Posted by TKD27 at spider-ta076.proxy.aol.com on March 08, 2001 at 19:57:26:
In Reply to: Improvisation posted by LtWhig on March 08, 2001 at 19:48:51:
Kevin has said that he hates improv. He tells all the actors not to improv, and, in some cases he's been known to sit down and do detailed line readings so the actors know exactly how to say each line.
It seems like he's beginning to loosen up, though. I don't think he's done the infamous "line readings" since Mallrats, or maybe Amy.
And according to AICN, WIll Ferral did some improv on the set of JASBS. But it seems rare for Kevin to let anyone improv.
So no, I don't think Jason Lee or Jeff Anderson did any improv. They may have changed around one or two lines, though, but for the most part it's all what Kevin wrote.
Later,
Matt
: I am not sure if this has been discussed before, which I am sure if it has, many of you will be more than eager to point out exactly how far behind I am on the subject matter. I would like to know how much dialogue the actors were able to alter or add. What was originally in the scripts, and what, if anything, was an original addition/alteration by an actor? For example, Jason Lee and Jeff Anderson seem like two guys who would be altering or adding those little dialogue quirks because of the type of personality they put into each of their characters. Maybe Kevin's dialogue is characterization enough and the actors are good at their job: adjusting themselves to play a convincing role. But, it seems like there is a certain personality that goes along with delivering Kevin Smith's dialogue, and I wanted to know if those specific personality traits of any of the actors were displayed in the form of dialogue adjustment / alteration in the films? I know for a fact that Seth Green in Mewes' role would have definitely not been the same, and not in a good "theatrical different character interpretation" type of way. Mewes' stuff all seems improvised. None-the-less, it's all hilarious and creates a great spectrum of characters in a great series of films.
: - Will