Actor says Solo directors "weren't prepared", Ehrenreich "not good enough"
14 replies, posted
http://www.indiewire.com/2018/03/solo-actor-phil-lord-chris-miller-werent-prepared-star-wars-alden-ehrenreich-not-good-1201943599/
“Solo: A Star Wars Story” will forever be associated with its behind-the-scenes troubles, regardless of how great the final product ends up being when it’s released in theaters this May. Original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller were infamously fired in June 2017 after several months of production. Ron Howard quickly stepped in to re-shoot scenes and finish the movie. Rumors have percolated for months about what truly went down behind the scenes, and now a member of the production is trying to separate fact from speculation.
An anonymous actor who was featured prominently enough to be called back for the movie’s reshoots spoke with Vulture about the film’s production troubles and cleared up some of the rumors surrounding the Lucasfilm tentpole. The actor says the key difference between Lord and Miller and Ron Howard was efficiency. The duo typically demanded more than 30 takes for each scene because they were “unsure of what they wanted other than a delivery ‘different’ from the last.” Howard only needed two or three takes and his confidence “got respect immediately” on set.
“Phil and Chris are good directors, but they weren’t prepared for ‘Star Wars,’” the actor said. “After the 25th take, the actors are looking at each other like, ‘This is getting weird.’ [Lord and Miller] seemed a bit out of control. They definitely felt the pressure; with one of these movies, there are so many people on top of you all the
time. The first assistant director was really experienced and had to step in to help them direct a lot of scenes.”
According to the actor, the script did not change when Howard came on board. The director did not film new scenes but re-shot the Lord and Miller scenes that just weren’t working or nailing the intended tone Lucasfilm envisioned for the project. “It’s exactly the same script,” the actor said. “They’re filming exactly the same things. There’s nothing new. [Lord and Miller] used whole sets. But Ron is just using parts from those sets. I guess they’re not shooting wide angle. Maybe to save money.”
As for Alden Ehrenreich, the breakout star of the Coen Brothers’ “Hail, Caesar!” who is getting his biggest break thus far in the title role, the rumor of an acting coach being needed on the “Solo” set to help him improve is allegedly true. The actor said an acting coach was brought on board in March 2017 to help Ehrenreich “convincingly channel [Harrison] Ford’s swashbuckling affect in the original three ‘Star Wars’ movies.”
“Trying to mimic Harrison Ford is really tough,” the actor said. “Lucasfilm wanted something very specific: copying someone else. Alden’s not a bad actor — just not good enough.” The actor admitted that the coach ultimately helped Ehrenreich and the production overall. “You could see his acting became more relaxed,” the actor said. “He became more Harrison-like. The coach helped!”
Ah shit, tbh I wish they didn't go for a invocation of Harrison and just let the actor go. Imitating actors/ real people is risky
That's actually really shitty. Disney isn't giving to make the role his own, they just want han solo. I think it would be interesting to see han solo that is a little awkward and not so self confident.
not a good sign if theyre damage controlling before the movie is even out
its an "anonymous actor" not an official statement
how embarrassing. but people will flock to this movie and eat it right up because it has star wars in the name.
I still think it's painfully ironic that the poor guy needed acting coaching, after his funniest scene in Hail Caesar was needing acting coaching.
Alden is a very good actor. Sounds more like shit direction to me.
there's no way disney recoups the cost on this at this point though, ron howard probably wasn't cheap, nor was 30 takes of every scene especially if there's complex choreography or staging involved
then people would complain that they just made it too much like a comedic character and that it isn't "han solo"
but no matter what the movie is gonna end up being, there's gonna be unhappy people, even if it's a surprise hit
[QUOTE]He also points out that the financial underperformance of the last Star Wars installment — which fell $200 million short of analysts’ predictions, according to The Wall Street Journal — has incentivized the studio to make the Force strong with this one. “They have to make [Solo] good after The Last Jedi didn’t make as much money as expected,” he says. “If they want to keep making Star Wars movies, it has to be good.”[/QUOTE]
(The source that OP's source is referencing)
Either this whole "anonymous tip" is bullshit or the anonymous tipper is just a dumbass. Sure, Return of the Jedi didn't meet expectations but it's still one of the [b]9th highest grossing movie ever.[/b]
"if hey want to keep making Star Wars movies"? You've got to be kidding me. How many movies do they have planned? They're sitting on a gold mine whether this Solo movie bombs or not.
This is Disney, this is HOW disney manages expectations.
Transformers.
First Star Wars movie I'd planned on seeing in a while, but uh, something tells me it's not gonna go great.
What a shame.
