David Lucas and Steve Blum: What's the deal?

[Behonkiss]

OK, maybe I wasn't here, but has the whole deal with people speculating that David Lucas and Steve Blum are the same guy cleared up?

It seemed to come to a climax with CCF's Low Brow, where it was announced beforehand that Lucas would be voicing, and then his role was listed as Blum. And now I read a topic saying that Spike is credited as Blum in KOHD's dub....What's going on? It seems to me like they're the same guy, but why can't he just stick to his real name now that his cover's blown?

[livingfruitvirus]

I'd say that's definitely how the name got created.

What I'm kinda irritated at is how on Fata Morgana's website, he writes a letter to her blatantly lying about the 2 names both belonging to him. I think it's pretty clear now that he's only trying to cover his ass about "Steve Blum's photo" which is online, and wants to remain as private as possible. He may as well stop trying to hide it. I was skeptical about the Low Brow credits, but the Bebop movie just blows his cover wide open.

I guess I could understand why he did it. Mr. Lucas is a very private person after he had a few stalker incidents threatening his and his family's security, but he may as well admit it now. I think we're smarter than everyone who thought Clark Kent wasn't Superman.

[ohmrbill]

Some VA's have to have aliases in order to work on union and non union projects. Even if he is the same guy, he CAN'T admit it because he could lose his career. It's best just to keep quite about it.

[DarkMaster]

we settled this, they just sound similiar.

[Artemis]

ohmrbill hit the nail right on the head. VAs need aliases if they want to work on non-union work or they could lose they're card.
They could use one name with both union and non-union stuff like Wendee Lee and Mona Marshall do. But they'd end up losing certain privaleges. Privaleges worth having I'm guessing since the majority of VAs don't do that.

[livingfruitvirus]

Originally posted by DarkMaster
we settled this, they just sound similiar.

Yeah, but now I reverse my decision. 2 production teams claiming they got David Lucas, and both ending up crediting Steve Blum? Coincidence? I don't think so. (ESPECIALLY for Bebop)

[KingKoopa]

Yes, it's definate that they're the same. And almost everyone knows about it. Don't know why he bothers to deny it, because CN, Sony, and others knew it, so wouldn't the union?

[SirLemming]

This is very interesting. If they ARE the same person, I can understand why he'd want to use the fake name. Actually, I don't understand it, but what I do understand is that sometimes technicalities don't HAVE to make sense. It's not a matter of who knows it; as long as the legal papers don't.

[Sheamon]

I don't get why such a big deal is made out of it (not just this case, but the whole alias thing). Steve Blum uses the name 'David Lucas' for his non-union roles. Its a very simple thing, why make such a big mess of it? Especially when you consider things like these.

1) VAs use aliases to protect themselves and hide the fact that they're in a non-union thing. Now if it is so easy for us fans to figure these things out (I could name 20+ off the top of my head), then you mean to tell me that people who work for the union and know these people personally are so blind they can't figure it out?

2) Whats the point of being in the Screen Actors Guild when you're so strapped for cash that you have to do so many non-union projects? I thought the point of a union was the proper welfare of the union members! I guess things aren't going so well for the members if so many are breaking the rules...

3) Steve Blum claimed in that letter on Fata's site that he'd get in big trouble and lose his card if the union discovered he was doing non-union work for Animaze. Then tell me this Steve, why did you list your real name in Cowboy Bebop and Macross Plus then? You're so concerned about fans not talking about it on messageboards and such yet blatantly expose yourself for everyone to see?

Its a big ridiculous matter thats been pushed to absurdity. It really is unfortunate, since this has dealt considerable damage (IMHO) to the reputation of english dubs. Little to no respect is given to them whatsoever and people like myself who love to compile VA credits have to spend hours and hours on end simply trying to figure out if a guy was in a dub using a different name than usual.

[livingfruitvirus]

I'm confused at how the whole "union" works. Like Invader Zim, which is a union show, Jhonen Vasquez (not a union actor) is usually credited as Mr. Scolex.

[Fata Morgana]

Originally posted by livingfruitvirus
What I'm kinda irritated at is how on Fata Morgana's website, he writes a letter to her blatantly lying about the 2 names both belonging to him.

Doesn't bother me that much, LFV. I knew the minute I read the letter what he actually meant, and why he choose that method to say it. I kind of figured that the sharper people out there would figure it out from the letter - that's why I posted his letter verbatim instead of paraphrasing him. I don't blame the guy at all for trying to protect his career and his personal life.

I think now the reason that he seems to have more leeway with the use of his psuedonym is that he's gotten more power in the industry. He's more in demand, more well known; as a consequence, SAG won't bother him, because (and this is part of what pisses me off about SAG) they don't bother people with any amount of influence. They only bother the powerless unknown actors.

Then tell me this Steve, why did you list your real name in Cowboy Bebop and Macross Plus then? You're so concerned about fans not talking about it on messageboards and such yet blatantly expose yourself for everyone to see?

