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Lucasfilm hired acting coach for Han Solo star's performance

L

LegendofDragoonLives

Member
Sojgat said:
It's almost like this was a bad idea from the start.
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A new Solo movie isn't a bad idea at all. Not appealing to you =/= in line with reality.

Shame about this. I'm not going to believe everything on the directors being the crux of the issue (the applause from the crew sounds like bullshit for example). That's easy work for Disney to hand exclusive content to someone else, but I'd wager it's a problem on both sides. Hope turns out fun enough at least. :\
 
LQX

LQX

Member
It's like they were directing the directors. Why not then just take on the role of director? I'm not getting the need for a director if you are being so hands on. You might as well do it yourself.
 
O

OrangeGrayBlue

Member
Having acting coaches on set is very normal, even if the cast are established veterans. At any stage of production, I wouldn't see this as a worrying sign without knowing the context around it. For a role like this the actor would have gone through several (like, maybe more than 10) rounds of auditions. They would have had a firm grasp on his acting ability before shooting started.
 
T

TheXbox

Member
But the source close to Lord and Miller acknowledges they have always worked in an improvisational style and not just to add comedic elements. "They collaborate closely with their actors and give them creative freedom that, in their experience, brings out the actors' best performances," this person says. "Lawrence Kasdan would not allow this and demanded that every line was said word for word. To appease him and the studio, Lord and Miller would do several takes exactly as written and then shoot additional takes."
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Don't be so fucking precious, Larry. Irvin Kershner did a number on your writing forty years ago, much for the better:

fisherpage.jpg
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What a mess. I guess this is the price we pay for Episode VII's legitimacy.
 
S

SunDimension24

Member
Vampirolol said:
Why is an acting coach supposed to be bad? We don't know the whole story...
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Matters were coming to a head in May as the production moved from London to the Canary Islands. Lucasfilm replaced editor Chris Dickens (Macbeth) with Oscar-winner Pietro Scalia, a veteran of Ridley Scott films including Alien: Covenant and The Martian. And, not entirely satisfied with the performance that the directors were eliciting from Rules Don't Apply star Alden Ehrenreich, Lucasfilm decided to bring in an acting coach. (Hiring a coach is not unusual; hiring one that late in production is.) Lord and Miller suggested writer-director Maggie Kiley, who worked with them on 21 Jump Street.
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The problem wasn't the acting coach, it was getting one so late into production.
 
S

suaveric

Member
SolidChamp said:
They really need to rein this shit in and give the new trilogy room to breathe. This isn't the fucking MCU where we absolutely have to have 1-2 movies every single goddamn year.

What a travesty that I'll most likely be burned out on Star Wars by the time Episode IX is released.

I hope this movie turns out to be the absolute mess that it sounds like and they lose a shitload of cash on it, learning a hard lesson in the process.
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I was about to post the same thing. Don't cram the damn thing down our throats! There's no need for all these spin offs every other year. They should have done 7-8-9 and then maybe some spin off while they figure out where the next trilogy goes in ten years.
 
A

Aselith

Member
Sgt. Kabukiman said:
A quote from the article:
"Hiring a coach is not unusual; hiring one that late in production is."
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I don't know that this reflects on the actor though. I think it's possible that with the direction L&M going being different than what Opie is going to want to do, they probably hired the coach to help him refocus his performance for the new tone?

I'd imagine as an actor, it's very hard to just completely change your performance on a dime and the coach is more to help with that?
 
I

Ivan 3414

Member
Based on some of the responses in this thread people seem to think once you make it to Hollywood you'll never need another day of acting lessons ever again.

As it says in the article, the issue is not that the Han Solo actor needed an acting coach; it's that they hired one late into production. Many actors have acting coaches to prepare them for roles, and yes that includes big time Hollywood stars. It doesn't say much at face value that an actor needed an acting coach.
 
K

kiri

Member
If they decided to bring in acting coaches then why they fuck didn't they get someone who actually looks like Ford
like Jamie Costa
and bring him up to speed?

I just can't figure out why they are happy to go with relative unknowns in one movie (Ridley, Boyega etc.) but then in this movie nooooooo, they have to have a name, and one that looks nothing like the character he's supposed to portray.
 
S

SomewhatGroovy

Banned
SlowRevolution said:
Weird. Alden Ehrenreich's been terrific in the couple of movies I've seen him in.
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To be fair, being good in a role or two doesn't make you a fit for every role out there. A "good" actor in Hollywood is one who knows how to align his specific skill set to a particular type of role and not necessarily adapt to them.
 
P

PantherLotus

Professional Schmuck
My gut says that any acting coach brought in would be to get more/better harrison ford-ish mannerisms, accents, etc all under control.

Or maybe he's a horrendous actor.

yikes.
 
S

ShadyK54

Member
Wondering if all these details surfacing means there's less of a chance of Lord & Miller doing something like The Flash now.
 
