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Hayden Christensen wins Razzie for ROTS — Page 2

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I suppose my argument kind of nullifies the job of director altogether - but it is kinda bullcrap. Granted, it's pretty clear GL can't or doesn't direct. But these guys get paid to act and they get hired because they do it well - any other normal person who goes to any other normal job has to just go there and do it well, without anyone directing them, and if they do a crap job, they get the blame for it, because they did it.

Having said that, yes, I do understand that small scenes in a movie contribute to a bigger picture; a story with themes, etc. So it is important for a director to be there and help the actors understand how their dialogue is part of that. But the quality of a separate performance by an actor in its own right should be completely independent of the ability of the director to communicate the bigger picture. An actor should at least be able to understand or perceive *something* about their character, their dialogue, and their plotlines, and act accordingly. I mean, if a director doesn't give an actor adequate direction (or any at all), the actor should be able to at the very least draw upon his/her own ideas to achieve his/her performance.

Bottom line: an actor shouldn't be an empty vessel, waiting to be ordered around. An actor should bring his/her own life to the performance.
MTFBWY. Always.

http://www.myspace.com/red_ajax
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Originally posted by: theredbaron
It's like saying a rock band needs a good producer to record an awesome album - which may be sadly true in some circles - but there's no way you can tell me that Led Zeppelin needed any help to be as great as they were.

Jimmy Page produced Led Zep's records, but I see your point.
Although bad production can really screw up an album, even by the best band.

War does not make one great.

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Not to defend the actors on the PT, but GL does several takes of a scene and decides afterwards what is going to be used in the movie. In fact, he admits to this being his favorite part of movie making. He likes to play around in post with what the actors have done during principal photography. In this manner he has tried to 'fix' some of Jake's acting in Episode 1 (I remember him saying something along that line in the Making Of Episode 1 documentary).
If an acting performance is 90% spot on and GL dicides to use the other 10% (takes that you as an actor weren't happy about), how much are you to blame? Remember, the actors aren't present during post and may not even see their perfomance until the trails or the premier.
Besides, let's not forget that on Episode 2 and 3 there are no real sets. Just blue or green screens where sets are going to be added digitaly afterwards (and they somehow these digital sets 'feel' fake). Not much 'help' for the actors there to get into character. Just dots on a screen or wall to get their eye lines right and GL 'famous' direction: "Faster, more intense".
No wonder that, in my opinion, all actors look bad in the prequels. Without any exception, no matter what their track record is.
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"But these guys get paid to act and they get hired because they do it well"

But what if Lucas tells them to act a particular way? I don't recall specifics, but I recall there were many times, especially in AOTC, where Lucas kept toning down Hayden's "anger", like when he was talking to Padme about killing the sand people.

"Remember, the actors aren't present during post and may not even see their perfomance at the trails or the premier."

Case in point: Hayden's "ghost" at the end of ROTJ. This was copy/pasted from another scene altogether, which explains why Anakin's facial expressions and eye line don't jive with the scene as is. Hayden didn't even know he was in ROTJ until he saw it on DVD. This is entirely Lucas' fault - Hayden had no direction in this at all, but certainly wasn't an "empty vessel".

I also recall Anthony Daniels lamenting that his last filmed scene for ROTS was done, like many, many other shots, in bluescreen limbo. Most actors will tell you that bluescreen acting is difficult, and in the TPM and ROTS documentaries, there are at least two scenes where Lucas cut/pastes different scenes together to make completely new scenes that bear little relation to what they originally were (C3PO and R2 in the Tatooine garage, and Mace walking over to Yoda outside of the Galatic Council chambers.) In these and many other cases, the performances of the actors are taken completely out of their original context. The actors could be following their directions to a T, and be giving the performance of their life, but if the scene is later drastically altered to create a new, unintended scene, then the performances suffer at the whim of the director.

Of course, many times, Lucas would do one, maybe two quick takes, and then proceed to the next scene, hoping to many any necessary fixes in post. That doesn't leave much margin for error.

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>

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All good points about the acting. Lucas has been ripped all the time for his shitty dialouge and directimg skills. - "Faster more intense" - But here's the thing HC is just a shitty actor. Case in point he looked like a joke in "Shattered Glass" opposite Peter Sarsgaard who probaly is the best actor right now. And he wasn't good in "Life as a House" either. Though they were both Awesome movies.
And of course Natalie Portman is a preety good actress "Garden State", "The one with the baby in the Walmart" but her acting is crap-o-la in these flicks.

OBI-WAN: "Anakin is in danger"
PADME: "From the Sith?"

HA. Blame GL for the writing...

But Lucas didn't pick these people on acting talent. He had a vision in his mind of what Anakin looked liked and when Hayden walked into the room he said "This is the guy. I don't care if he speak English. They speak English in Canada right? OK He's in!"

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And don't forget - Lucas deliberately picked unknowns who could act for the OT (for the main roles, at least). For the PT, he picked very famous people, and toned them down.

"Case in point he looked like a joke in "Shattered Glass" opposite Peter Sarsgaard who probaly is the best actor right now."

How fair is this? You put him up against an actor whom you say is the best, and then say "see how bad he is!"? Now, I'm not a huge HC fan, but that's a rather biased comparison to put anyone in, though for the record - I thought he did a great job in "My Life as a House". If he had been able to show that level of anger earlier on in AOTC, I think Anakin's character would have been much more believable, tragic, and........well, "dark" - as he should have been.

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>

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Sorry MeBe, I didn't mean to compare Christensen and Sarsgaard. Bad choice of wordage by me. I just meant to say that he wasn't good in it. And in no relation Sarsgaard is awesome. He would have made a good anakin if he was a little younger.
And HC was good in the scene when he and Obi-Wan argue before the duel.
But even in life as a house he has that monotone (well I can't explain it real well), like he's acting, You can't emerse yourself in his character because you think he is not real.
But I think the main thing is Lucas picked him for his look and not necessarily for his acting ability.

I'm sure you saw the doc from the TPM DVD with the cast auditions. Lloyd was just horrible and it seemed like he would have a problem with the strange dialouge and Lucas was like "This kid is awesome" How good of a choice was that
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I barely recall anything from the TPM doc. I skimmed over it.

"But I think the main thing is Lucas picked him for his look and not necessarily for his acting ability."

I would agree with you there, though I still think HC isn't as bad as you think he is - but it's just a difference of opinion. Just because I'm right doesn't mean you are wrong. (j/k )

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>

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"In these and many other cases, the performances of the actors are taken completely out of their original context. The actors could be following their directions to a T, and be giving the performance of their life, but if the scene is later drastically altered to create a new, unintended scene, then the performances suffer at the whim of the director."

For the side angle shot of the mask lowering onto Anakin face, it was actually a composite since Hayden Christensen had already been photographed in Sydney separately a year earlier. - STAR WARS HOMING BEACON - 2006-03-16 - Issue #157


I rest my case.

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: Sadly, I believe the prequels are beyond repair.
<span class=“Bold”>JediRandy: They’re certainly beyond any repair you’re capable of making.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>MeBeJedi: You aren’t one of us.
<span class=“Bold”>Go-Mer-Tonic: I can’t say I find that very disappointing.</span></span>

<span class=“Italics”>JediRandy: I won’t suck as much as a fan edit.</span>