Sometimes we need to take a step
back from who were are, where we are, and what we’re doing, so we can get
another look at who we are, where we are, and what we’re doing.
~ Matthew
Kelly, motivational speaker
***
If I spent
at least five minutes on any given day, just scrolling down the newsfeed of my
own Facebook, there is a 100% chance that I will see an aspiring actor post
something that will make me, or any of the casting directors I work with, never
want to call them in for an audition.
Why? Generally
because their ego is the size of a yacht.
There is a
theory, which I believe to be true, that many of today’s aspiring actors want
to be famous for the sake of being famous. Try and ask any eager thespian why
they want to be cast, and the majority of the answers will be disconcerting, as
the responses are ignorant of solid reasons. Any actor knows what to do, where
to do it, who to do it with, when to do it, how to do it - but many completely
miss the ball on why. To be fair, this is not exclusive to actors; over
ambitious directors, producers, and models do the same thing where they talk
profusely about themselves on a public forum, yet display zero substance.
If you’re an
actor reading this, and your answer to the why question is: “I act for the art form”...
not good enough. It’s still a better response than: “because I want to make
it”, but it’s still a shallow answer. It showcases a lack in the comprehension
of why you’re acting. This generally leads to delusions of grandeur, a void in
legitimate support, the appearance of desperation, and the inability to grasp
the awesome role you play in the modern era!
If you’re
sitting there thinking to yourself, “Naw, I got plenty of Facebook ‘likes’ on
my statuses”...WARNING. If you’re sitting there thinking, “I don’t need to read
books, I’m currently cast in an up-and-coming web series”...WARNING. If you’re
still sitting there and thinking, “I gotta remember to take a selfie when I’m
on set tonight”... MAYDAY! And… you were thinking about which hashtags you’d
use too, right? Thought so.
There’s no
single solution to this dilemma, but what you can do is supplement your mind.
Motivational speaker Matthew Kelly has advocated over and over: “Books change
our lives.” It’s time to make that happen by educating yourself in building a
stronger conscientiousness about the Hollywood industry. The intention of the
following five titles is to expand your view-point of the filmmaking business,
develop a deeper understanding of the industry, and help you appreciate how cool
of a job you have. Again, supplement. These books don’t hold the secret to
“making it”. They are easy reads intended to give your mind something to ponder.
A Star Is Found
By: Janet Hirshenson & Jane
Jenkins
Let’s be
crystal clear: when you begin talking about some “producer” who has “connections” to Netflix, and he saw your
headshot and said you had “potential”.... go look at yourself in the mirror,
say the following outloud: “I am having delusions of grandeur”. Then call up
your local library and have them track down a copy of Janet Hirshenson’s &
Jane Jenkins’ excellent A Star Is Found: Our Adventures in Casting Some
of Hollywood’s Biggest Movies.
There are
dozens of considerations that go into casting. Dozens. It’s so vital to be
mindful of this fact, practically essential to grasp the concept of show-business,
because it’s often similar to the independent industry. Actors would benefit
from understanding how the studio-system casts. Actors who are not conscious of
this easily slip into the realm of wishful thinking. With story after story,
Hirshenson & Jenkin’s takes you through the in’s and out’s that occur
throughout the development of a feature film. Each and every movie they discuss
remains a new puzzle they had to solve, and it would be a major asset to actors
to get a taste of how the casting director functions and thinks. Again, dozens
of variables decide casting. Don’t take my word for it, allow Hirshenson &
Jenkin to educate you.
Gods Like Us
By: Ty Burr
Personally,
if I was king of show-biz, I would make Gods Like Us be required reading for all
inquiring actors before they’re allowed to schedule their first photoshoot for
headshots. The reason being that the modern culture is all about fast action,
immediate information, and instant gratification. Then posting it, sharing it,
and tweeting it and retweeting it. Then go support this fan page for a my
modeling career, and another for an indie project, and check out these images
from a photoshoot, and here’s an inspirational quote, AND a paragraph of
hashtags (this is why the “do not disturb” is always activated on my iPhone).
You’ve heard it said before that we need quiet-time from all this noise, and I
encourage you to devote some of that silence to history. Specifically, the history
of your profession.
Let’s be
honest, art school is outrageously expensive, and the majority of actors out
there aren’t necessarily rolling in spare cash. Now, if you really want to make
an impression on the producers and directors you meet, get to know the stuff
that really turns them on (and I don’t mean mini-skirts). 99% of these guys are
movie-buffs, and few books are as concise, articulate, and rich as Ty Burr’s Gods Like
Us: On Movie Stardom and Modern Fame. This is a college-level class
perfectly arranged into a terrific book, that takes the reader from Hollywood’s
golden era to the modern day celebrity. As an actor, you are participating in a
wonderful tradition - dig into its past.
