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Vanness Wu's long-awaited challenge

Source: KCIFC Philippines
Meninaputri, Contributor, Jakarta

Taiwanese heartthrob Vanness Wu's dream has come true with his new role, lending his baritone voice to an animated character in the soon to be released Animax Asia flick, LaMB.

"I've wanted to have a part in an animated film for so long. I love the feeling of creating something beyond your imagination.

"Up till now the closest experience I have had was singing on the soundtrack for Walt Disney's Lilo's & Stitch with F4 and dubbing Pixar Studio's animation Cars in Chinese. But now I can fulfill my dream by filling the voice of Dr Jake Griswold in English," Wu told The Jakarta Post in an exclusive teleconference Tuesday.

Wu is loved and remembered by fans here mostly for his role as Mai Zuo in Meteor Garden, the melancholy drama of friendship between four rich boys, which screened on local television in 2001.

A huge fan of anime, Wu said he did not want to waste the opportunity to do a voice-over when it first came to him.

"I'm a big fan of animation. I love watching Naruto, Astro Boy, Dragon Ball, Akira, Ghostbusters, Robotech, Evangelion and other anime. And I really enjoy Finding Nemo for it's funny and touching story. That's why I am so excited to be involved in LaMB."

Wu, who has released solo albums - including Body Will Sing (2002) and V.Dubb (2007) - and collaborated with international pop artists such as Beyonce Knowles, Coco Lee and Wang Lee Hoom, spent a lot of time practicing with his vocal coach to be able to deliver Jake's voice perfectly.

"Doing an animated character's voice is so different than singing or acting. There's no camera around you to capture your emotion, so you must be able to deliver your character's emotion through your voice.

"And sometimes, whether you like it or not, your body instantly follows the lines you say for the character," said Wu who also starred in the latest Daniel Lee's movie,

Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragons, with Mandarin famous actors and actress Andy Lau, Sammo Hung and Maggie Q.

"The producer and team from Animax are very good at their job. It makes it easier for me to be in Jake's complicated character."

The main character of LaMB, Dr Jake Griswold, is well-known for being a genius. But after the unexpected death of his wife, the characters starts to breakdown.

This sci-fi anime tells a story of Dr Jake Griswold (Wu) and Keiko Suzuki (Josie Ho), who become prisoners on planet Cerra. Dr Jake is sentenced to prison for losing his mind after the death of his wife. And Keiko is accused of committing multiple murders due to failed laboratory research.

The next thing we know, they are sent to Planet Cerra for an unlimited time.

In this place, all prisoners must use specialized laminated uniforms with shields, which limits their ability to socialize. That's why these prisoners are called LaMB, shorthand for Lamination process. The story depicts the relationship between Dr Jake and Keiko and their struggle to survive.

LaMB is the newest production from Animax Asia, a specialized teen channel from Japan that only screens animation and anime.

"Animax Asia is very proud to have Wu and Josie Hoe as part of the cast of LaMB, which I believe will attract a young audience.

"Launching LaMB in this region with different languages was the reason we chose to involve these two Asian stars in the project," Gregory Ho, Animax Asia vice president and general manager, said.

The projected started in 2007, with Camelo Junio winning a Animax Award for his script. LaMB is the first animation project funded by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and SPE NetworksAsia. It has a US$6 million budget.

LaMB, directed by Ryosuke Tei, is currently in production at Peach Blossom Studio Media with the artistic concepts being handled by Imaginary Friends Studio.

The anime is set to be released at the end of this year. But in the meantime, Wu's fans should not be discouraged as he remains to be seen.

"This November I will open for Kanye West performance in Shanghai and then I will do some collaboration project in Taipei with Christian Crusade," he said.

And what about a career in animation in the future?

"I definitely will do some more because I love making funny voices, especially crazy voices; high and low voices.

"It would be very exciting and challenging for me to do it all over again."

credit honeybums/onlyf4

vv小yue

最好有人给翻译下、、、、、、

琅玛风

说 那个动画片的

vv小yue

HOHO、3Q~~

vsunny

...so long

jessi

GREAT..

Vanness Wu And Josie Ho Take On LaMB

Source: galaxieblog.com.my
Posted on 23-Oct-2008
Blogger: Evelyn Teo

LaMB is Animax Asia's first HD original animation production and singers Vanness Wu and Josie Ho are on board to do the project's main voices.



Vanness will be doing the voice of Dr Jack Grisworld

Vanness' Dr Jack Grisworld is a scientist struggling against planet Cerra's 'Lamination' system of imprisonment where criminals called 'LaMBs' are kept in laminated suits to remain productive but not free members of society. "Jack is a very complex character with many facets and strong emotions, and I am looking forward to meeting the challenges to bring him to life in LaMB," said Vanness.

