From: corun@access.digex.com (Corun MacAnndra)
Subject: Re: Accents (was Re: COVINGTON CROSS)
Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1992 04:04:48 GMT

In article <1992Aug30.195345.15721@ccu.umanitoba.ca> thorntn@ccu.umanitoba.ca (Duncan Peter G. Thornton) writes:

>>BTW, my usage of "you" throughout this missive was not directed at the
>>posters quoted above exclusively, but all who find it necessary to openly
>>criticize something they think they understand better than the people doing
>>it.
>
>By this logic, as a non-actor, I should never criticize anyone's
>acting.  As a non-carpenter I should never criticize any carpenter's
>craftsmanship - even if they make a chair that breaks when I sit in it
>I don't think anyone is saying it would have been _easy_ for Costner
>or the Americans in CC to do a good job on their accents - but they're
>actors: doing the hard work of getting an accent right is their job,
>and when someone doesn't do their job, it's legitimate to criticize.
>(Although I take your point about producers; it's the makers of CC
>who should really be embarassed; they either didn't provide the 
>resources - in terms of time and teachers - that their actors needed,
>or didn't insist on hiring competent actors.).

OK, my phrasing threw an unforseen twist to the logic, and I concede that
given that logic your statement is correct. I was trying not to be demeaning
of anyone, but in the origin of this thread a statment was made to the effect
that someone didn't like watching TV with people who nit pick every detail.
These people I call whiners, and it was the whiners I was referring to. Surely
you should criticize something you think could be better. Cratfspeople, and
acting is a craft, only get better when they have constructive criticism
from which to work. I don't see nit picking and whining as constructive
criticism though, and maybe my hackles were raised a bit. Once you're in a
profession for awhile and understande it's intricacies you get a little
defensive.

As for actors getting the job right, TV and movies are not the same as doing
a play. In a play you often get anywhere from six to tne weeks rehearsal for
the entire production, and perform it several times. You have alot of time
to work out the details. In a film, and especially in television, you often
don't see the script much before the performance, and get very little time
to rehearse, much less research something like an accent. In a film you can
get more time, and sometimes a director will make sure you get it if that
person wants to achieve something specific. But in television, almost never.
I think someone mentioned earlier that the actors for CC got off the plane 
and went right to the first shooting. Also, shots in a film are never in
the sequence of the story. This makes continuity almost impossible.

BTW, Lord Corwhyn, are you going to take me up on my challenge to come up
with a reasonable dialect for your persona? The gauntlet is thrown, but
completely without rancor, and only in the best sense of friendly competition.

My apologies to the Rialto if this topic has taken too much bandwidth. I
will be happy to entertain further debate in email.

In Service,

Corun

-- 
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    Corun MacAnndra     |  The great thing about travel is getting to
  Dark Horde by birth   |   meet new people and see new places.
    Moritu by choice    |                            G. Khan
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