Tests For Noirish Project

"Re-Rehearsals"

Production on my new feature film, Noirish Project, will continue through March and April.

Meanwhile, a free download of short film, Prelude (To Noirish Project), can be got here.

 

We fully rehearsed scenes last month, only for the shooting of those scenes to be postponed due to snow. This week, we are in the odd position of having to re-rehearse those scenes, as we are shooting those same scenes next week. It’s odd because our original rehearsals had been rigorous, and we had reached the point where we were ready to do the performance proper. Now, all actors have a creative metabolism, which is to say that each actor has his own rhythm of work and knows how to time his development in rehearsals so that he peaks when the scenes are to be done for real. So when you reach that peak but the performance doesn’t happen, it creates an odd feeling when you have to come back to re-rehearse those scenes. Usually, once I’ve performed a scene and it’s done, I can let it go, and put it behind me, but these recent unperformed scenes still linger at the back of my mind, as I haven’t been able to go through the process of discharging them. As I approach this week’s rehearsals, there is a feeling of history in the air, there are ghosts, and they need to be exorcised.

How to approach these new re-rehearsals of old scenes then? Well, we do not need to go through the script analysis process, as that has already been done, and it will be just a question of re-focusing and reminding. After that, I think it is a question of forgetting about how we did it before, not re-heating that old work, but instead, just create afresh, using the same analysis to support and enable that. My feeling is, that once we’ve broken the seal as it were, the creative energy within us will be unlocked, and something new will emerge. Cobwebs will be blown away, then that sense of the old work still hanging around will dissipate.

Well, that’s the theory. Either way, we’ll find out soon enough.

Masterful! Live Music From Aki Kaurismaki's Take Care Of Your Scarf Tatiana

The Great Actin Blog: "Fear Of Failure"

Commitment is a tricky thing. At the moment just before we need to commit, our minds suggest all kinds of alternatives as preferable to the thing we are about to commit to. One of the reasons commitment is so hard, is because we are putting our good opinion of ourselves on the line: if it all goes wrong then there are no excuses, and it hurts. Note how distraught elite sportspeople get when,  despite giving absolutely everything, they lose a big match. Rarely do we see them shrug during such a moment, they would only shrug if they  didn’t care, and hadn’t spent themselves. However, when we fear failure, we don’t give  a proper effort or we don’t try at all, so as to avoid the pain failure may bring. The trouble with this approach is, the failure becomes self-fulfilling, because our lack of effort ensured, from the outset, that we would fail.

Creative endeavours are rarely, if ever, as cut and dry as the sports field, and, in acting, the symptoms of fear of failure take very, very subtle forms, so subtle infact, that sometimes they may even be mistaken for great acting. What I’m talking about here is undercutting the scene with a cutesy bit of humour, or with some “characterization”, or a bit of emotion, or even something oh-so ironic. This usually happens when something unforeseen moves the actor internally, something rears itself which had not been part of the actor’s cosy, little plan for playing the scene. What was this terrible unforeseen horror? Why, it was the truth of the moment of course. The courageous actor, doesn’t flinch from that moment, instead, he grapples with it no matter how unnerved by it he may be, he sticks to his task ruthlessly, and does the best he can. The phoney actor denies the truth of the moment, he tries to defuse the potential of the unplanned, he tries to suffocate it,  for he must always be seen to be in control, superior to the scene, superior to the audience, and cannot bear anything which threatens that control, threatens that feeling of superiority. He tries to masque the truth with a lie, he tries to render the truth imperceptible. But this phoney bit of behaviour, often extorts a moment of admiration from the audience, and well it might, for that was it’s original intention, that is, the actor uses a bit of cleverness to distract the audience from the fact that he is not flawless.This actor is scared, scared of criticism,  scared of being hurt, and protects himself with empty trickery. The truthful actor is like the sportsman, he gives everything even though he knows that by the end, exhausted and drenched in sweat, he may still come up short.

