“Shutter Island”: Leonardo Dicaprio on his cast mates, character and Scorsese

Leonardo DiCaprio on:

…his cast mates and being specific when researching a character.

…his character

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Broadway star Montego Glover on ‘Memphis’, advice and her journey to success

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I think Montego Glover, the star of the hit Broadway show Memphis, can do anything.

Not only is she currently starring on Broadway, but she also displays her talent in video games, commercials, television and voice overs. Ok, a lot of people do that. But do they do it successfully?

Exactly! Seriously, she can do anything.

Currently, she is spending her evenings playing Felecia Farrell, a struggling singer in 1950’s Memphis. She sings, she dances and will break your heart by the end of the show.

I saw Montego when the show was at the La Jolla Playhouse and she was incredible. Once she’s on stage, you can’t take your eyes off of her. She absolutely takes over the stage.

If you get a chance, listen to the audio portion of the interview. You’ll get a chance to hear more questions and listen to her talk.  She has an absolute perfect voice. I could listen to her talk all day.  Listen for a minute, you’ll know what I’m talking about!

I love the actual back story of the show, you and Chad [Kimball] have been with the show for 6 years now I think?
That’s correct.

When you first read the story and heard the music, did you have a feeling about this show?  Obviously there’s no guarantee you’ll end up where you are now.  Did you just have some sort of gut feeling about it?
I did.  I will say my gut feeling however was that this piece was immediately identifiable to me and inclusive of me and that it was special.  I had never read a script like this for Broadway.  And because the concept was new for Broadway and had never been done before and the characters and the location and the ideas were new, it made it all the more interesting.  I responded to it as an artist right away because it was just new and really interesting.  What a great angle from which to tell a story.  And a new story at that.

You guys have such great chemistry, too, you and Chad.  Was that something that happened over time or was it pretty quick?
(She laughs)  I appreciate that, thank you.  It’s helpful every night.  That’s a good thing.

Funny story, actually, we were about to do the first production of Memphis.  First developmental production, and I had been called in to read with some of the guys who were coming in for the roll of Huey Calhoun.  And I remember sitting in the hallway and the casting director came out and said, “Montego this is Chad Kimball.  You guys are going to read together.  Here’s the scene.”  Now, I had not formally met Chad, but we had many, many friends in common and I had seen his work, and he introduced himself, I introduced myself.  We went down the hallway, we read the scene, and it happened to be a scene that involved kissing.  And we read, and we kissed, and it was pretty great.  And we pulled away, and I looked at him, and I said, “Hey.”  And he said, “Hey.”  And I thought, this is the guy.  This is the guy.  And it turns out he was the guy, so we went back into the room (laughs), it went beautifully.  He was charming and it was lovely.  And I just remember the both of us standing there at the end of the read, holding hands and just laughing.  Just laughing.  And we’ve been together ever since (laughing).

What was the opening night of the show like?
Literally a dream come true.  Literally.  How many times as an actor do you read something and go, wow, wouldn’t it be great, this is so special, I respond to this.  Wouldn’t it be great if it could be done well and right with the right amount of time to develop and we could really do it well and do it right, and then there we were, on October the 19^th doing it.  Opening.  It felt like flying.  It felt like – rapturous applause, it felt like chaos.  It felt like the right kind of chaos, you know, just magnetic, kinetic, combustible excitement.  It was just thrilling, absolutely thrilling.  A dream come true.

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Christian McKay: From Concert Pianist to Orson Wells

From wallstreetjournal.com

The Wall Street Journal: Despite having an injury, Richard Linklater expressly flew to New York to catch your final performance in “Rosebud” to check out your acting. That must have been exciting.

Christian McKay: It was one of those things that I’ve read about, that divine luck that actors sometimes get — but mostly not. I mean, I’ve a very lucky person and I’ve had a very contented life, but I always thought that kind of luck was beyond me. With his coming to see me, I had my own little Cinderella moment, my word.

Consequently, he invited you down to Austin for a good old-fashioned screen test.

It was marvelous. Actually on the plane down, the woman who was sitting next me to asking why I was going to Texas, and [after I told her], we spent the entire flight chatting about his films. At that time, I only knew about four or five of them, so it was a great pleasure to work with Rick and then go and check out his films and be astonished by them. I was particularly astonished by “Waking Life”;  I love that film. Rick is an emblem of that wonderful American tradition of the maverick — like how Orson was a maverick, but Rick can move form one genre to another with total ease.

And how was working with Rick?

He’s a great actor’s director and a great actor himself; he’d hate me for saying that, but I think it’s true. He’s a wonderful storyteller — he has that in common with the old man. He taught me how to act on film. For an old stage ham [like me], that was a difficult job. The gestures of the stage would be death on film, and I had a very technical job to achieve. I’m playing a theatrical, larger-than-life character, so I don’t want to be subdued. Film is limitless, but some stage presentations on film can look too theatrical.

