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| Elizabeth Olsen, Jane Fonda and Catherine Keener in Bruce Beresford's PEACE, LOVE & MISUNDERSTANDING |
I thought tonight's blog should be about the film PEACE, LOVE & MISUNDERSTANDING for several reasons. First, I'm in the film and the story about how I got involved is kind of interesting. Second, I'm feeling Peace, Love and Misunderstanding for the whole process of working on FULLY COMMITTED right now and wanted to share that with you as well.
I met Bruce Beresford, the film's director, after going to an open call for extra's for Peace, Love & Misunderstanding. They called me back in and I went to the BCDF film studios in Kerhonksen, NY to meet with the famous director. We had a chat, I read some scenes and he said that he'd love to have me do something in his film. He just wasn't sure what. I thought that was interesting but kind of unclear.
I showed up on the set that day as an extra for a dinner party scene. No one had sent me a script, and I didn't have any sides until that morning. I just had my nice suit and was hoping to sit next to Catherine Keener at the dinner table. Sure enough, they called us onto the set and I was just to Catherine's right. She introduced herself graciously, but was in complete concentration mode, fully in character and it was really amazing to watch her work. Bruce directed her gently, getting shades and nuances out of her character that must come across as really powerful on camera. I learned a lot from him that day as well. When I'm on set, I try to learn as much as I can while I'm there.
They served us our dinner party dinners and I was actually kind of hungry since I hadn't eaten all day, so I started to dig in. The props people asked me to take it easy on the food and I laughed, because I realized I was chowing down and everyone else was talking at the table, so they weren't eating very much. When we got to a certain part of the scene, the other extras were all agreeing with Kyle MacLachlan's character about how mundane and old-fashioned Eugene O'Neill's plays were and how they should never be performed. We all nodded in agreement, "yes, oh yeah, definitely" but it seemed kind of weird to me.
Prior to showing up on the set, I had done some research on my smartphone about O'neill and his plays, just in case some improv might be called for. Sure enough, Catherine stopped the scene and said, "I don't think everyone should agree with him, someone should disagree." So I said, "I have something." Then I choked back my asparagus, because I put myself out there. We ran the scene again and when everyone else was agreeing with Kyle's character I piped in and said, "Come on, the guy has like four Pulitzers" which is true. I may have exaggerated and said eight, I can't remember. I haven't even had a chance to see the movie yet, so I don't even know if I'm still in the scene. I am still listed in the credits on IMDb, so I'm assuming I'm still in the movie. I hope I get a chance to see it soon.
Anyway, Bruce cut and said he liked the line so keep it in. But I kept stepping on Kyle's lines so he told me to wait until after he said the line to throw mine in there. It was a funny and awkward moment and Kyle seemed kind of peeved with me, but I thought it was a good line and so did Catherine. After we were done shooting, she leaned in and said, "that's how you get ahead in this business." It was quite a thrill to work with and talk to someone whose acting work I really admire and I was also bumped up to a day player, which increased my salary significantly. It's the most I've been paid to improv to date!
So now, with day three of rehearsals under my belt for FULLY COMMITTED, I have to let you know I was a little freaked out tonight and was feeling a bit of misunderstanding for myself. I'm still worried about getting all the work done that needs to be done and I was kind of freaking out that I wasn't PERFECT in the part yet (after three rehearsals). My voice is also a little tired because we worked some pretty exhausting sections of the play today, so the worry about the voice holding up also came up for me. But after talking to Heidi, my wife, she helped me realize that I really just need to be focusing on where I am, not where I would like to be, because that is completely useless. She was right, of course, as she usually is, and I went back to work on my lines, still having some trepidation, but with a much more peaceful and loving attitude. As I worked on the lines and the work of the PLAY, I started to realize that, "oh yeah, I really enjoy doing plays and performing and since this frustration and the tiredness is all part of it, I should allow that to be there as well because it is all part of it and wishing that it wasn't there is using energy that I could be putting into getting the work done." Although it is frustrating right now, I have to trust the process and know that "the work will get me there, not the worry."
The film Peace, Love & Misunderstanding opens tonight and I'll be here in Ellenville at the Shadowland Theatre still working on my lines and blocking. I hope audiences will enjoy everyone's performances in the film, even the "party guest" who is stuffing his face and throws out a random line about O'Neill's Pulitzer Prizes. Let me know if you see the movie and if the line is still in there and whether or not you can tell Kyle MacLachlan was kind of annoyed with me.
*Update: Saw the movie, line was cut, my facial expression was awesome! Keep LLC'ing people.
*Update: Saw the movie, line was cut, my facial expression was awesome! Keep LLC'ing people.
WP
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