10 MORE THOUGHTS ABOUT DIRECTING ACTORS
Apparently the first ten weren’t quite enough…
Apparently the first ten weren’t quite enough…
1. TREAT MOVIE STARS AS ACTORS
Being #1 on the call sheet brings with it an enormous and often unwanted responsibility. Relieve them of the burden of having to lead. That’s your job. Everybody needs help. Direct them. We’re all advanced beginners.
Being #1 on the call sheet brings with it an enormous and often unwanted responsibility. Relieve them of the burden of having to lead. That’s your job. Everybody needs help. Direct them. We’re all advanced beginners.
2. TREAT ACTORS AS MOVIE STARS
Consider the years being dismissed and depreciated, the hours working on material only to spend five minutes in a casting session before being rejected. They’ve earned this part. Give them your time and attention. It’s good karma.
Consider the years being dismissed and depreciated, the hours working on material only to spend five minutes in a casting session before being rejected. They’ve earned this part. Give them your time and attention. It’s good karma.
3. IF AN ACTOR PICKS A FIGHT
It might be about power, but more likely he is afraid. Insecurity manifests as arrogance. Fear precipitates tantrums. Listen compassionately, as you would to a child. Actors may not be children but directors get better after becoming parents.
It might be about power, but more likely he is afraid. Insecurity manifests as arrogance. Fear precipitates tantrums. Listen compassionately, as you would to a child. Actors may not be children but directors get better after becoming parents.
4. GIVE THEM DIRECTION
From the neck down rather than from the neck up. Don’t intellectualize. Everything is happening for the first time. There’s no time in life to think. Throw in a curve ball before a take every now and then. Watch life happen.
From the neck down rather than from the neck up. Don’t intellectualize. Everything is happening for the first time. There’s no time in life to think. Throw in a curve ball before a take every now and then. Watch life happen.
5. DON’T DIRECT THE WORDS
Use metaphors. Talk in terms of discovery. Wonder. Awe. Pleasure, loss of pleasure. Love, loss of love. Fear. Rage. Grief. Most of all, give them something to think about. The camera loves to watch the birth of the idea, not its execution.
Use metaphors. Talk in terms of discovery. Wonder. Awe. Pleasure, loss of pleasure. Love, loss of love. Fear. Rage. Grief. Most of all, give them something to think about. The camera loves to watch the birth of the idea, not its execution.
6. EVERY SCENE HAS TWO TRUTHS
That come together and change each other. Pretty much every scene should go from dark to light, or light to dark. Try to identify the moment in a scene that a dark bird flies in and flies out. Everything else is just sleight-of-hand.
That come together and change each other. Pretty much every scene should go from dark to light, or light to dark. Try to identify the moment in a scene that a dark bird flies in and flies out. Everything else is just sleight-of-hand.
7. LIFE DOESN’T STOP WHEN WE’RE ON THE PHONE.
We all multi-task: graze in the refrigerator, check our email. How often do we really stand opposite each other and talk? Keep all the balls in the air. Fill every moment. The more idiosyncratic the better.
We all multi-task: graze in the refrigerator, check our email. How often do we really stand opposite each other and talk? Keep all the balls in the air. Fill every moment. The more idiosyncratic the better.
8. AN ACTOR SHOULD HAVE SECRETS
And only give them away while appearing not to want to. Never let an actor “play” anything. ‘Bored’ is trying to do something and then doing something else. ‘Drunk’ is trying to be sober. To play ‘sexy’, you’ve got to have a very special secret.
And only give them away while appearing not to want to. Never let an actor “play” anything. ‘Bored’ is trying to do something and then doing something else. ‘Drunk’ is trying to be sober. To play ‘sexy’, you’ve got to have a very special secret.
9. EMOTION IS EARNED, NOT PLAYED
It's like sex. You don't want to get to the good part too fast. If something is easy, it’s usually wrong. Pay the price along with the actor. If you feel it, too, it’ll be an unspoken exchange that will transmit your intention.
It's like sex. You don't want to get to the good part too fast. If something is easy, it’s usually wrong. Pay the price along with the actor. If you feel it, too, it’ll be an unspoken exchange that will transmit your intention.
10.THE GREAT ACTORS
The really great ones don’t need much help at all. Especially if the words are right. That doesn’t mean you can’t take the journey with them. Ride shotgun. Be the best traveling companion. Be the navigator. The tour director. Do their homework. Bring snacks.
The really great ones don’t need much help at all. Especially if the words are right. That doesn’t mean you can’t take the journey with them. Ride shotgun. Be the best traveling companion. Be the navigator. The tour director. Do their homework. Bring snacks.
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