Against the Gantz dubbing? Round Two: Our hopes for Part 2! *edited

[hanasanai-yo.livejournal.com]

Personally, after going to the LA premiere of Gantz, I was really excited thinking that part II would also possibly have a premiere over here. Nino & Kenichi expressed interest in having another premiere in Hollywood, and more importantly, they wanted to hear their own voices. So I've been thinking... I'm sure there are people willing to go, well that's the impression I got when I was screaming with all the fangirls there. So...I was wondering if we should all start organizing a letter to New People or VIZ (or whoever it is who matters) to make it happen; like a petition or something. Maybe with the strong interest in not only seeing Part II but also hearing it in Japanese with subtitles

topazera has more info which i will relay here on her behalf:

E-MAIL/LETTER WRITING IN SUPPORT OF A SUBBED GANTZ IN THE AMERICAN THEATERS

FIRST OF ALL, I obviously think we should be writing to say "Please release Gantz: Part 2 as well! If you release it, I will be there!" I don't at all mean this as an totally negative post, this entire roll-out of Gantz in the United States has been shockingly amazing. ♥

But again I've seen a lot of people (in addition to myself), dissatisfied with the dubbing of the film. Whether in the theater as a fan of the actors, the manga/anime, or just Japanese cinema, I've heard a lot of complaints about it. However this time we have another vocal supporter and that would be one Ninomiya Kazunari during the follow-up Q & A after the film. As yuminami translated, "So. . . in those areas/parts. . . we'd like you to hear our voices next time." In the L.A. only section he stated even more strongly (as translated by his interpreter so not 100% accurate), "If there's interest from you guys, of course I'd like to do it. The people who did it already did a great job but I feel like we put a lot of passion, a lot of heat into our acting and I'd love to see that come through with our own voices. So yeah, one way or another, again if there's interest, I'll do my best." So yeah, I feel like I have to give my best to make that happen! Even if the effort is unsuccessful, I at least want to show my support for that wish. If you'd like to try to get his voice heard here and have the film presented in its intended format, here are the addresses of the companies responsible for shepherding Gantz's release in the United States:

There are addresses for both letters and e-mails. I'm not sure what's most effective, so you can do one or both! :)

This should probably be the primary place to contact, as they are actually in charge of the dubbing process:
VIZ Pictures, Inc.
c/o NEW PEOPLE unit
1746 Post Street
San Francisco, CA 94115

AND E-MAIL:
info@viz-pictures.com
(Taken from the contact page here.)

However this is the place distributing the movie in theaters so it's good to let them know you'd support a subbed film:
NCM Fathom
A division of National CineMedia
9110 East Nichols Ave, Suite 200
Centennial, CO 80112-3405

AND E-MAIL:
info@FathomEvents.com
(Ot just use this contact form here to send an e-mail.)

IN ADDITION: I think that captain_snen is totally right, a great place to show both your support for the movie, your hopes that Part 2 is also released and to register that you're against dubbing would be the the review page on Fandango. The majority of people there already seem to mention that the dub detracted from the film but it would be nice if there were even greater numbers saying they want to see it subbed vs dubbed. I think that's a very legitimate space that people from Viz might pay attention to. You can also just 'like' the reviews that you agree with. :)

Another thing we might want to draw attention to is any critical resources that mention they didn't like the dub. It looks better when a wide variety of people are all saying the same thing. So far I know the review at comicbookmovie.com spoke against the dub, if you know any other examples I'd love to link them here.

As in all letter writing, we want to come off well so be polite! In mine, it's about a paragraph of honest thanks for both the opportunity they've given the film and for the really awesome event they put together for it. I think it's still key to be honest: whether you are writing after seeing the film or if you haven't seen the film yet, what your personal reaction was (and maybe your perceived reaction of the theater you saw it in). Your message doesn't have to be more than a paragraph.

Here's the letter I've written them, although a still needs a round of editing (definitely for length and probably for my own politeness, I might not have emphasized my love enough XD) before I send it. Feel free to steal whatever you want and I'm sorry I'm not better at writing form letters!

