The Fawn and the Sailors
In one of Aesop's fables, a young deer's eye is pierced by a hunter's arrow. The deer survives but is now blind in one eye. How is she going to know when hunters are coming? How is she going to protect herself? She decides to graze near a cliff by the sea, with her good eye toward the land, which is where she knows the hunters are. Then one day some sailors on a passing ship see a lone fawn grazing on the edge of the cliff and decide to use her for target practice.
Astonishing Actress reported for duty. I can not begin to tell you the reactions I have gotten when I have told people she is in my movie. My hopelessly jealous and competitive sister in law, also a writer and director, was struck dumb. Literally. She just couldn't handle the fact that I was working with this woman. She had to get off the phone. The young actors in the film started shaking at the news: I'm going to be in a scene with HER? People immediately started talking Emmy Nomination. I thought: all I have to do is stay out of the way and magic will ensue.
Then, as I said, she reported for duty.
She's in her 70's. There are memory problems. There is lack of focus. The acting energy goes into struggling to remember the line. Most of all, there is a husband who stands not more than eighteen inches from her at all times, even during private rehearsals with me and the other actors (I have never, ever seen this), subtly and adoringly letting her know that everything, but everything, is okay, even her memory problems and her lack of focus.
It is a line by line process. I sit beside the camera on the floor and as patiently and calmly as I possibly can feed her the lines and then she says them. Sometimes she blows me away with the depth and subtlety of the work. Sometimes it is flat and overwrought at the same time, with long pauses that are about the mind groping for the line, not the character experiencing the moment. She puts in a lot of "I means" and "you knows" that absolutely shouldn't be there. Interestingly, I looked at one of her acclaimed performances from 40 years ago and she did the same thing then. Didn't stop her from getting nominated for two Academy Awards, mind you.
Today we shot a six page scene which was all Astonishing Actress the whole way. I feel like a wrung-out washcloth. Did I get it? I'll tell you after I've spent two days in the cutting room with a pair of scissors and a tweezers picking out the good bits and splicing them together.
Astonishing Actress reported for duty. I can not begin to tell you the reactions I have gotten when I have told people she is in my movie. My hopelessly jealous and competitive sister in law, also a writer and director, was struck dumb. Literally. She just couldn't handle the fact that I was working with this woman. She had to get off the phone. The young actors in the film started shaking at the news: I'm going to be in a scene with HER? People immediately started talking Emmy Nomination. I thought: all I have to do is stay out of the way and magic will ensue.
Then, as I said, she reported for duty.
She's in her 70's. There are memory problems. There is lack of focus. The acting energy goes into struggling to remember the line. Most of all, there is a husband who stands not more than eighteen inches from her at all times, even during private rehearsals with me and the other actors (I have never, ever seen this), subtly and adoringly letting her know that everything, but everything, is okay, even her memory problems and her lack of focus.
It is a line by line process. I sit beside the camera on the floor and as patiently and calmly as I possibly can feed her the lines and then she says them. Sometimes she blows me away with the depth and subtlety of the work. Sometimes it is flat and overwrought at the same time, with long pauses that are about the mind groping for the line, not the character experiencing the moment. She puts in a lot of "I means" and "you knows" that absolutely shouldn't be there. Interestingly, I looked at one of her acclaimed performances from 40 years ago and she did the same thing then. Didn't stop her from getting nominated for two Academy Awards, mind you.
Today we shot a six page scene which was all Astonishing Actress the whole way. I feel like a wrung-out washcloth. Did I get it? I'll tell you after I've spent two days in the cutting room with a pair of scissors and a tweezers picking out the good bits and splicing them together.
posted by Tom at 6:49 AM
4 Comments:
There are always rocky sections on the way to the summit aren't there? Hang in there, you can do it!!!
Thanks for the Chrismas wish, Tom. I've actually been thinking of you throughout the holidays. Happy Hannukah and New Years and Holidays and Christmas and everything. Hope things are well. I look foward to seeing it!
Jason
Tom -
This post reminded me how much caring for/working with the "older generation" reverts back to caring for/working with children. The cycle never stops.
I'm assuming that everything worked itself out for a pre-Christmas wrap.
Hope you and your family are enjoying the holidays.
- Paul
Well I have on my Tom viewers...and what I see is scary! There is poor Tom, a chain on his ankle and tweezers taped to his poor shaky fingers...binoculars attatched to his head to aid his failing, blurry vision...very lean from living on take out chinese...slaving away making some magic for us! lol Hope you have a great New Year!!!
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