 

The truthful actor commits fully despite his fear. This is called courage.

The Great Actin Blog: "Fear Of Failure"

Commitment is a tricky thing. At the moment just before we need to commit, our minds suggest all kinds of alternatives as preferable to the thing we are about to commit to. One of the reasons commitment is so hard, is because we are putting our good opinion of ourselves on the line: if it all goes wrong then there are no excuses, and it hurts. Note how distraught elite sportspeople get when,  despite giving absolutely everything, they lose a big match. Rarely do we see them shrug during such a moment, they would only shrug if they  didn’t care, and hadn’t spent themselves. However, when we fear failure, we don’t give  a proper effort or we don’t try at all, so as to avoid the pain failure may bring. The trouble with this approach is, the failure becomes self-fulfilling, because our lack of effort ensured, from the outset, that we would fail.

Creative endeavours are rarely, if ever, as cut and dry as the sports field, and, in acting, the symptoms of fear of failure take very, very subtle forms, so subtle infact, that sometimes they may even be mistaken for great acting. What I’m talking about here is undercutting the scene with a cutesy bit of humour, or with some “characterization”, or a bit of emotion, or even something oh-so ironic. This usually happens when something unforeseen moves the actor internally, something rears itself which had not been part of the actor’s cosy, little plan for playing the scene. What was this terrible unforeseen horror? Why, it was the truth of the moment of course. The courageous actor, doesn’t flinch from that moment, instead, he grapples with it no matter how unnerved by it he may be, he sticks to his task ruthlessly, and does the best he can. The phoney actor denies the truth of the moment, he tries to defuse the potential of the unplanned, he tries to suffocate it,  for he must always be seen to be in control, superior to the scene, superior to the audience, and cannot bear anything which threatens that control, threatens that feeling of superiority. He tries to masque the truth with a lie, he tries to render the truth imperceptible. But this phoney bit of behaviour, often extorts a moment of admiration from the audience, and well it might, for that was it’s original intention, that is, the actor uses a bit of cleverness to distract the audience from the fact that he is not flawless.This actor is scared, scared of criticism,  scared of being hurt, and protects himself with empty trickery. The truthful actor is like the sportsman, he gives everything even though he knows that by the end, exhausted and drenched in sweat, he may still come up short.

 

The truthful actor commits fully despite his fear. This is called courage.

Filming Resumes On Noirish Project Very Soon ....

“There is no greater solitude than a samurai’s, unless perhaps it is that of a tiger in the jungle.”

The Great Acting Blog: "Anyone Can Act In The Same Way Anyone Can Write A Poem"

“Study voice and movement – learn the difference between the beautiful and the attractive. Learn to analyze a script the way a director should and almost none can…Make yourself the expert…Your friends will tell you you are making yourself foolish and no-one will appreciate the finer points in any case. And that is exactly what bad actors say to devoted actors.” – David Mamet

As an actor, you’ve only got yourself to commit to – people enter the arena casually, and leave casually, because there is apparently no investment, no capital outlay, there are, apparently, no tools of the trade, there are no material necessities. Filmmakers have their cameras, musicians have their instruments, even writers, at the very least, have a pencil and paper, but actors require no such material objects, anyone might get up from their armchair, and declare that they can walk proficiently, that they can talk proficiently, ergo they can act proficiently, and so put themselves out there, vying for work. Further, it is easy to walk away from the business (and re-enter again), because it is just a question of ceasing to use yourself, which is very different to, say, somebody who sets out to become a pianist – if they walk away, they will forever have their piano in the corner of the room as an aching reminder of their failure.

