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Tag: James Earl Jones

  • Gabrielle Union, Rob Lowe Headed to Pride Rock as Nahla and Simba in ‘The Lion King’ Spinoff

    Gabrielle Union and Rob Lowe are headed to Pride Rock as Nahla and Simba in a TV movie spinoff of The Lion King. The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar will follow Nahla and Simba’s second-born cub, their son Kion. However it’s expected that Gabrielle Union and Rob Lowe will steal the show.

    Why?

    Comedy is second nature to these two. Rob Lowe was hilarious when he starred in Parks and Recreation and if you haven’t laughed out loud at Gabrielle Union in Think Like A Man, then you haven’t laughed.

    Rob Lowe as Simba will be incredibly lovable, too. Look back once again at his role on Parks and Recreation. Do you see a theme here?

    Gabrielle Union is a strong, confident woman. As Nahla, she will stand up to both Simba and anyone who might try leading young Kion astray.

    The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar follows Kion as he leads the Lion Guard. The Lion Guard is in charge of preserving the Pride Lands. Max Charles of The Strain will voice Kion.

    Kion is flanked by best friends Bunga–a honey badger voiced by Joshua Rush, Ono–an intellectual egret voiced by Atticus Shaffer of The Middle, a cheetah named Fuli–voiced by Diamond White, and a hippo named Beshte–voiced by Dusan Brown.

    Almost as exciting as Gabrielle Union and Rob Lowe voicing Nahla and Simba is the return of James Earl Jones and Ernie Sabella as Mufasa and Pumbaa from the original 1994 animated Disney classic, The Lion King.

    Will you be checking out Rob Lowe and Gabrielle Union in The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar? It is set to air in November on The Disney Channel and will be followed by a series in 2016.

  • James Earl Jones Receives Award For His Voiceover Work

    The 83-year-old James Earl Jones is known for his unique voice. He has voiced Mufasa in The Lion King as well as Darth Vader in the Star Wars films. It seems the actor is finally being recognized for his voiceover work after it was reported that he has received a special award from the Society of Voice Arts and Sciences.

    On Sunday, November 9, Jones received the Voice Icon Award at the first Voice Arts Awards. The Voice Arts Awards aims to recognize voice acting talent in film, TV, as well as commercials and videogames. The ceremony was held at the Museum of Moving Image in New York City.

    For the November 9 installment of NPR’s “My Big Break” series, Jones talked about his life and his work. “I loved the Army, I almost stayed in the Army,” Jones said about what he would have done if he wasn’t acting. “I was pre-med in college and couldn’t handle that. I considered being a priest at one point — I’m glad I didn’t do that.”

    In 1969 he won a Tony Award for his portrayal of boxer Jack Jefferson in the play The Great White Hope. Jefferson was based on real-life pugilist Jack Johnson. Jones reprised the role when The Great White Hope was adapted for the big screen. “The Great White Hope put me on the cover of Newsweek magazine,” he says. “One day that week, somebody noticed you.”

    But what he’s clearly remembered for is for his role as the voice of Darth Vader, one of the most iconic villains in cinema. He revisited the role recently for the animated series Star Wars: Rebels. When the pilot was re-aired for ABC, a new scene was added featuring James Earl Jones as the legendary villain.

    “We wanted to do something special for the ABC broadcast,” executive producer Dave Filoni said in a news release. “We’ve added a scene which gives audiences insight into the Inquisitor and includes a cameo by Darth Vader voiced by the distinguished actor James Earl Jones.”

  • James Earl Jones to Be Honored For His Famous Voice

    James Earl Jones, 83, will be honored tonight for his famous voice as the recipient of the Voice Icon Award during the first-ever Voice Arts Awards at the Museum of the Moving Image.

    Jones may have the most recognizable voice known to man and has loaned his vocal cords to create the personas of Darth Vader and Mufasa in Disney’s The Lion King, among many others.

    Oddly enough, the Tony-winning and Oscar-nominated actor will be celebrated for something that gave him great pain as a child. Jones said he had a stutter so severe that he refused to speak at all.

    “I once did not speak. I was mute. When I finally did speak, though, I spoke as an adult,” Jones said.

    Jones gives credit to his teacher for the deep, rich voice that emanates from the actor today.

    “I was 16 or 17, and my teacher said, ‘You remember yourself speaking as a child, you’re now hearing yourself as an adult, don’t get impressed with it. Don’t listen to it, because you can fall in love with the melodious of it. If you listen to it, then nobody else will,’” he said.

