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Talking about films in English

Are you a film buff like me? - a person who is very interested in and knowledgeable about films.

When was the last time you went to the cinema? I went just the other day and saw Dunkirk. It was pretty good. I got to see my friend who was an extra – a person in the background - in the film. He actually auditioned for a part in the film, but wasn't cast. He has been in a few shorts before, but this was the biggest film he was involved in.

I think it must be really interesting to work in the film industry. Did you know Guy Richie used to be a runner before he became a director?

Note: When Russian/Ukrainian speakers talk about films, a common mistake that they sometimes make is the use of the verb play. They might say a sentence like this '̶B̶r̶a̶d̶ ̶P̶i̶t̶t̶ ̶p̶l̶a̶y̶e̶d̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶S̶e̶v̶e̶n̶​ ' the verb play always follows the name of the role – the character- when we talk about films. The correct way of saying this would be ' Brad Pitt played a detective in Seven.' Of course, we can say an actor or actress is in a film without saying who they played and when we do this we simply say ' Brad Pitt is in Seven '.

Can you think of any other actors or actresses and the roles they played in films? How about the film 'The Hangover' who's in it?

When we talk about films and TV, we usually ask certain questions to ask about them. Let's look at some of the most common questions.

Have you (ever) seen...? To ask if the person has watched a film or not
Was/is it any good? - To ask for a rating of the film
What did you see? - To ask for the name of the film
What's it about? (wotsit about?) - To ask for a brief describe of the story
Who's in it? - To ask about who the actors and actresses are in the film
When did it come out? - To ask when the film was released

Was/is it any good? is such an important question, especially for films and tv shows. We want to know should we watch it! Not everything is GREAT! The great thing also about this question is we can use it for anything we want a rating for. Events, trips, places, food, films. Below are other ways of describing the good, not bad, and awful.

Good
It's impressive
It's one of the best films...
It's a top film
It's wicked
It's worth watching
It's mad!
It blew me away - when after the film you think 'wow!'
It's brilliant
It's a must see

OK
It's nothing special
It's not bad
It's alright
The book was better
It's not the worst film in the world, but.
If you don't have any others

Bad
It's rubbish
It's awful
It's shit
Don't waste your time
It's one of the worst films..
It's shocking
It's pants
It's boring
It was a let down
I expected more.

Let's try and choose the right question. Which question from above fits below?

I went to the cinema last night
….................?
Joo
….................?
Yeah, it was really good. Very funny
….................?
A little green Alien called Joo who tries to find his spaceship
….................?
Brand Pitt
….................?
Last month I think.


Answers: 3,2,4,5,6

And, some words you might need to to talk about films and filmmaking

Person/Genre/Thing/ Verb
actor horror script dub
director animation scene to release
producer drama (the)cast (to)cast
location scout thriller screening promote
set designer period drama credits censor
costume designer biopic trailers adapt
runner romantic comedy synopsis to play(a role)
make-up artist fantasy short-film shoot
actress sci-fi screenplay review
film critic crime role audition
stunt/body double documentary copy rehearse
extra war review act


Cheers
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