What do Brad Pitt, Nicole Kidman and Matt Damon have in common?

Brad Pitt

Nicole Kidman

Matt Damon

What do Brad Pitt, Nicole Kidman and Matt Damon have in common?

(a)Extremely successful movie stars.

(b)On the Hollywood the A-list.

(c)All have learned language accents to do famous movies.

(d)Tim Monich.

Answer – All of the Above

(a) and (b)

Of course both are obviously correct.

(c)

Brad Pitt, Nicole Kidman and Matt Damon have all been quite successful at portraying characters using accents that they did not grow up with.  Here are some famous examples:

Brad Pitt – Southern Accent - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Nicole Kidman – American Accent - Hemingway & Gellhorn

Matt Damon - South African Accent – Invictus

(d)

Tim Monich

At one point or another, Mr. Tim Monich has coached Brad Pitt, Nicole Kidman and Matt Damon on creating believable accents for character portrayals in movies.

So, what can we learn from this linguistic master?

Tim Monich’s Style

Monich’s archive, assembled over thirty years, is almost surely the largest private one of its kind, with approximately six thousand entries. He also collects accents from TV. Monich begins by talking with the director about how a character should sound, then he talks to the actor about the character and decides which voices from his archive might provide a model. He usually gives an actor four or five choices, and the actor selects one, from which Monich makes tapes distilling the vowel and consonant sounds that typify the dialect. Monich and the actor then “play a word, listen to it and say it,” he said—do language lab. Monich invents rhymes and sentences using words from the script—what he calls random acting. He also writes an actor’s lines in a faux-phonetic style he made up by combining elements of actual phonetics with approximations of sounds.

By the time the actor stands in front of the camera, Monich has done the bulk of his teaching work. Eventually, the accent recedes as a concern.

~The New Yorker~

Well this week I have no comments only applause for the A-List Masters.

Thank you for caring and sharing! 

And may your star always shine brightly!

Have a good one! 

See you next week,

Alex

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Olympian Michael Phelps - Behind the Scenes!

With 22 Olympic medals, Michael Phelps has set a new record! Michael also now holds the record for having the most gold medals – 18.  He is truly an incredible aquatic athlete getting a lot of world attention! 

This week let’s take a look at one of Michael’s key supporters – his mom - Debbie Phelps.  I always find it interesting to take a behind the scenes look at people who achieve greatness.  Specifically, I am interested in language and ideas.  So, this week is an excerpt of Debbie Phelps’ parenting ideas and talking style. 

 

Interview

Interviewer: What types of ideas do you feel are important for raising a child?

Debbie Phelps:  Kids, they need boundaries, limitations, routine and consistency.  That’s what I tried to do with Michael. Every day after school, he would put his back pack in the same place in our house, maybe go shoot some hoops, come in for a nutritious snack, and then pack his bag for swim practice. He followed his daily schedule on a regular basis. He knew his stuff had to be done in order to go swimming.

Interviewer:  So did you say to him "Michael, you can't go to swimming unless your stuff is done?"

Debbie Phelps:  The words "no" and "can't" aren't really in my vocabulary, so I would just say, "before you go to swimming, you need to do your work. Are you able to accomplish that?”

Interviewer:  So swimming helped him get organized.

Debbie Phelps:  Absolutely. Any sport teaches kids the characteristics and strengths they need - respect, responsibility, getting along with others, success, and taking unsuccessful moments and turning them around to something positive. The pool was really good for Michael. It's a huge rectangle with boundaries. In a pool, there are only so many places you can go. Just back and forth, back and forth. So he was always within his element, within his comfort zone.

Ideas

With regards to raising a child, structured consistency in a safe environment seems to be one of the more important ideas for Debbie.  Debbie feels that the sports, and particularly a swimming pool setting, are ideal growth environments along with ideas such as respect, responsibility, socialization, success, and creating positive situations from negative ones.  Moreover, setting boundaries with a positive question style is another corner stone to Debbie’s beliefs.   Debbie uses swimming as a reward tool.  If your work (school work) is done, then you can go enjoy swimming. 

Language Style

“The words ‘no’ and ‘can't’ aren't really in my vocabulary…”

Debbie presents herself as a positive role model in that she avoids the use of ‘no’ and ‘can’t’.  Michael was always told that he needed to finish his work first and then he could swim.  An interesting, positive question Debbie used was: “Are you able to accomplish that?”  In other words, Can you handle school and sports commitments at the same time?  School comes first and sports next in Debbie’s thoughts.  She could have said, “You can’t go swimming unless you finish your homework! or “No swimming until your homework is done!”  Instead she talked to her young son, as a young adult.  Debbie is firm but fair and positively oriented at the same time.  Pretty cool!  She is probably quite a positive, social person herself. 

How about you?  What do you think?

1.What do you think are important ideas for raising a child?

2.What are your personal experiences with sports and personal growth?

3.What are some positive ways we can ask or get people to do what we want/need without saying ‘no’ or ‘can’t’? 

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Fitness & Health Jennifer Aniston Style

Jennifer Aniston

Interview

Interviewer:  You look fabulous!  What do you do to keep in shape?

