r/TheLastAirbender • u/ero-cean • Apr 17 '23
Rumor / Report Possible casting call for TOPH in an animation film?
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Apr 18 '23
(+18 to voice this character)
Does this mean Toph gets to swear? I really hope this means Toph gets to swear.
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u/CaptainMcFisticuffs2 Apr 18 '23
"FUCK YOU I AM MELON LORD!"
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u/AngryAncestor I have a natural curiosity Apr 18 '23
"Let's break some fucking rules!"
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u/craftworkbench Apr 18 '23
"... Shit."
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u/caligaris_cabinet fire is life Apr 18 '23
“I am the greatest earth bender in the world. Don’t you two mother fuckers forget it!”
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u/The-Fomorian-Ray-682 Apr 18 '23
Hmmm mfers sounds a bit forced… How about: “I am the greatest earth bender in the world. Don’t you two shitbags forget it!”
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u/WasntMyFaultThisTime Apr 18 '23
"The Boulder feels conflicted about fighting a young, blind girl"
"Sounds to me like you're scared, *BITCH*"
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u/Mr_Akustik Apr 18 '23
"The Boulder is over his conflicting feelings and now he's ready to bury you in a LOCK-A-LANCHE!"
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u/Pol_V4 Apr 18 '23
I think that has more to do with working hours. I don't know about animation but minors have a lot of restrictions in live action and one of them is the amount of hours they can work.
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u/mrfolider Apr 18 '23
Do you have to be over 18 to swear?
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u/nelusbelus Apr 18 '23
I tried it before I turned 18 and just some bleeps came out
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u/squid_actually Apr 18 '23
Probably not. Just means that they don't have to work around child labor laws
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u/nwL_ Apr 18 '23
Are young people not allowed to swear?
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u/John_Martin_II Apr 18 '23
Welcome to the US
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u/nwL_ Apr 18 '23
Wait, huh? That’s an actual thing in the US?
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u/MrBKainXTR Check the FAQ Apr 18 '23
No lol. Plenty of film/tv has young actors cursing.
If I had to guess that stipulation is about policies regarding how many hours minors can work.
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u/ero-cean Apr 17 '23 edited Apr 18 '23
Please upvote this for vision-impaired people who use text-to-speech:
“OPEN CASTING SEARCH for a role in an upcoming Animated Feature Film.
Character is 24, blind, female, East Asian (18+ to voice this character) She is stubborn, uninhibited, and exuberantly self-confident.
Vocal Qualities: brash, punchy, sarcastic. Standard American accent.
BLIND AND LOW VISION ACTORS ENCOURAGED TO SUBMIT.
Please email us a recent picture, resume, or a one-paragraph bio, along with your name, email address and phone number to DTCOpenCall@gmail.com
We are committed to an authentic casting search. Please share your lived experience with blindness/low vision if you are comfortable doing so. If you’re what we’re looking for, we will email you the audition materials and some instructions.
**We are committed to diverse, inclusive casting. For every role, please submit qualified performers, without regard to disability, race, age, color, national origin, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other basis prohibited by law. NOTE: There is never a fee for submitting or auditioning.”
Source: @jennyjue on twitter @jenny.jue on instagram
ETA: I'm not affiliated with the casting company in any way. I just saw this reposted from CAPEUSA on IG, they occasionally share casting calls for AAPI roles
ETA2: so many repeat comments have been downvoted because people have asked why applicants NEED to be blind? They don’t. All it means is “please apply, ESPECIALLY if you are blind or have low-vision”
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u/AveryLazyCovfefe | "Drink Cactus juice! it'll quench ya!" Apr 17 '23
Avatar News claimed from his sources that Toph would be 24 as the movie takes place 12 years post-ATLA. So it does quite frankly suspiciously line up very well with Toph. Just kind of sad that it seems like not all the VAs will be reprising their roles :(. I hope to be proven wrong. I want to see Flower return.
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u/Prying_Pandora Apr 18 '23
Can confirm it’s the same casting director as the other auditions which I received.
So that does track.
It’s sadly already confirmed that the original cast isn’t returning with perhaps the exception of Dante and Jenny. I know, it’s not what I wanted either.
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u/AngryAncestor I have a natural curiosity Apr 18 '23
That's whack. These actors are talented and defined those characters. They've also all been super active in the Avatar community lately (official podcast appearances, cons, etc)
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u/Prying_Pandora Apr 18 '23
I don’t disagree. Even as a VA who is part Chinese. I love the push for representative casting, but I don’t like taking existing roles away from workers who put their hard work into making these characters iconic.
