Do movie stars have to memorize the whole script?

Or do you just memorize the few lines you shoot that day. (I'm considering becoming a movie star but I have a lot of other activities so I don't want to overextend myself)

Christina darling would read the script to me every night as I was applying my cold cream. We would not go to bed until she had taught me my lines. Ungrateful little girl, 50 lovely dresses all hanging on WIRE HANGERS!
Joan%20Crawford
Only your lines. You don't even have to read the rest of the script.
Leslie%20Howard
You don't even have to use their words, OP.
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You only memorize the lines you're going to shoot that day. But a good actor reads through the whole script and maybe does some research, so they understand how that day's scene relates to the story as a whole.
What do you mean when you say "memorize"?
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Lulu
I read mine off the furniture.
Brando
I memorized the whole song and sang it live!!!!!
AnnE
One of Dolly Parton's mistakes in 9 to 5 was to memorize the whole script. She'd say her lines and be slightly mouthing the other actors lines. It was so slight that a lot of times it wasn't noticed until dailies. A lot of reshooting. Her work ethic. She just thought it was what everyone did.
As someone else said, you read through the entire script, know your beats and your purpose in each scene, know how it relates to the rest of your character's arc and memorize what you need to say at the minimum that day. If you don't have much to do, then by all means memorize all of your lines. Why? You're supposed to be "in the moment." You're also supposed to "listen" to what the other person is saying. If you know what's coming before it's said and you know where your character is eventually going to end up your performance seems less authentic. Also knowing your goal in a scene and the beats in the scene and your character WELL allows you to (if you forget a line) properly fill in what you're supposed to say. There's this whole concept of "the illusion of the first time" as in no matter what you're doing it should seem like the first time you're doing it. Also with listening, although you may know what the next person is going to say, by all means let them say it and respond as if you're just hearing it. It doesn't matter how many times you have to say, "Please pass the salt." Every single time you say you it you should be saying it as if you JUST had that thought because you NEEDED the salt. Even if eventually you know you're going to have a heart attack a few scenes later, you don't act like you are cause your character isn't supposed to know that. Even if you know another character is going to say, "Where is it? Let me go to the kitchen?" You need to wait until they say it and react the right way.
I don't understand how anyone could possibly memorize all those lines.
What's this thing called, "sides"? I heard a director say that actors carry them around when they can't remember their lines.
sides are just 1 or 2 pages ripped out of the script. I memorize my part and just ask the director to nudge me when the other person is done talking. Sometimes I knit too.
M
"I don't understand how anyone could possibly memorize all those lines. " Ever been to the theater? Those fuckers can memorize HOURS of dialogue! It's pretty impressive, when you think about it.
shreeeeeeeeeeeeek
That Meryl shit is beyond tired.
Meryl learns the entire script. They've discussed it a million times.
Sides are basically tiny pages of the script that have been shrunk down that you can hold in your hand. They are the page for only that day's or that moments scenes that are about to be filmed. I have them.
You can memorize the script if you like but it most likely be rewritten over the course of the film shoot so it does not really matter. It's no big trick to memorizing things. Singers memorize entire operas in foreign languages.
I always use sides but it works!
No they don't
It's an acquired skill. On cold read auditions actors have to memorize scenes within a few minutes. Acting isn't as easy as it looks.
That sounds hard R10.
R23, Not really. It's a process you learn and get down pretty quickly. After a while it just becomes second nature. I can't perform anything unless I do all that or I feel lost. Acting isn't (or rather it shouldn't be) just looking at a script and repeating the lines. If you can get your hand on an actor's script after they've shot a film, you'll probably notice tons of notes marking out all of that information. R22, Exactly. I'll add that some people can easily get away with auditions without memorizing it to a T. I know for a fact that Jake G doesn't do it. He'll literally look it over, get down as much as he can and then ad-lib the rest of it. We were actually taught that during auditions you should memorize everything but if you can't, feel free to do a little ad-libbing if it's overly complicated just so that the scene flows well and your head isn't constantly buried in your script.
The people who have responded and are actors, can you tell us your gender and if you're TV, movies or stage?
Memorizing lines becomes easier to do, w/ practice and repetition like anything in life, when your intention of what you are going to say, i.e. the issue/emotion/underlying hidden agenda you need to communicate, is the driving force of WHY you're speaking those lines.
Woody Allen doesn't give you a script. You agree to do his film without reading a script and you only get your scenes.
R10/24 = Matt Bomer.
It's really funny that you said that R28 but I can't say exactly how.
I'm considering being a major league centerfielder, do I have to be able to catch fly balls?
R30, do you throw like a girl?
Anomynous%20
Once you're an established star, you'll never have to memorize any lines. Someone will hold up a cue card with your lines off-camera that you merely read when it's your turn (they'll give you the "Hi-sign").
Anomynous%20
Dolly Parton memorized the ENTIRE script of 9 to 5 because she thought she had to.