    The new annual event will honor the best voices of the year from television, film, video games, commercials, and audiobooks.

    “There is magic in the human voice,” Jones, who will fittingly receive the first Voice Icon Award ever, said to The Associated Press. “And I’m honored.”

    Jones said he was thrilled when he learned how his iconic CNN tagline touched soldiers returning from the Gulf War.

    “The time I was most proud of that was during the first Iraq war. Fliers would come back to base; they would mention that once they got inside and they heard, ‘This is CNN,’ they knew they were home, or a piece of home. I’m very proud to represent that,” he said.

    Jones said he loves many of the characters that he has brought to life with his voice, but he has a particular affinity with Mufasa.

    “I found myself as an adult watching it with great interest and great involvement. When Mufasa died, I understood Simba breaking down and crying because Daddy is gone. … That had an effect on me, that film.”

    Jones said it’s not likely he’ll reprise the role of Darth Vader anytime soon, despite rumors to the contrary.

    “Oh, Darth is dead. Darth is dead,” he said.

    Jones is currently starring in You Can’t Take It With You on Broadway.

  • James Earl Jones Is Back As Darth Vader

    James Earl Jones Is Back As Darth Vader

    The voice of Darth Vader comes back to haunt the rebels when James Earl Jones reprises his iconic voice acting role in the pilot for the animated series Star Wars Rebels. For the ABC broadcast of Star Wars Rebels: Spark Of Rebellion, which happens later this month, producers will add a scene that includes a cameo for Jones as the terrifying Sith lord.

    Jones played the role of Darth Vader (with actor David Prowse in the suit) in the original Star Wars trilogy as well as in Revenge Of The Sith. Since Star Wars Rebels happens between the prequels and the original trilogy, Jones will reprise his role as Darth Vader in a cameo in the pilot as a treat for viewers who will catch it on ABC.

    “We wanted to do something special for the ABC broadcast. We’ve added a scene which gives audiences insight into the Inquisitor and includes a cameo by Darth Vader voiced by the distinguished actor James Earl Jones,” said executive producer Dave Filoni.

    According to a release from Disney, Star Wars Rebels: Mark of Rebellion garnered a viewership of 6.5 million when it aired on Disney Channel last week. The series will premiere on October 13 and has reportedly been picked up for a second season. Meanwhile, the ABC rebroadcast of the pilot in which Jones stars will be shown on October 26.

    Jones has also been busy with his Broadway play You Can’t take It With You, in which he plays the role of Grandpa Vanderhoff, the patriarch of an eccentric New York family. Jones claimed in a CNN interview that the play was his first time to be in a comedy. When asked why it took so long for him to star in one, Jones said, “I guess I thought if you… if you took acting seriously, you had to take acting as serious, you know, and serious stuff.”

  • James Earl Jones Coming Back to Voice Darth Vader

    The word is out! James Earl Jones is coming back to be the voice of Darth Vader. Of all the tidbits of news that could sneak off the set of Star Wars VII, this is a Star Wars fan’s dream come true.

    Except it’s not about Star Wars VII.

    It turns out that ABC is doing a rebroadcast of Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion. The made-for-TV movie will have an extra scene added, featuring Darth Vader, and voiced by James Earl Jones.

    “We wanted to do something special for the ABC broadcast,” Executive Producer Dave Filoni told IGN . “We’ve added a scene which gives audiences insight into the Inquisitor and includes a cameo by Darth Vader voiced by the distinguished actor James Earl Jones.”

    Jones is something of a voice legend. In addition to delivering such classic Vader gems as, “I find your lack of faith disturbing,” and “No. I am your father,” Jones also voiced Mufasa, the father to Simba in Disney’s The Lion King.

    He also has voiced several other animated characters, narrated movies, and had a legendary career on stage and screen out from behind the microphone.

    But Jones story is also one of overcoming challenges. As a child, he developed a debilitating stutter.

    “Stuttering is painful,” he said in an interview. “In Sunday school, I’d try to read my lessons and the children behind me were falling on the floor with laughter.”

    Even in school, Jones got little help.

    “There was another pupil who sat behind me who was also a stutterer and the teacher, who was young, would shake him.”

    Jones received help to overcome his stutter, and Star Wars fans are grateful. They will be able to catch Jones voicing Vader again on October 26.

