*Official* How to play the part of Fett while in costume...

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Migrate from As You Wish

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My suggestion is to start a very strenious weight lifting program the day before, then the only way to move is slowly, you will be too sore to do anything else!!! :)
 
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The thing to always keep in mind while playing Fett is that you are very intimidating to all of the people standing around you. Use that to your advantage. Exploit it.

You're wearing a suit of weaponry. They can't see your face. All they see is their own frailty and uneasiness reflected back at them.

You are cold.
You are merciless.
You display no emotion.

But always maintain a posture of calm readiness. You don't say much. You don't move much. But you could kill everyone in the room in a matter of seconds if necessary.

Just do what Jeremy Bulloch did...watch "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly" and imitate Clint Eastwood. ;)

~Brian
 
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Jeez BH, are you a writer? That was said beautifully! :)

Seriously though, I think that you all have it nailed. It is really hard to show yourself as a threat without showing off your skills. I see other black belts on campus all the time, and if I didn't see them work out in the dojo, I would never think of them as dangerous--they just don't show any indication of their skills when they are walking around.

Fett, however, looks dangerous without showing off. I think I would be tempted to toss off a head high side kick once in a while, but that just isn't Fett's style. (Judging from the previews, that might go better for someone in a Jango costume.) It's just hard to LOOK like you can kick someone's butt without actually doing it.

Do we have any indication of Fett's hand-to-hand fighting skills? Or does he only fight with his weapons?
 
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Well he does wear a survival knife in his left shin pocket, so I'm sure he's got some CQC (close quarter combat) skills. But hey, with a reputation like his, who would want to go toe-to-spiked toe with him anyway?
 
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It's all about attitude. Me personally, I NEVER take my helmet off in public. I don't care how hot it gets.
I would rather go somewhere where no one can see for a drink or a breather.

Treat your costume and weapons as if they can really do what they do on the screen. The same way an actor
talks to a cardboard cutout that will be CG at a later date. You have to take your character seriously, if you want the public to do the same. It's not like we don't have a reference to go by. Watch and study Boba's scenes over and over.

Movements should be slightly exagerated. A turn of your head looks and feels different when you are wearing a big helmet. You may have to slightly exaggerate your movements. SLIGHTLY. Practice. and above all...have fun.
 
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In Twin Engines, he displays a little foot to head fighting. Jodo keeps callin him old, and he kicks the crap out of him, and hits his jet pack with a crowbar. So.. I think if he needs to, he can kick arse.


fettbanner3.jpg
 
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Act confident but relaxed. When someone waves to you or speaks. Simply nod and turn away, as if you see that they are no threat to you. When I walk a room I make sure to scan side to side slowly as if looking for possible targets. Also look at lots of still pics and practice the poses for pictures. I always hate seeing pictures of me when I made agoofy looking pose.

I'll have to watch "The good, the bad, and the ugly" again. Myabe I get a fewmore pointers.
 
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Agreed, Bob.

Don't ever take your helmet off in public. It kills the whole illusion for everyone. Once they see that you're just a normal-lookin' guy in costume, they'll relate to you in a much more relaxed fashion. You're no longer Boba Fett.

But if you'll just stand there cradeling your rifle with a cool, menacing demeanor in a movie theater as the crowds stroll in, occasionally giving a slow nod to someone who waves or speaks to you, you WILL be Boba Fett.

It's really quite amazing to be in that suit. Both kids and adults will gather around you to marvel at the detail of your costume. But they never want to get too close. They all tend to keep a respectful distance because deep down, they are intimidated by your appearance. It's actually funny to watch, because you'll see people actually checking each other's distance from you, because they don't want you to single them out for getting too close. In fact, the kids prove to be much braver on this front than the adults.

People will try to speak to you in an attempt to relieve their own anxiety about being confronted by a faceless assassin. They'll ask you things like, "Wow. You put some time into this costume, didn't you? How long did it take?"

Don't answer. It's not a costume. You are Boba Fett. Simply look away slowly as if you couldn't be bothered answering such a question.

People become soooo uneasy when you won't speak. And it makes the experience so much more real for them.

The only time you should speak is if:

a) You have a good voice/speaker setup that keep your voice in true character. If not, don't say anything.

b) If you have something very "Fett" to say. And this doesn't necessarily mean quoting movie lines. But if after several failed attempts at getting you to speak, a person finally asks you, "don't you ever talk?", you simply lean slowly into that person's personal space, pause for a moment, and then say, "...When I have something too say.", and then proceed to return to your ready stance.