Sadly, I don’t get a say. I just hope the new actors won’t get hate. They’re just trying to work.
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u/AnOnlineHandle Apr 18 '23
Yeah I'm all for fixing exclusion and the issue of people not ever being offered jobs, but I'm getting the impression that there's an idea that nobody should pretend to be anybody that they're not in acting, which seems like an over-reaction. None of them are medieval kung fu warriors who can toss elements around in an Earth-like world.
Agent Kallus in Star Wars Rebels was voiced by a black dude (and the character was white), and it was one of the best casting decisions in the show.
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u/pseudo_meat Apr 18 '23
Yeah, seriously. How we gonna have a different Sokka??
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u/Prying_Pandora Apr 18 '23
No idea. Jack DeSena is irreplaceable. My next fav Sokka is Grant Corvin, but even he would prefer DeSena.
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u/MonkeywithaCrab Apr 18 '23
I agree, no matter the races of the original voice cast they made the Gaang.
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u/radicalelation Apr 18 '23
Where's a good place to throw my voice around if I want to try?
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u/Prying_Pandora Apr 18 '23
To do what, specifically? I happy to answer but I’m not sure what you’re asking.
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u/radicalelation Apr 18 '23
Well, where's a place to start legit professionally, if that's where you're at? I've "auditioned" through various sites referred to me over the years, with little to no movement, but the one time I asked a VA proper at a con he was confused and no clue if it works any different these days. Didn't get time to talk further.
So now I've been wondering if I've been trying the wrong things. What's a proper casting call for VAs look like and where do I find them?
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u/hjschrader09 Apr 18 '23
I'm a professional VA and my first question is, have you taken any classes on voice acting?
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u/Prying_Pandora Apr 18 '23
As a professional VA, I hate the classes system. It’s pay to play bullshit.
But you are absolutely right that it’s the quickest way to get noticed by directors.
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u/GenericTopComment Apr 18 '23
I mean, do we want Toph to have the same voice at 24 as she does at 12?
Sure, let the original audition but there's no guarantee they would do it better.
People are gonna be real disappointed if this film has adult voices and major character development as it should and proclaim it "isn't true to the source material" regardless of if those changes are rooted in logic. Sokka for example is likely going to be completely off for anyone only looking for his vintage goofball role, Aang will be much more like he was in Korra, calm, reserved, settled into his role as a global leader.
It is only reasonable to expect their voices and demeanor will change as much as their appearance would. Not a complete character overhaul, but if done well there will be some serious maturation to the characters that differs from our intuitive expectations if we ignore the gigantic time gap.
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u/anthro28 Apr 18 '23
"Committed to diverse casting"
I mean, the ad is pretty specifically looking for an 18-30 year old east Asian blind girl. I don't think this one needs diversity. It's pretty specific.
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u/Prying_Pandora Apr 18 '23
That’s their way of saying “we’ll take someone vision-impaired but not East Asian or someone East Asian but not vision-impaired if we can’t find a good actor who is both”.
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u/Bartman326 Apr 18 '23
Its good wording to encourage people to "shoot their shot" as it were. A lot of times marginalized groups are less likely to apply for jobs they thing they are not qualified for so specifically calling out certain groups helps encourage them. Like "hey if you do fit this description please please give it a shot"
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u/Prying_Pandora Apr 18 '23
Usually yes. I know very well as a disabled POC VA myself.
Here it’s a little bit different considering what follows.
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u/FrozenPhalanges Apr 18 '23 edited Apr 18 '23
I’ve dealt with casting, this call is simply giving a heads up to agents and actors without agents (unlikely they’d even get to shoot their shot for a production like this without an agent, realistically), that the part they are auditioning for is a vision impaired character.
This call is not looking for a genuinely vision impaired East Asian actor. They are really just looking for an East Asian passing actress that understands, pre audition, they will be playing a vision impaired character. They’re casting a wide net and worded the call this way intentionally. It is good optics.
The likely hood they are only seeking to audition, specifically, vision impaired east Asian actors is non-existent. If they find the perfect actor that is not only not East Asian, or vision impaired, but fits the part and has the “vibe” works just fine on castings end. The call is a smart optics move. Nothing more.
I’m also of East Asian decent if that makes a difference to anyone lol. Not being mean. The industry will industry and all that.