K

kevin1025

Banned
I think the acting coach thing was Lucasfilm thinking Alden was the issue with the dailies, until Alden came forward and said it's how he was being directed.
 
E

El Topo

Member
I mean, let's say you work there and hear that the directors just got fired. You'd make damn sure to cheer whatever solution Lucasfilm has come up with.
 
I

Ivan 3414

Member
The thread title needs to be edited for accuracy; it's messy and it hardly speaks to the troubles this movie is supposedly having.
 
S

SpaceWolf

Banned
Sibersk Esto said:
The cast "broke out into applause when Howard was announced"?

What were Lord and Miller even doing?
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I think people are reading way too much into that quote. I read it as the crew just being polite and respectful for the change-over, perhaps even being excited that someone as high profile as Howard was coming in for the last few weeks of filming.

I'm sure they weren't applauding in celebration of an end to Lord and Miller's hideously incompetent reign of terror, or something.
 
F

Fancyarcher

Member
Yup this whole thing is a mess. I doubt the whole acting coach being hired late means anything bad for the performance, more like they just didn't think he captured Han Solo's "thievery ways", all that well. Hopefully the final product isn't a mess, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

SpaceWolf said:
I think people are reading way too much into that quote. I read it as the crew just being polite and respectful for the change-over, perhaps even being excited that someone as high profile as Howard was coming in for the last few weeks of filming.

I'm sure they weren't applauding in celebration of an end to Lord and Miller's reign of terror.
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Agreed, there's nothing in that article that suggests that they were being difficult on the set or something either.
 
S

Sgt. Kabukiman

Banned
Aselith said:
I don't know that this reflects on the actor though. I think it's possible that with the direction L&M going being different than what Opie is going to want to do, they probably hired the coach to help him refocus his performance for the new tone?

I'd imagine as an actor, it's very hard to just completely change your performance on a dime and the coach is more to help with that?
Click to expand...

I'm not blaming the actor and yes, there's still the possibility that he could deliver a great performance. But it's yet another sign that Lucasfilm really went into this unprepared.

sirap said:
Harrison Ford can barely move. No amount of retouching can make him look young lol.
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Plus he'd probably die of laughter if they actually asked him to come back.
 
G

-griffy-

Banned
SpaceWolf said:
I think people are reading way too much into that quote. I read it as the crew just being polite and respectful for the change-over, perhaps even being excited that someone as high profile as Howard was coming in for the last few weeks of filming.

I'm sure they weren't applauding in celebration of an end to Lord and Miller's reign of terror.
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Maybe, but all this points to the crew getting annoyed:
Phil Lord and Chris Miller were in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon but didn’t start shooting until 1 p.m. That day the two used only three different setups — that is, three variations on camera placement — as opposed to the 12 to 15
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These sources say they relied too heavily on the improvisational style that served them so well in live-action comedy and animation but does not work on a set with hundreds of crewmembers waiting for direction.
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Production department heads began to complain. While the pair appeared to listen when told of festering problems, this person says their approach did not change.
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B

Boke1879

Member
Cross-Section said:
Nah, fuck that

Though the Han Solo movie being a mess closely followed by Trevorrow likely not quite sticking the landing on IX would probably ensure a backlash of some sort.
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It aint getting backlash. It survived people saying the prequels were shit. It'll be fine.

This new direction is 2-2 so far and hopefully 3-3 after this December.
 
AHA-Lambda

AHA-Lambda

Member
Feels like Star Wars is already creaking under the demands for annual output?

I didn't think it'd weather annualisation as well as Marvel but this is quite troubling quite quickly with 2 troubled productions
 
B

broncobuster

Banned
Kasdan is said also to have been unhappy with the limited shots and displeased that Lord and Miller were calling out lines for the actors to try from behind the monitor rather than sticking with the script that he had written in collaboration with his son.
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Entire thing reads like it's Kasdan's strange little pet project, down to collaborating with his son on the script (???). If they wanted directors to be the marionettes on this project, why hire a talented duo like Lord&Miller.

At the end of the day I'm sure Lucasfilm will throw enough money at it to produce an acceptable product that'll do well in the box office.
 
C

CloudyTuba

Member
Sojgat said:
It's almost like this was a bad idea from the start.
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Everyone wanted an Obi-wan movie. People were pretty okay with a Boba Fett movie. Very few wanted a young Han movie and most were actively against it.

They made the Han movie and now it's like watching a car crash.
tdiZFuh.gif


I still think Kennedy and Howard are good enough to pull it together into a passable product but I think most would be happier if it never happened.

Chezzymann said:
It was very late into production
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And the reason why that's unfortunate is because they're deciding after much of the movie is already filmed that the performance needs work. Not a good sign for what's already been shot.

Like they said: It's fine when they hire one at the start of filming to keep things consistent. It's bad when you're bringing one in this late in the game.
 
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