Be creative. But be minimal. Less is definitely more with Fett.

~Brian
 
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:cry Stop it BH. You are scaring even me!!!
 
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And on a side note...it's not just about "scaring people". It's about being faithful to the character you are portraying.

Everything that I described above is how you should behave if you're going as Boba. But obviously that is not how you would relate to the crowd if you were, say, Vader. Vader is talkative and expressive. People WANT to hear the Vader voice. So you would relate to the crowd in a completely different manner.

If your Han, Luke, Obi-Wan...whatever...you would be much more friendly and approachable. Just be true to the character.

If you're gonna be Boba...you can't be a pansy about it. He's dangerous and ruthless, and you've gotta play the part faithfully.

And that's not to say that people can't have their pictures taken with you or anything. A lot of people will want to do that. You just don't need to break character or start talking a lot to pose for a picture.

Keep it real for the fans. Even when you intimidate them, they still leave the experience telling everyone they know about how "the REAL Boba Fett was at the theater that night, and he was Bad-Ass!"

It's fun & exciting.

~Brian
 
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So does it make it less effective is you are short like me? Is is hard to be bad-ass when you are 5'6'' and everyone is looking at the top of your helmet?
 
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Not if you kick one or two in the nads every now and then. Instant respect and attention getter, especially if you are sneaky about it and all anyone sees is some huge guy writhing in pain on the floor and you are simply standing above him doing nothing. Everyone goes "What the heck just happened here???"
 
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:lol:

"Put that guy's nads in the cargo hold."
 
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Brak's, is that the only way you can get respect? :p Just kidding!

Really though, I am getting so excited about wearing my costume now! Before I was wondering how I would pull it off (and if I would look too much like a girl--Demi Moore looked very girly in G.I. Jane despite the buzz cut), but with everyone's insight, I am feeling like I could do this well. Please keep the ideas coming! I'm sure we all want to hear about how to BE Fett--the best costume in the world can be ruined by stepping out of character (Jango with an umbrella comes to mind...).
 
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My Only Fettish wrote:Brak's, is that the only way you can get respect? :p Just kidding!

Nope. I frighten the hell out of 'em with my hick accent... Anyone who has ever talked to me on the phone knows EXACTLY what I am talking about... I open my mouth and all my credibility goes right out the window.. Just another dumb southerner...
 
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5'6??

Hell, I'm 5'5"!! :lol:

Yes, you can pull it off. It's much more acceptable to be a 5'6" Fett than a 5'6" Vader.

I do haunted attractions every year, so the study of the psychology of people reacting to you while you are in costume is something I've spent many years exploring.

(Do you have any idea how many people poop themselves when confronted by an evil clown? You'd be amazed.)

There's a definite science and methodology to knowing how to properly take advantage someone else's "personal space" while you're in costume.

Most of the theory that I've discussed above really only applies to "masked" or "helmeted" characters, though. If you dress up as Han Solo, people can see that you're obviously NOT Harrison Ford. Therefore, you are really only a "representation" of that character. But when your visage is hidden behind a character's helmet or mask, you ARE that character. So you gotta play it straight up.

~Brian
 
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As to how to act like Fett, I got what I consider the biggest compliment a Fett can get (!) last year when I was at at Memorabilia 2001, Jeremy was there and pointed me out to his wife and a couple of others with him and said " he's doing it just right, look, he's cradling the gun and has the head tilt!" then came up to me and said " Hello Jools, recognised the suit"!!!!! Godamn, that made my weekend! I'd only met Jeremy in the gear once before about 6 months previous but he remembered! Quality Bloke!
 
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It looks like you all have it covered pretty good, but if you were in the right context I can think of something else that would be very Fett-like...

If someone in the room makes a threat or even just a wise comment, get out your gun real quick and aim it at them, not saying a word, just standing in a ready stance until they back down, apologize or something.

That's what Fett did in Jabba's palace when Leia pulled out the detonator.

Of course, since your gun's a replica and I'm sure nobody here would REALLY shoot someone, you may run into Fett problems if they didn't take it back... One solution to that would be to simply look them over like you were evaluating if they were worth your ammo and putting your gun away as if it wasn't.

Guri
 
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I generally don't point my gun at others unless it's for a picture or they do something to show they are into it. Like stand in front of you with their hands up. Not that a solid resin blaster could harm anyone but I don't want anyone complaining that I'm trying to scare people with the gun. Some people don't realize it's not real. Besides no one at a con is worth that much of Fett attention as it is. Unless of course it's someone in a Han costume. Than all bets are off.:)
 
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