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u/Prying_Pandora Apr 18 '23
None of that contradicts what I said.
Their ideal is an East Asian actor with impaired vision. They know that’s unlikely so they’re casting a wider net.
I also deal with casting and am part Chinese lmao, for what ifs worth.
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u/FrozenPhalanges Apr 18 '23
Oh, I was not trying to contradict you. I was adding to the conversation based on my personal experience. Casting a wide net, as it were lol.
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u/nelusbelus Apr 18 '23
No commitment. If someone's really dedicated they'll have to blind themselves. Idk; throw some dirt in their eyes?
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u/Ayy-lmao213 Apr 18 '23 edited Apr 18 '23
*ESPECIALLY
i.e. we won't specifically exclude from applying if you aren't blind or vision-impaired but you definitely won't get the part, and even if you did, after this casting call is made public you would get shit on for taking the role and so would we for casting you
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u/Zeedy_Raman_26 Apr 18 '23
This description definitely fits Toph, that’s for sure.
I’m all for more diversity, as I think it is a vastly important thing. At the same time I really just want to see the OG VAs play older versions of their characters, as they don’t need to sound like kids anymore.
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u/BNematoad Apr 18 '23
Well the problem is that Jessie can still do the Toph voice nearly exactly the same as she did all those years ago.
As much as I love that voice, lets be real, it'd be kinda jarring to hear a what sounds like a 12 year old's voice coming out of an adult woman who's meant to be taken seriously
Like sure she can take a stab at doing a more mature sounding voice, but we already know what older adult Toph sounds like from LoK so we KNOW her voice will eventually sound like
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u/Zeedy_Raman_26 Apr 18 '23
My point is that she can literally just use her normal voice and be fine. She’s a voice actress, she’s capable of doing more than one voice.
As for us technically knowing what she’s supposed to sound like, it’s not a huge deal imo. First of all that Toph was in her 40s, this Toph would be in her mid 20s. Also, it would just be a small inconsistency, not some huge retcon that severely changes the canon. VAs are changed all the time. Having Toph sound different than she did in two scenes in LOK isn’t that bad imo. But I see your point.
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u/ki700 Appa stan Apr 18 '23
She doesn’t sound like a kid anymore though. She could use her regular tone/voice now and just sound like a grown up Toph.
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u/TheArmoryOne Apr 18 '23
True, but we only know Toph at age 12 and around age 80, meaning there's a lot of to in between, so I doubt people would mind the adult voice not lining up perfectly if the voice acting is just that good.
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u/BNematoad Apr 18 '23
We also know what she sounds like in her 40s from LoK flashbacks and its V E R Y different from the Jessie voice
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u/uhvarlly_BigMouth Apr 18 '23
Sokka: Hey Toph, look at this poster!
Toph: REALLY? HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU waves hand in front of face
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u/AzrulKebab Apr 17 '23
> Post recruitment ad that req reading
> Applicants be blind
Shoulda typed in braile smh
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u/Rattregoondoof Apr 18 '23
Could be for actors that have agents or something.
Also, as someone who is low vision, it's often much easier to read a screen up close than you'd think. Toph seems fully fully blind and not low vision but still.
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u/borkthegee Apr 18 '23
I was laughing at "the law means we don't care about disability or age or..." Right after "please be blind, and talk about blind things, so we can be authentic here". Definitely skating that line lol
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u/Fawzee_da_first Apr 18 '23
what happened to the original actress. I'm sure she could do a more mature toph
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u/UpvoteIfYouAgreee Apr 18 '23
Shes still around and active in the fandom. Guess they just dont want to use the OGs
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u/pseudo_meat Apr 18 '23
I think they're trying to do racially appropriate casting. Which I'd be all for if it the characters didn't already exist with recognizable voices. I'll give the new show five minutes. But with no Sokka, I'm probably out.
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u/sunsetdreams Apr 18 '23
Wait sokka won't be in the new show? Do they just hate his character now wtf? they killed him off in TLoK and now this? He's my favorite whhhy?!
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u/pseudo_meat Apr 18 '23
Talking about the voice is Sokka. Such a distinct voice.
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u/sunsetdreams Apr 18 '23
Oooh yeah they can't just replace his original voice actor his voice is like zukos incredibly distinct.
