John C. Reilly talks about on-set improvisation

John C. Reilly, currently starring in Cyrus, talks about how he developed his character through on-set improvisation with Jonah Hill and Marisa Tomei.

He talks about improvising at the 2:30 mark.

Re-Post: Exclusive Interview with John C. Reilly and Jonah Hill

If you have nothing to do this weekend, check out Cyrus!

I saw this back in March at SXSW and it’s one of the funniest movies I’ve seen this year.

I interviewed both John and Jonah for the film (along with the directors, Mark & Jay Duplass).

For the entire interview, click here.

For the Duplass Brothers interview, click here.

Here’s a quick excerpt:

You guys did a lot of – I know that the Duplass Brothers do a lot of improvising in their movies.  How much did you guys stray away from the script?

John:  Dialogue-wise we never really did the script.  There were a few places where we did what was written, but for the most part I mean, I thought that was a really kind of egoless way to direct a movie especially since they wrote it.

Jonah:  And it was a really good script. It was a great script. It was actually one of the better scripts I’ve ever read.

John:  Yeah, you know what needs to happen here.  We don’t have to say this. Just say it as honestly as you can to each other.  It was a lot of fun, very empowering, but also a big responsibility.

Did you ever worry that you were ever going to just like – were there a lot of scenes where it just didn’t work because you didn’t end up in the right place?

Jonah: Only one scene that I think….

John:  A couple places where scenes were…. what we found on the day didn’t exactly jive with what the structure of the movie needed to be in the editing room, so in those places I think they did those more creative voiceover things.  You heard dialogue while people are not saying dialogue.  Where they kind of layered, which I thought – it’s not what they intentionally set out to do.  It’s not that they filmed those scenes so they could do that, it’s that we improvised our way through a scene and they turned it into that.  It’s one of those cool moments where necessity is the mother of invention.  They created this new interested way to move the story along because they needed to because the scene that they shot was different than that.

Creating your brand, promotion and more! A Publicist Speaks!

Sofia Gian, does one thing each day to reach her goal of living her dream.  In this process she interviews industry professionals and learns tricks and tips which actors can use to move their careers forward.

Follow her daily quest on www.actressconfessions.typepad.com

Interview with Social Media Strategist/Personal Publicist Joy A. Kennelly

What it’s like to work as a Personal Publicist to promote and brand an actor?

Professional Social Media Strategist/Personal Publicist, Joy A. Kennelly knows exactly what goes on behind the scenes when working with an actor or other Celebrity to promote their work and themselves. Joy’s experience working red carpet events with her clients has successfully ensured the media develops her client’s personal brand through her efforts.

As the strategist behind the brand, Joy Kennelly discusses the world of celebrity marketing, branding and promotion.

How did you get into this industry?

I’ve been in the entertainment industry for many years and working with talent has always brought a lot of glamour and exposure to whatever I do. When I first started in the business, I produced the Short Pictures International Film Festival (SPIFF) for five years. During that time I worked with a variety of talent over the years, including Forrest Whitaker and Eriq La Salle, among others.

Since that time, I’ve seen a lot of my SPIFF filmmakers make it to the next level, most recently Tariq Jalil (Executive Producer of Marmaduke) and Jason Reitman (You know who this guy is – GO CANADA!). It’s very gratifying to see people I’ve worked with achieve what they want in the business.

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The cast of Grown Ups talk about working together, coming up with jokes and more

Grown Ups comes out today. The film stars former Saturday Night Live greats Adam Sandler, Chris Rock (ok, he wasn’t so great on the show), David Spade and Rob Schneider along side Kevin James.

In the video below (after the jump) the cast talks about what is was like working together, coming up with the jokes and more.

My quick review: What do you get when you make a movie with a bunch of comedians and give them no real script? Stupidity. But guess what? I really enjoyed it.

Is the movie idiotic? Yes. Is there a real plot? No. Is the movie filled with stereotypes? Yes.

