Not Always in the Script

IN MY OPINION;

WILLIAM REYNOLDS

NOT ALWAYS IN THE 'SCRIPT'

I wrote an OPINION not long ago on this same subject. I was remembering watching a little special on THE USUAL SUSPECTS (GREAT MOVIE) with Kevin Spacey and it reminded me of what we had just done when filming some reels.
The most interesting thing for me was to hear how much the film changed from script to screen and exactly how those changes came about. They had a whole team assembled right from the beginning including Editor/Composer John Ottman. I get the impression it was basically one big discussion between everyone, with no one being particularly egotistical, which is quite unusual in it's on right.
It's very revealing about how collaborative filmmaking is, and how much of a crazy amount of work and revision goes into getting something good.

I wish more aspiring filmmakers as well as actors could have seen it. There is soooo much that goes into making a film, and many times it is very difficult to get everyone on the same page, the Director, the Actors, the Cameraman. The Director has a pretty good idea of what he/she wants the finished copy/work to look like, and he tries to convey that to all those involved. The writer has the idea and the vision, the director must put it all together, with his personal input to make it watchable and of course marketable. That is their job.

Are you a Natural?

IN MY OPINION:

WILLIAM REYNOLDS;

GETTING INTO AND 'STAYING IN CHARACTER"..

The Cast of Saving Private Ryan

Steven Spielberg wanted a movie that portrayed the absolute terror that comes along with war. How do you get all-star actors such as Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, and Vin Diesel to realistically portray the intense death and destruction that comes along with war? You find a way to make it realistic. Incidentally this was an ACADEMY AWARD WINNING FILM.  So, in order to prepare the cast, Spielberg put them through their own private hell. Cast members were put through a 10-day boot camp with Dale Dye, a retired marine, whose job was to make their lives completely and utterly miserable. Dale Dye is a man with a mission and we were the subjects … make that victims,” Hanks said to the Chicago Tribune. “It was very cold and it was very miserable. Things were demanded of us as human beings that are rarely demanded of actors. Our hands were raw. They were like hamburger by the time we were finished.”“The experience gave us a heightened awareness of how human behavior is conditioned to accept something like war,” he added. “Our job as actors was to imagine [that] a man with a weapon is behind that rock and he’s going to kill you.”

Way too many actors, at least beginners, think they are naturals. Yeah right!

It's hard to imagine being eaten by a bear, unless of course you actually have been eaten. So don't try that one. But say,

playing a world class athlete, that's  a different story. You can start working out today. Talk to some professional athletes,

do some homework. You may find that it was actually worth it.

Never Quit

IN MY OPINION;

WILLIAM REYNOLDS

THOUGHT YOU MIGHT FIND THIS INTERESTING....

MICHAEL JORDAN SAYS>>>>

He was cut from his high school basketball team. He once said, “I have missed over 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and I have missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

Think about that: So many actors quit, right before they were to become

successful. Harrison Ford (may have heard of him) said he succeeded because everyone around him quit. He says " I just never quit"..

Constantly LATE?

IN MY OPINION;

WILLIAM REYNOLDS:

ARE YOU CONSTANTLY LATE?

The first phase of getting over a mistake is identifying with it's realness. ... If you can laugh at your biggest failures you'll have no trouble finding joy in all the good ones .BUT, There's plenty to learn from our mistakes, but once we wring it dry it's time to leave ... Then he/she started making excuses for not showing up but still wanted to be seen, and at least considered for the role or part.

The costs for filming a movie or big tv commercial is thousands of dollars for each minute. YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE THERE AND THOSE WORKING HAVE TO BE PAID. This money comes out of their (usually) very tight budget. And if you have a relatively new actor or model show up late, many times for their initial visit or audition, there is a very good chance they will also show up late for the actual shoot.

