Written by ticalmc2k2
I arrived at 5:00am at Arclight Cinemas in LA while it was still dark outside. Only
8 other people had gotten there before me and they had arrived around 2 am. I took
pics when I first got there but they are hard to see because it was still dark.
I asked them if they were on AC.net but none of them were. First one from AC.net
there, yay!
Anyways, people started showing up a little more around 7 or so, and at that time,
they kicked us of the main entrance and made us wait in line next door (don't ask
me why). at around 7:30am they started taking down the Ice Age 2 signs and putting
up all the AC signage. It was pretty cool, we were all excited when they were putting
it up.
Once all the signs were fully up we took some pics of with them. The people next
to me (cool as hell) were dressed up as Rikku from FFX-2 and Vincent and I decided
to take a picture of them too.
They then put up signs for the ticket line and started setting up the tents and
barricades for the premiere at around 9 or so. At this point more people were showing
up and I took a pic to show how many people were in line from across the street.
From then on, the line just kept growing and growing until around 11:20 they
passed out wristbands (instead of 12pm) so you can come back later at 6pm and be
guaranteed a ticket. I didn't take a pic of the wristband because it was plain and
had no writing or logos on it (other than stars). It rained off and on for about
the next 3 hours.
After they gave us wristbands, most people left and and decided to come back later,
but us diehards wanted to make sure we got great seats so we stayed and formed a
new line, and waited there for another 5 to 6 hours. People kept asking for wristbands
at like 2pm, thinking they were gonna get in, and some caused big scenes with the
staff about it. I thought it was funny.
By the way, while we were waiting, in the lobby cafe, they had a blocked off
section that said "Private Party" which was for press, but you can see a big TV
where they had new FF7 compilation trailers going for BC, AC, and Doc. The DoC English
trailer was AWESOME! The BC trailer was in all English and said Coming 2006.
Anyways, they kept switching our line to different spots back and forth, and finally
they kept us in the original ticket line. Once it got around 5pm, press and media
started showing up. It was so awesome since I was right next to the cosplayers,
I got my pic taken with them by several video game magazines, I remember Play being
one of them. Also, since we were right in front, a Japanese website interviewed
us, took a group photo, and said we are going to be on the front page tomorrow.
At around 5:30 they came around, checked our wristbands and gave us tickets to the
movie.
Okay, 6:45 or so, they start letting us in, and we got our choice of any where
to sit, we pretty much all tried sitting in the middle. The top section was reserved
for cast and crew with names being placed on seats. I sat 2 rows in front of Tetsuya
Nomura. Yes, Tetsuya Nomura was there.
Next to him was Steve Burton and Guest (his Dad), Rachel Leigh Cook and Guest, and
Mena Suvari and Guest. When Steve first got there, I turned to him and said, "Hey
Steve, I love your voice work, you were perfectly cast for this role." And he said,
"Thank you, I appreciate it." And he gave me a thumbs up. I didn't bother talking
to Mena or Rachel, both were being bombarded with autographs and photos, as Steve
eventually was once they realized he voiced Cloud. I took a lot of pics of the theater
and the cast, but none came out clearly.
After long delays due to photos, autographs and what not, the movie finally started
at around 7:30pm. But before the movie, they showed the Kingdom Hearts 2 trailer,
and the NEW full trailer of Dirge of Cerberus (awesome) . Afterwards, the movie
started with people cheering the beginning. I won't say much about the movie because
people haven't seen it yet, and others pretty much know the story.
The Voice Acting
Cloud by Steve Burton: just as predicted, is great as Cloud once again. He matches
the voice very well, the only bad thing is that they changed a few lines that were
unnecessary and sounded worse.
Rachel Leigh Cook as Tifa: seriously the best voice overall in my opinion.
I was shocked that her voice matched Tifa's personality and what you would imagine
her voice being to a T. She was amazing. The only really stupid thing, was that
for anyone who saw the JP version wondering what they were gonna do with "Zu zu
zu, zu zu zu." They changed the words to "Dilly Dally, Shilly Shally. Dilly Dally,
Shilly Shally." I shook my head in disappointment when I saw that.
Mena Suvari as Aeris: anyone whose played KH2 knows that she sucked big time
as Aeris and didn't really match anything like the JP version or what we would hope
to hear. For AC, it is similar but still a lot better. Her voice still doesn't match,
but the tone of voice she uses for her dialogue helps out a lot, and makes it seem
more like we would like.
Vincent: personally I didn't like it at all. I thought he sounded like he
should've been cast for Rude. His voice is not just deep like the JP version, it
is overly masculine, and reminds me of Rude and Barrett's voice. The JP version
was perfect but they couldn't mimic that. His voice sounds like the Trailer Narrator
but even more.
