Movie review

Speaking for Sinbad

How two stars make the legend come alive

Story by Nuttaya Muneerat

We preview the latest animation blockbuster Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas on the opposite page. Now let�s listen to the people who make the animations come to life � the people who do the voice-overs for the movie�s main characters. Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt provides the voice of Sinbad in the English-language version of the movie, while famous Thai actor Thanakorn Posh Yananda (Au) gives Sinbad the ability to talk Thai. Let�s hear what they have to say about their roles.

What Brad had to say...

Q: Why did you decide to do an animated movie?
A: I�ve got nieces and nephews that I�m a bit crazy about and I wanted to give them something they could actually see and so that�s how I got involved.

Q: Are your nieces and nephews pretty excited that Uncle Brad is going to be playing Sinbad?
A: They not completely aware yet, but I�m anxious for them to see it.

Q: How difficult was it for you to enter into this very special method of making a movie?
A: Voicing over isn�t my strongest point. People who come from a theatre background have a lot of training, but I haven�t had that. So I was surprised when they approached me. I figured, why not give it a shot? It was a difficult at first, but I adapted and there was a great bunch of people. We ended up all having a laugh.

Q: Do you think the animators captured some of your own characteristics?
A: They said they did, but I didn�t really see it myself. I�m not really that conscious of my own quirks.

Q: Your wife, Jennifer Aniston, did a voice-over for South Park which was great. Did she give you any advice for Sinbad?
A: (Laughing) Not a thing.

Now over to Au...

Q: Why did you choose to become Sinbad?
A: Sinbad is a dashing and happy pirate � perhaps I have some of his rogue characteristics!

Q: How did you prepare yourself for the character?
A: I started by watching the movie and tried to practice becoming the character at home.

Q: Did you experience any difficulties?
A:The animation is done in English, but I have to do the voice-over in Thai. Sometimes it was difficult to keep up with the movement of the character�s mouth because it has to look natural. Another difficulty I had was doing the fight scenes. I had to make grunts and other sounds during the fights.

Q: Were there any other characters that interested you? One you really wanted to do.
A:Yes, I liked Spike, Sinbad�s royal dog, but unfortunately he had no speaking part in the movie. Proteus, Sinbad�s friend, is another interesting character as well, but I think Sinbad�s role is more challenging.

Sinbad Contest

Here�s your chance to win one of three sets of colouring crayons, paints and pencils from United International Pictures. All you have to do is answer the following questions and send it to Nuttaya Muneerat (Sinbad Contest), Student Weekly, Bangkok Post Building, 136 Na Ranong Road, Klong Toey, Bangkok 10110, or email your answers to [email protected] before August 31, 2003.

Questions

1. Why did Brad Pitt decide to
give the voice over for Sinbad?
2. Why couldn�t Au do the
voice-over for Spike?

Sinbad ahoy!

Follow the adventures of 'Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas'

Ship ahoy! Or rather Sinbad ahoy! For generations, the name Sinbad brings to mind images of swashbuckling adventures on the high seas. There have been many cult-classic movies made over the years taking viewers with Sinbad on high-flying seaman adventures. With today's state-of-the-art computer animation, Sinbad is again brought to life on the silver screen in Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas.

Sinbad (voiced by Brad Pitt) is the most daring and notorious rogue ever to sail the seven seas. Framed for stealing one of the world�s most priceless and powerful treasures � the Book of Peace � Sinbad has one chance to find and return the precious book or his best friend Proteus (voiced by Joseph Fiennes) will die. Sinbad decides not to take that chance and instead sets a course for the fun and sun of the Islands of Fiji.

Proteus� beautiful fiance, Marina (voiced by Catherine Zeta-Jones), has stowed away on Sinbad�s ship, determined to make sure that Sinbad fulfills his mission and saves Proteus� life. As they navigate the dangerous seas, Eris (voiced by Michelle Pfeiffer), the goddess of chaos, sends both monstrous creatures and the elements to do battle with Sinbad along the way. Find out if Sinbad fulfils his duties and follow the adventures of this extraordinary animation from August 22.

Vocabulary

swashbuckling (adj): (of films) set in the past and full of action, adventure, fighting with swords
silver screen (n): the film industry
notorious (adj): well known for being bad
rogue (n): person who behaves badly, but in a harmless way
fiance (n): man that a woman has officially agreed to marry
stow away (v.phrase): hide in a ship, plane, etc. in order to travel secretly
monstrous (adj): very large, ugly and frightening