OVERLAY REPORT

In the context of the 2009 stop-motion film *Mary and Max*, there were **no improvised scenes** in the traditional sense of actors deviating from the plot or ad-libbing significant dialogue. Because stop-motion animation requires a "locked" audio track before the years-long animation process begins, every line of dialogue is finalized well in advance. However, there were specific **vocal performance choices** and character nuances developed during the recording sessions that added texture beyond the initial script: ### 1. Eric Bana’s Stutter (Damien Papadopoulos) The character of Damien, Mary's neighbor and eventual husband, is notable for his severe stutter. In various "Making of" featurettes and interviews, Eric Bana jokingly claimed that the stutter was "improvised" as a way to increase his word count because he heard the actors were being paid per word. * **The Reality:** While the pay-per-word story was a comedic bit for the behind-the-scenes crew, the specific **rhythm and phonetic execution** of the stutter were creative choices Bana brought to the recording booth. Because his character had very little dialogue, Bana used the stuttering to flesh out Damien's nervous energy, which the animators then had to match frame-by-frame. ### 2. Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Vocal Characterization Director Adam Elliot has noted that the script was so meticulously planned that he had virtually memorized it before production began. Philip Seymour Hoffman recorded all of his lines for Max Jerry Horowitz in just **two days** via a remote high-speed cable connection from New York while Elliot was in Australia. * **Specific Detail:** Hoffman’s "improvisation" was purely **tonal**. He chose to give Max a flat, wheezing, and labored breathing style to reflect his obesity and anxiety. Elliot remarked that Hoffman’s ability to find the "bruised humanity" in the voice helped "enliven and invigorate" a script that was otherwise rigid. ### 3. "The Characters Directed Themselves" Adam Elliot often states in interviews that the "characters directed themselves." This phrase is sometimes misinterpreted as improvisation, but it refers to the **animation process**. Once the voice actors (Toni Collette, Hoffman, and Bana) provided their final recordings, the animators would listen to the vocal inflections, sighs, and pauses to determine the puppets' physical movements. Any "unscripted" life in the film—such as a specific eye twitch or a character’s posture—was an "improvisation" by the **animators** reacting to the actors' pre-recorded voices. ### Why improvisation is limited in Mary and Max: * **Locked Script:** Elliot spent five years on the project, and the script was "locked off" during the 6–8 months of pre-production. * **Precision:** Every second of footage took roughly a week to animate. Any change to the dialogue during the animation phase would have required scrapping weeks of physical labor. * **Remote Recording:** Because the leads were recorded separately (Hoffman in NY, Bana and Collette in Australia), they never had the opportunity to play off one another or ad-lib conversational banter.