Jessica Alba: "Good actors never use the script"

The words are just that, the words. They form sentences and paragraphs. The punctuation should be correct and show certain things as well.

It's up to the actor to convey them with the feelings, emotions and body language that are necessary to make them believable.

When I act, I learn (not memorize) the dialogue in order to know what to say, and ask the director if add lib is acceptable. Then I think about what emotion/feeling/body language makes it believable and go with it, and listen carefully to the director if he/she wants it done differently. Following those simple steps can improve ones skill in my opinion.

And just for the record, I do not claim to be any good at it.
 
aceofspades70 said:
The words are just that, the words. They form sentences and paragraphs. The punctuation should be correct and show certain things as well.

It's up to the actor to convey them with the feelings, emotions and body language that are necessary to make them believable.

When I act, I learn (not memorize) the dialogue in order to know what to say, and ask the director if add lib is acceptable. Then I think about what emotion/feeling/body language makes it believable and go with it, and listen carefully to the director if he/she wants it done differently. Following those simple steps can improve ones skill in my opinion.

And just for the record, I do not claim to be any good at it.
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I agree with this.

I think it's been misconstrued that she's talking about improvising.
 
Maybe she is, and I welcome an actors input, as long as we both understand that in the end I am the dictator. If I like a delivery or an improv we can go with it, if I don't then they have to do it another way.
 
I wouldn't kick her off the casting couch for improving. :)

If asked if improv was okay I would ask for an example. There are ceratin things in a script that are meant to "fit" together, and improving could destroy the effect. Examples woudl be inb a comedy where you want to use a pun. If the actor improvs a line preceding the pun, the pun would no longer make sense. Things like that.
 
I thought about this some more, and here is the thing that sticks out to me most:

Good actors, never use the script unless it's amazing writing.
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So the obvious question is:
Why is she on board with a script that she doesn't think is amazing?

Logical guess:

Agent:
"Jessica, yeah, you've played this stereotypical role before, but they're willing to pay you $20 million."

J. Alba:
"Where do I sign?"
 
I never said all actors are cattle; what I said was all actors should be treated like cattle.


When an actor comes to me and wants to discuss his character, I say, 'It's in the script.' If he says, 'But what's my motivation?, ' I say, 'Your salary.'
Alfred Hitchcock
 
This actually reminds me about a scene that Halle Berry played in X-Men. A particular line she delivered rang so untrue it jarred almost everyone who watched the film. Joss Whedon, who was brought in to consult on the script and did some minor edits and rewrites, wrote the particular line with the intention of it being delivered in a certain way and Berry flumphed it. When you listen to his explanation of how it should've been delivered, it makes perfect sense and would've actually been quite humorous.

But then, we're talking Halle Berry here; now there's someone who can't act worth a damn. And yes, I've seen Monster.
 
Halle Berry is pretty good looking though. I thought she did a good job in cat woman. But I guess many people did not like cat woman. She was also in a 007 movie and did a pretty good job in that. I never noticed any issues with X Men concerning her lines. Which movie was it and what line?
 
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