But I couldn’t help but laugh.

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Tony Awards Interview Wrap-up

The Tony’s are this weekend and I can’t wait! Maybe it’s because, more than any year before, I’ve seen a lot of the shows and actors that are nominated.

Here’s a wrap-up of interviews I did with three fantastic actors (and incredibly nice people).

Montego Glover is currently starring in Memphis. She’s nominated for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical. I saw the show and she is absolutely wonderful! The show itself is nominated for Best Musical and 6 other nominations.

Stephen Kunken is nominated for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for his role as Andy Fastow in Enron. The play also has 3 other nominations.

Mary Catherine Garrison can still be seen in the extremely funny Lend Me A Tenor. The show is nominated for Best Revival of a Play and 2 other nominations.

Also, check out The Andy Gram on Sunday. He’ll have live webcasting coverage of the red carpet arrivals starting at 6pm eastern time!

Actors Roundtable: Comedic Actresses

Sophia Vergara, Jane Lynch, Courteney Cox, Felicity Huffman, Wanda Sykes and Patricia Heaton talk about who’s the funniest female comic, do you have to have confidence when you’re doing comedy and more.

My favorite was video 3 where Jane Lynch talks about trying to memorize lines.

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An Evening with Television Casting Directors

SAG presented another great talk with a couple of television (and film) casting directors. Rick Pagano (24) & Paul Weber (Stargate Universe).

These guys are long-time casting directors and have tons of great information to give. This is well worth your time!

Breaking Bad’s RJ Mitte: “You learn so much from your surroundings. It’s like subliminal messaging”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

RJ Mitte is currently staring on one of the greatest shows on TV, Breaking Bad. He plays Walt Jr., son on of former chemistry teacher turned meth dealer, Walter (Bryan Cranston).

The show was one of RJ’s his first real acting jobs and from the pilot to his work now, you can how he’s evolved into a really smart actor.  He has teenage-smartass syndrome down to a science.

RJ’s also the national spokesman for I AM PWD, SAG, AFTRA and Equity’s joint program to bring awareness to actors with disabilities.

And, he’s probably always the coolest guy in the room. Read how he got the part on Breaking Bad. I guarantee you would not do the same thing if you found out you booked a series-regular role!

How does it feel to work on one of the best shows on TV?

It’s an amazing feeling.  Any actor is lucky to work on any show.  I’m just one of the very few to work on one of the greats. We have an amazing cast; I couldn’t have gotten any luckier to work with the amazing actors I do. It’s one of the best feelings in the world where you have any role, but especially one of these.

How much of you is in Walt, Jr? Because your character is pretty much a smart ass in the show. Did the writers take anything from you in your life?

Yeah … Well [LAUGHTER]. I would say I’m a smart ass but not too often. We mix it up a little bit. We’ve added some of my life into the character. Like, we changed the room around to be more like my room. Here and there, we’re slowly but surely morphing into a new character.

First of all it’s a fantastic cast you guys have got. You work really well with Bryan; what has he taught you from an acting standpoint?

Not just Bryan, but from everybody, you learn here and there, you learn different things. But this show—I’ve never really worked before on a set—so I’ve learned all different kinds of things. I can’t really say, because you learn so much and you pick up from your surroundings. It’s like subliminal messaging.

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Emmy Awards Watch: Dramatic Actresses

Now it’s the ladies turn to talk.

If you saw the videos I posted the other day with the men discussing their work, here’s another set The Hollywood Reporter did, this time with actresses who have given notable dramatic performances this past year.

Glenn Close, Chloe Sevigny, Elisabeth Moss, Kyra Sedgwick, Claire Danes and Sandra Oh talk about women in television, doing press and more!

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Christopher Walken’s Acting Secret

Watch as Christopher Walken talks about how he approaches a role. He learned it when he was 9  and even after acting school, it’s never changed.

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