Who's who in the movie
Age: 27 Born: Oct. 7, 2038 Birthplace: San Francisco. Specialty: biotechnology and aerospace training In a nutshell: the heroine It's a fact: Aki's hair is made up of over 60,000 individually manipulated strands, said producer Jun Aida. Creating the realistic effect of her hair movement took 20 percent of the production's total computer rendering time.
Aki Ross (voiced by Ming-Na)
Age: 31 Born: April 15, 2034 Birthplace: Chicago Specialty: tactical, special forces In a nutshell: Hunky military captain and leader of Deep Eyes Squadron. It's a fact: Aida believes Gray is the best-dressed male in the movie, with more wardrobe changes than any male character.
Gray Edwards (voiced by Alec Baldwin)
Age: 70 Born: June 16, 1995 Birthplace: Toronto Specialty: biochemistry In a nutshell: the scientific genius It's a fact: Aida said that Sid was the most complex character to animate. Special controls were created to jiggle the skin around his throat when he talks.
Dr. Sid (voiced by Donald Sutherland)
Age: 30 Born: July 11, 2035 Birthplace: New York City Specialty: tactical, infantry In a nutshell: loyal Deep Eyes member and Edwards' best bud
Ryan Whittaker (voiced by Ving Rhames)
Age: 27 Born: Feb. 23, 2038 Birthplace: New York City Specialty: tactical, mechanic In a nutshell: Deep Eyes' resident geek
Neil Fleming (voiced by Steve Buscemi)
Age: 28 Born: Jan. 18, 2037 Birthplace: Houston Specialty: tactical, artillery In a nutshell: fiercely brave Deep Eyes warrior
Jane Proudfoot (voiced by Peri Gilpin)
Age: 35 Born: Oct. 25, 2030 Birthplace: San Francisco Specialty: tactical, artillery In a nutshell: the bad guy It's a fact: To animate Hein's leather coat, Square's artists spent hours examining real coats, Aida said. Animators researched how coats are worn, how they move, how they crease and how they move in the wind.
General Hein (voiced by James Woods)
Leading the crew
- Hironobu Sakaguchi, director — the mastermind behind each game in the "Final Fantasy" series. The film is Sakaguchi's directorial debut.
- Motonori Sakakibara, co-director — lead 3D animator and modeler of game seven of the "Final Fantasy" series.
- Jun Aida, producer — also president and chief operating officer of Square's Honolulu studio. Aida produced 1994's "Street Fighter."
- Chris Lee, producer — A former Hawai'i resident and Iolani School grad, Lee is the founder of Chris Lee Productions and is former president of motion picture production for Columbia/Tri-Star Pictures.
- Al Reinert, writer — An Academy Award-nominated screenwriter for 1995's "Apollo 13," Reinert was also a writer for 1998's HBO TV mini-series "From the Earth to the Moon."
- Jeff Vintar, writer — His other writing projects include "The Long Hello and Short Goodbye."
- Andy Jones, animation director — Jones served as animation director for 1997's "Titanic" and 1998's "Godzilla."
- Tani Kunitake, staging director — illustrated storyboards for 2000's "Fight Club" and 1999's "The Matrix," and has worked as a conceptual illustrator for directors Ridley Scott, Terry Gilliam and Michael Bay.
- Roy Sato, lead animator for the character of Aki — Born in Hawai'i, Sato is a 1986 Hawai'i Baptist Academy grad.