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Sam Rockwell on ‘Moon’, Oscar talk and ‘Iron Man 2′

From MTV.com:

MTV: You don’t have a lot of actors to play off of — or any actors to play off of — in “Moon.” You knew what you were getting into, obviously, but were there any unexpected challenges? Were you lonely as an actor to not have another person to feed off of?

Rockwell: That’s half the equation. Most of the time, it was hard. There was a young actor there named Robin Chalk, and there was also a body double that looked like him from the back, and a lot of times we were acting with tennis balls, or I’d have to pick a mark or put a piece of tape on the wall or something it was interesting.

MTV: So what’s it like, shooting on the moon?

Rockwell: It’s kinda hot, if you’re in a space station — it’s a moist, a little hot. You want to wear some kind of deodorant or cologne. But the other guys didn’t mind.

MTV: As you well know, there is a movement afoot that you, Mr. Rockwell, will get an Oscar nomination. How did you hear about this, and what was your reaction?

Rockwell: I heard about this — my dad told me about it — that something was cooking on the Internet. So my girlfriend and I looked it up, and it was very flattering. As an actor, this is the only thing you’ve been shooting for your entire career — you don’t care about the actual product [laughs]. You just want awards to put some place. Am I wrong? I would be honored to get an Oscar or anything else like that. But it’s just that anything that gets this movie some attention is a good thing. It’s hard for these smaller films, so anything that gets it attention, for sure.

MTV: Also in the course of this year, a film we haven’t seen yet but you shot already, is a little thing called “Iron Man 2.” Did you study up on your character, Justin Hammer?

Rockwell: I got some research — they sent me over some stuff. I looked it over and that was about it. I kind of took my own ideas from other things. A little bit of Lex Luthor’s stuff — [Kevin] Spacey and [Gene] Hackman. I think there’s a little Bill Murray in “Kingpin” in it. Probably some Richard Gere “American Gigolo” thrown in there. And a little Charles Nelson Reilly!

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Chelcie Ross, ‘Mad Men’s’ Conrad Hilton: “In a script, I don’t want to know what other characters are doing”

From chicagotribune.com:

Q. You and your character seemed to fit right in from the start on “Mad Men.” What was it like to work on the show?

A. There are places you go to work where you’re immediately made to feel at home and everybody’s there because  they want to be there. Nobody’s just putting in time. That’s the atmosphere on “Mad Men.”

In my considered opinion, (the tone is set) from the top. And the director and producers of “Mad Men” couldn’t be nicer. That’s always been one of the things that has made an experience exceptional –— when the director absolutely believes in what he’s doing and he’s filled up with the prospect of bringing this (story) to life and making it as real for everybody else as it is for him. I used to work with a director named David H. Bell at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire. He had that same kind of infectious quality about him, (the attitude that) nothing is small about what we’re doing if we don’t belittle it and (if we) believe in what we’re doing.

Jon Hamm is truly a down-to-earth Missouri guy, he brings his dog Cora to the set most days. I had a great time with Robert Morse, he’s fun and he’s so good and his resume is jaw-dropping. He’s really an actor’s actor. It’s a good group. I’m glad that it looked like I belonged there because I’d like to go back.

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Jersey Boys Travis Cloer: “I left New York to get a job on Broadway”

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Travis Cloer, who plays Frankie Valli in the Las Vegas production of Jersey Boys, didn’t have anyone hand him his career.

No, as a struggling actor in New York, leaving the city was probably the smartest thing he ever did. Because when he came back, he landed on a Broadway stage.

Check out how he did that, the differences between Broadway and Las Vegas and what it’s like playing an icon.

I saw the show Tuesday at 6:30 and I thought it was fantastic.
Yeah, it’s a fun show.

Yeah, you guys are great.  I guess you can call that an early matinee?
Yeah, it’s weird here because everything’s in the evening.  Anything in the afternoon is pretty brutal.

You guys were just on fire and cracking.
Those 2 show days are… you know, everybody is pretty high energy throughout the full day.

How long have you been in the show?
I’ve been involved with Jersey Boys since February of 2007. I was in the Broadway company for about a year and a half, and then they moved me out here last September of 2008.

Did you want to come out here?
It was kind of 50/50.  I enjoyed being in New York and being on Broadway, but the role of Frankie Valli opened up out here and they offered it to me, so I kind of had to take it you know.

How do you keep it fresh?
That’s a good question, man (laughter).  That is a really good question, especially after almost 3 years.  You just really have to – well, a lot of it is what the audience is bringing to you that night.  You know, if it’s a great house and if it’s a great audience of course you always feel as a performer to give it just that little bit extra, instead of – you don’t always want to coast on auto pilot.  But sometimes you know you get tired.  But as far as keeping it fresh, you just, with this show, I find I really enjoy singing the music. And the music itself is fresh to me just about every night on its own.

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Top 10 Dumbest Mistakes Make In Their Careers – Part 2

Here’s part 2 of the the dumbest mistakes thread from Backstage.

This was written by TRUTHTELLER59. He always has some great things to say on the forums board.

