No Respect for Acting

It never ceases to shock (and sadden) me how prevalent in the film world this is. Film directors who have zero regard for the craft of acting, so much so that they believe they have to trick their actors into delivering honest performances. The most famous example of this distorted view, of course, was Hitchcock. No one can dispute his cinematic genius but his methods were not only cruel, they were also entirely unnecessary.

This just crossed my desk and I couldn't resist sharing it. It's from an email advert promoting a class taught by a young auteur of some note who believes he has invented a more reliable "method" for wringing realism from flesh. I've removed any names to protect the innocent.

Filmmakers often use the element of surprise to direct actors for certain scenes to get authentic emotional responses.

The directors of BLANK FILM based their film entirely on this principal. Unlike other forays into improvisation, BLANK FILM had a very precise screenplay and a well-constructed plot that demanded precise emotional responses from its actors.

The actors ended up acting out a story, without being aware that they were being directed according to a pre-written script. The film is a work of fiction which shows “real” people acting in situations that are orchestrated by the directors, but very “real” to the performers, resulting in the actors projecting emotions on camera that they actually experienced at the time.

This was achieved over specialized workshops, in which the actors were brought to each character’s emotional and psychological state as written in the script.

In these workshops, the participants didn’t learn about text, goals, mise-en-scene or acting tricks. The focus was on the psychological journey of the characters through dramatic role-playing. Eventually, each actor deeply identified with his or her character as though the character was an extension of their own personality.

When the cameras started rolling, something magical happened – the actors forgot that they were in a fictional situation and their minds believed that what was happening was real.

Oy!

Acting is a craft. Plain and simple. Some are masters of this craft and others are wannabes. Casting actors who lack the skill and talent needed for the job is sloppy and stupid, given the abundance of fine actors walking the streets of most major cities. Casting truly gifted actors and not trusting them to do what they do best. Well, that's downright shameful.