One last thing, as hanasanai_yo pointed out, there are probably a number of people that either aren't comfortable or inclined to write their own letter but would be happy to sign something. Would there be interest in a form letter you could just sign your name to and then it could be sent all at once? Or a online petition site that you think is a good place to drum up support? (I was thinking of maybe petitionspot.com.) Would anyone like to collaborate with me on writing a form letter and/or setting up a page there? It would be nice to have a non-Arashi related page to pimp out. Please share in the comments, I'd love more input and help!
- topazera

*added info below, contributed by captain_snen:

Contacting Real People:
NCM Fathom

Michelle Portillo, 303-792-8651
michelle.portillo@ncm.com

Goodman Media for NCM Fathom

Heath Fradkoff, 212-576-2700
hfradkoff@goodmanmedia.com

Nicole Summer, 212-576-2700
nsummer@goodmanmedia.com

MediaLab for NEW PEOPLE

Erik Jansen, 714-620-5017
erik@medialab-pr.com

Dark Horse Comics

Jeremy Atkins, 503-905-2315
jeremya@darkhorse.com

[info]buyme_arashi posted these here. I've worked in customer service a lot (including a film company, but it's all pretty much the same), and a lot of times those general info emails don't get checked a lot, so it's more effective to send it to real employees' addresses.

Comments

[hozrien.livejournal.com]

That actually sounds like a good idea. from what I heard a lot of people didn't like the dubbed version of it.

Well good luck?

[best-in-sho.livejournal.com]

hey there! i was also at the premiere and am also really excited for gantz II!! you know, i was thinking that it will probably happen again whether we petition or not, since director-san was so happy at the turn out ne. if you want to do that though, im sure it would only help! i'd be down to sign it for sure, cant wait to go to the second premiere! (hopefully) XD

[yoopichan.livejournal.com]

And having Nino and MatsuKen to prefer hearing themselves speaking Japanese is a HUGE PLUS, right? :)

[captain-snen.livejournal.com]

Sounds good to me! There is some old post on here or arama that has some addresses of actual people that work for the various companies involved (rather than just the general customer service info), it might be good to use those.

[hanasanai-yo.livejournal.com]

that probably would be better. I'm more interested in trying to get it subbed instead of dubbed :D hopefully we can find a way to make it happen. thanks for chiming in

[captain-snen.livejournal.com]

Here is contact info for real people:

NCM Fathom

Michelle Portillo, 303-792-8651
michelle.portillo@ncm.com

Goodman Media for NCM Fathom

Heath Fradkoff, 212-576-2700
hfradkoff@goodmanmedia.com

Nicole Summer, 212-576-2700
nsummer@goodmanmedia.com

MediaLab for NEW PEOPLE

Erik Jansen, 714-620-5017
erik@medialab-pr.com

Dark Horse Comics

Jeremy Atkins, 503-905-2315
jeremya@darkhorse.com

buyme_arashi posted these here. (http://community.livejournal.com/arashi_on/3527891.html#cutid1) I've worked in customer service a lot (including a film company, but it's all pretty much the same), and a lot of times those general info emails don't get checked a lot, so it's more effective to send it to real employees' addresses.

[anomic-tm.livejournal.com]

I think the reason why Gantz was dubbed in the first place was so that they could reach more people. The fans (of Nino & of Gantz) will go anyway regardless, but maybe the Hollywood producers thought the average person would be more inclined to see a foreign film if it was dubbed. For this to work the letter will have to convince them that even the average person would prefer it subbed.

Well I can't really do much anyway ^^; I'm not even from the same continent.

[hanasanai-yo.livejournal.com]

i agree. that was the initial thought process. however, there are theatres here that play movies in foreign language with subs. i guess they didnt want to inconvenience some people since it has action. i guess i'd really have to make a solid argument backed with a bunch of people for it to seem like a possibility to be subbed instead...thanks

[hatsumi-chan.livejournal.com]

For a good argument, if you maybe point out to them that the main audience that this movie would reach are either fans on GANTZ (the anime/manga itself) OR fans of the actors (Nino/MatsuKen), both of those groups would most likely prefer a Japanese audio. I know my roommate is a fan of the GANTZ manga, but she doesn't have a particular interest in Arashi or Nino, and I invited her to go, but when she heard it was dubbed she was like... "Ehhh.... no thanks. If it was subbed I would've gone." Because most of the people that watch anime nowadays also prefer the subbed voices over the dubbed voices (which is why Funimation (lol one of Viz's competing companies? maybe?) started releasing SUBS of a lot of the anime shows that they licensed on their website, because they knew that the SUBS would please their fans more.

