Voice-over performer Don LaFontaine barrels into a Hollywood recording studio, snatches a page of copy and crouches in front of the microphone.
"Don't miss the most gripppping . . . terrrrifying and nail-biiiiting film of the year," he hisses, his rich, smoky baritone imploring an unseen audience of millions of would-be moviegoers into their seats.
For 15 years, LaFontaine has reigned as king of the movie trailer voice-over business--the proud owner of the edgy, threatening, excited basso profundo that momentarily delights, scares and hypes film preview audiences across the country.
And on this afternoon, like many others, he rarely fails to satisfy his producer hosts, hitting the perfect pitch in only two takes.
"I've been working so much that I have a familiarity," says LaFontaine. "These producers want it quickly and accurately, and with me they know they won't have to wait."
LaFontaine is an exclusive member of an illustrious fraternity in the movie industry--a steady cadre of about a dozen performers whose narrative voices can cut through the movie preview chaos of special effects, action, music and dialogue. In this exalted club, women are a nonexistent breed. Industry-watchers say the pumped-up delivery of LaFontaine is the model, his signature voice evident in the movie trailers of "L.A. Confidential," "Contact," "Jingle All the Way" and "Volcano."
And while there are several other notable performers in the baritone business, such as Andy Geller, Beau Weaver, Peter Cullin, and Nick Tate, LaFontaine is often the first pick.
With the advent of the $100-million blockbuster, risk-averse production executives are routinely employing LaFontaine's now-standard stentorian pitch, giving the voice-over veteran a lock on a significant part of the market.
"People are becoming more savvy about movie marketing, they're following the weekend grosses every Monday," said John Long, a writer-producer for Cimmarron, Bacon and O'Brien, a movie-trailer production company in Hollywood. "These voices are a crucial part of the marketing effort and there's a lot of money at stake."
Analysts say that up to 50% of all movie audiences go to specific films because of their trailers, a good reason for LaFontaine's more than $1 million in annual earnings. Besides the sweat involved in performing voice-overs, experts say there is also some art in the chore.
