Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Pre-release)

Re: Star Wars Episode VII

I recall in some interview Natalie Portman saying something to the effect
that George deliberately stifled his actors keeping them reigned in from really acting,
in order to get a certain type of performance out of them.
He apparently wanted the more stilted 40's type movie serial performance histrionics.
She was not happy with her performance as edited.
Not trying to suggest he's any sort of genius.
In fact it sort of reminds me of Dr. Zoidberg's uncle Harold Zoid.

Riceball said:
I agree, I don't know about Hayden but I've seen Natalie Portman in things prior to and post PT and she was very good in those films. I thought that it was really telling how a first time director, Zach Braff, got a much better performance out of Natalie Portman then a "seasoned" director like Lucas. Considering that Lucas hadn't directed a thing in decades prior to taking the helm of the PT I guess that it's no surprise that the performances of some of his actors were so poor, add to that the fact that they often had to act on a green screen set to tennis balls on sticks it would have taken a miracle (or a combination of award winning directors with an award winning cast) to have gotten a good performance out of the cast. If Lucas wasn't so arrogant he would have either a) realized that he's rusty and produced a couple of small movies prior to The Phantom Menace for practice, or b) hired another director to do the directing like he did for Empire & Jedi.
Click to expand...
 
Re: Star Wars Episode VII

Yeah, I don't think it was poor directing, I think it was a poor creative choice. GL knew what he was doing, he had a vision, it simply failed to work the way he intended.
 
Re: Star Wars Episode VII

I feel like George just kinda makes crap up as he goes along sometimes. If that isn't the case it would be an even sadder testament to his abilities.
 
Re: Star Wars Episode VII

No idea if this is a recent pic or not:

303580-mark-hamill-wizard-1.jpg


Episode 7 Luke??
 
Re: Star Wars Episode VII

mkstewartesq said:
Actually, I take some issue with this laying of blame on Hayden. He showed real acting chops prior to AOTC - watch "Shattered Glass" for instance, which came out pre-AOTC. I remember Rolling Stone stated that his performance was "a revelation". Heck, Natalie Portman was wooden like piece of lumber in the SW films too, and she got an Oscar for Best Actress in 2011. So I have to chalk their performances up, in very large part, to very poor directing by a man who, by his own admission as well as reputation, just isn't really any good at working with actors. Throw in the veritable stimulation-deprivation of having to work against a green screen without any real-world input atmosphere to play off of or draw inspiration from, and I'm pretty sure Olivier himself would have had a problem delivering the goods.

M
Click to expand...
To be honest, I agree with you; I was simply using Christensen's name for the joke. I think he's a good actor, even within the limitations of George Lucas' style of directing. But I have noticed times when Christensen isn't particularly good at A.D.R., also known as "looping", a common practice in which actors re-record their lines of dialogue in a sound studio after scenes have been filmed. I can't think of any specific instances at the moment, but I've seen movies in which his facial expressions and body language are appropriate for the scene, but when he delivers his lines his vocal tones and inflections don't match those facial expressions and body language. It's as though he occasionally has difficulty recreating his on-set performance in the sound studio. And I think this is the reason some people think he can't act--sometimes his voice doesn't match the rest of his performance.
 
Re: Star Wars Episode VII

Zombie_61 said:
To be honest, I agree with you; I was simply using Christensen's name for the joke. I think he's a good actor, even within the limitations of George Lucas' style of directing. But I have noticed times when Christensen isn't particularly good at A.D.R., also known as "looping", a common practice in which actors re-record their lines of dialogue in a sound studio after scenes have been filmed. I can't think of any specific instances at the moment, but I've seen movies in which his facial expressions and body language are appropriate for the scene, but when he delivers his lines his vocal tones and inflections don't match those facial expressions and body language. It's as though he occasionally has difficulty recreating his on-set performance in the sound studio. And I think this is the reason some people think he can't act--sometimes his voice doesn't match the rest of his performance.
Click to expand...

You know . . . . I wonder if that's what's always bugged me a bit about Hayden. I don't recall ever having seen him in an interview or other setting where he was speaking just as "himself". And often, when I see him on film, I sometimes find something just . . . odd about his delivery. Something in the inflection seems off . . . I just always chalked it up to perhaps his accent or something else I couldn't quite put mu finger on. Now I realize it may have well been just bad looping on his part, where the voice coming out of the speakers just didn't seem to quite "fit" the facial expressions or tone of the rest of the setting.

I'll be honest, I feel a little bad for the guy. Before and around AOTC, he was viewed as a real up-and-comer, with "Shattered Glass", "The Virgin Suicides" and "Life as a House" . . . after the SW movies, he's virtually disappeared, with "Jumper" from several years ago being the highest-profile project that I can recall. I can't help but think that his subpar work in the SW films - which I don't think was all his fault - contributed to that. And he didn't have the established pre- SW credentials Ewan and Natalie did to bounce back from it.

M
 
Re: Star Wars Episode VII

jonny5 said:
I recall in some interview Natalie Portman saying something to the effect
that George deliberately stifled his actors keeping them reigned in from really acting,
in order to get a certain type of performance out of them.
He apparently wanted the more stilted 40's type movie serial performance histrionics.
Click to expand...

I remember hearing that too which, as Bryan said, was a poor creative choice on Lucas' part, even though I did enjoy the films otherwise.
 
Re: Star Wars Episode VII

HC also carped about the directing, claiming that GL used all his worst takes. He agreed with fans that Anakin shouldn't have been a whiny punk but apparently that's what GL wanted. Who knows?
 
Re: Star Wars Episode VII

Yes, it would. In that pic he actually resembles Obi-Wan somewhat. Which falls right into place with the theory of the apprentice taking on some of the master's characteristics.


Edwardowan said:
that's from a few years ago but it would be the ideal look for Luke in E7 in my opinion.
Click to expand...
 
Re: Star Wars Episode VII

Jedifather said:
Yes, it would. In that pic he actually resembles Obi-Wan somewhat. Which falls right into place with the theory of the apprentice taking on some of the master's characteristics.
Click to expand...

That made me think of Luke's calendar. "July 22: 53rd birthday, grow a beard." (53 would be if it is actually 30 years post ROTJ, July 22 is a guess :lol)
 
Re: Star Wars Episode VII

Jedifather said:
Yes, it would. In that pic he actually resembles Obi-Wan somewhat. Which falls right into place with the theory of the apprentice taking on some of the master's characteristics.
Click to expand...

I agree,like I said before I'm ready for Luke to come back again! hell I bought a new set of the original films (yea,yea the ones Lucas changed from here to heck and back)
 
Re: Star Wars Episode VII

Just saw that Billy Dee Williams suddenly quit his stint on "Dancing With The Stars" citing "doctor's advice not to dance." Given Mayhew's cancellation of upcoming conventions in May due to "filming", I kinda wonder if the call has finally been made to get the gang all together back in England for filming around that time. If that is true, and given that Billy Dee had already committed to the dancing show through the spring, it means he didn't get the confirmation that he would appear in the film until very recently.

M
 
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