Since we're on the topic, which sort of relates to what's being said about good v. bad writing/direction and in regards to Killing Joke, beyond what they added to the film, I think the poor reception of the film itself is a reflection of the material itself. It was an influential comic when it came out, and remains so, but it seems to only work on paper and within the context of comic history. The animation team pretty much adapted that story and dialogue verbatim and seeing it and hearing it played out, it really brought to light what about it doesn't work when performed: it lacks any subtlety. Long diatribes on what should be subtext (and make for interesting character study) does not make for good dialogue on film. To quote the Robot-Devil from Futurama, "You can't go around having your characters announce how they feel! THAT MAKES ME ANGRY!"
I haven't read The Killing Joke, nor seen the film, but it doesn't surprise me that it takes subtext and makes it text, or takes what ought to be implied and makes it explicit.
Also, I think that it's hard for people who are only sort of just getting into comics, and who don't have any experience with comics from the Silver, to Bronze, to Modern age, to see just how influential a given work is on the medium as a whole. It's like sitting a high school kid down and having them watch, say, The Wild Bunch or Citizen Kane or even the original Star Wars. To them, it's just an old movie with some outdated f/x work or with a lot of darkness and talky scenes and stuff. They don't get the importance of, say, Peckinpah's willingness to use far more realistic/gruesome violence than had been seen on the screen before, or how Wells' use of Dutch angles basically brought the concept to the U.S. (not to mention the political implications of taking on the Hearst), or how nobody had seen ANYTHING like Star Wars before it came out and the f/x were mind-blowing.
By the same token, I could see why it wouldn't be that interesting to watch a grim, violent, extreme Batman in The Dark Knight Returns, or watch superheroes grapple with psychological problems in Watchmen...because that's all just become the norm now. Emotional angst, antiheroes, violence in comics like The Killing Joke, all of that stuff is old hat now. But in the mid-80s when it all hit, it basically ended the Bronze Age and ushered in the Modern Age. We hadn't seen a Robin get killed (never mind that he came back...as a killer, himself). We hadn't ever imagined that Batgirl could wind up paralyzed. Hell, prior to this stuff, the biggest events seen were Crisis on Infinite Earths (which did kill Supergirl and The Flash...for a while), and Secret Wars (which gave us Spidey's symbiote suit). But even that stuff is pretty tame compared to what happened in the pages of Batman in the mid-80s and in Watchmen. But now? Hell, it's a universe reboot every 5 years, people die (and are reborn/resurrected) constantly, antiheroes are the norm, psychological turmoil is the norm (I mean, jeez, an entire DC universe-wide event was basically about the embodiment of emotions running amok during Blackest Night and the preceding lantern wars).
And in regards to the Arkham games, I only really liked Arkham City because the first game had that very problem. And in terms of direction, Conroy was okay in Asylum, but I can't get over just how really bad Hamill is directed in that game. Nevermind what he was given to say, but his performance sounded like it was sped up or he was tasked with saying everything in one breath. So if it wasn't him being big, loud, and broad, he was straining to get through his speeches.
Teragon really hit it on the head:
It's been a while since I played Asylum, but I recall it being pretty good. Hamill's performances in City and especially in Knight, however, were inspired. But in Knight, he had both genuinely funny lines, and got to play to some really interesting material.
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JediMichael
I got into a pretty extensive discussion with a guy name Eric Stuart at a convention, he voiced some Pokemon guy or something.
He kept pushing that you gotta get a demo made. Professionally made. Do your stuff. Maybe even borrow a local radio commercial or two and just read it yourself. DO NOT include your picture if you send it off anywhere, unless they ask.
If you ever go to an anime audition, remember "Mmmmmmm" but say it like "Mmmmmmm, Pancakes." He said this like 6 or 7 times so it must have been important.
Learn to lean back when you yell or get loud, otherwise the engineer has to compensate. And don't forget to tell an engineer you know to do that, they will appreciate it.
Also, get your respiratory health in order. Sound engineers will hate you if you're constantly coughing into their ears.
I listen to podcasts a lot these days, and the worst of the amateurish mistakes on podcasts are people sitting too close to the mics or sound that hasn't been effectively leveled. It can be difficult when you're coordinating a podcast over skype or some other conferencing setup, but damn, it's hard to listen to when you can hear one guy's audio keep spiking because he's SPEAKING TOO LOUDLY NEXT TO THE MICROPHONE.
