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The video game industry did not rest this weekend; On the contrary, an argument arose after the former Bayonetta actress revealed, according to her, the real reason why she had not returned to play the Umbra witch in Bayonetta 3, which left Kamiya and PlatinumGames in a bad light. Well, not only the fans came out to support this actress, but also a renowned actor.
After making her statements public, Hellena Taylor divided the opinion of her followers and the industry in general and one of those who favored her was the actor and streamer Bryan Dechart, who you may recognize more for being the voice actor and of connor move in Detroit: Become Humanalthough he has also participated in multiple video game projects, such as Mafia III, Red Dead Redemption 2 Y Cyberpunk 2077as well as television and cinema (TrueBlood, Jane by Design, The Remaining).
Well, this actor having several years of experience offered a broader perspective to all those who simply argue that PlatinumGames did nothing wrong or immoral by looking for an actress who would charge less to characterize Bayonetta.
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Bryan Dechart lashed out hard at PlatinumGames and Hideki Kamiya
“There are 2 futures: one where the games they love respect the actors who bring the characters to life, and one where they don’t.” commented Dechart after the publication of the video of Taylor.
“You’re doing the right thing, Hellena Taylor. Actors who substitute unions and work for these insulting wages will forever be overworked and underpaid,” commented Dechart. Recall that PlatinumGames replaced Hellena Taylor with actress Jennifer Hale, it is unknown if with the same remuneration, but it is likely.
That’s not all, Dechart took the opportunity to go for the jugular to PlatinumGames and Kamiya whom at some point in his argument he called “greedy clowns”, since with their actions they denigrate the work of the actress and the actors’ guild in general, which is striking if we take into account that PlatinumGames is a Japanese company.
“Those who treat others well are treated well in return. You make us all sad. Greed is ugly,” answered the actor to PlatinumGames’ lead creative, Hideki Kamiya, after the latter implied that Taylor’s statements were false.
“In time, let the greedy clowns die and watch their respectful colleagues succeed,” the actor lashed out.
In case you missed it: fans criticized Nintendo and PlatinumGames for insulting the work of Hellena Taylor.
The main thing is to continue supporting games that DO support their actors. Over time, let the greedy clowns die off and see their respectful peers succeed. I’d rather do one game a year with people who treat me well than record 10 for pocket change and a free t-shirt.
— Bryan Dechart (@BryanDechart) October 15, 2022
Why is the Hellan Taylor and Bayonetta situation a big deal in video games?
The actor via Twitter explained how the acting guild works and what the unions do for them and confirmed what many wondered: the money that PlatinumGames would have offered Taylor is very little.
To inform his followers, Dechart explained that actors can join a union, such as the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Radio and Television Artists (SAG-AFTRA, for its acronym in English) or not.
Later, the actor mentioned that a member who is part of SAG-AFTRA cannot work on projects that are not part of the union, since it would go against “Global Rule Number One”, otherwise, all members would be hurt by a “short term gain”. The actor even mentioned that SAG-AFTRA makes it “easy and affordable” for a studio to hire voice actors, even if it’s an indie game.
“The problem is that the studios depend on keeping desperate actors: there is always SOMEONE financially bad enough to take a horrible job, which keeps the pay low; when an actor is big enough to ask for real pay, they [los estudios] consider ‘a similar voice in auditions’. Only the fans can stop this.” express clear and to the point Dechart.
The actor even shared an anecdote in which he remembers that he would participate to star in an AAA project from a studio that had made many games, but found out that the studio had refused to register with SAG-AFTRA in order to offer only $4,000 USD for his work on the game integer: “I let it go, but someone else did it and we didn’t make progress in this matter,” commented the actor, which suggests how very similar this case is to that of Hellena Taylor, PlatinumGames and Jennifer Hale around Bayonetta 3. “I prefer do 1 game a year with people who treat me well rather than record 10 per fair and a free t-shirt”.
That said, Dechart mentioned that the only way to stop this is for fans to support the work of their actors. As for what the actors must do to break out of this vicious circle, Dechart mentioned that those involved must look out for the greater good of their colleagues: “Accepting disgusting deals ruins the future for all of us. The scale of SAG-AFTRA doesn’t even is huge, if we don’t collectively demand that at LEAST that be the minimum, we are all doomed”.
The way out of this is for us to look out for ourselves AND each other. Accepting crappy deals ruins the future for all of us. @sagaftra‘s Base Scale rate isn’t even very much, if we don’t collectively demand that at LEAST that is the minimum, we’re all doomed.
— Bryan Dechart (@BryanDechart) October 15, 2022
In case you didn’t know, the subject that Hellena Taylor brings to the table is not something new in the industry. Precisely in the last decade, SAG-AFTRA went on strike for just over 1 year (it has been the longest in the history of the United States) to seek better working conditions for the actors, including the payment of royalties if a game was successful. The actors belonging to this union refused to work in companies such as Electronic Arts, Disney, Insomniac Games and Take-Two.
What do you think of Dechart’s comments? Tell us in the comments.
Bayonetta 3 will debut on October 28, 2022 exclusively for Nintendo Switch. You can find more news related to Bayonetta if you visit this page.
Related Video: Bayonetta 3 – Gameplay Trailer
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