Jennifer Aniston:  I work out 5-7 days a week, doing at least 40 minutes of cardio on the treadmill, elliptical, or spin machine. I compliment my cardio heavy routine with one day of Pilates and three days of Yoga. Every night before bed I stretch and do sit-ups. As for my diet I usually eat fish, green vegetables, and quinoa.

Creating Conversation & New Friendships

Talking about fitness & health is quite common in casual conversation.  If you are a fitness and health-oriented person, this is a great topic.  It is also a great way to strike up a conversation to meet new people. 

Like the interviewer, start with a compliment and then ask the fitness question.  Most people will respond positively and tell you about their health and fitness efforts.  If you have similar interests, ask to work out with them.  I personally find working out with people a great way to get to know someone.  You often have lots of talking time during, before, and/or after the fitness activity. Moreover, the heath benefits are great! 

 Try it out!

This is what a fitness & health conversation might sound like:

Example Speaking Style

(A) You look __________!  What do you do to keep in shape?

(B) I work out _____ days a week, doing at least _____ minutes of cardio on the __________. I compliment my cardio routine with__________. As for my diet I usually eat __________.

(A) Wow, that’s great! Do you mind if I join you for __________?

(B) Not at all. I will call you next week to set up a time.

(A) Ok, I will talk to you then.

(B)See you.

Answer Ideas 

Idea One

(A) You look sensational!  What do you do to keep in shape?

(B) I work out 4 days a week, doing at least 30minutes of cardio on the treadmill. I compliment my cardio routine with Yoga. As for my diet I usually eat lots of fruits and vegetables and avoid meat.

(A) Wow, that’s great! Do you mind if I join you for some cardio on the treadmill?

(B) Not at all. I will call you next week to set up a time.

(A) Ok, I will talk to you then.

(B) See you.

Idea Two

(A) You look amazing!  What do you do to keep in shape?

(B) I work out 6 days a week, doing at least 50minutes of cardio on the stair master and stationary bike. I compliment my cardio routine with weightlifting. As for my diet I usually eat a high protein diet.

(A) Wow, that’s great! Do you mind if I join you for some weightlifting?

(B) Not at all. I will call you next week to set up a time.

(A) Ok, I will talk to you then.

(B) See you.

Enjoy creating new conversations with new fitness friends and staying in shape! 

Stay Healthy and See you Next Week!

 

 ALEX

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Katy Perry’s Musical Influences

Katy Perry

Interviewer’s Question:  I’m sure people ask you all the time if you were influenced by Madonna, but what kind of music did you listen to when you were younger?

Katy Perry”s Answer: My mom would let me listen to, like, Billie Holiday and Etta James and really classic stuff like that. My mom speaks fluent French, so she was also really into Édith Piaf, which she turned me on to—although, I guess she didn’t really look into the lyrics. [laughs].  But as I started to hear different kinds of music, my world got bigger. I got a record by Queen, which was so influential for me. I got all the Beatles’ records, like the “white” album [1968], which was really important to me along with Pet Sounds [1966] by the Beach Boys. Those two records were the only things I listened to for probably two years straight. Then I discovered Patty Griffin, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Jonatha Brooke—a little bit of the Lilith Fair–esque stuff. And then I got into more electronic music. But I’m just open to everything these days.

Katy Perry’s Speaking Style

As you can see from above, like many of the celebrity interviews, Katy uses casual, natural English to connect with the Listener.  Katy gives the listener a glimpse from her early years to present day.  Her speaking style is ‘rich’ with examples and very clear.  There are examples of musicians, albums, and styles throughout her answer.  Moreover, at first, she describes her mother’s influence on her music ‘tastes’.  Next as the young woman named Katy Perry develops into young adulthood, her musical world expands. 

And like the musical juggernaut she is, her musical influences expanded exponentially.  

Present day, we see a professional woman of music that is well versed in various musical styles and genres. 

Key Phrases for Talking about Music

• My mom would let me listen to, like (like = for example), Billie Holiday and Etta James and really classic stuff like that.  I started to hear different kinds of music, my world got bigger.

• I got a record by Queen, which was so influential for me. I got all the Beatles’ records, like the “white” album [1968], which was really important to me along with Pet Sounds [1966] by the Beach Boys.

• Then I discovered Patty Griffin, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Jonatha Brooke—a little bit of the Lilith Fair–'esque' stuff. And then I got into more electronic music. But I’m just open to everything these days.

Vocabulary note 

'esque' =
suffix forming adjectives, meaning: indicating a specified character, manner, style, or resemblance, like, similar to.

Example Style 1

My dad would let me listen to, like (like = for example), Al Jolson and Perry Como and really classic stuff like that.  I started to hear different kinds of music, my world got bigger.

I got a record by Aerosmith, which was so influential for me. I got all the Supertramp  records, like the “Breakfast in America” album [1979], which was really important to me along with Close to You [1970] by the Carpenters.

Then I discovered Nora Jones, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie—a little bit of the Latin–esque stuff. And then I got into more electronic music. But I’m just open to everything these days.

Next Week! Natural and Popular English Expressions from Katy Perry’s Musical Hit “ The One That Got Away!”

Until then, Check out the video "The One That Got Away" and try to answer the following question:

Why did the guy get away?

BONUS!  CHECK OUT some of Katy Perry’s early musical influences.  This LADY knows her MUSIC!

ALEX

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