The thing about anime credits though, Sheamon, is that first they tend to be wrong half the time, and second, if the show's not actually broadcast on television I don't think there's nearly as much chance that SAG will see it. Both Macross Plus and Cowboy Bebop were originally VHS/DVD only. Anime DVDs are special interest. There's less chance of a SAG official finding out that Steve Blum did a voice for Cowboy Bebop then there is a chance that one of the anime fans on this board will find out that Steve Blum did an English dub voice for a Korean film. In other words, not very bleedin' much. :p

Granted, Cowboy Bebop is on television now, but it's always on at unseasonable hours and on a network that I doubt anyone from SAG watches.

Fata Morgana

[JetMaster5]

Geez, what's the point of this union and non-union stuff? Can't they just make it simple? Why does it have to be so complicated?


Unfortunately, the world is complicated. :(

[Xevo]

You're all missing the point, really. Just about EVERYONE in the entertainment industry uses an alias. You're never going to be able to find "Tom Cruise" listed in any phone book (not for the real guy anyway), and even when I worked for the phone company I couldn't have found his phone number since that ISN'T his real name.

Just about anyone who has gotten famous has had an alias... it's just the way it goes. But to be in the unions, they generally want you to use your real name (unless you've had your name legally changed). Anyway, the argument is over, Steve Blum is a real person, David Lucas is his pseudonym, get over it. Thanks =)

[livingfruitvirus]

Originally posted by Xevo
You're all missing the point, really. Just about EVERYONE in the entertainment industry uses an alias. You're never going to be able to find "Tom Cruise" listed in any phone book (not for the real guy anyway), and even when I worked for the phone company I couldn't have found his phone number since that ISN'T his real name.

Just about anyone who has gotten famous has had an alias... it's just the way it goes. But to be in the unions, they generally want you to use your real name (unless you've had your name legally changed). Anyway, the argument is over, Steve Blum is a real person, David Lucas is his pseudonym, get over it. Thanks =)

A lot of people in the entertainment industry have to use a new name because the Screen Actors Guild requires a unique name for every actor, be it past or present.

[CookieS]

Here is the deal:

The Screen Actors Guild went on strike back in 2000. The strike was due to underpaid actors nationwide. For example, one of the companies brought up in the strike talks was Proctor and Gamble. Commericals for Ivory Soap, Tide detergent and Crest toothpaste were boycotted as part of the strike. In 1999, SAG found that out of 28 commercials, the actors in these commercials were underpaid in residuals by $110,000, from P&G alone. This was due to the dishonesty from national ad agencies reporting real numbers from ad effectiveness.

The strike lasted 6 months, and ended in 2001. While the strike was going on, any member of the guild that did a paying job acting (including voice actors) was at risk of losing their membership. In fact, the guild has kicked out at least 3 members that I know of. Once the guild of notified that an actor even applied for a job (which equates to crossing the picket line) they would have a trail to basically kick the member out, unless they could somehow get out of it. Let me quote a bit of the procedure from the SAG press release:
When the Guild receives this information, it conducts an investigation to determine if there is sufficient evidence to pursue charges against the member. If the investigation reveals evidence that a member has performed struck work, the Guild sends a Notice of Charges to the member containing a description of the work that the Guild believes was performed in violation of Rule 1 of the SAG Rules and Regulations, and a hearing is scheduled before a Trial Board.

Trial Boards are comprised of three current or former members of the National Board of Directors or other members authorized by the President’s Office to preside over strike-related hearings.

The hearings are held in a Guild conference room. At the hearing, an attorney from the Guild presents the Guild’s evidence. The member may represent him/herself or have an attorney or non-attorney representative.

As you can see this is like a court case and is take very seriously if you are kicked out. The benefits of being in the Screen Actors Guild greatly help all actors by keepin the pay scale fair (which is espically helpful for lesser known actors), and actively seeks jobs to run as a faux employment service. Basically actors in the guild are more expensive to hire, but get compensated on an average or above average scale.

As in the case with 2 names....is it David or Steve. Let's say its the same person, do you think he'd ever admit it in public? Having 6 months of no pay is hard (try it sometime). Personally I can't blame the man for making up names and to continue to work. While it does undermine the justice the Guild was striving for, he still has a mouth to feed, right?

[SpaceCowboy]

It's unfortunate that Cowboy Bebop got on nationwide American TV as at the time the TV series dub was being done, there was no interest in airing the series by any networks.

This may sound silly, but would it be wise to remove the name from the credits on future airings of the series?

I think this matter of the two names should not be discussed any further as we would like to respect Mr. Lucas's wishes.

[Fata Morgana]

Originally posted by SpaceCowboy
I think this matter of the two names should not be discussed any further as we would like to respect Mr. Lucas's wishes.

That sounds like an excellent idea.

Fata Morgana

[KingKoopa]

Originally posted by Fata Morgana
That sounds like an excellent idea.

Fata Morgana Yes, that's why I didn't continue to discuss it after the Lowbrow incident. We all know it, but it's best not to discuss it. After all, look at what "sort of/almost" happened with Futurama.

[G1Ravage]

So DL and SB are one and the same? So he IS TOM II?