But that's just my 2 cents

[cool1412.livejournal.com]

Mmhmm! Dubbing it actually hurts more fans of the GANTZ manga from going (Nino fans will go because of the live), and it also hurts fans of anime and Japanese culture in general who saw the ad and may have been interested, wherein it HARDLY encourages those random fans of nothing who are trying to find something to do and SUPER coincidentally stumble on an ad of GANTZ, especially when Fathom and New People advertised it primarily to manga fans what with them taking out the ad in Shounen Jump, AND it having Asian-only people, AND the ad not even saying it's dubbed for those not-interested-in-anything-related-to-this-movie people. It's just an utterly silly move in my mind. Seriously, they should give out an online survey so they don't look so stupid in my eyes. (-_-) Maybe it's just because I'm in the fandom and watched anime and stuff, but since we're targeting the specifically Japanese-culture-interested genre, it's just silly. If it were for news or something informational wherein the point is the info and not the fact that it's Japanese culture, then maybe, but even then subs are fine.

This is also my 2 cents :)

[heartsho.livejournal.com]

I think it's a good idea. Although they might have already dubbed it because the previews for Gantz II were dubbed...but I'm all for trying!! I mean, they are trying to reach out to those lazy otakus that hate subs, but in my theater even THEY were laughing at how bad the dub was. So I think it is worth a shot!!

[dreamforarashi.livejournal.com]

YES. i didn't even get to go see gantz because of midterms, and i didn't wanna see it dubbed anyway ;A;

[topazera.livejournal.com]

Hey, I wrote about post about this subject before the film came out (http://community.livejournal.com/arashi_on/3491590.html) and I'm in the process of writing a follow up one! I totally agree, I personally want to do my best to let the producing companies know that I think a subtitled film would be better received than a dubbed one.

I think that captain_snen is totally right (http://community.livejournal.com/a_ra_shi/2192939.html), a great place to show both your support for the movie and register that you're against dubbing would be the the review page on Fandango (http://www.fandango.com/movies/1/moviefanreviews.aspx?mid=91946&pn=3). The majority of people there already seem to mention that the dub detracted from the film but it would be nice if there were even greater numbers saying they want to see it subbed vs dubbed. I think that's a very legitimate space that people from Viz might pay attention to.

Anyway, I'll be posting on this subjust soon too so you are definitely not alone in your thoughts! :D

[hanasanai-yo.livejournal.com]

lol. you did huh? i even commented on it, i realized when i followed the link. i had a feeling i wouldn't be alone in thinking it. even nino was saying that it would be nice to hear his voice. that made me sad since i'm sure he would've loved for the US to hear his acting and emotions rather than some weird dubbing over it.
i guess i'll await your post then. i'd gladly offer any help if needed so we can make it happen somehow. cos my thoughts were that writing a formal letter to the companie(s) along with people's signatures and stuff to voice our opinions. oh, & another person to get in touch with would probably be the Otaku magazine guy who was the MC, he seemed pretty cool.

[topazera.livejournal.com]

Ha, well, as far as I'm concerned there can never be too many posts on this subject. XD Hearing Nino speak about the subject (I was surprised by how much he was allowed to say!), made me even more fired up to do something about it! :DD

I'd welcome any help! I was thinking of everyone writing their own letter but you're right, some people might not feel comfortable doing that but would be happy to sign a form letter? How do you think that would work, we would collect names (and maybe towns/countries) and then sign them all to the letter? I just say that because I never think the online versions of petitions are very convincing to people.

oh, & another person to get in touch with would probably be the Otaku magazine guy who was the MC, he seemed pretty cool.
Yeah, interesting idea! I wonder how connected he was to Vic Pictures though, I mean, they did hire him so he might not want to second guess their choices?

[takakuflyme.livejournal.com]

lol @ the MC guy...

i wonder if there's a legal / contracting / financial issue with having subs vs. dubs. if there is, i doubt a petition would change that. if it's just a marketing issue, then a petition or communal letter of some sort would probably be the way to go.