  • James Earl Jones Is Back On Broadway In “You Can’t Take It With You”

    An eminent actor and the one who gave a distinct voice to the character of Darth Vader, James Earl Jones is making a big comeback on Broadway, where he debuted in 1957. Jones is headlining the Broadway revival of the comedic play You Can’t Take It With You, where he plays the eccentric patriarch of an equally quirky family in Manhattan. The play opens on September 28, but preview performances at the Longacre Theatre began on August 26.

    The legendary actor is joined by a powerhouse cast that includes Golden Globe nominee Rose Byrne (making her Broadway debut), Tony Award nominee Kristine Nielsen, Tony Award nominee Annaleigh Ashford, and Tony Award winner Elizabeth Ashley. Byrne plays the role of Alice, the daughter who seems the most normal in the family.

    You Can’t Take It With You won the Pulitzer Prize for drama after it premiered on Broadway at the Booth Theatre in 1936. Written by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, the play was also adapted to film in 1938, and won an Academy Award. It portrays how the eccentric and freethinking Sycamore family acts when the daughter brings her fiancé’s conservative parents over to dinner on the wrong night. The play was last staged on Broadway in 1983 and returns this year helmed by six-time Tony Award nominated director Scott Ellis.

    The production featuring Jones has teamed up with the Humane Society for the kittens who will be featured in the show. In the play, Jones’ character is constantly surrounded by kittens. These kittens will be replaced as they age and offered for adoption to interested audience members.

    Ellis has enlisted the services of scenic designer David Rockwell, costume designer Jane Greenwood and composer Jason Robert Brown to round out the revival production of You Can’t Take It With You.

  • The Big Bang Theory Grabs Five Critics’ Choice Nods

    The nominations for the 4th annual Critics’ Choice Television Awards were announced yesterday. And it looks like The Big Bang Theory has not lost any steam after seven seasons.

    The popular CBS comedy earned five nominations. We’re clearly in an age where cable television programs are starting to take over. The sitcom’s competition for Best Comedy Series includes all shows that are on cable or Netflix: Veep (HBO), Orange Is The New Black (Netflix), and Louie (FX). The Big Bang Theory won the award last year in this category.

    Even the actual award show will air on a cable network, The CW, for the first time ever. Cedric the Entertainer is set to host. You can check it out on June 19th at 8 pm ET.

    Jim Parsons has also been nominated for Best Actor in a Comedy Series. His competition includes Louis CK (Louie), Chris Messina (The Mindy Project), Thomas Middleditch (Silicon Valley), Adam Scott (Parks and Recreation), and Robin Williams (The Crazy Ones). Louis CK took home the award last year.

    Big Bang’s Mayim Bialik and Kaley Cuoco will square off against each other for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy. Other nominees in the category include: Laverne Cox (Orange Is the New Black), Allison Janney (Mom), Kate Mulgrew (Orange Is the New Black), and Merritt Wever (Nurse Jackie).

    Rounding out the five nominations for The Big Bang Theory is James Earl Jones. The veteran actor was nominated for Best Guest Performer.

    As far as networks go, FX leads all of them with 19 nominations with strong contributions from dramas like Fargo and The Americans. Meanwhile, HBO wasn’t far behind with 18 nominations.

    CBS recently reported that The Big Bang Theory is the most watched sitcom in the uber-important 18-49 demo. The show was picked up by the network for an additional three seasons and will run through (at least) 2017.

    You can check out all the nominations on the Critics’ Choice Awards website.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • The Big Bang Theory Books Star Wars Actors for Cameos

    Sheldon Cooper, Howard Wolowitz, Raj Koothrappali and Leonard Hofstadter’s boyhood dreams get one step closer to reality in an upcoming episode of The Big Bang Theory. TVLine exclusively learned, at the Golden Globes, that two Star Wars actors will guest star on the hit CBS series. Big Bang‘s executive producers Bill Prady and Steve Molaro told the site this exclusive news during their Golden Globes’ red carpet interview.

    James Earl Jones, who voiced Darth Vader, and Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia, are the Star Wars guest stars visiting the Big Bang Theory set.The actors will play themselves and cross paths with Sheldon. The news of these guest stars hopefully opens up the door for more Star Wars alum to make appearances on the show, because the hilarity that will ensue when Sheldon meets Star Wars cast members is must-see TV.

    Not that The Big Bang Theory really needs any ratings help. Last week’s episode drew over 20 million viewers, the show’s biggest numbers for a regularly scheduled show. The series averages around 18 million viewers on Thursday nights.

