North American VA Update – Summer 2011

Toby Proctor (Tuxedo Mask #2) can be heard in two episodes of Turbo Dogs, an animated series. He is joined by other Sailor Moon voice actors, including: Catherine Disher (Mimet), Ron Rubin (Artemis), Colin O’Meara (Andrew) and Lyon Smith (Sapphire). The episodes where you can hear them are titled “The Muffled Mess-Up/Return to Lender” (aired December 2010) and “Best Buds Forever/Alsatian Aces” (aired January 2011). He also appears as a police office in an episode of XIII: The Series, a Canadian action series based on a Belgian comic book. The series is about XIII, who is trying to uncover the truth about his past life while being hunted by a dark anti-government organization. Toby appears in episode 7, “Undertow.”

Barbara Radecki (Sailor Neptune) appeared in an episode of Good Dog as Julia, the ex-wife of the main character. The dramatic comedy is about a TV producer who “caves in to network demands and asks his young girlfriend, Claire to move into his house, but she doesn’t move in alone.” (description from IMDb). This is another series by Shaftesbury Films that includes cast from Sailor Moon (Murdoch Mysteries also had Julie Lemieux and Wendy Lyon guest star in 2009, in separate episodes). The episode featuring Barbara is called “Jack Nicholson.” During this episode, the main character, George, gets a table at a restaurant by claiming that Jack Nicholson will be meeting him for dinner, but his ex-wife is sitting at the next table so he makes excuses to try to leave. In a later episode of this series, David Fraser (Grandpa Hino) appears as Executor, when the main character “deals with the fallout of promising a non-existent television show to the most beautiful woman in the world.” (description from IMDb)

Speaking of David Fraser, he’s been busy! He’s appeared in four different TV series recently. In addition to Good Dog mentioned above, the following is a list of his other appearances. Breakout Kings premiered in March, and David was in the sixth episode, “Queen of Hearts,” as Milt Langley which first aired in early April. The show is about a group of ex-cons working with U.S. Marshals to track down prison escapees. What’s Up Warthogs is about some teenagers who make the morning announcements into a show. David appears in the seventh episode, “The Fall of Warty,” as Jerry the janitor which first aired in late April. Almost Heroes is comedy about brothers forced to take over their father’s failing comic book store after his untimely death. David appears as Baker in the fifth episode, “Terry and Peter vs. Their Hero.”

Jill Frappier (Luna) appears as a recurring character in the Canadian television series Life Unjarred as Helene. So far she has appeared in episodes 4-6, 11, and 13.

TBGO - Chair, shoesEmilie Barlow (Sailor Mars #2, Sailor Venus #2) will be performing on August 13th at Scene Desjardins in Levis, Québec. She will also be performing on the Harmony Square stage at the fourth annual TD Brantford International Jazz Festival, a free outdoor show which will be running September 16th-18th. Her performance is schedule for 5:00 p.m. on September 17th. In October, fans can see Emilie in Québec and Ontario. She will perform on October 27th in Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec at l’Espace Rona at 8:00 p.m. On the 29th, she will be in Terrbonne, Québec and performing at Salle Desjardins – Le Théâtre du Vieux-Terrebonne at 8:30 p.m. On the 30th, she will be in Burnstown, Ontario, on the Schoolhouse stage at Neat Coffee Shop at 8:30 p.m. In December, she will be in Brampton, Ontario on the first, performing at the Rose Theatre at 8:00 p.m. On the second, she will be in Markham, Ontario, at the Markham Theatre performing at 8:00 p.m.

Fans in the United States who would like to hear Emilie’s voice in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, which we previously reported about, can catch the series on The Hub and Canadian fans can find it on Treehouse TV.

Vince Corazza (Alan/ Tuxedo Mask #3) appeared in episode 16, “the Magnificent” of the Supah Ninjas TV series, as Mallini the Magnificent. We also have a release date for Rock and Roll: The Movie, which we’ve previously reported about. The US film release date is July 30th, so interested fans can look out for it soon!

