Wednesday, May 29, 2013

this may get disgusting...

I’m an actor.  Or maybe I was an actor and sometimes still am. I don’t know. I have an MFA in acting so that’s probably something…but then again…it’s probably also doodly squat…because it has done just that for  me.  There was a period of about 5 years where I pounded the pavement in NYC and you can see how that all turned out HERE.

Why am I saying this?  well I’ve been thinking a lot about acting lately…and I’m coming to the same conclusion that Morgan Freeman’s character in Million Dollar Baby came to:  “I had my shot, nobody can say any different”.  I did have my shot. There was a moment and I had it. And then I let it go. Didn’t seize. Something like that. Anywhoo…I did NOT make it as an actor. And I could rail against the injustice of it all but the simple fact is—and I’m talking reality here, the reality of 10+ years of soul searching, not some half-assed grab for your sympathy or a ersatz coy spelunking for a compliment—the fact is that I don’t have zazz.  You know, ZAZZ. That thing that makes people intriguing; that special quality that stars have that makes them compelling and impossible to ignore.  Look, you give me a role and a proper rehearsal and I’ll give you a performance as good as anyone….but I’ll never transcend anything…I’ll never hit that “shaking hands with god” moment where I fully drop in and in that moment become one with the universe and truly live truthfully under imaginary circumstances, and to further compound the issue I’m not photogenic in the slightest and completely un-charming (on camera that is…you should see me at work) and…yep…I ain’t got no ZAZZ.  So I lack the depth and ability to truly transform and also lack the skills and charm to fake it so…let’s face it: I’m not a bad actor…I’m just kinda “meh”.  And this is coming from me as an actor AND as a producer/director who has worked with me here, here, and here. Recently.  So I’ll probably still act because I dig it and, really, what’s the point of having your own movie studio if you don’t get to cast yourself in roles you’re not good enough to play?

BUT, when I have something of substance. When I have something I care about…a script that pounded me into submission and strangled  my soul until I collapsed at the keys and then banged itself into existence through my weary fingers…a transcendent script (and that is something I am capable of producing, unlike a transcendent performance), well when I have one of those, I need real actors. I need the A-Team.

I need Tim.

I need Kaylyn.



Which is really what I wanted to talk about anyway.  I’ve spoken at length about my love and gratitude for my F**K New York Cast…don’t believe me?  Read this, or this.

And the more I sink into this project and the more actor bullshit I run into—this will be a separate posting in itself: actor bullshit, or HOW come you gotta be like that, you ain’t a star—the more nonsense I have had to stomach during these films, the more I really just cling to my original thesis (chix is whack) that, fuck “talent”…everybody is “talented”…you really just need to find people you love and work with forever.
Which brings us back to Tim. And Kaylyn (and Franny and Maria and John and my Jejo and Austin and Uma and Love and sweet Abner D and Batman and Jeffrey Johns and Sharone and and and and and and the list goes on but we’re talking about Tim and Kaylyn here).

Tim and Kaylyn are those RARE actors that are awesome human beings as well as performers. It was not arbitrary that I put “human beings” before “performers”.  They come prepared, with no bullshit and give you their best. They work hard and make it seem easy.

And this last week, they worked hard and made it seem easy in the fucking rain.   Yep. On the ONE day we could shoot, the old man was snoring. Honestly, based on the nature of the script, the rain worked and created a tone and atmosphere that we couldn’t have achieved in bright daylight…but it still sucked hardcore major ass to be out there in it…fumbling with umbrellas trying to cover the camera at the expense of us…having to pause in the middle of a take so we could wipe the camera lens…watching poor Kaylyn turn all sorts of different colors because she was FREEZING.
 
But they never complained; quite the opposite really. They laughed and joked between takes and told stories and then dropped in when I said “action”.  They USED the rain to fuel the character choices and the moments and didn’t telegraph comments about the uncomfortableness or it all.  They were professionals…actually fuck that, professionals would have demanded rain pay and trailers and such…they were MOTHER FUCKING ARTISTS and gave everything to the moment; just like I did. They were in there, in the trenches with me and giving their all; true collaborators.   

HTKIOY # 10 "22"
And let me tell you, if I never made another film with any other actors but them, I’d still marvel everyday at my good fortune…and if I made 100 movies with just Tim and Kaylyn, I’d not reach the limits of their talent.

I told you it might be disgusting.

Because I love these two. Not in some “I LOVE you man” kinda silliness….but as a creator loves his muse. 

I spent most of my life searching for an artistic home and didn’t find it until I gave up the search and built the home myself.

My wife was the one who gave me the keys to the door.

Tim and Kaylyn were among the first guests.


I hope they never leave.

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