And believe it or not,,,,,guess who the director or assistant director calls and bitches someone out. THE AGENCY OR THE CASTING DIRECTOR.  Not YOU, god forbid NOT YOU.  They don't even know you, but they for darn sure know us. And that is why an agent or casting director may also 'bitch you out'. Sure you have a few favorite excuses you can pull from your hat. Traffic, your ride was running late, got off at the wrong exit, baby sitter didn't show up. got called into work, and so on and so on. And with that many times went the one opportunity that could have changed your entire life. And you didn't even know it. Because you were LATE>

Too bad, so sad.

Focus and Positivity

IN MY OPINION:

WILLIAM REYNOLDS;

BE GLAD AND STAY FOCUSED;

Stay Positive, Focused and Be Glad;

One thing that can be a pervasive problem while pursuing your dreams is keeping your mind on your ultimate goals while you’re struggling to make a living. The need for comfort and security can derail even a great artist—and wanting a nice car and clothing can really keep people from exploring their potential. So, if this is something that truly matters to your career, you’ll need to really prioritize, saving your extra money for classes and head shots instead of restaurants and vacations.

But you’ll also need to take care of yourself. Keep upbeat, positive music in your car or on your mobile device. When you feel a hard day coming on, combat this with a mandatory dance break or a happy sing-a-long. Surround yourself with supportive people who are on the same path or who understand your struggle. Take a walk and feel the sun on your face to get your head in the right place. Take a bath or read a book or do whatever you need to feel important and happy in this moment. Even drink a beer. And above all, remember how lucky you are to be pursuing this dream. So many people out there don’t have the chance or don’t believe in themselves enough to even try. Just to be attempting your dream is a blessing.

It's a big club, welcome to it.

Why be an actor?

IN MY OPINION;

WILLIAM REYNOLDS;

WHY DO 'YOU' WANT TO BE AN ACTOR?

Why are we doing this?

It’s important to ask ourselves this question.

Do you ever stop and ask yourself why you want to act? Or create? Or live your life as an artist?

Sometimes we lose connection to—or allow the business to contaminate us—the original reasons why we wanted to create. And for that reason alone, it’s important to revisit the deeper reasons we call ourselves artists, actors.

If it’s for the applause—that will fade away. If it’s for the adulation, that will be replaced by someone younger, hotter, smarter being the new flavor of the month. If it’s for approval, acceptance, worthiness, or love—you won't ever find it anywhere outside of yourself. You can’t get it from a teacher or lover or friend or parent or casting director or agent.

You have to start doing it for you. Find the reasons why you wanted to do it in the beginning. To create. To express. To have fun. To be human. To actually discover yourself.

Those are the real reasons we’re doing it, and we’re not even aware of it. We’re not even aware of the deeper forces at play within ourselves that compel us to make art. To tell stories. To feel. To emote. To risk. To share. To live life courageously and vulnerably as an artist, an actor. A REAL LIVING BREATHING ACTOR...THAT'S WHAT I AM.

THIS IS 'YOU'.

Staying Positive!

IN MY OPINION;

WILLIAM REYNOLDS;

GET A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE, STAY POSITIVE;

IT NEVER HURTS, to get a little perspective.  At the end of the day, 'you are doing what you love'. If you are lucky enough to be a working as an actor even some of the time, you are extraordinarily lucky by world standards. I have friends who, when people start to get stressed over little things in a class, or on the set,, say “I play pretend for a living.” To me, this doesn’t mean you can never have a bad day, or that your work as an actor is superficial. It’s just a nice mental check that reminds me I am lucky enough to be in a line of work where a spirit of fun is an asset. And on a greater scale nothing is as bad as it seems. EACH DAY IS A NEW DAY.

Who's in Charge?

IN MY OPINION;
SCREENWRITERS VS DIRECTORS

WHO'S IN CHARGE?

Not really an issue. The Director is 'always' in charge.

The writer is the creator of the idea or the script from either an original idea or adapted from a book.

HOWEVER directors do not go by 'directions' given in the screenplay by a Writer. A Writer is just that 'a Writer'. And the

Director is just that 'a Director'. Sometimes, but rarely, with input from the Producer. Most directors don't want the Writer

anywhere around them unless they are doing re-writes.