    Despite not really needing help getting viewers, the Star Wars guest stars’ episode definitely will bring the show even bigger numbers, and possibly more award nominations and wins.

    The Big Bang Theory lost this year’s Golden Globe for best Musical or Comedy’s series to Brooklyn Nine-Nine. However, the series generally wins lots of Emmys, especially Jim Parsons who plays Sheldon. At the 2013 Emmy awards, Bob Newhart won his first Emmy for guest starring on The Big Bang Theory. The show may bring Earl-Jones and Fisher the same success.

    This is exciting news for Big Bang fans. Maybe Harrison Ford will do the next major Big Bang Theory’s guest appearance. He could kill two fandom birds with one stone, the Indiana Jones and Star Wars fandoms.

    Image via Facebook

  • Angela Lansbury, James Earl Jones Hit The Stage

    Angela Lansbury has spent most of her life either onstage or in front of a camera, and while she made plenty of fans with the long-running mystery “Murder, She Wrote”, she says she was ready to move away from film and television acting when a golden opportunity came along.

    The 87-year old won a plum role in the Australian touring production of “Driving Miss Daisy”, alongside fellow veteran actor James Earl Jones. She says it wasn’t hard to return to the stage, because she’s had a love for it for so long.

    “Coming back to the theater about seven years ago turned the tide for me, it really did. Because it gave me a career after 70,” she said. “I could still work in the theater and play great roles, but it wasn’t so easy to continue as a motion picture actress. Which I was very glad of — I didn’t like the way we were making movies … the kind of roles I would like to play didn’t seem to exist. But I love the theater and, as it turned out, it was the thing to do.”

    As for Jones, he says he was excited to tackle a role which he knew would hit relatively close to home. Hoke, played by Morgan Freeman in the film version, is illiterate. Jones–who has become so infamous for his distinctive voice (he is, after all, the voice of Darth Vader)–suffered from a debilitating stutter as a child and rarely spoke before his teens.

    “Hoke Colburn is such a character. He’s illiterate, but he speaks English … and uses it very effectively and very poetically,” Jones said. “That’s what I love about the role, trying to understand how he re-weaves language so he gets himself across.”

    Both actors have worked together before in a stage production of “The Best man”. “Driving Miss Daisy”–which won writer Alfred Uhry a Pulitzer Prize, opens next month in Australia.

    Image: Bruce Glikas

  • Candice Bergen Concealed Health Issues Out of Fear

    Veteran actress, Candice Bergen, hid the fact that she had a stroke in 2006 out of fear that she would no longer be offered leading roles. When she was put in the hospital for her heart condition she collaborated with her representatives to dismiss the occurrence as a rumor.

    She told New York Magazine that she decided to conceal her health issues because she didn’t want to be seen as a liability and revealed that since her stroke, “My Memory is just … not quite the same.” She also admitted “I get worn out because I’m old.”

    Now the aging comedian is showcasing her talent to Broadway; she plays the role of the politician’s neglected wife in Gore Vidal’s The Best Man,. She says she initially turned down the role because “she didn’t want to desert her husband at night.”

    The play also stars James Earl Jones, Angela Lansbury, John Larroquette, Eric McCormack, Kerry Butler, Jefferson Mays and Michael McKean. Jones thinks “it is one of the best plays ever written.”

    Bergen is best known for her leading roles in Murphy Brown (1988–1998), for which she won five Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards; and as Shirley Schmidt on the comedy-drama Boston Legal (2004–2008), for which she was nominated for two Emmys, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

    Here are some tweets about the play:

    (image)@larrydrobertson
    Larry Robertson    About to watch James Earl Jones, Angela Lansbury, John Larroquette, Candice Bergen, & others in Gore Vidal’s “The Best Man” on Broadway! #fb(image) 1 day ago via HootSuite ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@GeorgeMathew
    George Mathew    Wonderful time at a pm show of THE BEST MAN by Gore Vidal on Broadway w James Earl Jones,Candice Bergen, Angela Landsbury & John Laroquette.(image) 3 days ago via Twitter for BlackBerry® ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@sarajanetaylor
    Sara Taylor    Got tickets to “The Best Man” on Bway with Angela Lansbury & Candice Bergen AKA JESSICA FLETCHER AND MURPHY BROWN ON STAGE TOGETHER OMG DEAD(image) 5 days ago via Twitter for iPhone ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto