----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king."
"So I think it's an advantage. Every director should take an acting class. At least one. You know, you panic with actors. It's like, "Okay, this is back in college, I know how to talk to these guys. I know their vocabulary, and I get what they're saying back to me." So basically to learn the vernacular of acting, that's very important." - Shane Black
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king."
Dozens of acclaimed Hollywood screenwriters discuss their successes and failures, share amusing anecdotes and insider insights, and reveal their experiences with big-name actors and directors in this fascinating documentary. Writers include William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver), John Carpenter (Halloween), Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption) and many others.
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François Truffaut, Alfred Hitchcock and Helen G. Scott in 1962.
In the fall of 1962, French film director François Truffaut and author/translator Helen G. Scott of the French Film Office in New York interviewed legendary film director Alfred Hitchcock at length, with a book in mind. The resulting 26 hours of tape were edited into the 1965 coffee table book Hitchcock By Truffaut: The Definitive Study of Alfred Hitchcock (revised edition).
In Part One of The Hitchcock/Truffaut Tapes, Hitchcock speaks with palpable fatigue about his childhood, his early interest in theater, his work as a commercial artist and his gradual involvement in the medium upon which he would soon make an everlasting impact. Truffaut valiantly attempts to understand his answers (even in translation), while he and Helen Scott laugh way too hard at Hitchcock's half-hearted jokes.
There's an Alfred Hitchcock Wiki where a commenter suggests all 26 hours may be found somewhere on the Web. You can listen, but not download, the French radio series there, but without Sutpen's wonderful photos from the book, of movie posters and of Hitchcock directing these films.
Hitchcock died in 1980, at 80; Truffaut, in 1984 at 52; and Scott in 1987, at 72, after what the Times portrays as an interesting life. They're all very much alive still in these tapes.
Interview: Alfred Hitchcock and Francois Truffaut (Aug/1962) LISTEN
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All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. At first the infant, Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms. And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel And shining morning face, creeping like snail Unwillingly to school. And then the lover, Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier, Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard, Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel, Seeking the bubble reputation Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice, In fair round belly with good capon lined, With eyes severe and beard of formal cut, Full of wise saws and modern instances; And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon, With spectacles on nose and pouch on side, His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice, Turning again toward childish treble, pipes And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all, That ends this strange eventful history, Is second childishness and mere oblivion, Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything. - Jaques (Act II, Scene VII)
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On shooting day, I remember sitting on "set chairs" outside "LOVE SAVES THE DAY" at Second Avenue and E. 7th Street, with Risa Bramon Garcia (just a few feet away from the original site of NYU Graduate Film School). "Who woulda thunk," what this movie would help launch for my Winnebago mate and scene partner.
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(Most all of this is very good. However, I don't know about, "2. Go Over The Script Line By Line With Your Actors Before Getting on the Set." This could lead to disaster.)- José Angel Santana
As a feature film director, your relationships with your actors may be the most delicate ones of your entire production – especially if you are a first-timer without much prior directing experience. From teaching workshops in acting and directing, I’ve noticed that directors make the same mistakes over and over again. These subtle – and sometimes not so subtle – behaviors often sabotage their chances of getting good performances.
The following 10 suggestions – some practical and craft-related, others simply glorified leadership and communication tips – should help you avoid some of the most common pitfalls.
1. Be Prepared To Talk To Your Actors.
One of the most common mistakes directors make is failing to be prepared to work with their actors. After all, you know the script inside out, maybe even wrote it over a period of several years. So, isn’t it safe to assume that you know enough about the story and characters to direct the actors? The answer is: most probably not. Directing your actors will require an entirely different kind of information than you needed when you were writing your screenplay or making other directorial decisions.
In order to work with actors, you must create a subtext for them, providing each actor with insights into the inner workings of their characters. But in order to do that, you must first answer a few basic questions: What does each character want, and how is he or she going to get it? Actors need the answers to these questions in clear, simple and active language. But these answers aren’t always obvious – you must give yourself the time to think through the script, scene by scene and character by character. If you don’t take this time, odds are you’ll talk too much on set and only succeed in getting random results.
