Gerard Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 Michael Hollick, who provided the voice of Niko Bellic in GTA IV has complained that he doesn't earn any royalties on the game. Even though Rockstar has made more than $600 million in sales, Hollick earns nothing beyond the original $100k he was paid. If this was television, film or radio, Hollick and the other actors involved would have made millions by now through royalties, even through getting only a tiny cut of the profits. I don't blame Rockstar. I blame our union for not having the agreements in place to protect the creative people who drive the sales of these games. Yes, 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. Is it time for video game actors to be treated the same as other actors? Or should they just be paid one-off for the work they do? Let us know what you think in our forums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deji Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 Wow. That's pretty bad. Especially considering the fact the gameplay was dissapointing, the best parts were probably the sound. Rockstar earnt so much of this, I think they should hand out extra money as a thank you at least. Still $100 K is quite a bit and he did get to help make the biggest game in history (Sales wise) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pandora Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 Yeah, poor guy... 100k.. He's being raped [/sarcasm]. Most companies will pay less then that, even if you've got a pretty high position. He signed up for this job and agreed to the quoted sum of money, so what's the big deal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbanoutlaw Posted May 22, 2008 Share Posted May 22, 2008 In a job that destroyed my right shoulder, both wrists, & was constantly exposed to dangerous conditions I made about $24k a year. I also had 2 years out of work, got screwed on my workman's comp settlement & never got the treatment for my shoulder or wrists. I got lucky & found a state contracting deal, but I'm still having a hard time feeling sorry for him. He should try that for a while. Or he can enjoy the easy money & the doors opened by his stint as Niko. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunter88888 Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 People like that should try the normal life, working for minimal wage before they start complaining for being underpaid for easy-ass voice acting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tilly Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 This is very true, but he should also stop whining. How long did it take him to record all of his voicing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azn Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 It's good, but not good enough. If he asks for something with a seven digit number he may be pushing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbanoutlaw Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 How long did it take him to record all of his voicing? About 15 months (I think, according to link in Gerard's original topic). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitsune Inferno Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 If I were him, I would have asked for more before signing on. Shouldn't he have known that he was voicing the main character to one of the most anticipated games of all time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbanoutlaw Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 When he was a nobody, $100k looked a lot bigger than it does now. He probably would have taken less at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitsune Inferno Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 (edited) As far as we know, Hollick only voiced Niko for one game. Main character or not, it was only for one job. Now if he was providing the voice of the main character of very popular TV series that will spawn a few movies and videogames, then I might see him getting royalties. Edited May 23, 2008 by L-RiC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urbanoutlaw Posted May 23, 2008 Share Posted May 23, 2008 As far as we know, Hollick only voiced Niko for one game. Main character or not, it was only for one job. Now if he was providing the voice of the main character of very popular TV series that will spawn a few movies and videogames, then I might see him getting royalties. Full point, you summed it up perfectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sibraa5 Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 Just find a fan that will do it for free, Geez... That guy should stop whinging, He could get famous from this ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snazzybacon Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 if you havent seen/heard the interwiew you should know that in the beginning he didnt even know what he was doing it for, that might be why he havent thought about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 if you havent seen/heard the interwiew you should know that in the beginning he didnt even know what he was doing it for, that might be why he havent thought about it. He didn't know he was going to voice a character in one of the most awaited games in 2008?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrLlamaLlama Posted May 31, 2008 Share Posted May 31, 2008 ^ They only realised he'd be awesome for the part when they heard his mock Serbian accent, allegedly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badgerov Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 If he were to get royalties, I'd say the programmers should get royalties as well, they put much more work into this than the voice actors did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snazzybacon Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 he realy didnt know it. at first he was only ment to do some movement and stuff for the character, and when he then got hired for voicing he was first told about 3 weeks in to the recording! so the sure have kept it quiet R* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle DeAngelo.RDA Posted June 1, 2008 Share Posted June 1, 2008 That is awful. The man should receive royaltys for the work provided as Niko. He deserves much more money than he received. I think video game actors should be payed the same as actors. Same Job. Animation films have actors, these actors make millions of animated films. A video game is the same as an animated movie when it comes to actors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sibraa5 Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 Wait..Thats like $1000 a day, righ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 Wait..Thats like $1000 a day, righ? Depends on how long it took him to record all the dialogues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now