Dream House Poster

David Huband (Serena’s Dad) will be appearing in a TV short called Dave vs Death. The comedic short is about a man named David Kane who, on his deathbed, challenges Death to a game of chess. “If Dave wins, his life is spared. For every piece lost, someone he cares about will die.” (description from IMDb). A poster is now available for the thriller film Dream House (see right), which we previously reported will premiere in theatres on September 30th. A trailer is also available, but if you watch past 1:11 it may spoil the plot. You can see David around 50 seconds into the trailer. He’s the police officer on the left.

David Huband in Dream House

Harvey Atkin (Bumboo/Pox) has reprised his role in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. The latest episode featuring him as Judge Alan Ridenour was “Delinquent” and it first aired in May 2011.

Maria Vacratsis (Negaforce) appeared in episode six of Skins, which we previously reported as including Sabrina Grdevich (Anne/Lizzy/Sailor Pluto #1) in two other episodes. The series is about a group of teenagers in Baltimore.

Liza Balkan () is featured in The Drowning Girls which is on stage at the Thousand Islands Playhouse Firehall Theatre, until July 30. Described as “the wettest show you’ll ever see, The Drowning Girls is an acclaimed and highly theatrical mystery based on a real life series of murders called “Brides in the Bath” from Edwardian, England.” (description from Kingston This Week) Showtimes are Tuesdays to Sundays at 8 p.m., with Friday and Saturday matinees at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are available at 1000islandsplayhouse.com. A review of the play is available here.

(Images from Emilie Barlow’s Flickr pool, IMDb, and North Country Public Radio)

Upcoming Interviews!

EDIT: Fans now have until June 14th!

We’re still very busy scrambling to finish this report under a tight deadline, but we can share with you some exciting news – we have not one, but TWO interviews coming up! Moonie1995 attended Anime Blitz with me last Sunday and we broke this news there first!

And these interviews are with:

Emilie-Claire Barlow
(the second voice of both Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus)
Lyon Smith
(Sapphire)

Since we are really busy with putting this report together, fans will have until at least June 10th to submit their questions. Either comment on this post, send us an email (with the subject Emilie-Claire Barlow and Lyon Smith Interview in the subject) at Moonchasers@NOSPAMPLZTHXWITHACHERRYONTOPgmail.com, or post in this thread on our forum. Once we are done the report, we’ll give you a week’s warning for when the last day will be to submit questions. Do not feel you have to be limited to only asking about Sailor Moon! They have worked on a lot of other productions, and you can click on Emilie-Claire Barlow’s and Lyon Smith’s tags for more information, or hit their pages on IMDB here or here for more. They also have official sites too (here and here). Emilie-Claire Barlow is also an accomplished jazz singer and the second VA to go to Japan, and she is also the first VA to make it big there, aside from voicing several cartoon characters . Lyon Smith also has a career in music aside from voicing several roles in cartoons, and he posts his songs (which range from rock, alternative, experimental, to even ambient) on his official websites – Gas Mask is one of our favorites!

We’re excited to bring you this interview, as well as a few more this summer!

Finally, We Can End the Catherine Disher Saga…(And A Gemini Awards Update)

We posted not too long ago that Linda Ballantyne had revealed to us that she was in fact the voice of Snow Princess Kaguya in the Sailor Moon S movie – and we watched it again and heard the similarities to other voices she had played in other cartoons. However, one (or more) fans continued to disbelieve this, and posted some very rude comments on our blog. We did some more lurking on the internet, and discovered that many places were still giving Catherine the credit. Moreover, it has never actually been confirmed that she did in fact play Mimete in the S-season, as the episodes on DVD never credited her by name in any episode. Therefore we decided to put an end to this, and investigate this for once and for all. On Thursday, I personally called up Ms. Disher’s agency and spoke to a representative there. The representative tried to get a hold of a voice acting agent, but he was not in at the time. I left my email in the hopes that I’d hear back one way or another. Around an hour later, the representative emailed me back and told me that she played the role of Mimete, and not Snow Princess Kaguya. To you fans who are still skeptical, we can’t prove this any more than we already have. So please stop telling us that we have it wrong, because the agency has given us more “official proof” that she did not play Kaguya. Any further comments to the contrary will be ignored, the research has been done and reported, please let the issue go. Unfortunately, I am unable to share which agency she is represented by on this site, out of respect for her. We won’t report an actor on this site unless we can absolutely verify that they had a role in Sailor Moon.

