Becoming an Actor

Actors 101

Actors are said to be a dime-a-dozen. Everyone in the world wants to be an actor, and that's why there's so much competition in the field. There are thousands and thousands of headshots flying around and photo shoots and auditions, and to what purpose? Being cast for a script that was written by an amateur. A part in a film that will go no further than a few film festivals.



Actors don't really have a choice, because they need to accept whatever roles are offered to them to get experience. They have to nod and accept any project that comes their way, even if it's the worst thing they've ever read.



Of course, there are those occasions when our dear thespians go to those auditions and completely fall in love with the script. "I went in to audition because I heard about this project and the synopsis was really interesting. As soon as I got the script and I read the few words, I was totally into it. Then when I finished reading just those two pages... I knew I had to do this, I was in shock and in love with the writing," says Martin Lobe, who auditioned for the role of Donald in Machiavelli Hangman (http://www.hangmanmovie.com).



"You go to hundreds of auditions and you hope you'll hit that one gold mine... it's not about the money as long as the writing is so good," offers Martin James.



Having said all this, one would think that it's definitely easier to work behind the camera than in front of it. Filmmakers make up their own destiny, they write or they find a good script and they go out actively looking for actors. Actors, on the other hand, have to simply wait there to be picked.



Casting Directors feel that it's not so negative. If an actor is good, filmmakers will seek him out, it's just a matter of polishing your tools and you will be found eventually. "Think of it as a more passive-aggressive approach to starting a career. You have to smile, and let them make the first step."



While many would argue that Machiavelli Hangman or Pulp Fiction was all about the writing and it made the acting what it is, others claim that the acting made those films what they are. For instance, Lost In Translation would not have become the brilliant film that it is if it wasn't for Bill Murray's improvisational genius. The script is said to have been originally only 15 pages long and Murray had to fill in the gaps. That's a lot of filling!



There is also a certain masochistic element to being an actor. You have to get used to getting rejected and you have to use it to get stronger. The rejection has to become a pleasure that you can turn into energy. "Some actors go in expecting to be rejected. They get a certain high from it," Bob Fern-Jacobs, after auditioning for Lord of the Rings.



Actors, keep at it, get better. Build your experience, and they will come!

About Author

Paula Stigger is a writer of filmic articles and a full-time independent entertainment columnist. This article has resulted from interviews conducted with the actors participating in the upcoming film Machiavelli Hangman. http://www.hangmanmovie.com









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Actress Nicole Kidman

Who's Afraid Of Nicole Kidman

A tall elegant redhead, Nicole Kidman, who has appeared often as a blonde or a brunette is the films she has graced with her incredibly subtle performances. While she tries to choose good scripts, her fans nevertheless will watch anything she's in and walk away satisfied with much disregard to story or other performances.



It did not come as a surprise when she was finally nominated for her work in Moulin Rouge. She was working on Dogville when she received word of the nomination. How this woman can juggle her success with raising two children is beyond belief for some, but Kidman is known for her firm discipline in work as well as in life.



While her last films did not complement her talent, they did enjoy a decent amount of box office success. Interestingly it seems that she chooses what films to do based on the same genres. Recently, she has played mostly quirky characters in a group of comedies (Stepford Wives, Bewitched) while many have confused her more dramatic roles in tragedo-dramas (Birth, Dogville, The Human Stain).



Kidman has worked with the most prolific actors ranging from Stanley Kubrick to Sidney Pollack to Gus Van Sant and Lans Van Trier and she has a lot of more work coming up soon.



These days, whatever project enters the casting process, Kidman's name always seems to be the first to come up. For a while she was rumored to have been involved with the highly secretive JFK script Machiavelli Hangman - http://www.hangmanmovie.com (directed by Shervin Youssefian - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1352346/), to be produced by then hubby Tom Cruise. Her involvement with the hangman is still not completely certain but a possible cameo may surprise audiences at the film's release, in late December.



Kidman is also involved with seven other projects that will be soon in theatres everywhere. These include Wedding Season, American Darlings, Emma's War, The Lady From Shanghai, Invasion, Happy Feet and Fur.



In the Tony Scott directed Emma's War, Kidman plays with co-star Taylor Handley. This movie is said to bring her a second Oscar win for her role as an aid worker in the Sudan who marries a warlord who wants to take over the country.



