A 'House of Gucci' dialogue coach was puzzled by Lady Gaga's Italian accent: 'It sounds more Russian'
- Francesca De Martini, a dialect coach, worked with Salma Hayek on "House of Gucci."
- De Martini said that before her there was no dialogue coach on set.
Lady Gaga's Italian accent in "House of Gucci" has been the subject of much discussion after the first trailer dropped earlier this year.
Francesca De Martini, Salma Hayek's dialect coach for the movie, told The Daily Beast that she couldn't help but agree with the criticism.
"I feel bad saying this, but her accent is not exactly an Italian accent, it sounds more Russian," De Martini said.
De Martini was hired during production when Hayek asked for help to land the accent of the character she was portraying, Giuseppina "Pina" Auriemma, who was born in Naples, but there was no dialect coach on set, De Martini said.
"I was really surprised to be called for this, and I was surprised there wasn't a dialogue coach on set," De Martini said.
Helping Hayek, De Martini got a front-row seat for Gaga's performance as Patrizia Reggiani, the ex-wife of the head of Gucci, Maurizio Gucci (played by Adam Driver).
De Martini said Gaga's accent sounded a bit off. "I was noticing when I was on set, because I had earphones working with Salma and hearing what she was saying so I could help her to get it right, so I could hear Lady Gaga as well," she told The Daily Beast.
De Martini acknowledged that the accents in the movie are wide-ranging.
"When you see the trailer, there are so many different accents," she said.
The movie also stars Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, and Jared Leto as other family members of the Gucci empire.
Gaga previously told British Vogue that she spent nine months speaking with the Italian accent and never breaking character while working on the movie.
"House of Gucci" opens in theaters on November 24.