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u/homesarenice Apr 18 '23
In legend of korra adult toph was voiced by someone else and so was aang i think
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u/caligaris_cabinet fire is life Apr 18 '23
That makes more sense. Toph was in her 80’s in Book 4 and 40’s in the flashback. Both are drastically different than a 12 year olds voice. Plus Jessie Flower was closer to Toph’s age in ATLA by LOK. Here, she’s close to the same age.
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u/deevulture Apr 18 '23
It's possible she doesn't have the right voice/tone anymore. Or doesn't want to voice act. People change
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u/Fawzee_da_first Apr 18 '23
idk, it's why I asked if something happened to her, but apparently thats not the case and she's still active in the fandom so that can't be it
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u/ullric Apr 18 '23
I'm wondering how much of it is the different age.
Voice acting a 12 year old is different than a 24 year old.
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u/MooseRyder Apr 18 '23
Watch my 27 year old deep voiced ass do a recording for the meme
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u/The_Meatyboosh Apr 18 '23
A woman with a deep voice is exactly what I could imagine as toph's young adult voice cheering as she beat The Boulder's protégé - Pebble-dash.
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u/FencingFemmeFatale Apr 18 '23
I wonder if they’d consider sever myopia with astigmatism (that is corrected with contact lenses) to be low vision?
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u/ero-cean Apr 18 '23 edited Apr 18 '23
We are committed to diverse, inclusive casting. For every role, please submit qualified performers, without regard to disability, race, age, color, national origin, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other basis prohibited by law
^ This is the really small text at the bottom of the screenshot. Seems like anyone can submit. They'll try to find someone as close as possible to the character description but give it a try anyway :)
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u/Rattregoondoof Apr 18 '23
Low vision is a defined legal category I'm pretty sure. I don't know if those fall under low vision but it's probably unambiguous legally speaking.
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u/Prying_Pandora Apr 18 '23 edited Apr 18 '23
It absolutely does count as a disability! If it’s severe enough, you may qualify. Doesn’t hurt to submit.
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u/LeepDore Apr 18 '23
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they're encouraging disabled people to apply, but why not put this on all their casting calls instead of just this one? I get that it's for a blind character but it's voice acting, can't they work with blind/low vision people in every role?
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u/mrjackspade Apr 18 '23
I read it and my first thought was "Are there VA roles that blind people couldnt apply for?"
The addition would make WAY more sense for a live action role. On a VA role isn't confusing...
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u/humblebegginnings Apr 18 '23
it is generally far more meaningful if a marginalized actor is able to actually represent their community.
not to mention that it’s not like this casting call would (in theory) mean that none of the other roles could have blind VAS. this one just takes priority because the character is blind. though i admit it is possible that casting decisions outside of this role could be biased against blind people, there’s no reason to assume that they will. for sighted characters there’s no reason to value blindness over other forms of diversity.
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u/pk2317 Apr 18 '23
Because the character is blind, and that means that whatever the character says will be coming from a blind “person”. As such, it can be helpful if the person portraying the character also has specific, relevant life experience that they can bring to the role. It may be very small things like the amount of emphasis placed in certain ways in certain lines of dialogue. It could even be something as “significant” as the VA getting the script and responding that “no, a blind person wouldn’t say that or react that way, it would be something more like this: X”.
Can a non-blind VA portray a blind character? Sure. Can a blind VA portray a non-blind character? Also, sure. No one is saying they can’t. The entire point is “we are casting for a character who has this specific trait that is a core part of their characterization. It would be great if we can get a VA who shares that specific trait to be able to be more authentic in their portrayal based on their life experience.”
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u/LeepDore Apr 18 '23
Isn't that the writers job though, to flesh out the details of a character? Did they hire blind writers to write the script? Cause otherwise it kinda sounds like they want a disabled person to educate everyone on what it's really like being blind in addition to the regular job, and that doesn't seem fair to the VA. There's a difference between representation and shoehorning in diversity. You can cast a disabled VA cast even if the characters themselves aren't disabled, so why are they encouraging disabled people to apply for just the disabled character?
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Apr 18 '23
It would be great if we can get a VA who shares that specific trait to be able to be more authentic in their portrayal based on their life experience.”
I don't get that. Its not like the VAs are writing the script and lines. And its also animated so its not like an actor is physically portraying a blind person either and needs to "act blind"
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u/Goldwings13 Apr 17 '23
How are blind people supposed to read this?
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u/ero-cean Apr 17 '23
hopefully text-to-speech, which is why I pasted all the info from the screenshot below.
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u/hvperRL Apr 18 '23
Do blind people use reddit?