Kidman's range as an actress has attracted many filmmakers but interestingly enough, she has never worked with either Steven Spielberg or Martin Scorsese who are two of the most important American directors of the time.



With so much work on her plate, one would wonder how she makes the time to devote 100% to each project and always come out brilliant. Not a lot of people could deal with so much pressure and that is the precise reason why there is only one Nicole Kidman on the charts.

About Author

Deborah Weingrod is a movie reviewer. Machiavelli Hangman http://www.hangmanmovie.com









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Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman

Crowe and Kidman to Unite in Aussie Film

After a failed attempt at collaborating on “Eucalyptus,” Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman are looking to team with “Moulin Rouge” director Baz Luhrmann. All three are Australian.



Crowe and Kidman have signed on to star in what is being called an epic Australian Outback film set in the years up to and including World War II. The film, codenamed “Project Oklahoma,” will begin in the 1930s and stretch to the 1942 Japanese bombing of the tropical city of Darwin.



“We’ve talked a bout it for over seven years, that we must do something together in Australia.” Luhrmann said to the Sydney Morning Herald.



Kidman said that she was looking forward to making a “uniquely Australian story” with Crowe, who she calls her “good friend.”



Luhrmann compared the film to “Gone with the Wind” and “Lawrence of Arabia.” “Collateral” screenwriter Stuart Beattie will work with Luhrmann on the script for the film.



Kidman has had a working history with Luhrmann, who directed the three minute, multimillion-dollar Chanel No. 5 commercial in which Kidman starred.



The rumored budget for the film is said to be about $40 million in Australian currency, which is equivalent to about $30 million in U.S. dollars. Filming is set to begin in August, and the film is projected to be released in 2007.

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Ultraviolet DVD Review

Ultraviolet review

The film starts out with rather unique comic covers for the title sequence. There is a reason, this is a comic book movie. I don't mean like X-men or Hulk, a big screen adaption of a comic, I mean a visual abuse of the media to produce comic style entertainment in a theatre.

Yes, the story does contain something about vampires, but beyond the pointed teeth little is talked about. Essentially you have a government created infliction, a bunch of hunted down infected people and an evil facist government that sees germs and disease as the no. 1 enemy.

In walks Violet, yup, she's infected. Yup, she's mightly pissed off. Yup, she's on a rampage, hell it'd be a dull movie if she overcame her issues and took up knitting.

This film is everything that the disappointing Aeon Flux wasn't. While Aeon showed how empty a film like this can be, Ultraviolet shows how attention to detail makes the tired old concept of "ultimate assasin turns on their maker and seeks revenge" can actually create something unique, fresh and exciting.

Directed by the man responsible for Equilibrium, expect some kick ass martial arts/gun fights. If there's one thing that man knows, it is how to make pulling a trigger and kicking a barrel load of ass look like hot steamy sex on the big screen.

There's also all manner of cool gadgets, inventions and technology within the film that just simply aren't talked about or explained. You know, that's a good thing. The idea the audience need some Star Trek style technobabble to explain away every plot device is a moronic one, I've no care for how this shit works, just that it looks cool when it does. Watch the film, you'll see what I mean.

The dialogue is... well... forgettable. A series of groans, grunts and traded insults about who isn't going to leave the room alive and such.

The acting is the same, Oscars won't be won, but essentially all that is needed are a few snarls and some tension, which Mila Jovovich provides, despite fully expecting "Umbrella corp" to be lurking around the corner, due to similarties between this and the Resident Evil movies.

That isn't to say the movie sucks, it doesn't, like I say I left the theatre saddended that this wasn't Aeon Flux, it should have been: Stylish, sexy, futuristic film about a vengeful assasin with some great set pieces, cool tech and gorgeous sets/costumes.

So, if you like Mila, or just like ass kicking or guns, you won't be disappointed in this movie. Plot is entirely optional (and to be honest I've pretty much already forgotten it).

Rating: 4 out of 5

About Author

The author is the founder of Further Down the Rabbit Hole, a vampire community designed to promote the normal, everyday side to real vampirism by delving deeper into Vampire, Gothic and dark culture.



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