) and Turk (played by Donald Faison), whose antics and deep bond served as the emotional anchor for the series. Their dynamic, along with the sage wisdom (and relentless sarcasm) of Dr. Cox, provided viewers with memorable moments that have stood the test of time.

As we eagerly await more news about the Scrubs reunion project, one thing is for sure: it’s time to dust off those old DVDs, rewatch our favorite episodes, and get ready to welcome back our favorite gang of doctors, nurses, and janitors for what promises to be a memorable reunion.

But Scrubs was more than just its main characters. The supporting cast, including the eccentric Janitor (played by Neil Flynn), the neurotic Elliot (played by Sarah Chalke), and the wise-cracking nurse Carla (played by Judy Reyes), each brought their own unique flavor to the show, creating a rich tapestry of characters that fans grew to love.

While the photo shared by McGinley has fueled speculation about what the reunion project might entail, whether it’s a one-off special, a new season, or something else entirely, one thing is certain: fans are eagerly awaiting any opportunity to dive back into the world of Sacred Heart Hospital.

In an age where reboots and revivals are commonplace, Scrubs stands out as a series that has the potential to recapture the magic that made it a fan favorite in the first place. With its blend of humor, heart, and unforgettable characters, a reunion project has the opportunity to not only satisfy longtime fans but also introduce a new generation to the joys of life at Sacred Heart.

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‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’: Rebellion with a cause

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The story of the rise of Coriolanus Snow, from teenage Capital City pawn to rising Dictator of the Hunger Games! 

Apparently no one out here in post-apocalyptic Panem has heard of irony and so they name their children things like Coriolanus (Tom Blyth), Tigress, and further off in Hunger Games lore, after swamp plants like Katniss. Corio’s father was a legendary general and that is pretty much the only reason young Snow and his meager family of grandmother called Grandma’am (Fionnula Flanagan) and sister Tigress (Hunter Schafer) are tolerated here in the Capital City at all. 

Most of the snotty youngsters at the academy won’t let Snow forget how far his family has fallen, but he’s generally not concerned with them. What is concerning is the strong disapproval of the drugged-up Dean Casca Highbottom (Peter Dinklage) and the creepy attention of Dr. Volumnia Gaul (Viola Davis) as she lurks in the classroom sniffing out talent. The Dean feels very strongly the annual Hunger Games should end, while Gaul is violently adamant that not only do the Games continue, but that they get as much more attention as possible. And young Snow is stuck in the middle, when the yearly prize money normally awarded to the academy student with the best grades gets switched out for, you guessed it, the student that can make this years’ Hunger Games as entertaining as possible. 

Whilst the students are protesting this sudden change, the annual Reaping is about to commence, and big shock and surprise, Corio’s candidate from District 12 Lucy Grey Baird (Rachel Zegler) is chosen as a Tribute. This is where the film begins to really take off on musical wings, for as it turns out, Lucy Grey can sing. Boy, can that gal sing! She can sing, she can play guitar, she can work a crowd, she can calm things down, she can fire ‘em up too! And Corio, being no dummy himself, instantly plots ways to use his Tributes amazing voice to draw attention to her, and admittedly his own, plight! 

Though far too many people sneer at the idea, Corio takes his position as Mentor to his Tribute seriously enough to sneak onto the tram taking the Tributes to their habitat, which turns out to be a completely appropriate moniker, as this year the Tributes are held before the Hunger Games in a large zoo habitat so the weatherman ‘Lucky’ Flickerman (Jason Schwartzman), host of this years games, can MC the hell out of everything up close and personal! 

What happens at this years Hunger Games and the subsequent consequences to both Corio and Lucy Grey is actually only half the story, and the movie. Coriolanus has always had to be opportunistic, but learning to be absolutely ruthless when necessary under the tutelage of Dr. Gaul, who basically thinks it’s always best to be merciless, is an eye-opening education indeed.  Even after they’ve both been consigned to military service and his friend Sejanus Plinth (Josh Andres Rivera) decides to finally rebel, Corio and Sejanus continue to deceive each other and themselves, to accomplish their separate goals. Not even the love Corio swears he feels for Lucy Grey can save him, or them, from the adamant absolute necessity of the Hunger Games continuing. And after all that’s happened, Coriolanus Snow has gotten a terrific education in the best way to be the absolutely ruthless next Hunger Games advocate, and oh yeah, President of Panem. 

The movie does itself no favors by trying to stuff not one but two major storylines and a bunch of side storylines sadly introduced and then ignored, into the film. It would have been entirely possible to turn Ballads of Songbirds and Snakes into two different movies, separated between feathers and scales if you like, and do justice to the major storylines in both. Blyth gives a fine  performance as a young Coriolanus Snow, but the fact that President Snow is played by Donald Sutherland in all three of the Hunger Games films means Blyth has incredibly large shoes to fill. Rachel Zegler as Lucy Grey is absolute fire, and yes the actress did sing the songs in the film herself, including the Hunger Games franchise epic song, ‘The Hanging Tree’. Every time Lucy Grey opens her mouth and sheer soul-searing music comes out, it provides a distinct counterpoint to the soul-crushing ambition of Coriolanus Snow and further demonstrates the District and Caste separation Hunger Games is known for. And if, by the end of the film, Coriolanus Snow has come to agree that the Hunger Games must continue but perhaps under his own auspices, he has no one but himself to blame when another younger but still rebellious female blows it all up in his face! 

Choose rebellion or conformity for yourself in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

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