On a more positive note, this means we have another voice actress to follow on our radar, and we can make a more complete update to our Gemini Awards post. Catherine was nominated for her role on CBC’s The Border as Superintendent Maggie Norton (fans can check out episodes here) in the category “Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series”. Unfortunately, she did not win – Gabrielle Miller (who many know very well as Lacey from CTV’s now ended Corner Gas) won for her role in Robson Arms playing Bobbi Briggs. Lyon Smith (Sapphire) and Stephanie Morgenstern (Sailor Venus #1) were also nominated in different categories, but did not win. However, Stephanie Morgenstern and her husband Mark Ellis’ Flashpoint won 3 awards during the initial presentation! This Saturday, many are predicting that it will win more during the broadcast gala. Keep your eyes peeled on Global TV tonight!

BREAKING NEWS: Stephanie Morgenstern, Lyon Smith, and Maria Vacratsis Nominated for Gemini Awards!

Nominations for the 24th Annual Gemini Awards in Canada (equivalent of the USA Emmy Awards) were announced this morning in Toronto. Flashpoint is nominated for a record 19 awards in 12 categories! Congratulations to Mark Ellis, Stephanie Morgenstern (Sailor Venus #1), and all of the writers, actors, and crew who were nominated. Lyon Smith (Prince Sapphire) and Maria Vacratsis (Negaforce) were also nominated for awards. We have posted their awards below, but to see the entire list of awards that Flashpoint was nominated for, head over to our sister blog, We Got The Solution!

The list of awards is posted below by category, with Sailor Moon actor nominees in bold.

Best Writing in a Dramatic Series:

Mark Ellis, Stephanie Morgenstern
Flashpoint
Haunting the Barn

Lori Spring
Murdoch Mysteries
I, Murdoch

Floyd Kane
Soul
Fathers and Daughters

Brad Wright
Stargate Atlantis
The Shrine

Michael Hirst
The Tudors
Episode 205

Best Individual or Ensemble Performance in an Animated Program or Series:

Tajja Isen, Colin Fox, Dwayne Hill, Bruce Hunter, Rick Miller, Adrian Truss
Atomic Betty (3)
Elementary, My Dear Minimus/Great Eggspectations

Paul O’Sullivan, Melissa Altro, Juan Chioran, Michael Cohen, Sean Cullen, Lili Francks, M. Christian Heywood, Krystal Meadows, Lyon Smith
Grossology
Pinkeye’s Revenge P2

Dwayne Hill
Grossology
Fangs A Lot

Best Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Program or Series

Fabrizio Filippo, Jennifer Baxter, Mike Beaver, Robin Brûlé, Jayne Eastwood, Brandon Firla, Ron Gabriel, Peter Keleghan, Arnold Pinnock, Aron Tager
Billable Hours
A Manson for All Seasons

Ordena Stephens-Thompson, Trey Anthony, Daniel J Gordon, Eli Goree, Ngozi Paul
Da Kink in My Hair – Season 2
Black Cake, White Cake

Christopher Bolton, Oliver Becker, Michael Bodnar, Sarain Boylan, Inga Cadranel, Louis Di Bianco, Carlos Diaz, Mark Cameron Fraser, Matt Gordon, Gabriel Hogan, Mayko Nguyen, Pascal Petardi, Joe Pingue, Jeff Pustil, Simon Reynolds, Philip Riccio, Maria Vacratsis, Jeremy Wright
Rent-A-Goalie
Ham in a Pram

