I can’t be the only nerd who noticed this. You ever see a movie called Aliens? You ever play a video game called StarCraft? Well in both of these titles there’s a female military pilot who has a distinctive voice. And it’s the same person. Gotta be.
I imagine someone developing the game saw Aliens and said “that’s what we want for the pilot voice!” and they called her agent or something. Problem is, IMDB doesn’t back me up on this theory. Am I imagining things?
IMDB says the StarCraft voice was done by Lani Minella. But Minella’s name doesn’t appear in the credits for Aliens. Instead, it says Cpl. Ferro was played by Colette Hiller.
You be the judge. Here’s a movie clip. And here’s a compilation of the pilot voice in the game.
Even more bizarre, while Minella’s filmography at IMDB doesn’t include the film Aliens, it does include the Alien Resurection video game in which she is credited for playing Ripley.
You are not the only nerd to notice this! While I’m not certain if the IMDB is correct in its crediting, the vocal inflection, phrasing, and timing are simply too similar to ignore. Add the fact that were talking about dropships with space marines and firebats…yeah it would be one heck of a coincidence. Another sound effect from starcraft that struck me was the effect used when clicking on the academy(YEEEARGH, like Howard Dean lol)….if you watch “serial mom” with kathleen turner there is a scene where one of the neighbors discovers a body and lets loose a scream that, quite frankly, made me go to my computer room to see if someone was playing starcraft…i could be wrong, and im not accusing blizzard of plagiarism, but it is striking that two of their SC effects appear to be lifted straight from the movies…any thoughts? ill also see if i can isolate and do a sound wave side by side to see if they are the same clips, but i have absolutely no idea where or when ill be able to start. thanks for reading
I’m unfamiliar with that one! But you have to be careful. There is such a thing as the Wilhelm Scream, which is a stock sound effect that editors put into almost every movie and have done for years.
My apologies for posting again so quickly, but after some more research (should have done that first) I believe that particular scream is referred to as the “howie” scream…most definately not the wilhelm however. I believe both screams are parts of libraries of stock sound effects that are used over and over…as is the case with many foley effects. It does make me wonder however if there might be other sound effects within that particular game that may be more obscure that were recycled from other media. We all know nerds (such as myself) are extremely fond of in jokes and obscure references! FYI the particular scream in serial mom is used upon the discovery of the body in the bathroom after kathleen turner kills her daughters boyfriend with a fire poker…im sure some creative web/youtube searching will get you there, i unfortunately dont have the source just this minute or id do it myself :]
I bow in honor of your nerditude, Scott.
I don’t have time to listen & compare the two now, but I’ll just say that voices are much less unique then we tend to think. I remember awhile back, thinking “There’s no way Journey can find a replacement for Steve Perry, nobody sounds like him.” Only to see them at the Marcus Ampitheater with a guy (Steve Augeri) who was pretty damn close. And now they have a drummer who does some of their classic hits & eyes closed, it’s near impossible to tell – and an new lead singer from the Philippines who’s spot on most of their library.
Hi there, random person on the internet who was discussing “five by five” elsewhere.
I think it’s safe to say that StarCraft’s dropship pilot voice actor was directly imitating the dropship pilot line from Aliens, so having the same inflection isn’t too surprising. If you want to do a lot of voice acting, being a good mimic and being able to modulate your voice accordingly is are very important professional skills.
Dr – seems an even more important “skill” these days is to be a known actor. It’s amazing how many big actors are doing voice work especially commercials but animated features as well. I’d rather they leave it to the pros. Heck, Holly Hunter is actually doing voice work – not to take anything away from her skills as an actress, but her voice is just plain awful.
Back to the original post–I’ve come to realize that it’s not the same actor. It’s just two different actors playing the same character. I get that now.
Speaking of who is and who isn’t doing voice work, it’s always fun to watch Miyazaki movies and see who they get to do the English acting.
Wonderful to find another crazy who appreciates that fabulous line.
I sometimes say it to myself as I ease onto the morning’s freeway traffic.
– Steve Kobb
I just watched aliens last night and I noticed it RIGHT away. You arent alone there but it doesn’t sound exactly like to same chick. The voices are definitely different and they are different people doing the voices in aliens vs starcraft. I did pause the movie right after the dropship scene and to look up the quotations in starcraft and it is INDEED a reference to aliens! haha
It makes me so happy to know that there are other nerds that notice things like this.
It’s two different people. Worked with Minnella on few game projects. She is insanely talented. While you are correct, they did want the “Aliens” line in StarCraft, she was not in “Aliens” and so she did a fantastic impersonation. I’m impartial to the the StarCraft version.
Additional trivia: she did Zerg voices too.
There are a bunch of ‘Aliens’ lines in ‘Starcraft’. The Marine says “How do I get out of this chickenshit outfit?”
If you really look at Aliens and Starcraft you will see that many aspects of Starcraft seem to orginate from Aliens.
Space marines, the Zerg, and the Protoss can all be found in the Alien movies.
The space marines are obvious.
The Zerg are a Xenomorph alien species that hatches from an egg and has the ability to infect pre-existing structures similar to what happened in Aliens. The head of the Zerg Hydralisk looks very similar to the Aliens queen also featured in the Aliens movie. And of course the fact that both species hatch from similar egg type pods.
The Protoss are slightly harder to link to the Alien movies but if you pay attention when they find the alien spacecraft in the first movie, there is a dead alien with an elongated head. I know the Protoss reference is a bit far off but I believe its close enough to mention while discussing the similarities of Aliens and Starcraft.
The voices within the game certainly draw inspiration from Aliens the second movie and at least one level sends you on a mission to save some colonists from a Zerg attack. There is also a level that places you in a research lab that has been overrun by Zerg most likely due to false security while studying the alien life-form.
Extremely insightful, thanks!
I’m watching the movie right now and heard the “five by five” quote because im an avid starcraft player and this article popped up! You’re not alone!
Blizzard has always filled its games with pop culture references. If you play World of Warcraft you see things all over the place that are “inspired” by popular books and movies. I don’t think they have ever used sound bytes straight from those sources but I could be mistaken
Just in case anyone was wondering:
5 by 5 is slang for loud and clear. there is 25 combinations of it to indicate clarity and interference over radio communications 1 by 1 being the worst and 5 by 5 being the best.
Through or in the pipe is referring to a relatively safe flight path to the LZ.
Ave nerdæ,
This is an awesome blog post. The Internets salute you!
Also, right after the five by five quote in Aliens she says
“Rough air ahead….We’re in for some chop”
Also used in Starcraft.
She looks just like lady gaga.
IMHO, Lani Minella is the voice behind the starcraft1 dropship pilot… here’s a clip from an interview. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zm1BGVfqWC0 . listen closely to the line “OTHERS WORK” @ 01:49. that line is soooo similar. Please tell me what you think.
sorry, it’s @ 01:48 to 01:49