Directions in a film/screenplay do not always fit with the locations that were necessary (budget) or camera angles or, how the

director actually sees the scene taking place. THEY ARE IN CONTROL.

And the absolute LAST person they want to hear from is the actors, even very well known actors who many times are

directors as well.

We were filming this past Saturday, and due to camera angles and the location available we had to make adjustments

that were not 'typed in the scene by the writer'. Didn't matter one bit. WE HAD TO CHANGE IT. And one of the actress'es

fell apart. "Well the script says go though the door on the right and blah, blah." There was no door on the right, and she

went to pieces. Had we had a way out she would have been dropped right there. Her actions actually hurt not only her,

but the other actor in the scene with her. LUCKILY EVERYONE ELSE WAS JUST FINE. :) :) :).

ADAPT TO CHANGE AND DO WHAT THE DIRECTOR NOT ONLY ASK'S, BUT DEMANDS.

The Blame Game

IN MY OPINION;

WILLIAM REYNOLDS

PLAYING THE BLAME GAME:

Do you know someone who is constantly blaming everyone else for his/hers misfortunes? Someone who is convinced and would like you and everyone around them to believe that every unfortunate situation that has happened to them is everyone's fault, but their own? If so, then what you might want to know is that their only hope is to stop blaming, and pick up a mirror.

It's very common for people to "cast stones" and blame others for the problems in their life - a possible defense mechanism people use to cope with problems. And why wouldn't we want to find fault -- especially if the fault is no fault of your own, but someone else's. "I went on this audition and I didn't do very well. They wouldn't listen to my suggestions. I think its' a scam. Why wouldn't they want to listen".  Maybe, just maybe when you actually GET THE PART they will listen. MAYBE,  And truthfully, for actors, at least for wannabes. This becomes a habit, they get to a point where they think everyone out there in film/TV and modeling land are scams (new word within the last decade or so) And the first thing they know,is that 10-12 yrs have gone by and they are still in the same place. But for sure, it was NOT THEIR FAULT. Some of the biggest producers (Stephen Spielberg) and actors (Johnny Depp) have also had disastrous movies. They just picked it up and kept going.  They know they have the talent, the training and drive, and they've proven it time and time again. They are not simply 'guessing" they have it. They KNOW it, because they have worked at it for years, and it was not always pretty. IT WAS NOT SOMEONE ELSE'S FAULT.

Why Audition?

WILLIAM REYNOLDS;

IN MY OPINION;

WHY DO ACTORS/DANCERS/SINGERS

HAVE TO AUDITION???????

I love auditions. I always have and I always will. I will happily sit through day-long auditions. I recognize, however, that auditioning is a deeply flawed process with huge limitations.

For that reason, I also hate auditions. Their artificiality makes it difficult to understand how an actor works in a rehearsal and performance process. There’s also a historical  feeling to auditions that makes me uncomfortable. I see actors as co-creators rather than as puppets who execute my or a directors vision. I think I’m auditioning for them as much as they’re auditioning for me. But the reality is that sometimes we have more actors in front of us than we  have roles to fill., some actors need to start small. Some will hear “yes” and some will hear “no,” and I hate that. The fact remains that I must find a way to make decisions about who will we select to cast or submit to a casting director or director. Some actors do not take rejection well at all, and start blah blahing about how, or why they did not get the role. Some think it was all set up for someone else. Others see it as a learning process. Agents make their income from commissions and sometimes functioning as the casting director as well. We have to be selective and objective, many times stepping on toes and hurting feelings in the process

Taylor Mac wrote a great article about casting a couple of years ago, saying that we should completely do away with auditions and instead cast people we get to know through work in the community or working with them directly. This is, of course, a fantastic way to get to know actors– I’d even say the best way. But it’s not something that can replace auditions outright.

I use a combination of both techniques. I cast people without an audition (or bring them straight to callbacks) if they’re someone I’ve worked with before, or someone whose work I’m familiar with (head shot/resume). But I just can’t envision completely giving up auditions, because I think, as flawed as they are, they offer something unique to to the making of a film or TV, or casting for that matter.

