A Must Read for Actors......Part I

Acting in Film: An Actor's take on Movie Making by Michael Caine.........

......Yes, actor Michael Caine wrote a book about what he knows best, being someone else.  I came across this book at a Half Price Books in Fort Worth.  After reading a few paragraphs I knew I had to buy it.  After reading the first chapter it was obvious that understanding and listening to his advice would be a fantastic acting lesson, and for only $4.95.  I said "Half Price" Books, remember?  I will write many blogs about this book using excerpts that I will italicize and make bold.  This blog is only my summarization and my personal opinion of what I received from this book.  Please buy his book and read it cover to cover.  It is a must read for actors.




Chapter 1 - Movie Acting: An Introduction 

There are many truths throughout this book and the first chapter is riddled with them.  As an actor there were so many important things that I made the decision to tattoo my pages with a blue hilighter.  Much of this chapter is about being natural and not letting people know you are pretending to be the character, but making them believe you are that character.  It is so very important that people not know you are simply speaking lines from a script.

Here are just a few things I marked:

- You would be suprised how large a "small" performance can be on film, provided it is rooted in naturalism. 

- It is more truthful, and more potent,to fight against the tears, only yielding after all those defense machanisms are exhausted.

These are just a couple of lines from pages 1-10 in this chapter which is a total of 20 pages. 
Please check back for more coverage of this chapter and really consider my advice, which is to buy Michael Caine's book!!!!  FYI, there is also a video series with Mr. Caine as he walks you through what he writes in the book which was originally aired by BBC.

~ Pattie Hart