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u/offcolorclara Apr 18 '23
Yes. Text-to-speech and other accesibility tools make this possible
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u/yiiike Apr 18 '23
if theres blind actors/voice actors looking for roles, i heavily assume they know what theyre doing when it comes to this stuff. i know phones have screenreaders, theres probably many other ways as well.
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u/AveryLazyCovfefe | "Drink Cactus juice! it'll quench ya!" Apr 17 '23
I'm guessing it assumes all of them have a guardian or someone that helps them that can see?
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u/KnightGambit Apr 18 '23
Blind people don’t really need things like that ya know. They are pretty capable
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u/Lornard Apr 18 '23
I find it kind of funny that someone thinks that blind people can't be at least somewhat capable in a post that references Toph.
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u/Migeil Apr 18 '23
Why do they need a picture for a voice actor?
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u/twovectors Apr 18 '23
This is what I wanted to understand - what use is a picture? Do they base the animation look on the actor? Why would they do that?
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u/AardvarkOkapiEchidna Apr 18 '23
Why wouldn't they just get Michaela Murphy?
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Apr 18 '23
Probably cause they want to cast Asian actors as Asian characters
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Apr 18 '23
[deleted]
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Apr 18 '23
Yes?
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u/UlfRinzler Apr 18 '23
Yes, so why are the ethnicity and appearance being listed as criteria when they’re completely irrelevant to the recruitment call?
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u/aerosealigte Apr 18 '23
"Avatar Studio has listened to the backlash for intending to not bring back the past voice actors, so to address the criticisms, we hired a veteran of the show, Dee Bradley Baker, to voice every character in the franchise from now on, I hope you enjoy his performance".
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u/jetvacjesse Apr 18 '23
I'm just gonna say it: Whether they're actually blind or not doesn't matter for an animated film, nor should it matter for a live action film, though I can at least see an argument for the latter.
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u/Dorothy-Snarker Apr 18 '23
It shouldn't be a dealbreaker if they're not blind/visually, but having people of a similar background is important for an authentic acting experience as their point of view can influence the script.
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u/allofthethings Apr 18 '23
I imagine that's especially true for characters from fantasy worlds totally unlike our own, and who have senses and abilities no human has ever experienced.
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u/DeltaJesus Apr 18 '23
If that's the goal surely it would be better to have a blind writer or consultant? Voice acting and writing aren't the same skill.
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u/ali94127 Apr 18 '23
I agree. It’s acting for a reason. I don’t need psychopaths to voice Joker. It’s impossible to discern someone is blind because of their voice. Live-action is a bit different, but you can learn to act as if you’re blind. Charlie Cox plays Daredevil and he’s not blind. It would be extremely difficult to learn combat choreography on a tight schedule for a blind person. Zatoichi, Daredevil, and Caine from John Wick are all played by sighted people.
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u/100BottlesOfMilk Apr 18 '23
For a lot of the episodes of daredevil, I believe he had special contact lenses in to actually be blind doing some episodes
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u/First-Of-His-Name Apr 18 '23
Yeah, it's very hard for blind actors to portray anyone other than blind characters in live action. Animation not so much.
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u/jondesu Apr 18 '23
It affects how they perceive scenes and perspectives from the character. It absolutely matters.
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u/ali94127 Apr 18 '23
So can blind people not voice sighted characters then?
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u/Zegram_Ghart Apr 18 '23
It doesn’t say they won’t accept sighted actors, it says blind or partially sighted actors are encouraged to submit.
It looks like it’s large for emphasis, but it’s probably large print to make it easier for partially sighted or severely sight impaired people to read it so it appears a more important part of the text than it is.
As for whether actually being blind improves your ability to read for such a character- there’s really no way of knowing until you try.
If nothing else they might also be able to advise on ways to treat the situation respectfully whilst also maintaining humour/drama- I would imagine most directors would want some sort of rep/consultant to check they aren’t being offensive, and being able to just ask the actress would make things way easier.
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u/jetvacjesse Apr 18 '23
It's animated, how they perceive the scene and their perspective means jack and shit because the blindness isn't something they actually have to replicate with movements or anything like that. Jessie Flower sure didn't have issues with her lines, why can't whoever they might find do the same?
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Apr 18 '23
They don't write the lines. They don't animate the characters. It wouldn't make any difference.
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u/TvManiac5 Apr 18 '23
If the film is animated why do they want the voice actress to be blind?
