GTA IV is inarguably successful, but while Rockstar employees are doubtlessly swimming in Jacuzzis overflowing with bubbly champagne, one critical component of the game is a bit upset that he isn't reaping more rewards from his labor. That critical component - Michael Hollick, who provided the body and voice of GTA IV protagonist Niko Belic.
The actor-character match seems one made from the stars. Much like Niko, Michael nurtured big ambitions by working small jobs - serving bagels, bartending, even spraying perfume at a Bloomingdale's store, all the while keeping his eye on his prize: Broadway and primetime television.
Though NY Times writer Seth Schiesel noted that Hollick's "face still isn't famous," his voice and body movements certainly are. After dabbling in small musicals, soaps, and Law & Order, Hollick finally earned his ticket to fame by being cast as GTA IV's Niko Belic in 2006. From late that year until early 2008, Hollick was paid an impressive $100,000 for long hours of voice and motion capture work.
Making $100,000 in 15 months is impressive, but in Hollick's case, it comes with a startling downside: no royalties, no residuals. Don't think him greedy, though. Hollick expressed to NY Times writer Seth Schiessel that he's "incredibly thankful to Rockstar for the opportunity to be in this game when I was just a nobody, an unknown quantity." But at the same time, Hollick says, "it's tough, when you see Grand Theft Auto IV out there as the biggest thing going right now, when they're making hundreds of millions of dollars, and we don't see any of it."
Hollick's collective "we" refers to voice actors who provide work for electronic entertainment - and who, according to the Screen Actors Guild, get nothing beyond a standard pay rate they agree to before production of a video game project begins.
The grievances expressed by Hollick and many other video game voice actors runs parallel to the 2008 writer's strike. Katie Mapes of The Record, Harvard Law School's independent newspaper, explains that the recent writer's strike issue revolved around writer's demanding compensation for DVD sales and newer forms of media, such as iTunes downloads and streaming video.
"Traditionally," Mapes explains, "writers receive an initial payment for completion of a script and then an additional payment every time that movie or episode is rerun. However, as television reruns are made less relevant through DVD sales and Internet downloads and streaming, writers began to worry that their residual payments would become essentially obsolete."
The result of the strike dictated that writers will be compensated for "new media," which takes forms such as downloadable rentals and streaming video. While it's fortunate that the issue was resolved in what was actually a short amount of time, another parallel exists between the grievances aired by providers of video game voice work and the writers: it might be time for the voice actors to launch a strike of their own.
Hollick's work as Niko Bellic has been heard over the radio, through television sets, and on countless web pages. His compensation for these advertisements, video specials, and reviews? Nothing. "The first G.T.A. IV trailer generated something like 40 million hits online," Hollick told the NY Times, "and that's my voice all over it, and I get nothing." That same work is being broadcast over television and radio, but still, Hollick will receive no compensation.
As the popularity of video games continues to overtake Hollywood, more and more silver screen actors are craving a bigger piece of the virtual action -- and the paycheck that comes with it. Big names such as Ray Liotta, Samuel L. Jackson, and Michael Ironsides have lent their talents to projects. Additionally, many lesser-known actors have enjoyed career resurgences and greater recognition due to lending their voice to a video game.
"Once I was on the set of a film," actor Keith David told news Reuters, "and one of the grips came up to me and said 'I know you're the voice of the Arbiter [from Halo 2], can I have your autograph'?"
Bungie Sudios' Marty O'Donnell, audio director for the famed Halo development house, said that he was first exposed to Keith David's voice when he listened to the actor narrate a documentary. "Celebs are a boon for the industry," O'Donnell said to Reuters, "because there are a lot of great actors out there not currently working on the latest triple-A film."
Lev Chapelsky is the general manager for production company Blindlight, and is in charge of contracting actors to provide voice work. Oddly, Chapelsky does not feel that his clients' contributions are as important in the large picture of a game itself.
"In a game, the entertainment is about the gameplay," said Chapelsky to Reuters. "The actor's contribution isn't as important as the gameplay."
Yankee analyst Mike Goodman concurred with Chapelsky in an earlier interview, saying that "the voice actors [in video games] are irrelevant. You replace one voice actor with another nonunion actor and no one will know the difference."
John Connolly, president of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, vehemently disagrees. "To deny working-class performers their fair share of the tremendous profits their labor helps to generate is illogical, unreasonable and unjust. It is simply shortsighted to believe that consumers don't care about the artistic quality of the characters."
Game developers fret over dispersing royalties to voice artists due to what might possibly follow. "If the actor doing a police officer's voice-over gets royalties," explains NY Times' Schiesel, "why not the artist who designed his face, or the artificial-intelligence programmer who designed how he chases the bad guys?"