Okay....so what's the difference between a union and non-union job? And some examples?

[KingKoopa]

Originally posted by G1Ravage
So DL and SB are one and the same? So he IS TOM II?

Okay....so what's the difference between a union and non-union job? And some examples? Some jobs are for union workers only. Jobs for bigger companies like AOLTW (Cartoon Network, where he does TOM 2 and Jamie in Lowbrow), and Sony (a role in Metropolis along with Spike in the Bebop movie) are usually restricted to union. I believe John Billingsea had a card under his real name, same with Wendee Lee, and that's why they were able to be in the movie with their normal names. Blum, on the other hand, used an alias on his non-union jobs (where he's more well-known) to protect himself from stalkers, as well as to get more freedom in union and non-union jobs. Anyway, Animaze is a non-union company, you don't need a union card to work for it. Therefore, he signed up as David Lucas, because he doesn't really want to use his real name when he doesn't have to.

[Fata Morgana]

Actually, it's more than that, KingKoopa. Except in cases where Bandai mistakenly credited the actors' real names, the actors in Cowboy Bebop were credited by their psuedonyms - Wendee Lee, Melissa Williamson, John Billingsley (though that one is so obvious as to make me wonder why he bothers), Mellisa Charles. The interesting thing I find about Wendee Lee, though, is that she's always credited with her pseudonym, union or not.

About the question of what is union and what is not: Most anime is non-union, and pretty much all American dub work is union. At least, I've never heard of any American dub job that wasn't union. There are anime that are union, though. The companies with more money have union dubs (Columbia, for example).

Fata Morgana

[Artemis]

Originally posted by Fata Morgana
The interesting thing I find about Wendee Lee, though, is that she's always credited with her pseudonym, union or not.



That's because Wendee Lee IS her real name. Like I said, you can use your real name for non-union work, but you lose certain privaleges if you do.

[tlsmith1963]

I just call Blum/Lucas "The Guy With Two Names". Makes it easier. :D

Tammy

[Fata Morgana]

Originally posted by Artemis
That's because Wendee Lee IS her real name. Like I said, you can use your real name for non-union work, but you lose certain privaleges if you do.

No it isn't, actually. I've heard her real name. Wendee is in fact her first name, but her last name is something else.

Fata Morgana

[Xevo]

Like I said, if you really think that actors use their real names, then you're crazy. I mean, just think about it, if you got famous, would you really want people to be stealing your mail, or calling you from a credit card company or anything like that? If you use your real name, then you give up a LOT of privacy.

[JetMaster5]

Originally posted by Fata Morgana
No it isn't, actually. I've heard her real name. Wendee is in fact her first name, but her last name is something else.

Fata Morgana

I'd like to add that it's a given fact. Lee is an Asian name and, well, due to all the pictures I've seen, I can say that she is not Asian.

[Sheamon]

I'd like to add that it's a given fact. Lee is an Asian name and, well, due to all the pictures I've seen, I can say that she is not Asian.

Yeah, but you can't really use that to determine if its someone's real name or not. For all we know her great grandfather or something was her only Asian ancestor but the name got passed down through the generations :p

[JetMaster5]

Originally posted by Sheamon
Yeah, but you can't really use that to determine if its someone's real name or not. For all we know her great grandfather or something was her only Asian ancestor but the name got passed down through the generations :p

That could be true. Although I don't see that happening very often. :)

[Arde]

jetwing5:
I'd like to add that it's a given fact. Lee is an Asian name and, well, due to all the pictures I've seen, I can say that she is not Asian.

Actually, Lee isn't always an Asian name...
Jason Lee, anyone?
How about Pamela Lee?

[HoloRimmer]

Originally posted by Arde
Actually, Lee isn't always an Asian name...
Jason Lee, anyone?
How about Pamela Lee?

How do you know that those were their real names either?

[Xevo]

Originally posted by HoloRimmer

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Arde
Actually, Lee isn't always an Asian name...
Jason Lee, anyone?
How about Pamela Lee?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



How do you know that those were their real names either?

I actually know for a fact that both of those are Psuedonyms... aka Fake Names.

[livingfruitvirus]

Originally posted by Fata Morgana
No it isn't, actually. I've heard her real name. Wendee is in fact her first name, but her last name is something else.

Fata Morgana

That would be Wendy Day. ^_^

Maybe there was already a Wendy Day now or previously in the union, so she had to use a new name.

[Xevo]

Originally posted by livingfruitvirus
That would be Wendy Day. ^_^

Maybe there was already a Wendy Day now or previously in the union, so she had to use a new name.

I've actually heard of quite a number of voice "celebrities" who got discovered and did mostly non-union work before being discovered, and sometimes they just feel like keeping their psuedonym (especially if they're worried about stalkers...)

[G1Ravage]

Originally posted by livingfruitvirus
That would be Wendy Day. ^_^

Maybe there was already a Wendy Day now or previously in the union, so she had to use a new name.

Wendy Day?!?!?









:p


I would've changed my name too.

To McDonald Day! :D