Monday, February 8, 2010 at 8:50AM The original track of Darth Vader's voice as performed by the British actor that played him, David Prowse. Imagine how different Star Wars would have been if they had left it like this.
From the 2004 documentary, Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy.
Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 9:52PM 
This Sunday, February 7, 2010, over 100 million viewers across the country will converge to watch Super Bowl XLIV (that's 44 to you) in South Florida (A.K.A. Miami). Both opponents have their own unique storylines that you'll no doubt hear again and again as we inch closer to the ultimate “human drama of athletic competition.” Can Peyton Manning lead the Indianapolis Colts to a second Lombardi Trophy in three years and solidify his status as the greatest quarterback of all time? Will Drew Brees take the New Orleans Saints — America's team, armed with their very own trademarked catchphrase — to their first Super Bowl victory and bring much needed inspiration to a city on the mend?
Of course, while millions watch the drama unfold on the gridiron, just as many — perhaps a few more — will tune-in for the commercials. Super Bowl ads have moved into a league of their own — complete with controversy, stats and legions of fans. And if once a year isn't enough, websites like SuperBowl Commercials and Adland are devoted to compiling and reviewing hundreds of Super spots.
In the spirit of 44, and the advertising explosion it brings with it, we culled through the last decade of Super Bowl commercials to look for notable voiceovers, and found a few that speak for themselves. Read on for our ten favorites.
Monday, February 1, 2010 at 7:36AM Voiceover legends Don LaFontaine, John Leader, Al Chalk, Mark Elliot, and Nick Tate in a the (now classic) short film, 5 Men and a Limo, created for the 26th Annual Hollywood Reporter Key Art Awards in 1997. You may not recognize all of the names, but you've certainly heard their voices.
Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 10:09AM 
For 51 years the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences has gathered annually to celebrate outstanding achievements in the music industry. This Sunday, January 31 at 8PM, the 52nd Grammy Awards will erupt on to televisions (three-dimensionally!) across the universe.
What you might not know, is that many of the same voices that can be heard on your favorite albums have also taken little-known turns in animated programs, narration, videogames, and audio books. Our team of experts reviewed the full list of 2010 nominees, entered their details into a state-of-the-art voice recognition database known to few "insiders" as The IMDB, and had the results secretly verified by the independent accounting firm of Deloitte. We will now present our findings to you.
So, when you're no doubt watching CBS's Grammy Awards telecast on Sunday (because "we're all fans"), instead of just talking about Beyoncé's ten nominations, the Black Eyed Peas' possible Album of the Year win, or Hall & Oates' nod for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, you can also discuss Fergie's early work in Peanuts, Beyoncé's other group, The Wub Girls, and Hall & Oates' brilliant cameo as an animated angel and devil.
Read on for the groundbreaking discoveries.
Monday, January 18, 2010 at 3:34PM 
Welcome to the second installment of Juke Vox Heroes. This series identifies an actor lending his or her vocal prowess to a surprising number of places and examines their vast repertoire of work.
Today we'll take a look at the great Jane Lynch (fresh off her Golden Globe robbery), who plays Sue Sylvester, the ruthless cheerleading coach on Fox's award-winning series Glee. And while it may not be as illustrious as some little statue given by the Hollywood Foreign Press, this humble post will highlight and celebrate a selection of her auditory achievements.
Way before becoming the horse-estrogen-fueled, pro-littering, track suit wearing commander of the Cheerios, Ms. Lynch made a living doing voiceovers. Her early work included spots for Safeway and Washington Mutual among others. "I have the stock old lady voice and stock midwestern accent,” she explained in a Fresh Air interview last year. These days she's come full circle and, in addition to extensive film and televsion roles, can be heard in a surprising number of animated projects as well as a videogame.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at 12:36PM 
We here at WViT appreciate the art of simple, lo-fi, storytelling — maybe that’s why we’re fascinated by nuances of the voice. In today’s digital age of eye-candy, the practice of no-frills narration without visual whizbangery seems to becoming a dying tradition. Perhaps we’re purists, but as the debate rages about the future of media, how it can be saved, and the dawn of the iPad, iTablet, iSlate or whatever it's destined to be crowned, we hope there will always be room for a quality story that lets the imagination fill in the blanks.
That's a reason why we love audio books and, specifically, Audible.com. (Here's our required FTC disclosure: We are no way affiliated, related, married, dating or even acquaintances with anyone from Audible.com, although we do follow them on Twitter — hope that’s O.K.)
Audible's over 140,000 hours of content includes an abundance of narrators — good and bad — and this includes a growing number of recognizable voices such as Johnny Cash, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Oprah Winfrey, Uma Thurman, Sean Penn, Hugh Jackman, Neil Patrick Harris, Samuel L. Jackson, and John Krasinski to name a small few. Surprisingly though, there isn't an easy way to find a thorough list of celebrity narrators — that's where we come in. We've pooled our global resources together to figure out who reads what and compiled a few notables in this post. For a comprehensive list, check out our new WViT Lists section. Tell your friends.
Friday, January 8, 2010 at 9:50AM 
On January 4, 2010 — the first Monday of the new decade — Morgan Freeman became the voice of the CBS Evening News. The appointment of Mr. Freeman officially ushered in a new era of "familiar" and "reliable" names opening national newscasts. As observed by TV Newser, all three networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) now use a celebrity to commence their evening news programs. Because we do a lot of auditory analysis around here, we've compiled each introduction for your listening and viewing enjoyment. So lean back on that swivel chair (but not too far, please), crank those speakers and press play — then let us know, which do you like best?
Wednesday, January 6, 2010 at 8:00AM 
In less than a month — February 2 to be exact — the nominations for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards will be announced. This year’s competition is expected to be particularly intense, however some critics believe that the race for Best Picture will come down to James Cameron’s Avatar and Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air. It’s the age-old "revolutionary technology" vs. “textured filmaking” battle to the death tale.
I’ve seen each film and have my personal opinion but that’s not what this blog is about. In fairness to both, there is one crucial — and I’m willing to bet unnoticed — element that the Academy should consider before making a fully-informed Best Picture decision. It's for them I write this post to hopefully shed light moving forward on what I call Up in the Air's Budweiser Quest for Coors storyline.
Monday, January 4, 2010 at 8:02AM 
It was 2AM on January 1st. I was speeding underground on the no. 2 subway line back from a party that said farewell to the year that was. As I struggled to keep myself awake, I suddenly heard a calming voice — two voices actually — that appeared to be guiding me home like a lighthouse or illuminated runway.
These voices — a man’s and woman’s — seemed familiar but I wondered who they were or if they even existed. They usually said approximately the same phrases and used near perfect pronunciation with each sentence.
Friday, January 1, 2010 at 10:56AM
Updated on Saturday, January 2, 2010 at 6:35PM by
WViT
;)
Welcome to the first post in what will be an occasional series called Juke Vox Heroes. This feature will identify an actor that has lent his or her vocal stylings to a surprising number of places and examine their vast canon of work.
I couldn’t think of a better actor to kick-off the series than the great Neil Patrick Harris. Born in Albuquerque NM, he burst on the scene in 1989 as the boy genius doctor Douglas “Doogie” Howser on the hit series Doogie Howser, MD. Now 36, Mr. Harris has since appeared in many film, television and Internet roles. Of course he can also be found weekly as as the dressed-to-the-nines womanizer Barney "Barnman" Stinson on CBS’ comedic tour-de-force, How I Met Your Mother.
Mr. Harris has conquered almost every medium imaginable (yes, even Twitter), this includes little known and extensive voice work in animated productions, video games and audio books.