Some studios, such as 3D Realms, do hand out generous royalties to their development teams.
Ezra J. Doner, former Hollywood executive and now a lawyer representing various entertainment companies, explains that "When it comes to video games, the actors are being paid for their work for that initial use, and what they get paid is what they get paid. If they can negotiate a big fee for themselves, great. If not, well, that's too bad."
But for Hollick, the issue is not with the ray of pay itself, which often sees talent receiving $760 for one four-hour session of work. The problem, he believes, is that the voice talent for a game with as sprawling a storyline as Grand Theft Auto IV deserve recognition for their part in making said story believable and real.
"Yes," says Hollick, "the technology is important, but it's the human performances within them that people really connect to, and I hope actors will get more respect for the work they do within those technologies."
The grievances expressed by Hollick and many other video game voice actors runs parallel to the 2008 writer's strike. Katie Mapes of The Record, Harvard Law School's independent newspaper, explains that the recent writer's strike issue revolved around writer's demanding compensation for DVD sales and newer forms of media, such as iTunes downloads and streaming video.
"Traditionally," Mapes explains, "writers receive an initial payment for completion of a script and then an additional payment every time that movie or episode is rerun. However, as television reruns are made less relevant through DVD sales and Internet downloads and streaming, writers began to worry that their residual payments would become essentially obsolete."
The result of the strike dictated that writers will be compensated for "new media," which takes forms such as downloadable rentals and streaming video. While it's fortunate that the issue was resolved in what was actually a short amount of time, another parallel exists between the grievances aired by providers of video game voice work and the writers: it might be time for the voice actors to launch a strike of their own.
Hollick's work as Niko Bellic has been heard over the radio, through television sets, and on countless web pages. His compensation for these advertisements, video specials, and reviews? Nothing. "The first G.T.A. IV trailer generated something like 40 million hits online," Hollick told the NY Times, "and that's my voice all over it, and I get nothing." That same work is being broadcast over television and radio, but still, Hollick will receive no compensation.
As the popularity of video games continues to overtake Hollywood, more and more silver screen actors are craving a bigger piece of the virtual action -- and the paycheck that comes with it. Big names such as Ray Liotta, Samuel L. Jackson, and Michael Ironsides have lent their talents to projects. Additionally, many lesser-known actors have enjoyed career resurgences and greater recognition due to lending their voice to a video game.
"Once I was on the set of a film," actor Keith David told news Reuters, "and one of the grips came up to me and said 'I know you're the voice of the Arbiter [from Halo 2], can I have your autograph'?"
Bungie Sudios' Marty O'Donnell, audio director for the famed Halo development house, said that he was first exposed to Keith David's voice when he listened to the actor narrate a documentary. "Celebs are a boon for the industry," O'Donnell said to Reuters, "because there are a lot of great actors out there not currently working on the latest triple-A film."
Lev Chapelsky is the general manager for production company Blindlight, and is in charge of contracting actors to provide voice work. Oddly, Chapelsky does not feel that his clients' contributions are as important in the large picture of a game itself.
"In a game, the entertainment is about the gameplay," said Chapelsky to Reuters. "The actor's contribution isn't as important as the gameplay."
Yankee analyst Mike Goodman concurred with Chapelsky in an earlier interview, saying that "the voice actors [in video games] are irrelevant. You replace one voice actor with another nonunion actor and no one will know the difference."
John Connolly, president of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, vehemently disagrees. "To deny working-class performers their fair share of the tremendous profits their labor helps to generate is illogical, unreasonable and unjust. It is simply shortsighted to believe that consumers don't care about the artistic quality of the characters."
Game developers fret over dispersing royalties to voice artists due to what might possibly follow. "If the actor doing a police officer's voice-over gets royalties," explains NY Times' Schiesel, "why not the artist who designed his face, or the artificial-intelligence programmer who designed how he chases the bad guys?"
Some studios, such as 3D Realms, do hand out generous royalties to their development teams.
Ezra J. Doner, former Hollywood executive and now a lawyer representing various entertainment companies, explains that "When it comes to video games, the actors are being paid for their work for that initial use, and what they get paid is what they get paid. If they can negotiate a big fee for themselves, great. If not, well, that's too bad."
But for Hollick, the issue is not with the ray of pay itself, which often sees talent receiving $760 for one four-hour session of work. The problem, he believes, is that the voice talent for a game with as sprawling a storyline as Grand Theft Auto IV deserve recognition for their part in making said story believable and real.
"Yes," says Hollick, "the technology is important, but it's the human performances within them that people really connect to, and I hope actors will get more respect for the work they do within those technologies."
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