Do you care?

Recently we've been on a Polish Brothers kick. We attended a Sundance workshop awhile back and picked up a copy of the Polish Brother's book, "The Declaration of Independent Filmmaking".

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the brothers, they are identical twins who came on the scene in 1999 with their Sundance Award winning film, "Twin Falls Idaho". They followed up their success with "Jackpot", "Northfork" and "The Astronaut Farmer". Other recent contributions to the world of independent film are; "The Smell of Success", "Stay Cool" "For Lovers Only" and "Oz". We're still working on finding "The Smell of Success" and "Stay Cool". "For Lovers Only" is in post-production and the status of "Oz' is unknown.

Anyway, the book is a great read and an intriguing look behind the camera from the beginning to the end of the independent film making process. The brothers use their first three films to illustrate in both an entertaining and educational way the dos and don'ts of independent film making. The book so piqued my curiosity that we've now seen their first four films. (Note: Wikipedia lists "Hellraiser Bloodline" as their first film, while Imdb lists "Twin Falls Idaho" first. We have not seen "Hellraiser Bloodline".)

We didn't watch them in the order they were made, and in hindsight, that's probably a good thing. The brothers write as well as direct and act in their films. In three of the four films of theirs we've watched, the writing was magnificent, the brothers are master storytellers. In "Northfork" the cinematography was breathtaking. We even watched "Northfork" a second time the following night with the commentary on. It was that good.

So what happened to "Jackpot"?

It wasn't until about halfway through the film that I realized I didn't care about the main character. Sunny Holiday is immoral, deluded and self-indulgent and I don't care whether he lives or dies by the time the film ends.

Last summer when I took Taunya Gren's class, "A Classical Approach to Acting" one of the keys to successful character development she taught was that the audience has to care about your character. Your character doesn't have to be nice or good or moral, but a successful performance requires that the audience care about him. Dick Whitman a.k.a. Don Draper in "Mad Men" isn't a nice guy, but I care about the guy and I find myself wanting good things to happen to him. (We have the first four seasons on DVD.) Daniel Craig's character in "Layer Cake" doesn't have a name and he's a coke dealer, but we care about what happens to him. Guy Ritchie is a master of this; watch "Revolver", "Snatch" or "RocknRolla". His characters are not nice people, but you care about them and what happens to them.

The ultimate illustration of this concept is found in the "Dexter" books by Jeff Lindsay. Dexter Morgan is a SERIAL KILLER for pity sake. But I challenge you to read more than five pages and not care about what happens to the guy. I've read the first three of the four books in the series, and once I started, I couldn't put them down.

I have two favorite characters I've portrayed, Dr. John Allen in "Raising Kayn" and Dale Harding in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". Last month I was recognized in the grocery store as Dr. Allen and that was a really great experience. But, the praise of several actors for my portrayal of Dale Harding was overwhelming. I was so grateful they acknowledged my skills.

So, who are the characters you've most enjoyed developing and portraying?

Wait, don't tell me, send me some clips and I'll see if I can tell you next time we're on location, on set or in the studio…

Birthday Wishes

Tomorrow is my birthday and I've been thinking about some birthday wishes for the local film making community.

At last Tuesday's screening of "The Wayshower" there were several things that stood out in my mind: One, although to my knowledge, they weren't a part of the cast or crew, Sue Rowe, Kami Coleman and Brenda Upright all attended the screening. These three women along with a handful of other local actors can always be counted on to show up and support everyone's projects. And I want to publicly thank them for their support. Two, the Film Commission chose to hold the screening at the Tower Theatre. I've been to a lot of screenings since I got back into this business three years ago and I can't think of a more appropriate venue than the Tower. As local film makers I believe we should use the Tower or The Broadway whenever possible. Admittedly parking for the Tower stinks and the restrooms are, well, they're unique but the more we use the Tower and The Broadway, the stronger our community becomes.

So, my first two birthday wishes are, support each other by attending as many screenings and promotions as possible and using the Tower and The Broadway as much as possible for our screenings. (Just remember, when the Utah Theatre is renovated in the near future we're going to have another truly great venue that will be the envy of even our LA friends.)

Last Summer I approached the Salt Lake Film Society about an idea I have to help local film makers make some money from their work. I would love to see a display case in the lobby of The Broadway selling DVDs of the best work our local filmmakers have to offer. It could be run similar to a system I have with a local consignment bookseller. An equitable split could be worked out to pay the film society for their increased bookkeeping as well as the space needed for another display case. Requiring a donation of one copy to the Tower's rental inventory would further increase the number of potential viewers. More people seeing our work builds a stronger film making community. And, who knows, maybe you'll find an investor for your next project.

Last Summer Gretchen and I attended a screening of Billy Wilder's classic, "Some Like it Hot". When the show was over we ran into Oriana Reyes and her husband. Besides the obvious fun of seeing classics on the big screen, there is so much we can all learn from these films. We also love "Open Mic Night" at the Tower and again, we almost always run into at least one friend at an "Open Mic Night" event. Even if we're not a part of an "Open Mic Night" film, attending this event at the Tower builds a stronger film making community.

But, we can't influence the Film Society if we're not members, so my next birthday wish is that all of my actor and crew friends would become members of The Salt Lake Film Society and attend "Open Mic Night" and the special screenings of classic films.

A few other birthday wishes; I wish that the Film Commission would use the Tower and/or The Broadway for their "Made in Utah" series.

I wish that all my actor and crew friends would join the MPAU.

We all have so much to offer and I truly believe that the things I've suggested will build a stronger film making community. Why wait until the next time we meet on set, I'm looking forward to seeing all of you at the next special screening or at the next "Open Mic Night" at The Tower…