All that an actor possesses is himself; his body, his personality, his imagination. But what would happen to one who set out to become a filmmaker but failed to learn about light? Or one who set out to become a playwright but failed to learn about dramatic construction? Certainly they would not reach a level of excellence that would suffice for  an audience to pay to experience their work. Why should somebody think that they could be an effective actor without a sustained  focus on practicing and improving their craft? “Ah”, I hear you say, “what about the Hollywood star, paid millions, but has problems with articulation such that, in some scenes, we cannot make out what he is saying? Is this not akin to watching a film where the camera is, at times, out of focus, or the instrument out of tune? And what about the genius “non-actor”, plucked from some street corner to star in the role of a life-time?” These are valid points, and they certainly do happen. But I say, so what? These things should not be used as an excuse to not strive for excellence, to not work hard, to not acknowledge that acting is an ancient and important craft and that one must learn to serve it. Acting then, becomes an investment not in material goods, but an investment in the self. The usual howl of derision will go up as it always does, that actors are narcissistic and selfish and self-obsessed* – but nobody complains about the filmmaker obsessed with his camera, they say he is dedicated, and it would be absurd to criticise the pianist for ensuring his piano is in tune.

That anyone can act, is true in the same way that anyone can write a poem.

*I would aver that the number of actors who possess these qualities, is proportionate to the population at large who possess these qualities.

The Great Acting Blog: "Anyone Can Act In The Same Way Anyone Can Write A Poem"

“Study voice and movement – learn the difference between the beautiful and the attractive. Learn to analyze a script the way a director should and almost none can…Make yourself the expert…Your friends will tell you you are making yourself foolish and no-one will appreciate the finer points in any case. And that is exactly what bad actors say to devoted actors.” – David Mamet

As an actor, you’ve only got yourself to commit to – people enter the arena casually, and leave casually, because there is apparently no investment, no capital outlay, there are, apparently, no tools of the trade, there are no material necessities. Filmmakers have their cameras, musicians have their instruments, even writers, at the very least, have a pencil and paper, but actors require no such material objects, anyone might get up from their armchair, and declare that they can walk proficiently, that they can talk proficiently, ergo they can act proficiently, and so put themselves out there, vying for work. Further, it is easy to walk away from the business (and re-enter again), because it is just a question of ceasing to use yourself, which is very different to, say, somebody who sets out to become a pianist – if they walk away, they will forever have their piano in the corner of the room as an aching reminder of their failure.

All that an actor possesses is himself; his body, his personality, his imagination. But what would happen to one who set out to become a filmmaker but failed to learn about light? Or one who set out to become a playwright but failed to learn about dramatic construction? Certainly they would not reach a level of excellence that would suffice for  an audience to pay to experience their work. Why should somebody think that they could be an effective actor without a sustained  focus on practicing and improving their craft? “Ah”, I hear you say, “what about the Hollywood star, paid millions, but has problems with articulation such that, in some scenes, we cannot make out what he is saying? Is this not akin to watching a film where the camera is, at times, out of focus, or the instrument out of tune? And what about the genius “non-actor”, plucked from some street corner to star in the role of a life-time?” These are valid points, and they certainly do happen. But I say, so what? These things should not be used as an excuse to not strive for excellence, to not work hard, to not acknowledge that acting is an ancient and important craft and that one must learn to serve it. Acting then, becomes an investment not in material goods, but an investment in the self. The usual howl of derision will go up as it always does, that actors are narcissistic and selfish and self-obsessed* – but nobody complains about the filmmaker obsessed with his camera, they say he is dedicated, and it would be absurd to criticise the pianist for ensuring his piano is in tune.

That anyone can act, is true in the same way that anyone can write a poem.

*I would aver that the number of actors who possess these qualities, is proportionate to the population at large who possess these qualities.

Check it out: Trailer For Mika Kaurismaki's Road North

Drifting Clouds Blog: "Delighted that Prelude is now available as an HE quality download"

Prelude can now be downloaded via Mishorts.com here

“This enigmatic thriller opens with Billy asking Jimmy to help him offload some pearls he plans on stealing from his mother. Jimmy is the only person Billy knows who is connected to the underworld. But, Jimmy isn’t so sure it’s a good idea. Or perhaps he has other plans. This is how it all begins…

A prelude to the Noirish Project feature film which will be released later this year.”