But just like the NFL, the most dedicated and talented somehow seem to always come out with a job, and a career.

BAD ACTOR?

IN MY OPINION;

WILLIAM REYNOLDS;

BAD ACTORS AND EXISTENTIALISM;

In-between wearing fatsuits and conversing with the ghosts of dead pets, sometimes bad actors feel the odd pang of guilt. What am I doing with my life? What if no one remembers me? How can I look at myself in the mirror for one more day? Am I going anywhere, am I destined to being an extra for the rest of my 'so called' career.

On these days, they'll actually read the scripts they usually skim, go to the meetings they usually don't and say yes to the auditions they usually turn down because of the long words or the intensity of the the script. They may have finally figured out that they are not any more special than anyone else. They are not a 'natural'  they get way too nervous and sometimes they're late. All of these equal DIASASTER.  Friends and family are giving out rotten advice. They are listening to too many other  of their equal, giving them even more rotten advice.

Maybe they will just quit! Or maybe they will listen to that little guy sitting on their shoulder and start working toward getting on the same page with reality.

THE WORD ABOVE MEANS

REALITY AS OPPOSED TO CONCEPTUAL POSSIBILITY.

Phrases in the Film Industry

IN MY OPINION;

WILLIAM REYNOLDS

COMMON PHRASES IN THE FILM INDUSTRY,,,

AND WHAT THEY REALLY MEAN;

agent = frustrated lawyer
lawyer = frustrated producer
producer = frustrated writer
scriptwriter = frustrated director
director = frustrated actor
actor = frustrated human

COMPOUND WORDS:

high-concept = low value
production value = gore
entry-level = pays nothing
highly qualified = knows the producer
network approved = had made them money
being discovered - you got a check.

FINANCIAL TERMS:

net = something that apparently doesn't exist
gross = Tyler Perry's salary
back-end = you, if you think you'll ever see it
residuals = braces for the kids
deferral = don't hold your breath
points = see "net" or "back-end"

COMMON PHRASES:

You can trust me = You must be new
It needs some polishing = Change everything
It shows promise = It stinks rotten
It needs some fine tuning = Change everything
I'd like some input = I want total control
It needs some honing = Change everything
Call me back next week = Stay out of my life
It needs some tightening = Change everything
Try and punch it up = I have no idea what I want
It needs some streamlining = Change everything
You'll never work in this town again = I have no power whatsoever.

Some of this sound familiar ?

Academy Award Winning Actor

IN MY OPINION;

WILLIAM REYNOLDS

COMMENT FROM AN ACADEMY AWARD WINNING ACTOR;

MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY: “I didn’t study acting all that much, not as much as maybe i should have, before I got [my] first job. And I thought: “Hey, maybe you’re not the kind of actor that needs to study lines. Maybe — [laughter] — you just know your man, and you show up and you just do it. go do this film, Scorpion Spring, and I got this idea: “I’m not gonna look at anything. I know what I am: the drug lord on the Mexican border in Texas. I’ll just show up on the set, stay fresh and loose.” Well, I get down there, OK, and I pick up this scene, and it’s a page-and-a-half monologue in Spanish.” I felt this trickle of sweat. “Um, can you give me 12 minutes?” I haven’t watched it yet, but, “Oh crap"  …” This is bad. And I said, “Never again, man.' 

GOOD or not so GOOD!

IN MY OPINION;

WILLIAM REYNOLDS

GOOD, OR NOT SO GOOD.

AN AUDITION FOR MAYBE AN INTIMATE, OR VIOLENT SCENE????

My best advice in this situation is not to ask what we want you to do, but rather ask, “How have you been blocking this scene?” Remember, we’ve been auditioning this scene for the last several days, if not weeks. We know exactly how it should work in the audition setting. When I am trying to direct actors in any particular scene I first want them to concentrate on the 'behavior of the character'.

