E.C. Authors David Licata and Rolando Teco recently embarked on an extended conversation on the subject of fame. Here's part four of their exchange:
In the last post, Rolando asked David the following question:
RT: As a viewer, do you find yourself propelled into big budget storytelling
by the baggage carried by a given star? Can you think of examples of movies
in which a big name was cast to play essentially the public's notion of him
or her self where you were charmed and delighted rather than repulsed?
DL: As a viewer, I’m not apt to see a film because it stars a particular
actor, the opposite is more likely to be the case. I cannot watch Michael
Douglas, for example. I used to have a difficult time with Sean Penn, but
Milk was a revelation. These are just my quirks and they have little to do
with the competency of the actors. I usually watch a movie either because I
like the director's past work or because I've heard good things about it
from people I respect. Re: big name stars playing themselves. Gosh, you
know, I feel like there is an instance of this, but I just can't find it in
the excel sheet in my brain. Can you think of one off the top of your head?
RT: I feel like Shirley MacLean often plays herself. I know in Postcards
from the Edge she was supposedly playing Debbie Reynolds but essentially the
character could have just as easily been MacLean. Harrison Ford is another
example of this. He doesn't actually create characters from whole cloth in
the way that someone like Meryl Streep or Kevin Bacon might. Rather, we know
we're watching a performance given by a recognizable movie star. I don't
mind this sort of thing. It can be quite entertaining, but I certainly don't
think of it as being in the same category of serious acting.
In your film, Tango Octogenario, you deliberately cast two non-actors. Is
this something you'd do again? At one time I thought this might be a strict
rule of thumb of yours, to cast only non-actors in speaking roles, but since
then I suspect you may have relaxed your notions of what actors vs.
non-actors can bring to a film.
(to be continued...)