An Improvised Life
By: Alan Arkin
The majority
of most memoirs are a sporadic mixture of different scenes from one’s life,
almost a banal narrative of the family photo-album. No so with Arkin. Rather,
he splits his masterful book into two halves and keeps more structure by
staying in chronological order. He begins in his youth, taking the reader
through acting school, and into his career working on movie sets. Yet, Arkin’s acting
craft is the dominating “person” in the book, specifically how the acting-craft
developed through the years by trial-and-error. The second half departs from
Arkin’s own biography, and delves into stories gathered from a monthly
acting-workshop that Arkin and his wife manage. These stories, which generally
feature doctors and bankers, showcase how the exercise of improv is a tremendous
life tool, a form of relaxation, and mental growth.
What’s
important to note about An Improvised Life is that it remains a
Hollywood story that relates to the common man. This is a rare book that you
could pass onto anyone who’s frustrated with the dull daily routine of life, as
it showcases the brilliance of going outside of one’s comfort zone. Life’s journey
is one of constant self-improvement and self-examination, and Arkin uses these
themes to showcase the beauty of failure.
Killing Reagan
By: Bill O’Reilly & Martin
Dugard
“Oh God,
please don’t spoon-feed us politics!”
Hush. The
emphasis here is on history, so Killing Reagan: The Violent Assault That Changed
a Presidency is included on the list because it serves several
purposes. Consider the actor who “made it”; Reagan rubbed elbows with Academy
Award winners on a regular basis and was president of the Screen Actors Guild
for six years. Nevertheless, show-business remains an industry of
fluctuation and Killing Reagan highlights the 40th
president’s innovativeness and confidence to keep himself economically afloat.
Shooter John Hinckley’s disturbing odyssey that lead him to attempting murder
is paved with pop-culture obsession, so those unfamiliar with political jargon
won’t be completely disassociated with the book.
Although
these suggested titles have been assembled for actors, a percentage of amateur
filmmakers also tend to deceive themselves with unrealistic objectives. These
are the guys whose mind is filled, and I mean jam-packed, with nothing but
movies. It’s good for one to take a vacation from the “hustle & grind” mind-set,
and ground themselves on larger issues (yes, there are more important things in
life than the title of the next 007-movie). The first third of Killing
Reagan is about Hollywood, hence the material is easy to access.
Hopefully you will be intrigued to keep going and consume more of the book.
Perhaps it’ll be a spring-board for taking interest in the modern era. Don’t
worry, social media isn’t going away anytime soon, and someone will always be
waiting there to sucker you into being a background extra when you come back.
If your conversations are dominated by what movie you want to see next weekend,
or complaining about not getting paid for a Facebook video… there’s no nice way
to say this, but that’s pathetic. Try grounding yourself in something outside
of the industry. Alan Arkin improvised. Ronald Reagan improvised. You can
improvise.
Conversations with Filmmaker Series
Edited By: Various Contributors
Another
thing about these movie-geeks: I bet any sum of money that these guys each have
a director (or two) that you are sick to death of hearing them reference.
Still, there’s something to learn from everyone, and for actors, the great
directors can be a source of incredible insight.
The
University Press of Mississippi’s Conversations
with Filmmaker Series has been around since the late 1990’s, and
although not every single big name is included in the series, many of the
famous directors are. These books are an excellent way to tap into the concept
of directorial authorship and will help increase your awareness when watching
movies independently. It’s also a fun and fulfilling activity to focus on one
specific director and examine their work on your own. Again, self-education is
fulfilling, and a savvy way to avoid paying heinous amounts of money for art
school.
For actors
specifically, I recommend any of the following titles: Woody Allen: Interviews; James Cameron: Interviews; Brian De Palma: Interviews; David Fincher: Interviews; Stanley Kubrick: Interviews; Alexander Payne: Interviews.
Edited by:
Mary Morley
Michael Jolls is
a film producer from Chicago, IL. His credits include the documentary Cathedral of the North Shore (2013),
feature-length mockumenary The Great
Chicago Filmmaker (2015), as well as numerous videos based off characters
he co-created with fellow associates. Jolls worked as assistant editor on the
book David
Fincher: Interviews by Dr. Laurence Knapp. His new book The Films of Sam Mendes will release
fall 2016 for Under One Hour publications.