[eyeslikefirefly.livejournal.com]

Yours was the post I was looking for in another community- now I can write in to the rest of them. XD

[topazera.livejournal.com]

I'm happy to help! Yeah, I was just looking at my original posts today. Maybe you can drive over to Centennial and give them a piece of your mind in person this time! LOL, j/k, that would be awkward but I totally laughed reading that comment. ♥ I hope that now that Nino has said something about the dubbing, even more people will write in. :DD

[eyeslikefirefly.livejournal.com]

I'm tempted to.... Or just stand outside the office with a picket sign? "No bad dubs! We want subs!" XDD

[rainbowbrite93.livejournal.com]

sounds like a great idea to me :) my friend and i were thinking that with the first movie, but it cut way too close.. i'll share this with some of my friends, and let's try to make this happen :)

[saori11.livejournal.com]

I'm down. Where do I sign up? haha.

[ogoediamond.livejournal.com]

I would totally do it!!!!!!! I hated the dubbing DX Even Nino didn't like the dubbing lol

[livinbyfaith01.livejournal.com]

I'm in!! Where do I sign!?

[matsujunlover1.livejournal.com]

I'm completely on board with this idea! :D cause i was thinking the exact same thing!

[eyeslikefirefly.livejournal.com]

Sounds good, but I'm wondering if a bunch of handwritten letters would work better? I'm not sure, I've been thinking about it but couldn't decide if they would just get thrown away or into a huge pile of other letters they get.

Online petitions don't really seem to work- possibly because people can just put in fake names or look in the white pages and write in random peoples names.

We could e-mail, write, or try the petition, but all might be worth a try?

[yoopichan.livejournal.com]

I agree on this one. But I'll support in any way :)

[cool1412.livejournal.com]

I'll sign it. It's sad that I cried more at the Japanese trailers than the entire dubbed movie. It's also sad that Nino had to make a sly comment on the dubs.

And even though they had a good turnout to the LA premiere, it was for Nino more than a dubbed movie; theaters could have been fuller if it were subbed because I know a lot of people who kept going, "But it's dubbed" and all I could say to keep up my motivation was "But it's Nino in a leather suit..." But if it's subbed, everyone wins~

[qq-forgetmenot.livejournal.com]

i'm totally IN for this!
as much as i love arashi/nino... i hate dubbed movies more... so i didn't go watch the movie coz dubbed voice will totally destory this movie for me >"

[kanu-x.livejournal.com]

if there is a petition, i would sign.

(i haven't seen the movie, but one of the biggest reason against my going -and my sisters- was hearing that it was going to be dubbed in the first place. nino's right. it takes so much away from the actor's acting. and in some of the earlier comments, others gave the same reason too, didn't they?)

[riterandreader.livejournal.com]

Actually, I didn't mind the Dub at all. >.<

[slsfavanime.livejournal.com]

I'm neither from US nor seen the dubbed but I really prefer the original voice when it comes to foreign movie or anime. Since Nino and Matsuken travel all the way to US to promote their movies they should really have it subbed and had their voice heard in the movie. I do understand that if it was dubbed the chances of other public would try to see it, but i do hope for the second movie they would consider changing to sub. I wish i could help but English is not my primary language so, if there's any petition and need numbers to sign i would help.

[saraab87.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen the movie, but I didn't go cause it was dubbed and the theater was too far away. I was really torn on this because I would have definitely gone if it was subbed. It also costs $12.50 to see this movie here, which is expensive for a movie especially when it has a crappy dub.

Also who the heck ever thought to do this on a THURSDAY, its extremely difficult for me to get to a theater at 8pm at least 45 min away on a weekday night especially when it is winter and there is snow coming down. Could we please do this on a weekend, either Saturday or Sunday and preferably in the warmer weather, even just a little bit warmer like March. Also show the movie for more than 1 day please, at least 2 days so if someone can't make it, they will come at the second time. Fans of Gantz and the actors might even come to both showings.

I am pretty sure that no one in my area knows who Nino is (and I am also pretty sure no one here has any inkling of JE at all), but I honestly wanted to go to the theater just to see if there was anyone else, because I would probably faint if I met another arashi fan/fan of JE in person.

gantz 2!!!!!!!!

[stinkyyyy.livejournal.com]

heyyyy,

do you know if they're going to release gantz 2 in the U.S?? :P

Re: gantz 2!!!!!!!!

[topazera.livejournal.com]

Hey! Well, as things stand now, there's an expected U.S. release but no solid news on it. I mean, it's kind of lucky that Gantz: Perfect Answer is even still releasing on time in Japan after the disaster, so I'm thinking there might have been more of a push in the U.S. had that not occurred.

Hopefully they'll still be a distribution deals with other countries at some point! I'm sure arashi_on will be abuzz with the news if there is! :)