R25 I'm female--tv and film. Just bit parts.
During auditions, are you allowed to look at your sides while auditioning or do they expect you to have it completely memorized? What if you totally go blank and forget your lines?
Apart from your lines you have to know when it is your turn to say your lines. In order to do that you have to know your cue lines or words.
Faux Innocent Troll with another knowingly stupid question. Why does he find this amusing?
R35 You need to be able to face the camera during a filmed audition or face the casting people during a live audition. If you are reading your lines off a page you will tend to look down at your script pages and they will only see the top of your head. There is a way to hold your page and move your thumb down your lines as read if you have too, but it is much easier to just learn the lines. They usually only give you a page or two. Film yourself 1. reading and 2. talking to the camera to see the difference.
r30, you know very well that the good people of datalounge do not know that first thing about hockey. Hi, Matt. Thanks for coming out, means a lot.
LOL r5
Marlon Brando didn't. According to WP: [quote]Brando portrayed Superman's father Jor-El in the 1978 film Superman. He agreed to the role only on assurance that he would be paid a large sum for what amounted to a small part, that he would not have to read the script beforehand and his lines would be displayed somewhere off-camera. It was revealed in a documentary contained in the 2001 DVD release of Superman that he was paid $3.7 million for two weeks of work. Nice work if you can get it.
And Brando died broke. He ate a lot of creme brulee.
Is there an trick to memorizing lines easily?
R35, If you get them a day in advance, you'd better know them. If you get them the same day, then you also should know them. However, if you don't, like R38 said there's a certain way you should hold a script. A tip I got from a CD once was that you should take the staple out of the copies and drop the pages as you go on so you don't have to waste time flipping the pages because that'd disruptive. R38, is right on the money. Personally I do the finger thing and there's a certain way I glance down so that I'm never looking down for more than a second. I'm really just looking at a word or two and that's only when I have a huge chunk of dialogue or when the script reader who is playing other roles is reading lines that consist of multiple roles and my lines are short. I've always found that slightly confusing since they're not supposed to put any emphasis on anything or act period. Also the cute thing is that people don't care about the beginning as much as they do the end in an audition. Always, always, always know your last couple of lines without looking and hit them. R43, you just have to do them over and over again until you do. I usually read each line seven times over and over again. Then I work my way through my scenes from start to finish reading the lines. If I screw up when I'm saying my third line I start over again from the very beginning until I can make it all the way through without screwing up no matter how many times it takes. I'd still say the easiest way to remember your lines is to *really* know what you're saying and who your character is.
R44 Thanks for that info. During auditions, do they usually just have you read your lines sitting down or standing up?
Oh, I also forgot to ask: Is there a certain way you should dress for an audition? Is it better to dress as you imagine the character would dress or is that too cheesy?
R45
R44/45, If you're supposed to be sitting for the scene then more likely than not you'll be sitting. Any other time or situation you'll be standing. Do not pantomime. If you're supposed to be sitting there eating a bowl of soup and they don't give you a prop, don't pretend like you have one. If you're supposed to reach into your pocket you can reach into your pocket and maybe grab a piece of paper or something. As for dressing, if you're auditioning to play a fireman or a police officer or some other character with a profession that would wear a certain outfit then NO! Do NOT dress like that character. If you're auditioning for a period piece, no do not dress like the character. If you're auditioning for a character that is a free spirit then feel free to wear a nice dress. If you're auditioning to play a younger person than you are, don't wear a button down shirt and slacks. Wear a t-shirt and jeans. If you're auditioning for a dad type role, then wear something a little older. Basically, imply that you'd be a good fit for the character while still dressing like a normal person and more important than that ALWAYS wear something that fits. When it's about your "look" don't be surprised if the person operating the camera pans down to get your entire body. Also, nothing to flashy that would distract them from you, but interesting enough so that you don't blend in with everyone else. I'm known for wearing crazy shoes, I don't wear them to auditions. However: if I get something directly from my agent they usually *tell* me how to dress. (My agent is really big on us never wearing black to an audition.) If it's an audition that's going to be recorded at my agency and then sent to the client, sometimes they even dress me. I can't count the times I went in directly to them and they redressed me as soon as I got there.
Don't take wcting advice from D a v i d a - R o c h e l l e.
One memorize not only one's lines but one's actions for the scene being shot. Very few scenes are shot in one take and movie actors sometimes flub their lines during shooting requiring retakes. So line memorization is not really a big issue. Some directors rehearse a great deal before shooting, others very little. Rehearsal is of course a huge part of learning one's part. Also consider soap actors who have to learn scenes on a day to day basis. Film actors can approach it the same way, especially since, as has been said, rewrites are happening on an continuing basis.
It's not just a matter of saying the words, but you must put them all in the right order. And then some words should be pronounced more loudly than others in order to express different meanings to the words.
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