Meanwhile, Josie does the voice of the scheming villain Keiko Suzuki, a cold civil servant with revenge on her mind. "Being on the lookout for edgy and unusual acting roles, I am thrilled to take on a part as challenging as Keiko's, which offers me room to be creative and expressive," Josie revealed.

Scheduled to premiere on Animax across Asia early 2009, the soundtrack to LaMB boasts songs from popular bands such as The Click Five and Simple Plan (I Can't Wait Forever is the show's title track).

[ 本帖最後由 jessi 於 2008-11-5 23:12 編輯 ]

jessi

Van Ness Wu is a geek

Source: KCIFC Philippines
By Nickie Wang
Contributor
Special Thanks to Honeybums@OF

Taiwanese-American superstar Van Ness Wu makes thousands of fans screaming over his sleek stage presence. Little do they know that this former F4 heartthrob considers himself as a nerdy kind of guy.

In a phone interview with Standard Today to promote an Animax’s first-ever high definition animation movie made for TV, Van Ness made this interesting revelation.

“I’m a big dork and a bit of a nerd. When I was young my cousins and I were too involved with gadgets and we were all crazy over animation. But I found it very cool because I was with my cousins and we enjoyed what we were doing,” explained Van Ness who does not have an accent similar to other Asian actors.

He will be lending his voice to the all-animé TV network’s first multimedia multiplatform, original animation production for online, mobile and TV entitled LaMB. It is a full-length animated movie to be produced under the Singapore Economic Development Board and SPE Networks-Asia Joint Production Fund with a startling production budget of $6 million.

LaMB, which is based on the award-winning script submitted by Filipino amateur writer Carmelo Juinio to the Animax Awards 2007 pan-Asia scriptwriting contest, is also set to star another Asian artist and rock star, Josie Ho, as voice actor to a villainess role. She will dub the movie in English and Cantonese.

Van Ness is providing English and Mandarin dubs. It is his first attempt to voice-act in English and second in Mandarin.

“There wasn’t any audition, the producers of the project just approached me and I thought it was a privilege. They needed an actor who can speak both in English and Mandarin so my name popped up,” Van Ness, who is also a big fan of Japanese animé Naruto and Walt Disney’s classic character Pinocchio, answered when asked if he went on auditions before getting the plum role.

Van Ness will face the challenges in bringing to life the character named Jack, a scientist who is on a roller-coaster ride with his emotions, starting with the pain and despair of moving on after the loss of his wife, the struggle against the system of virtual imprisonment and a doomed romance with a female prisoner named Eve.

“I am very excited about my involvement in Animax as it looks set to reach out to Asian youths in a big way. The only challenge is that I need to study the character so I could deliver the lines with a heart. Right now, everything is not yet finished and we are still doing a lot of adjustments,” the 30-year-old star enthused.

Currently in production at Singapore-based animation studio Peach Blossom Media and concept art house Imaginary Friends Studios, LaMB is being directed by Ryosuke Tei, ex-creative director of Japanese design agency Furi Furi, with storyboards by Yasufumi Soejima, formerly from famed animé studio Gonzo. It will premiere on the TV network across Asia early 2009.

LaMB follows protagonists Jack and Eve’s struggle against planet Cerra’s “Lamination” system of imprisonment where criminals called “LaMBs” are kept in laminated suits to remain productive but not free members of society.

Eve is an ex-scientist serving her sentence in the suit having accidentally taken innocent lives in an experiment gone wrong, while Jack is a visiting scientist immersing himself in work to forget his dead wife. Inadvertently, Jack gets pulled into the political system of “Lamination” and a romance with Eve.

While LaMB represents Van Ness’ first attempt at voice-acting for animation in English, he is no stranger to manga and animé having shot to fame in Asia playing a handsome and suave university student in the wildly popular Taiwanese idol drama series in 2001, Meteor Garden, Meteor Rain, and Meteor Garden II.

Van Ness is best known as a teen idol and singer of Taiwanese Mando-pop music group “F4” now known as “JVKV.” With “F4,” Van Ness released three music albums, and has produced two albums individually including Body Will Sing (2002) and V. DUBB (2007). He has also collaborated with international and regional musicians including Beyoncé Knowles, Coco Lee, and Wang Lee Hom.

His acting credits include a part in epic period movie Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon (2008), as well as roles in TV drama series Peach Girl (2002), Say Yes Enterprise (2004), and Wish to See You Again (2008).