I once watched a director ramble on about the metaphorical meaning of a prop to an actor. The actor stood there nodding, making polite, intelligent sounding noises. However, when the director finally finished, not only did the actor have no idea how to play the scene, but her energy was confused and dispirited. The director had left her with no practical insights as to how to play her scene. Winston Churchill once ended a very long letter with the comment, "I’m sorry this letter was so long – I didn’t have time to make it short." The only way to be brief and to the point with your actors is to take the time to crystallize your thoughts before opening your mouth.
As a corollary to this rule:
2. Go Over The Script Line By Line With Your Actors Before Getting on the Set.
Some directors like extensive rehearsal periods, while others just work with the actors on set. But at the very least go through the script individually with your actors. During a quiet moment, discuss with them, line by line, their characters’ desires, the meaning of what they’re saying, the stakes and the script’s major dramatic turning points. It is crucial, before you shoot, to begin move away from the idealized image you’ve had in your head to what this real live person may or may not bring to the material. Speak with your actors, allow them to contribute their ideas to creating their performances. If you skip this process, you’ll wind up wasting a lot of time, missing out on opportunities to make your material richer.
3. Cast People With Whom You Can Communicate.
When you interview a d.p., an editor or a producer, don’t you seek people on your wavelength? Don’t you want people whose senses of humor you appreciate, who understand your frame of reference and whom you trust to do their jobs? It’s the same with actors. You’ll click with some, while, with others, you may never find a connection. While that lack of a connection may not seem important during casting, the ability to communicate with an actor quickly and easily becomes critical during the stresses of production.
I know one director, beloved by actors and famous for his collaborative ensemble work, who deliberately creates an obstacle for his actors just before making a final decision on casting. If the actors is able to work under pressure, they’re in. If not, he’ll look elsewhere.
If given a choice between two actors, go with the one you feel understands you and to whom you are actually able to listen. You both will have a much better experience making the movie.
4. Maintain An Air Of Authority With Your Actors.
Okay, so you have a great connection with your actors, you laugh at each other’s jokes and now the temptation is to become friends. Big mistake. No matter how friendly things are between you and your actors, it is essential you keep professional boundaries. In order to do their best work, actors need to feel safe and secure. The best way to establish that sense of safety is consistently to convey your control of the process. If you tell the actors your personal problems, your fights with your producer or (the worst!) your fears about whether or not the movie will work, they will inevitably begin to lose trust in both you and the film. The results will wind up on screen. That’s not to say that you must pretend to know all the answers. There will be times when you won’t know what to do, but it is wisest at those moments to take a break and consider your options. Or even ask, in an authoritative way, if anybody has any suggestions. But always maintain your authority. If you were in a vulnerable situation, wouldn’t you want to feel that someone responsible was in charge? The great English director Peter Brook once said that directing is like leading a group through a dark cave with a flashlight. His or her job is to be out front, illuminating a few feet ahead and saying, "Let’s go to the left – it looks drier over there."
So, let the actors tell you whatever they want about their own personal lives – perhaps it will help you to get a better performance out of them. But no matter how vulnerable you feel, maintain your command and make choices about the way to proceed.
Another corollary:
5. Don’t Take Anything That Happens With Your Actors Personally.
On the set, an actor might love you and lavish you with affection, or look at you like you’re an alien, resisting your every direction. Focus on the work and don’t take their attitude towards you – whether positive or negative – personally. It is very important to stay objective. Many neophyte directors waste precious time and energy reacting to situations with their actors. Keep the drama on the screen.
6. Give Your Actors Playable Objectives.
Most successful directors know it’s important for an actor to know his or her "objective." When an objective is well-chosen and well-played, it can enrich a performance with layers of subtext. But even though you may discuss objectives with your actors before they are selected, the results will sometimes remain unsatisfactory. So what’s the problem?