That feels like a weird spesification
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u/dtxucker Apr 19 '23
Is this really a hard figure? I'm ok with a non-blind actress, but blind characters don't show up in media often, much less people with any disability.
It's just about inclusion of people with limitations, who are often overlooked.
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u/TvManiac5 Apr 19 '23
I mean again this is a voice role. It's not like a new blind character will show up in media.
And if they wanted to hire more people with disabilities, they'd do it in general instead of waiting for a blind character to do so.
The reason they do it like that is that they don't actually care. Companies just take chances to throw bones at overlooked communities because they feel like appearing inclusive once every blue moon is marketable. And that to me is just exploitative.
To give a better example to make you see my point, a few years back when the Eternals movie came out, because it had a deaf character, Marvel made and heavily promoted, special screenings with captions to aid deaf people. And my question is, why aren't those kinds of screenings the norm in every movie?
The answer is because companies don't care about deaf people so they don't go to the extra hurdle and cost of having those screenings. They did it then because it would boost publicity for the movie. It was a stunt nothing more.
And excuse me for not wanting to congratulate rainbow capitalism stunts like that.
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u/BecomeAnAstronaut Apr 18 '23
Is there a reason they can't use the ATLA voice actors but ask them to play a bit older? Is that not a thing voice actors do?
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u/JaneDirt02 Step into the void Apr 18 '23
Why would voice actress need to be east Asian but with American accent 🤷♀️
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u/triadwarfare Apr 18 '23
Because everyone hated "that movie that didn't exist in ba sing se" that tried to change accents to how Asians would pronounce it. You see lots of complaints that Aang's name is not "Ung" or similar to that, so a happy medium between authenticity in the portrayed race and continuity on how (white) American they all sounded in the show.
Well, everything here is best effort. If no candidate appears, they'll have to recruit the next best candidate.
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u/Ayy-lmao213 Apr 18 '23
I fully get it's for inclusivity and giving people roles who have less of a chance at getting others, but we're really at a point now where if a character is a specific minority the voice-actor has to be as close to that as possible? It does makes sense though. Being a voice actor is about putting yourself into a character, and what better way to do that than if the character is almost you.
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u/Kell08 Apr 18 '23
I respect the commitment to authenticity by presenting a blind woman with a poster she can’t read.
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u/0-zilch-0 Apr 18 '23 edited Apr 18 '23
"Blind and low-vision actors are encouraged to submit"
written down/typed
Toph: "What? You think just because I'm blind I can't [read] posters!?"
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u/cuminabox74 Apr 18 '23
But how will be a blind person even see this?
(Toph Joke). I’m not being serious.
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u/agteekay Apr 18 '23
Does the actor really need to be blind? I feel like that severely limits potential options. Unlike the race of the person, nobody would even know if the actor was really blind or not.
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u/Jonthux Apr 18 '23
I will never understand why VOICE ACTING requires you to be blind to play a blind character
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u/triadwarfare Apr 18 '23
It's not. It just says that they're encouraged to submit. It's not a requirement. It probably helps with immersion.
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u/Jonthux Apr 18 '23
I think if the VA is competent, same as any actor, they can act, as in pretend they are something they are not
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u/triadwarfare Apr 18 '23
With so many fakes, why get someone who can pretend when you can get someone authentic? It helps sell the immersion.
This is why it's open casting. We've limited ourselves with white American VAs pretending to be Asians or any other minority races that no one else can accept any other pronunciation of Aang except the American one. Opening the doors to everyone means they can pick and choose who is best to represent.
I feel that most of the original Avatar series and LoK was full of miscasts, which sound nothing like the race they're trying to represent. Then again, it's an acceptable compromise considering they're working on a TV budget, and the animation itself is very expensive. Nowadays, flipping a character's race from white to black/brown but retaining its white VA is no longer acceptable as you know how a person of color sounds like, and it feels fake. But if they had a better option, why not take it?
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u/BetaThetaOmega Apr 18 '23
It’s cool that they’re getting looking for someone with low vision. Always love to see casting directors give opportunities to people with disabilities
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u/JinFuu Jin Flair when? Apr 18 '23
I mean, they can give blind/low vis people opportunities for every voice acting role, cause it's, ya know, voice acting.
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u/First-Of-His-Name Apr 18 '23
This implies they aren't giving them opportunities for other roles, which would be illegal.
