Best Movie Star

Chapter 30: Practice over theory

(It's the weekend, I wish you all a happy weekend! Last night, the code was late, and the girl was too skinny... Friends who have recommended tickets in hand, please give me a few more!)

On May 3, 1999, an unusual Monday, after Matthew got off work from the Red Penguin Company, he immediately called a taxi and arrived at the Los Angeles Performing Arts School in North Hollywood on time before nine in the morning. Today is him. The day when the registered performance class starts on the first day of the class.

In front of the classroom dedicated to teaching, Matthew pushed open the door and walked in. Since he came after get off work, he came relatively late. In the huge classroom, there were already more than ten students standing there.

There are no desks and chairs in the classroom, and a huge mirror is installed on the wall opposite the door.

Matthew walked over there, and quickly looked at the group of people. He vaguely saw a few familiar faces, but he couldn't remember where they had seen them. It was estimated that they might be actors in Hollywood movies that they had watched.

If he can make him feel familiar, he must have acted in a super blockbuster. Matthew has a smart mind. Do you want to drill in this training class? Networks are built up bit by bit.

When he came to the group of people, Matthew stopped. Some people glanced at him curiously. When they saw someone they didn't know, they quickly looked away.

Greeting strangers is a matter of knowledge, and it is almost inadvisable to do it casually. Matthew did not open his mouth rashly. At this moment, the classroom door was pushed open from the outside, and a man with a folder walked in.

This is a typical Caucasian man with an unusually striking bald head. He should be in his fifties and above. His popularity is calm and he looks quite well-mannered.

"Cough..." The bald head coughed deliberately, attracting the attention of everyone in the classroom, with a slight smile on his face, "Everyone, good morning."

Everyone, including Matthew, looked over. Judging by his age, he was definitely not a student like them, but a teacher.

Sure enough, the bald head then introduced himself, "My name is David Astor, one of your lecturers."

"I really want to get to know you guys, but I'm not in a hurry now, I've prepared a special session to get acquainted with you guys." David Astor didn't talk too much, and went straight to the topic, "You guys are here to learn acting or make your own acting skills. The level has improved, you only have six months, and I promise not to waste your time on saliva."

He took a few steps forward and stood four meters away from the crowd, "I haven't studied in a professional school such as the University of Southern California Film School or the California Institute of the Arts, I'm not an academic, as far as I know, you guys No, so I'm just like you, just an ordinary actor struggling in the film industry, but I have more than 40 years of actual acting experience than you."

Hearing that the other party is not academy, Matthew felt that he was right. For someone like him, who came from a wild way, it might be difficult to learn academic things, right? On the contrary, if it is taught by someone from the same wild road, maybe the effect will be better.

Matthew's understanding of these is relatively limited, only his own feelings.

David Astor continued, "I am happy to share what I know with you. Most of the skills and experience I have learned come from the practice and summary of actual performances. Many senior actors learn skills that do not come from school. , In addition to basic knowledge, in order to become a successful actor, you need to accumulate and summarize by yourself."

Most of the people are listening carefully. Those who can enter here are undoubtedly those with the dream of being a star.

"If someone tells you that there are objective criteria for evaluating the quality of acting." David Astor seems to have a unique point of view, "don't pay attention to them, they are farting. The evaluation of acting is just about personal taste. Of course, When we evaluate someone's acting, there is a mainstream judgment. That's why everyone thinks Dustin Hoffman is a good actor. But if you don't like him, you're not wrong, at most you are It's a little weird."

David Astor suddenly clapped his palm, "Okay, I'm done talking nonsense, let's start teaching on the spot!"

His eyes swept across everyone's faces, "There are fourteen of you, and now you are paired together. When you appear on the stage, first introduce yourself, and then follow the script I provided and perform a play freely. Let me see your performance level. !"

"You have three minutes!"

As soon as these words fell, Matthew turned around and said very politely to a girl next to him, "Hello, can we partner?"

The girl glanced at Matthew, who had a bright smile on his face, which made it easy for people to like him.

"Okay." The girl nodded lightly.

When acting as a temporary partner, the people present didn't pay much attention to it. Just like Matthew, he basically chose the people around him.

Seeing that the girl didn't refuse, Matthew said politely, "I'm Matthew Horner, a Texan."

The girl also smiled slightly, "Rachel McAdams, Canadian."

