Diego Luna & Gael Garcia Bernal
I got this idea to write a screenplay for Gael and Diego, the two guys from Y Tu Mama Tambien. It sprang into my head from nowhere.
Two nights ago, as I went to sleep I asked myself, "What's the screenplay about?" All night I wrestled with that. Near morning I began to dream I was watching scenes from the movie. I was busy reshaping them when I had to wake up.
Last night I watched Y Tu Mama Tambien again, but this time as a director. I studied the two actors with empty all-seeing eyes. What I found was, because I was watching the actors as a director, I started seeing the movie as a director, too. This has always happened to me with plays, but never with movies.
Anyway, it had a huge impact. These actors can do anything. There are almost no moments when I don't believe them. And, they're my type of actors -- smart, physical, spontaneous, intuitive, generous.
So the apparent problem is how to write a story worthy of them.
Underneath that, I feel joy -- that during these long fallow months, something in me has been preparing to work with the best actors in the world. Suddenly it seems completely normal. Diego and Gael are just people I haven't met yet. This is another gift of the Odin -- whose actors truly are some of the best in the world.
Tage Larsen
I was teaching the Odin apprentice actors Chekhov when Tage, one of the company actors, said, "I'd love to do Chekhov." "When can you rehearse?" I asked. Well, "Never," was the answer, since he was already in fulltime rehearsal for Andersen's Dream. But in that moment while I was studying him, figuring how to cast him, I realized what a formidable full-grown Chekhov actor he is. That was my first taste of meeting a world-class actor as an equal.
Jim Rapson, the therapist, says, "A hallmark of true organic growth is that we never see it coming. One day, something itches and you reach back to scratch it, and then suddenly wonder -- "Hey, where did that hindfoot come from?" When something has grown organically, when it appears, it seems like it has always been there."
2 comments:
**Anonymous**
*You said:
"So the apparent problem is how to write a story worthy of them."
*I say that if you write a story and you have actors like that then you don't need to worry about writing something "worthy" because this calaber of actor will make your story worthwhile. We would watch them doing almost anything and believe all of it.
:)
I believe that if someone has an interesting story, a great actor with make it dynamite. However, if you have a weak storyline, a great actor might salvage it, but they can not redeem it. I think that if you believe in what you're doing, and love it, your efforts will be worthwhile.
Good luck, good work, and have fun!
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