| INTRO | PLOT 1 | PLOT 2 | DIRECTOR & ACTOR | ABOUT MY SONG |
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THE DIRECTOR
The man who has shepherded the project must be obsessed, like Captain Ahab.
He must answer every question to the satisfaction of the actors. He who has not the strength to debate the likes of Mickey Rourke or William Hurt doesn't have the qualities to succeed in a Life in the Theater. You will be eaten for breakfast.
The director must own the story. She must justify every thread in the throughline. There is no place for an extra character or superfluous scene. Each scene must be inevitable, to the extent that "There could be no other choice for the next event."
Another famous canard says--"Think of the story as a piece of thread., with a begiunning and end. You must start as late as possible." It isn't necessary to show how the boy and girl met in high school twenty years ago. And the editor willexpend every effprt to throw it out.
THE ACTOR
Most teachers in the Hollywood post-War era taught a variation of the Studio Group----"What am I fighting for?" (Milt Katselas, Margie Haber, Strasberg, Stella Adler)
My own teacher Michael Shurtleff demandede that the character ask, "What am I fighting for?" Secondary choices must be discarded, such as--"What I want is a one-night stand" --a choice which is not of sufficient urgency. You may fight for love--but NOT for lust. But punishment is fine.
If you tell your theater teacher you chosen a motivation such as--- "I want my wife to feel sorry for me" ----it would be more powerful to say--- "I want to punish her. She hasn't demonstrated enough love for me."
A deeper motivation would be to admit--"I want to kill Mother." Which Michael Shurtleff claims is the motif for Everyman's life. Which may or may not apply to each of you--but certainly drove his own lifelong soap opera.
In my film editing career, I have tried to apply the precepts of classic theater training. Selecting a reaction shot --or double-take---may prove to be the better choice in a dialogue scene, well-known as the Hollywood Way--"It's all in the eyes." The subtext is perhaps more important than the actual words.
Steve McQueen pioneered the practice of crossing out all his lines and saying, "Let the other guy provide the exposition. I'll sit here and smoulder."
Advice which Stallone, Steven Segal, von Damme, Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee followed to the hilt. (Can't act--or speak gud Englis.) Clint Eastwood ruined a generation of actors.
So who tells a Brad Pitt---don't get caught acting? Acting brain-dead (or exhibiting PST) is not a choice. "I don't care anymore" or "I'm defeated" is not a choice that Meryl Streep or Glenn Close would make.
It's not author of the screenplay who gave directions to Brad Pitt.
There is no line in any script that says--"I'm out of here. I'm leaving. Goodbye." Without the character barging back in the door, returning madder than before.
Actors will mark out phrases in the play that indicate performance. Such as:
HOWARD
(angrily throws a chair)
I wish to see the Bank Manager.
LINDA
(seductively kissing him)
Here's the file you requested, Lieutenant.
It is taboo in rehearsal to tell your scene partner how to act. Or overpower them physically.
So I am puzzled why Brad Pitt made a character choice to be passive. Perhaps his director convinced him that the old age makeup would fix everything. It's frightening if his animatronic head and special FX is sitting up there not emoting. If so, we're all obsolete.
No love. We're better off pushing up daisies.