Read on Twitter
1/ Lots of fuss (and requests for comment) about the accents in the trailer for #wildmountainthyme. I'm a little loathe to venture judgement on the basis of a half a dozen lines spoken by each character. https://twitter.com/WildMtThyme/status/1326295072783085569
2/ Some of the lines we're hearing may have been ADR'd long after shooting; they may have used terrible takes (accent-wise); who really knows. I'd prefer to wait and see what the film is like. But there's a really big point I want to make:
3/ wtf wasn't there a coach??
4/ You've got an English actor, a Northern Irish actor, and a (very vocally idiosyncratic) American actor playing characters from the same small town in County Mayo. They *really* need to sound consistent.
5/ And it's *always* important to get accents right—it's a matter of respect. But given that it's Ireland, and there have been so many famously terrible Irish accents in film, why would you not do EVERYTHING YOU COULD to get this right?
6/ Dornan and Blunt gave an interview to People last month in which they both said they were "terrified" of getting the accent wrong. Terrified! Can you imagine? Why didn't the production hire a coach SO THAT THE ACTORS WOULDN'T BE TERRIFIED??
7/ It is absolutely absurd when actors are expected to somehow magically do this on their own. (Or hire a coach on their own dime, which most actors can't easily afford, and shouldn't have to.)
8/ Again, to be clear, I'm NOT blaming the actors here. I'm not even prepared to judge their accents right now—I don't know exactly what they were going for (I can't even tell when the story is supposed to be set).
9/ Accents are hard, and they take work and TIME to get nuanced, accurate, and integrated. Quick cya statement—I'm not 100% certain the film didn't have a coach.
10/ There's none credited, and it certainly seems like Dornan and Blunt would have mentioned it in that interview if they had had one. But something else that happens all too often is that a production will hire a local with no real training and appoint them dialect coach.
11/ Occasionally this might work out, but often it's worse than leaving the actors with no support at all. Think about it—would you know how to coach someone to sound like you, or like other people from your community?
12/ Would you have any other tools other than saying, over and over again "Say it like me. No, that doesn't sound right, listen again and try harder this time."
13/ Competent dialect coaching requires deep expertise and training IN ADDITION to deep knowledge of the accent or dialect being taught. /cya statement
14/ #PRODUCERS, and the industry generally, still have a lot of catching up to do in terms of understanding 1) How important it is to the story to get accents right,
15/ 2) How important it is to the AUDIENCE that you get the accents right, and 3) That you don't ask actors to design or sew their own costumes, so why would you think they should be left to design or master their accents without a coach?
16/ Things have gotten better in recent years. In my last several projects, I've had weeks or even months before shooting started to prepare principal cast.
17/ It's been amazing to have that time (and I'm super proud of the results)—compared to the last-minute nature of some other experiences I've had, which are all too common industry-wide, it has felt almost like a luxury. But it shouldn't.
18/ Accents are an incredibly important layer of storytelling. Accent is, fundamentally, about identity. It's an expression of it. It is connected to some of the most basic, essential stuff about being an individual human being.
19/ The minute a human being opens their mouth and speaks, we begin to have associations... who they are, where they come from, what their background is, what they are like.
20/ WHEN they are from. Why would you leave this out? Why would you think that this is any less important for creating the world of the film or show than the other design elements, the costumes, set, makeup, lighting, etc?
21/ So, a plea: productions, please hire a competent, trained dialect coach. Hire them when you hire the other designers. Allow the actors the time they need, BEFORE shooting starts. (6-12 weeks, ideally.)
22/ Give them the support they need so that their performances can be fully realized: nuanced, textured, accurate, rich, connected, fully embodied. So they can fully bring the thing to life in the fullest, most interesting, most human way. So that they are not TERRIFIED, ffs!
23/ It'll be worth it. I promise.