This girl's facial lines are a bit hard, but she has a pair of charming dimples when she smiles. She is not so beautiful, but her smile makes people feel very comfortable.

Fourteen people were quickly divided into seven groups, and David Astor distributed two copies of the script to each group of two people, giving them only five minutes to read the script and exchange time, and then a pair of twenty-year-olds. He was the first to invite the leading actors to perform.

"let's start."

Under David Astor's order, the two actors introduced themselves and started a very simple dialogue scene.

"What were you doing last night?" The actor with short hair was the first to speak, standing there motionless, "Why didn't you answer my call?"

The long-haired actor on the opposite side spread his hands and looked embarrassed, "My wife won't let me answer the phone, I can't get out!"

The short-haired actor still didn't move, and the expression on his face didn't change much, "I've been waiting for you in the bar all night!"

"I don't want to either." The person opposite was quite depressed, "My wife told me that if I drink with you again, she will break my leg..."

The simple dialogue performance ended quickly. Matthew looked at the two and asked the girl next to him in a low voice, "Which one do you think performed better?"

"The one with the long hair." Rachel McAdams replied casually.

Matthew nodded lightly, "Well, I think so too."

Although he is not very good at acting, he can still clearly distinguish that actors with long hair perform better than those with short hair, but he can't tell exactly what is better.

"You make me feel very stiff!" David Astor walked up to the two people, "It's also very stiff!"

He first said to the short-haired actor, "Conversation is not just about mouth! It's also about body language." At this point, he made an exaggerated expression, "How about you, you hardly stand still, you don't even make small movements, you are straight Staring at other people's conversations makes you look very rigid!"

Hearing what David Astor said, Matthew suddenly realized, isn't it like this? The short-haired actor stood still from beginning to end, and even his expression didn't seem to change!

David Astor has turned to the long-haired actor, saying, "You have more energy than him, and I see an expression in you, a desire to express yourself, which is a good thing, keep it up. "

Matthew also figured out why long-haired actors made him feel better than short-haired actors.

This kind of thing is only separated by a layer of window paper. If no one breaks it, I don't know how long it will take to understand.

"There are many open dialogue scenes like this in movies or other types of performances. It seems simple, but it's not easy to perform well!"

David Astor instead said to everyone, "When talking in an open-ended manner, you can practice body language such as walking a little, raising your head, frowning, pursing your mouth, raising your hands, and so on. Don't be serious, from the protagonist to the small. A character with one or two lines can use body language to express the atmosphere.”

Matthew kept these words firmly in his mind.

After watching a performance, he understood. David Astor was not from an academy. He paid more attention to actual performance practice. Theories such as , experience school and method school are brought out in a long speech.

This is a crash course in acting. The class hours are very limited. For those who have not studied systematically, especially those with a low level of education like him, those profound theories are far less effective than learning in this way.

If you come up and talk about performance theory, UU reading www.uukanshu.com others don't know, Matthew estimates that he will soon faint.

An actor and an actress who appeared next had no lines in their play. David Astor asked them to act as a pair of brothers and sisters and acted out the scene after learning that their own sister was killed.

As soon as David Astor started shouting, the actress stayed there, calling God with a "bitter face" and crying at the same time...

She cried very sadly, as if her sister had really died.

The male actor is different. First, he has a sullen and unbelievable expression, and then he has a bitter face, and then his face and mouth are slightly twitching. The movement of his head has an indescribable sadness...

David Astor stood up and commented again, "The two performed very well and exceeded my expectations, but I appreciate the latter one more."

Matthew couldn't help scratching his head. According to common sense, actresses are more in line with reality.

"First of all, I would like to remind you that this is a performance, and the performance should serve a play, a series or a movie." David-Astor explained in detail, "When encountering such a scene, if it is not a special request, first Don't cry too early to show your sadness, it won't give the audience a feeling of 'appetite', you have to do something to show the audience's mood."

He looked at the actor and said, "For example, show your sadness first, and then use the language of sadness, or make some expressions of helplessness and unbelief, wanting to cry without tears. Finally, you show your sadness, but it must be based on the plot. Showing different weights of sadness, other people are not dead... but you cry him to death first."

"Okay!" He waved his hand, "Let's come next."

The actor and actress walked back, and another pair of actors stepped forward. After a while, it was Matthew's turn.

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