Another question I often get is this: “What’s the worst that can happen when we have a ‘bad’ audition? Never called back? Career over?” First of all, no, your career is certainly not over. But you must ask yourself why you had a bad audition. Trace the steps back to understand what sent you off the tracks. Nerves account for a lot of people blowing an audition. Many get nervous because they’re not thoroughly prepared. If you’re not completely off-book,(script memorized)  you won’t be able to execute any of the direction you may receive. If you slugged back a double Starbucks  before your audition, your body might be careening with caffeine.

We can usually tell when you’re just having a bad day or you weren’t sufficiently prepared. If you come in and stink up the room because you weren’t prepared, it will be a while before I call you back for another audition. It's not punishment but auditioning involves most times, time constraints.

The best thing you can do in this situation is learn from it, make the changes you need to, and then move on. If you hold on to that memory when you come into your next audition, it will overwhelm you with the fear that you’re going to make the same mistake. Learn and move on.

And believe me, "you are certainly not the only one this has happened to, and you will not be the last".

Advise for actors!

WILLIAM REYNOLDS:

IN MY OPINION

ADVICE TO NEW ACTORS;

I’m often asked what is the No. 1 pointer I can give to help actors, or the No. 1 thing an actor should do to really stand out,. Let’s get to it.

What is the No. 1 piece of advice I give actors?My answer might come as a surprise, but the best bit of advice I can give you is to make sure you do not spend every waking moment being an actor! You must feed the other parts of your soul and be a well-rounded person before you have any chance of being a well-rounded, grounded, genuine, and interesting actor. There are many actors who live and breathe the craft. From up and at ’em to bedtime, they focus solely on acting. While I admire that amount of dedication, in my experience, those actors are much less exciting in the audition room. 

Actors take real life experiences and the accompanying emotions and bring all of that into an audition and into a character. Without living your life and feeling those feelings, how can you possibly expect yourself to buy what you’re selling? If you spend all day reading books on acting, watching films, going to scene study class, preparing new material, day in and day out  Then listening to some acting podcast from some celebrity just because if they “made it,” darn it, so can you. But, your entire day has been consumed with only one thing. You are an actor, be loud and proud about that. However, you are not only an actor. You’re also a friend, brother, sister, mother, father, barista, Uber driver, swim coach, yoga instructor, and part-time American Ninja Warrior. And each one of your 'real life' experiences has a pretty good shelf life that you pull from

'as an actor'.

Leadership and success

IN MY OPINION:

WILLIAM REYNOLDS

LEADERSHIP AND SUCCESS BEGINS WITH...

Your attitude toward your goals.

Look around you at successful people, and not just actors, models or other entertainers. But athletes and business people,

even 'politicians'. These people understand that achievement begins with the individual...'you'. One of the reasons is they

"walk the walk" and 'talk the talk', and try to surround themselves with other like individuals.

>>Over the last year, we grew our castings and bookings by over 15%. Great! And we could not have done so without you,

Our good responsible talent.

Thank you. YES YOU>

Winner/Loser

IN MY OPINION;

WILLIAM REYNOLDS

SAD BUT SO TRUE;

This could not be said any more succinctly, in only a few sentences.

Do you have what it takes?

IN MY OPINION;

WILLIAM REYNOLDS

DO YOU POSSESS THESE EIGHT (8) QUALITIES?

1) Good solid training? Check

2) Have ' Great' photos? Check

3) Never (ever) late? Check

4) Totally reliable? Check

5) Not a 'gossiper' at all? Check

6) Focused? Check

7) Committed? Check

8) Take responsibility, 'no excuses'? Check

SO, YOU ARE ALL OF THESE, RIGHT? 100%

But, do you put them all together at the same time? Or, do you skip around a little, 5 this week. Maybe 6 or 7 next week.

But, hardly ever 'all' of them at the same time. This could cost you a promising career on a 5 day when you needed an 8.

Or, conversely, you had the 8 when you needed it the most.

HELLO SUCCESS. :)