Bram Stoker’s Dracula is one of the biggest movies of 1992, and also one of the most successful projects of Francis Ford Coppola’s career. They earned approximately $215 million worldwide, saving George Lucas’ production company American Zoetrope from bankruptcy. However, Keanu Reeves’ performance wasn’t liked by everyone back in 1992 when the film was released.
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In “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” Keanu Reeves plays the role of Jonathan Harker and Francis Ford Coppola commented on why his performance on screen didn’t go as expected. The actor was very criticized for his performance mainly because of his English accent.
Francis Ford Coppola Says Perfectionism Sabotaged Keanu Reeves’ Dracula Performance
There is no doubt that Keanu Reeves wanted to do it perfectly and in trying to do it perfectly messed it up even more. Francis Ford Coppola stated his own opinions objectively and said that when it comes to perfectionism, it ‘sabotages more than it helps.’ And further added:
“It was tough for him to affect an English accent. He tried so hard. That was the problem – he wanted to do it perfectly, and it came off as stilted. I tried to get him to relax with it and not do it so fastidiously. So maybe I wasn’t as critical of him, but that’s because I like him, personally, so much. To this day, he’s a prince in my eyes.”
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It is clear that Francis Ford Coppola has mutual respect for the actor and even appreciates his work and talent although he runs for ‘perfectionism’ which might be the biggest point to blame for. Even Keanu Reeves admitted that he used to feel exhausted to make his role perfect due to back-to-back filming while keeping his accent perfect.
How Francis Ford Coppola Brought Success to Bram Stoker’s Dracula?
It will be right to say that Francis Ford Coppola breathed new life into ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula’ with his excellent idea and even won three Academy Awards. Eiko Ishioka won for Best Costume Design, Greg Cannom, Michèle Burke, and Matthew W. Mungle for Best Make-Up, following Tom C. McCarthy and David E. Stone for Best Sound Editing. Francis Ford Coppola worked with his gothic tone in this movie and the visual effects were considered strange and unreasonable by many. But that’s what made it successful because it was odd and the tone was well blended with the script.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula is available on Prime Video and Vudu.
Source: slashfilm.com