Great piece on building the film culture you want to see....

"Presently, we are divided and conquered by a system that preys upon our dreams of success, encouraging us to squander collective progress on false hopes of personal enrichment. We follow the herd and only lead reluctantly."

 

Read the full article here 

 

The Face Of Another: "Jean-Pierre Aumont & Annabella in Marcel Carne's Hotel Du Nord"

Luchino Visconti's Le Notti Bianche (stills)

See the full gallery on Posterous

The Great Acting Blog Has Moved!

And Can Now Be Found At:

 

www.jamesdevereaux.com

 

I do hope you will join us there.

 

Regards,

James

The Great Acting Blog: "The Creative Process by Alfie Black"

Noirish Project was always going to be a different experience for me. This is my third film Collaboration with writer/director James Devereaux. For me, having the back story prepared for my role is always a necessity. It is this part of the creative process I enjoy the most, thinking like my character and working out his personality, right down to what he would wear. It may sound strange but I have always given less thought to the actual script. Obviously I would read and memorise the dialogue, but I would approach it with less energy. So when James told me our first rehearsal would consist of a script analysis, I was eager to become the student. Breaking down the scenes gave me a different understanding of what was happening to both the character and the story. We began with the obligatory first few rusty line readings. It always takes a few times to adapt to another actor saying the dialogue that you have only been hearing in your head. Once we were comfortable with the words, we filmed the scenes and watched them back. This was something I’d never really done before, working mainly in theatre I do not get to see my performance at any stage, so I was intrigued to see how this would influence my execution. Watching the playback it became evident I had given my safe, maybe lazy soap opera style acting. It was still honest and had some nice moments and maybe any other Director would have been satisfied with it, but Devereaux wanted to take me out of my comfort zone and delve deeper. To help me realise an action choice for the scene we used improvisations from my own past experiences to create a truth I could mirror within the character. I was confused by this new method at first and tried to fight it going in and out of my safety net, but once I relaxed and didn’t over think, Devereaux’s wax on wax off style training proved to deliver the goods. When we recommenced with the scenes I had a new confidence and began to enjoy saying the dialogue which also enhanced my performance. Why had I not been taught this way before? The difference on screen was incredible, I was already so proud of the film and this was only the rehearsals we were filming, roll on the shoot. Unfortunately due to severe weather conditions the filming had to be postponed. I was so disappointed, never before had I ever felt this ready and prepared for a role. As we were not filming James asked me if I would still like to shoot some footage and make use of our hard work. My first instinct was to play it safe and go back to bed, it was cold outside and I was feeling let down. This moment passed and I began to like the idea, I wanted to learn more about these characters. The first scene was an interior and it involved Billy arranging to meet Jimmy on the phone. The improvisation was a success, we shot it in one take. I was very comfortable with the character of Billy, the words oozed out with ease. I felt I knew everything about him and this was of course due to the intense rehearsal period. We continued to film throughout the day and I enjoyed every minute of it, sometimes with the pressures in the acting world you forget it can be fun. I was glad it snowed that weekend because we would have never created Prelude To Noirish Project. I am so pleased with the result and proud of what we have accomplished so far. I’m looking forward to filming Noirish Project, learning more and developing my craft even further.