Frequently, the source of the trouble is that the objective was phrased too abstractly and therefore was unplayable by the actor. For example, directors come up with objectives like, "He wants her to love him." Or, "He wants her approval." Though in some ways these seem like intelligent, thoughtful choices, on another level they are actually very difficult to translate into action. What does "wanting someone to love you" actually mean? Unless given something very specific, it is difficult for the actor to commit to that choice. Actors need to know what to do. In my experience, the most playable – and therefore effective – way to state an objective is to frame it in the context of what an actor should make the other actor do or say. Make it as concrete as possible so the actor knows whether he or she has achieved it by the end of the scene. For example, "I want her to love me," becomes "I want to make her look at me with eyes full of love and heave a romantic sigh." Or, "I want her to run up and throw her arms around my neck and kiss me." Wanting someone’s approval becomes, "I want him to say I did a good job," or, "I want her to smile at me and say that I’m the best damn garbageman she’s ever seen."
Directors often ask, "But isn’t that too simple? There are supposed to be layers in the scene." Yes, but far from reducing the richness of a scene, choosing a simple objective actually allows the complexity of your script to emerge. Remember the actor lectured on the metaphorical meaning of a prop? Imagine if she’d simply been told, "You want to make him fall down on his knees and beg you to come back to him." Odds are she would have been a lot more interested in and connected to the scene.
7. If An Actor Has A Problem With Something, Pay Attention And Deal With It As Soon As Possible.
This is classic. You’re thinking about a million things – you’re about to lose the location, you’ve run out of money, you just had a huge fight with the producer – and an actor comes over, very upset and says he hates his pants. "Deal with your damn pants," you think. "I’ve got better things to do!"
But remember, helping your actors build their characters should always be a top priority. Resist the urge to dismiss an actor. Something as seemingly insignificant as a pair of pants can affect how an actor approaches his or her character.
8. Create More Spontaneous Conflict Between Characters By Giving Actors Information Privately.
Directors often make the mistake of discussing with one actor his or her important character information in front of the other actors in the scene. They go on and on about how much Ellen hates Dave, how she resents him for leaving her and how in this scene Ellen is going to make Dave pay. The problem is, if the actor playing Dave has been hearing all of this, he is going to anticipate Ellen’s animosity, and, as a result, the scene will lack spontaneity and life. It is much more useful to keep each actor focused solely on his or her own experiences and feelings. This can be achieved by simply taking each actor aside and speaking to them privately. In addition to enhancing the surprise of the scene, an added bonus is that the actor feels special – the two of you are in on a secret, and that kind of bond generally creates better work. When it comes to directing the other actor in the scene, sometimes the best results can be achieved by giving that actor a contradictory secret agenda. Then just let the actors go at it. I once saw a scene in which one actor was told his sole objective was to get the other actor to sit in a chair. Of course, the other actor was told her objective was to remain standing at all costs. As simple as the direction was, the scene was hilarious and fraught with dramatic tension.
9. Be General With Praise And Specific About Aspects That Need Improvement.
Directors often make the mistake of praising what they liked: "Oh, I loved the way you tossed your hair and laughed coquettishly!" But when it comes to things they don’t like, they merely say, "Hmm, I might do things a little differently. Let’s try it again." In fact, your feedback should be just the opposite. If you praise an actress for tossing her hair and laughing, you can bet she’s going to do it over and over again, less and less organically, because she wants to win more of your approval. So it’s better, when things are working well, to resist the urge to "objectify" an actor’s actions through specific praise. But if something isn’t working, an actor needs to know exactly why so he or she can make an adjustment. Instead of merely saying, "I would do it a little differently," you might say something like, "You’re anticipating that next line. Keep chopping the vegetables until he says that little Timmy has stolen the secret code – then you can look at him and throw the carrot."
And lastly:
10. When In Doubt, Give Your Actor A Physical Activity.
We’ve all seen scenes that seem stiff, just two talking heads. There’s one easy trick to energize a dead scene: give actors something physical to do. Have them fold laundry, clean up a mess, sort through papers and so on. Physical activity can help focus an actor’s energy, making the scene more natural and his or her performance more watchable.
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"The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king."