1. Do extra work in hopes of getting “discovered.” You won’t!

2. Show up on time. In this business, on time is late and EARLY IS ON TIME!

3. Take classes or hire a photographer based solely on name/”Guru” status. What might be awesome for some might not be for you. You need to audit/meet before making a smart decision.

4. Shake a casting director’s hand when he or she does not offer it first. CDs meet so many people and the last thing they want to catch is a cold.

5. Not reading the contract. Too many actors don’t read their GSAs, SAG Contracts, etc. carefully and start complaining and can’t get out of their contract because they weren’t smart about it.
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Uma Thurman talks ‘Motherhood’

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Here’s another group interview group interview that my favorite mom blogger Jen (@mammamania on Twitter) was able to weasel me into.

I couldn’t ask questions but that was fine… it’s Uma Thurman. How could I say no?

I edited down the interview to things dealing with this website.. and to the parts where her cell phone didn’t cut out.

In an earlier conversation that we all had with Catherine she told us that she was really moved, moved to tears actually, watching one scene in particular.  It was you and Anthony Edwards sitting in a car towards the end of the film.  And she said that it was actually her favorite scene.  And we were just wondering if you could share anything about what was going on in that scene, what was it for you to act that scene, because it obviously made a real impression on her?
It’s a scene where I guess in a way the character of Eliza, which Catherine wrote, basically is explaining why she, what the source of her unhappiness is, and how she is basically is getting lost in the minutia of her domestic life, has lost herself in that service and has lost a sense of purpose.

I think something obviously drew you to motherhood and specifically Eliza’s character.  So, I’m wondering what do you feel is authentic about how motherhood is portrayed in the movie and how will we, meaning audiences, really be able to relate to that?
I think first of all, you know, this is a story where the mother is actually central to the experience, where she is the one being seen through her actions.  She’s not there to focus your attention in a role of how the mother relates to the person of interest who is either a man or a child.  You kind of have, you know, mothers are often used in narrative.  Filling in the blanks, per se, about another character, but it’s not really about them, themselves.  And I just think, you know, Catherine’s character was so honest,  you know, I mean she’s someone who’s chosen to be a stay-at-home mother and yet she’s struggling with that decision.  And feels fulfilled but at the same time compromised in a way at times by you know being in total baby land and not stimulating other sides of herself that are obviously important.  And I like that she has flaws, you know, I like that she has anger issues and yet she still loves her kids.  She’s funny and charming and she’s just sort of real.

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Top 10 Dumbest Mistakes Actors Make In Their Careers – Part 1

I found this on the Backstage message board and thought it was really insightful.

Written by Broadway2Hollywood, its well worth a read.

There’s another top 10 list that I’ll reprint tomorrow – both with permission from the original authors.

1. The top dumbest mistake is Being Dumb!
Includes not knowing even the simplest of industry vocabulary.
(upstage, downstage, slate, scale, sides)
If you don’t know something, do research, look it up or ask around until you get a proper answer. Everyone wants to work with intelligent people. Don’t perpetuate the idea that actors are dumb and untrustworthy.

2. Not getting training.
In this reality-show era, many people show up in town and think they can start an acting career just because they (think they) have a really great personality. Most of them don’t think they have to learn how to act.

3. Being Unprepared (or underprepared). — see #1 and #2
Also includes going to auditions without looking at the material, not making any choices, or knowing anything about the project (often including its title or the casting director’s name).

4. Sending out sub-par materials.
Headshots that don’t look like them, or are poorly photographed. Demo reels that are endless and/or look like they were made in a basement by teenagers and shot on a cell phone, and include bad acting.

5. Thinking that getting an agent is the end of the rainbow and that the agent will do all the work.
An agent only gets 10% — they should only reasonably be expected to do 10% of the work.
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FOX takes a cue from features in the way they cast pilots

From hollywoodreporter.com:

Fox is changing the way it selects actors for pilots.

The network is phasing out traditional in-person network tests, in which finalists for each role audition for network executives who choose a winner.

Taking a page from the feature world, where screen tests are prevalent in casting a role, Fox is opting for taped network tests. After passing live tests for the producing studios, actors’ performances are being filmed and sent to the network for judging.

The network’s three greenlighted projects so far this season — Greg Garcia’s comedy pilot “Keep Hope Alive,” the untitled Mark Brazill comedy pilot and the Matt Nix series “Jack and Dan” — are being cast that way.

To accommodate the change, 20th Century Fox TV, which does a lot of business with Fox, has equipped a special screen-testing suite.

Fox casting head Marcia Shulman said the network has experimented with network tests on tape for the past couple of years.

“The network spends months and months developing a show, and then we have this network test where three actors wait nervously in the hallway, staring at each other and talking on the phone with their agents whether or not to sign the contract,” she said. “Sometimes we can’t cast the right lead for a show because they had a bad moment. Casting is more than 50% of the success of a show, so after spending all that money, why have we been going through that crazy process for so long?”

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