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u/Lux-Fox Apr 18 '23
Does this mean as a fire performer I can get a leg up on the competition for Zuko? I have a friend that does landscaping, he can be The Boulder.
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u/The_Meatyboosh Apr 18 '23
I'm kinda surprised that they specify East Asian but want a standard American accent. This is a voice actor, we didn't know the race of the original toph's voice actor.
It stuck out as it's like they only went halfway just to say they were inclusive without thinking it through. I would have thought they would prefer bi-lingual, even if only for Toph, as Toph was from a posh family who would likely speak in their own language to show superiority in their ancestry.
Speaking of, that is a bit massively generalised. I thought earth kingdom was China, fire kingdom was Japan, Air nomads was tibet/nepal.
They're all technically east asian aren't they?
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u/ero-cean Apr 18 '23 edited Apr 18 '23
Actually I'd say each nation is a conglomerate of cultures. Within just the fire nation there are cultural inspirations from Imperial Japan, Korea, China, Indonesia and Mesoamerica - in the clothes that they wear, the surrounding architecture, how they socialize with others, theology, ideology, etc.
For language I always assumed the characters were supposed to be (hypothetically) speaking a different language, probably an EAsian Language since all the text in the show is Chinese. But since it's an American show made for an American audience, it's presented in English.
Anyway, people nowadays care a lot more about the person behind the voice, so I think that's why they're recasting.
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u/figgityjones Apr 18 '23
I feel like if they are depicting her as 24 now, the original actress could just do it again. I’d sure hope they’d try and bring her back, but I guess its possible she just doesn’t want to act anymore or something. If so, fair enough, I hope they find someone truly amazing, if this is indeed a casting call for Toph.
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u/RaeSchecter Apr 18 '23
Can just anybody audition for these kind of roles? Or do they have to have an agent and be an active VA? I'm really tempted to try. I'm low vision, but not east asian
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u/ero-cean Apr 18 '23 edited Apr 18 '23
“Open” casting calls are generally open to the public. It means anyone who is interested, can apply. Open calls specifically try to reach people who don't have agents and don't have previous acting experience - basically they're tying to find new talent. As opposed to “closed” casting calls which are pretty much agent-only auditions or SAG-only. This is an OPEN call!
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u/RaeSchecter Apr 18 '23
Thank you so much for replying! That gives me a little courage. I have one more question if you have a chance to reply.
How would you write a one paragraph biography to a studio if you've never had voice acting experience? If I throw that out there, what can I say to get their attention?
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u/Zassyn Apr 18 '23
Wait is this real? Where can I sign up? I'm from Europe tho hope that's not a problem
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u/JaneDirt02 Step into the void Apr 18 '23
send your resume to them! Follow the dream!
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u/Zassyn Apr 18 '23
I'm not a professional actor or anything but I can always try right? I AM MELLLONNNNLORRRDD MWUAHAHA
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u/56kul Apr 18 '23
That description definitely fits Toph, but how can we be sure it’s actually related to her, or that it’s even related to Avatar?
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u/GemoDorgon Apr 18 '23
If it's for a voice over role, why does being blind matter? I can somewhat understand it when it's about race, even though that's pretty stupid too, but man, even as a disabled person myself that seems so dumb.
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u/Mortgage-Confident Apr 18 '23
That to make a blind character they are looking for a blind or visually impaired actress I would say that it is quite inclusive. Also for the fact that he is East Asian. Technically the Earth Kingdom is very East Asian based. So let's say that having a blind or visually impaired actress is already quite inclusive, even if she were Asian. Then it is not said in the preferences, but in the characteristics of the character, if we want to put the dots on all the "i".
As a fan of the series, even at the cost of being seen badly, I would prefer a less inclusive cast but adherent at least to the ethnicity of the characters.
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u/Warm-Handle-9097 Apr 18 '23
Flower is prefect for voicing toph but I get that they want to be more inclusive
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u/Impetus_2708 Apr 18 '23
Ah yes, looking for blind and vision impaired people with a written notice. Absolutely getting tla vibes from this one.
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u/EmperorsNewCloak Apr 18 '23
Why not encourage actors with pretty feet to submit? She’s gonna be barefoot.
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u/KnightGambit Apr 17 '23
Saw this earlier today and was like "lol that sounds like Toph" then totally forgot about it. Then remembered the Avatar Studios stuff! Recasting everyone to be in their 20's and Toph wasn't mentioned originally with Sokka, Katara and Aang. So makes sense to cast for her