David Byrne in “Psycho Killer” could be speaking for Tom Blander when he sings, “I hate people when they’re not polite.” The lyric seems tailor-made for the ironically named philosopher-turned-cannibal in “Order,” Christopher Stetson Boal’s deliciously nasty little horror comedy, running at Theater Row.
Who hasn’t shared Tom’s frustration? . . . (READ MORE)
BACKSTAGE
"The moment Tom Blander gives in to his inner demon and turns the tables on his cruel boss in Christopher Stetson Boal’s play “Order,” the audience roars with approval. But what’s brilliant is what Boal does next . . . " (READ MORE)
A SEAT ON THE AISLE
"Imagine The Silence of the Lambs as it might have been written by Jean Genet and adapted for the stage by Martin McDonagh and you will get some idea of the flavor of Order by Christopher Stetson Boal, . . ." (READ MORE)
nytheatre.com
"Order is the darkly hysterical and ultimately tragic story of Thomas Blander, a former philosophy teacher determined to be mild and polite in a violent and greedy world, . . ." (READ MORE)
SHOW BUSINESS WEEKLY
"Christopher Stetson Boal’s new play, Order, offers insightful meditations on the cost of power, the human potential for cruelty, and what it means to feel possessed. But Order is neither dry philosophical exercise nor dreary morality tale: Boal approaches even the most troubling existential questions with unexpected humor and charm, and his well-drawn characters call to mind the familiar heroes and villains from our own everyday lives. And, with the entire remarkable story unfolding in just 90 minutes, it’s the kind of lean, well-paced play in which no line is wasted and every moment counts." . . . (READ MORE)
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WINTER'S BONE, directed by Grad Film alum Debra Granik, opens this Friday in NY and LA. The film won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival in January. Debra and co-writer, Anne Rosellini, also won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance. WINTER'S BONE was shot by Debra's long time collaborator, Michael McDonough, who is also a Grad Film alum.(READ MORE)
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"John Cazale's resume as a film actor isn't long, but it's distinguished. Cazale appeared in five feature films, and each one received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture, while three of them -- The Godfather, The Godfather Part II and The Deer Hunter -- won the category. Al Pacino, who made three films with Cazale, considered him one his finest acting partners, and many film buffs cite Cazale as one of the best actors of his generation.
But Cazale was thirty-seven years old before making his film debut after distinguishing himself in the New York theater community, and shortly after completing work on The Deer Hunter, cancer claimed his life in the spring of 1978.
I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale is a short documentary celebrating the life and art of Cazale, featuring clips from his memorable performances and interviews with friends, colleagues and fans, including Meryl Streep (who was also Cazale's wife), Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Gene Hackman, Francis Ford Coppola, Sidney Lumet, Steve Buscemi, Philip Seymour Hoffman and many others. I Knew It Was You was an official selection at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival." - Mark Deming
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"My movie is born first in my head, dies on paper; is resuscitated by the living persons and real objects I use, which are killed on film but, placed in a certain order and projected on to a screen, come to life again like flowers in water." - Robert Bresson
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"The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king."
- part 23
"So I think it's an advantage. Every director should take an acting class. At least one. You know, you panic with actors. It's like, "Okay, this is back in college, I know how to talk to these guys. I know their vocabulary, and I get what they're saying back to me." So basically to learn the vernacular of acting, that's very important." - Shane Black
Dozens of acclaimed Hollywood screenwriters discuss their successes and failures, share amusing anecdotes and insider insights, and reveal their experiences with big-name actors and directors in this fascinating documentary. Writers include William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver), John Carpenter (Halloween), Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption) and many others.
Photo from Hitchcock by Truffaut
(click on image to enlarge)
WINTER'S BONE, directed by Grad Film alum Debra Granik, opens this Friday in NY and LA. The film won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival in January. Debra and co-writer, Anne Rosellini, also won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance. WINTER'S BONE was shot by Debra's long time collaborator, Michael McDonough, who is also a Grad Film alum. (READ MORE)
PICKPOCKET- Directed by Robert Bresson