Shaun Majumder, Gavin Crawford, Mark Critch, Geri Hall, Cathy Jones
This Hour Has 22 Minutes Series XVI
Episode 1

Steve Cochrane, Kevin Ellis, George Komorowski, Adriana Maggs, Jordan McCloskey, Steven Morana, Paul Snepsts, Joel Stewart
Three Chords from the Truth
Tommy’s Label Showcase

We’ll be watching out for these awards come October 19th and 20th, and November 14th, to keep you all updated on who wins! Congratulations again to Stephanie, Lyon, and Maria and we all wish you the best of luck!

North American VA Update: July 2009!

Hi Moonies! We’ve got another North American VA exclusive for you all at the end (we always save the best things for last)!

The Death of Alice Blue to Finally Have Canadian Premiere!

A movie we have been following for a very long time is finally going to premiere in its home country! The Death of Alice Blue (part I – The Bloodsucking Vampires of Advertising) has been invited for its Canadian premiere to the Montreal World Film Festival. This one runs from August 27th to September 7th, and we’d tell you more except that as of this writing none of the films showing this year have been announced on the site. We wonder if any of the VAs in this one (Barbara Radecki, Katie Griffin and her husband Michael Kulas) are going to attend? Congratulations to Park Bench and Alex Appel for finally getting this movie a premiere in Canada and here’s hoping it gets a distributor so the rest of us can see it soon!

A Sapphire Shines Again!

Lyon Smith (Prince Sapphire) shared some news and stories with us! He has his own official site now which we encourage fans to go visit – he posts a lot of really cool links to his works too! While his time on Sailor Moon wasn’t as pleasant as many fans may think it might have been, he is also excited about a possible redub and if he was given the chance he would do it again! Hey FUNImation, are you reading this? Consider Canada for a re-dub! This is our second official VA that has confirmed to be interested in reprising their role for a re-dub of Sailor Moon (this is great news for Operation Moonrise)! Some fans may not know this behind-the-scenes story, but when Lyon was first cast he was called in to replace Tuxedo Mask. It was his first series that he had landed as a regular! At the time though, production was too intense (and we’ve heard similar stories from other actors from those first years). But the show did launch his voice career, and since then he has voiced memorable roles in other anime, cartoons and video games! He played Pythias in Mythic Warriors: Guardians of Legend, the Mysterious Guy in Biohazard 0, Kevin and Michael in Beyblade, Ed in Get Ed, Magma in Spider Riders, and he is currently appearing in Bakugan Battle Brawlers which has been a huge hit with the kids all over North America! In the first season he played Masquerade, and in the second season (which is recording right now) he plays Prince Hydron. And this prince’s voice is based on none other, but the Japanese voice of Prince Diamond! We really admire Lyon Smith for watching episodes of Sailor Moon in Japanese – we’re not sure how many others have (we know Roland Parliament did for sure). He will be reprising his role as Masquerade for the upcoming Bakugan video game. And there’s even more Lyon to be heard in CBC’s Magi-Nation – he plays the hero, Tony Jones! In another awesome coincidence, Lyon was also a student of Roland’s!

Lyon Smith is also a budding musician – he writes his own music and also helps out with sound design for plays in Toronto. He currently composed music and worked sound design for the play A Singularity of Being, which is loosely based on the life of Steven Hawking. Lyon’s music is really worth checking out if you’re into alternative rock! He covered the song You Believe in Rock and Roll for a David Bowie tribute album (2.CONTAMINATE) which is on iTunes. He has his own site for fans to check out his music – and altrock fans will take a liking! There’s even a bit of experimental and mashing in there too. And best of all, all the music is free! He is also on MySpace as well. We once again encourage all our readers to check out his music.

Special thanks to Lyon and best of luck on your upcoming works!