Barrett: his voice was great. He did kinda like Mr. T without being overly
loud and obnoxious. The terminology was changed for him and sounds great, matching
the character very well.
Reno: His voice is quite different than JP, but both are equally good. The
main thing you'll notice is that they dropped the "...yo" at the end of every sentence.
I'm glad they did that, because who really says yo after every sentence.
Rude: just as you'd imagine him. Well Done, very monotone, with a deep voice.
Yuffie: just like KH2 and DoC she's perfect for her as well. Her voice is
flamboyant, optimistic and cheery like it should be.
Cid: I personally didn't like it at all, nor did I in KH2. Its the same,
and he sounds like a Texas Oil Tycoon with a Ten Gallon hat. I don't know where
they got the impression he's a redneck.
Cait Sith: almost same as JP. Doesn't have many lines, nothing to complain
about nor really praise.
Red XIII: He really only has one good line near the end of the film, but
his voice is good. I don't know what to expect for him, so I didn't really know
what to critique him on.
Sephiroth: I personally didn't like it. People are gonna crucify me for this,
but I thought he sounded too much like a good guy's voice.
Kadaj: great. his voice was spot on but didn't sound like a little girl like
the JP version. His voice was better in the US version than the JP version.
Loz: Good. His voice was good and his tone of voice matched with the JP version
and the situation but I was hoping his voice would be deeper like the JP version.
Yazoo: Good as well. Matches nearly everything the JP's did. Equally good.
WCP: His voice, Wally Wingert, was great. He had everything down pact, and
his voice is also one of the best for the character. His tone matches the dialogue
well.
The dialogue for the movie had changed a little of course to meet the American terminology.
This made the VA better and the story better. However, there were a couple times
where they could have lef the dialogue exactly the same and it would have been better,
but these are minute and small lines.
Even though, I highly liked a lot of the English VA's for the film there were a
few problems with them. Obviously, the English lip synch was not redone, and every
now and then, its obvious. They did a good job covering most of it up with news
lines but sometimes its kinda bad.
Another thing I thought was the VA would be really well, and then all of a sudden
the VA's tone of voice would be way off from what they're talking about.
This is about the only complaints I had from the movie all together.
All in all, the English version is better because you can enjoy it more, and some
of the VA is better than the JP. However, some of the JP VA is better so it's kind
of a trade off, and you'll have to decide which one you like better.
After the Screening
After the movie and the credits, everyone got up and turned toward the cast and
crew giving them all a well deserved standing ovation for about a minute. They then
brought up Tetsuya Nomura, a couple other SE production, Steve Burton, Mena Suvari,
and Rachel Leigh Cook.
Tetsuya and the rest of SE was translated of course and they pretty much thanked
us for coming out and our support.
Steve Burton said "I never realized how cool and how much Cloud kicks ass until
I saw this movie." I though that was cool.
Rachel Leigh Cook pretty much thanked us and said "I am a FF fan tonight." Okay?
Mena Suvari said thanks and that she was very happy and proud to be part of the
film and FF and thanked us and SE for letting her be a part of our world. I liked
that.
After that, they said, "Check under your seats and if you have a paper with a star
on it, then you've won a prize." There were 10 stars total, so 10 people won. Those
people got to go up in front and get handed personally by Tetsuya Nomura, a PSP,
PSP accessories, an AC calendar only sold in Japan, and the Japanese version DVD
personally autographed by Nomura-san himself. Wow!
After that, they thanked everyone for coming out and people filed out of the theater.
At the exit, we were handed back our tickets, and a goodie bag consisting of an
AC poster, which is the exact same as the DVD cover, and the official soundtrack
to the film.
Outside the theater, everyone pretty much went home and went their separate ways.
I had met a lot of people that day, and became friends with many of them throughout
the day. I felt sad after I left, knowing that it was over and that my 3+ year AC
journey was complete, and that the people I met that day from all over So Cal, I
would probably never see again. I personally would have waited in line that night
all over again, so we could do it again.
I never thought such a trivial thing such as a love for a game in 1997, would bring
together so many people and make friends amongst each other nearly instantly. I
met these people less than 17 hours before I left, and I will miss those I met there.
I never talked with people about these things I love so much for so long. I feel
as though I missed tons of stuff to say but since this already massive, I will finish.
4/3/06 was one of the best days ever and I wanna thank all who came from AC.net
including Folkeye, Trigger, and Megalomanigeek for meeting up together. Those of
you who didn't get to make it would have loved it much as we did.
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