The Great Acting Blog: "The Creative Process by Alfie Black"

 

Noirish Project was always going to be a different experience for me. This is my third film Collaboration with writer/director James Devereaux. For me, having the back story prepared for my role is always a necessity. It is this part of the creative process I enjoy the most, thinking like my character and working out his personality, right down to what he would wear. It may sound strange but I have always given less thought to the actual script. Obviously I would read and memorise the dialogue, but I would approach it with less energy. So when James told me our first rehearsal would consist of a script analysis, I was eager to become the student. Breaking down the scenes gave me a different understanding of what was happening to both the character and the story. We began with the obligatory first few rusty line readings. It always takes a few times to adapt to another actor saying the dialogue that you have only been hearing in your head. Once we were comfortable with the words, we filmed the scenes and watched them back. This was something I’d never really done before, working mainly in theatre I do not get to see my performance at any stage, so I was intrigued to see how this would influence my execution. Watching the playback it became evident I had given my safe, maybe lazy soap opera style acting. It was still honest and had some nice moments and maybe any other Director would have been satisfied with it, but Devereaux wanted to take me out of my comfort zone and delve deeper. To help me realise an action choice for the scene we used improvisations from my own past experiences to create a truth I could mirror within the character. I was confused by this new method at first and tried to fight it going in and out of my safety net, but once I relaxed and didn’t over think, Devereaux’s wax on wax off style training proved to deliver the goods. When we recommenced with the scenes I had a new confidence and began to enjoy saying the dialogue which also enhanced my performance. Why had I not been taught this way before? The difference on screen was incredible, I was already so proud of the film and this was only the rehearsals we were filming, roll on the shoot. Unfortunately due to severe weather conditions the filming had to be postponed. I was so disappointed, never before had I ever felt this ready and prepared for a role. As we were not filming James asked me if I would still like to shoot some footage and make use of our hard work. My first instinct was to play it safe and go back to bed, it was cold outside and I was feeling let down. This moment passed and I began to like the idea, I wanted to learn more about these characters. The first scene was an interior and it involved Billy arranging to meet Jimmy on the phone.  The improvisation was a success, we shot it in one take. I was very comfortable with the character of Billy, the words oozed out with ease. I felt I knew everything about him and this was of course due to the intense rehearsal period. We continued to film throughout the day and I enjoyed every minute of it, sometimes with the pressures in the acting world you forget it can be fun. I was glad it snowed that weekend because we would have never created Prelude To Noirish Project. I am so pleased with the result and proud of what we have accomplished so far. I’m looking forward to filming Noirish Project, learning more and developing my craft even further.

Richard Burton. The Spy Who Came In From The Cold.

 

Via Fuck Yeah Richard Burton!

Al Pacino looks Amazing As Phil Spector

Michel Piccoli In Manoel de Oliveira's I'm Going Home

I sincerely urge you to watch this little masterpiece from the Portugeese auteur. Michel Piccoli plays a grand old theatre actor. and John Malkovich is wonderful as a TV director.

 

SYNOPSIS

In one of De Oliveira’s crowning achievements, the great Michel Piccoli stars as Gilbert Valence, a In one of De Oliveira’s crowning achievements, the great Michel Piccoli stars as Gilbert Valence, a celebrated actor who loses his daughter and son-in-law in a car crash, and gradually puts the pieces of his life back together. To be specific, we watch as Valence more or less returns to his daily routine of morning coffee at a sidewalk cafe, afternoon shopping expeditions, and the continual search for the next great part, including his casting as Buck Mulligan in a Franco-American co-production of Ulysses directed by John Malkovich! Precisely because Oliveira doesn’t dwell on Valence’s grief, every scene in the film seems somehow shaded by melancholy and the human impulse to carry on—a theme that resonated with uncanny power during the film’s NYFF premiere, mere weeks after the 9/11 attacks. –NYFF

 

 actor who loses his daughter and son-in-law in a car crash, and gradually puts the pieces of his life back together. To be specific, we watch as Valence more or less returns to his daily routine of morning coffee at a sidewalk cafe, afternoon shopping expeditions, and the continual search for the next great part, including his casting as Buck Mulligan in a Franco-American co-production of Ulysses directed by John Malkovich! Precisely because Oliveira doesn’t dwell on Valence’s grief, every scene in the film seems somehow shaded by melancholy and the human impulse to carry on—a theme that resonated with uncanny power during the film’s NYFF premiere, mere weeks after the 9/11 attacks. –NYFF