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- “Every day life feels mightier, and what we have the power to be, more stupendous.” — Emily Dickinson
- “Film is, to me, just unimportant. But people are very important.” — John Cassavetes
- “There needs to be one more bag.” — Buck Henry
- “I take it to be my portion in this life, joined with a strong propensity of nature, to leave something so written to aftertimes, as they should not willingly let it die.” — John Milton
- “As long as the house of The Holy Spirit remains a haven for criminals the reputation of the church will remain in ruins.” — Sinéad O’Connor
- “As an artist, I wonder, What can I do to make the audience think differently about what good is, what bad is, who a man is, and who a woman is.” — Matthias Schoenaerts
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Tag Archives: Actors Studio
Meeting Elia Kazan
For Elia Kazan’s birthday I met Elia Kazan once. He showed up at a production of Clifford Odets’ Awake and Sing, which was being put on at the Actors Studio. I was involved in the production as a general Girl … Continue reading
Posted in Directors, On This Day, Personal
Tagged Actors Studio, Awake and Sing, Clifford Odets, Elia Kazan
11 Comments
An Acting Lesson: John Wayne and the “Reality of the Doing”
An old piece, re-posted for John Wayne’s birthday: In one lengthy scene in Hondo, filmed in one almost unbroken take, Wayne makes horseshoes in the little outdoor smith in the yard. Geraldine Page hovers nearby. He talks to her about … Continue reading
“Boredom is very important in life. It helps you feel when something is wrong.” — John Strasberg
It’s John Strasberg’s birthday today. I told this story before on here years ago, when I used to write like this on here, on occasion. Figured I’d re-post it. He is very very important to me. Back in the late … Continue reading
“I should have been dead ten times over. I’ve thought about that a lot. I believe in miracles. It’s an absolute miracle that I’m still around.” — Dennis Hopper
It’s his birthday today. I’m so glad I used one of my columns at Film Comment -now on hiatus – to sing the praises of Dennis Hopper’s wild and nihilistic Out of the Blue, starring Linda Manz and Hopper. Of … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Art/Photography, Directors, Movies, On This Day
Tagged Actors Studio, Croatia, Dennis Hopper, Out of the Blue, photography
2 Comments
“Good acting is thinking in front of the camera. I just do that and apply a sense of humor to it. You have to trust the audience to get it.” — Charles Grodin
It’s Charles Grodin’s birthday today. Here is a re-post of the piece I wrote when Charles Grodin died last year (a day after his birthday!) Heartbreak Kid. Ishtar. Heaven Can Wait. Midnight Run. Muppet Caper. Rosemary’s Baby. Seems Like Old … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Books, On This Day, writers
Tagged Actors Studio, Charles Grodin, Memoirs
8 Comments
My new column at Liberties magazine: First up: acting and film criticism and how the twain meet
I have some exciting (to me) news. I’ll be writing a regular column for Liberties – the website for the quarterly magazine – host to a daunting lineup of writers! I launched my column with a piece about being a … Continue reading
Posted in Movies, Personal, Theatre
Tagged Actors Studio, Hamlet, James Dean, Liberties, Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, Martha Graham
9 Comments
The First Glimpse of The Guy Who Started It All
For James Dean’s birthday Age 13. Babysitting. Up later than I normally would be. East of Eden was on late-night television. I had never seen it. I don’t even know that I was aware of who James Dean was. And … Continue reading
Posted in Actors, Movies, Personal
Tagged Actors Studio, East of Eden, Elia Kazan, James Dean, Lee Strasberg
8 Comments
“I can only work against bourgeois society. I can never work with it or through it.” — Erwin Piscator
It’s Erwin Piscator’s birthday. Even if you didn’t set OUT to learn about him, if you have done any reading about actors/theatre in the 20th century – either in Germany or in America – you will run into his name … Continue reading
Adult Film Podcast: Let’s talk about acting!!
I was a guest on Ryan Czerwonko and David Garelik’s fabulous new podcast, part of their ongoing Adult Film NYC project (I interviewed Ryan about the work Adult Film is doing for my Substack) and had so much fun talking … Continue reading
Marilyn Monroe and Method Acting
Nobody writes about Marilyn Monroe like my friend Kim Morgan. Nobody. That’s why I am so excited she wrote about Marilyn for Criterion – and not only Marilyn, but Marilyn’s connection to Method acting, and how important that technique was … Continue reading