Source: www.speakup.com.br
Language level: Proficiency
Standard: American
Speaker: Chuck Rolando
A world of movie-lovers watched Hollywood on February 27th when the Academy Awards, or “Oscars,” took place. For the lucky winners, it may just be the highlight of their movie careers, but no matter how successful they are now, they had to start at the bottom. They all had “day-time jobs” in bars or restaurants, and they went to auditions in their spare time. And they undoubtedly signed up with a talent agency, which probably still represents them today. The Affinity Artists Agency is a typical example, it is headed by Ross Grossman, who was himself a child actor, and later a comedian, writer and therapist, before becoming an agent. As he explains, even when you become a star, there’s no guarantee that it will last.
Ross Grossman
(Standard American Accent)
Recently Adam Sandler and a bunch of other celebrities, Chris Rock, they were all sitting around, I think it was 60 Minutes, and they were being asked: “Do you feel like you’ve made it, do you feel like you’re good, you’re set?” and all of them said: “No, no way!” Because they said: “We picked up a People Magazine from five years ago and we looked at all the people who were on top and almost none of them were still on top. “ So,it is a very fickle business. I think that the public generally likes new. New is interesting to them. And, at a certain point, I think either the casting directors or the public gets tired, or wants something new. Now, there are certain people, Jackson Nicholson, you know, there are certain actors, Tom Cruise, that are able to ride the wave and stay on it, but eventually most of them seem to fade.
CHARISMA
We then asked him the classic Hollywood question: What makes a star?
Ross Grossman
Charisma is a big peace. There is an ethereal fairy dust that is on certain people. . how they got that way is a very complex…we’d have to have clones and put people in laboratories to figure out how ths person showed up with this much charisma, but there are some people who have so much charisma, or something about their character that is so unique, that you just know: they’re riveting. It’s like when you watch a lion or a tiger, you’re riveted because there’s something so spontaneous and so strong and so confident. And that doesn’t mean that each performance is playing a confident person; they could be playing a nervous wreck, but there’s a confidence about them, and a oneness of purpose and just something very magnetic. But some people try to create a false magnetism by being super-big and important and loud and intense, and it’s or like that. It doesn’t come from outside, I don’t think, but some people try to wow you with what they believe charisma is. But I think, really, what it is knowing yourself and making strong bold choices with your acting skills and with your personality. Personality does go a long way. People in Hollywood want to work with nice people. So, if you’re talented, but you’re really not a pleasant person, there will be plenty of other people who could take your place.
THAT LOOK
And what about physical appearance? Are looks everything?
Ross Grossman
You have to remember that movies and television are a visual medium: we can’t forget that. And, because of that, many films and television shows use visual shorthand. As soon as you see Paul Giamatti, or just any number of actors, as soon as you see them, there’s a whole bunch of script that doesn’t have to happen because you just get, “Oh, this is this type of person. And that’s like a visual shorthand for people. Just as when you see Charlie Chaplin as the little tramp, that speaks volumes. You know, you don’t have to hear his entire story. It’s a visual shorthand, so, yes, the look does count, but that look cold be geeky, that look could be odd, that could be unusual, or plus size, or frightening. It doesn’t have to always be gorgeous. It just has to be unique and striking.
ENERGY
But, says Ross Grossman, talent, charisma and the right looks are not enough. Aspiring actors also need a sense of initiative. Having an agent isn’t enough, they should build their portfolios, and increase their selection of footage, or “reel.” And Ross Grossman introduced us to a Hollywood neologism; the “webisode.” This is a combination of “web” and “episode.”
Ross Grossman
And then, once they have an agent, is running out there and doing stuff, getting in plays, getting into more independent films, getting better reel, meeting people, socializing. If they can’t find scripts to get in, finding people, , acting troupes, people who want to put together webisodes. That’s the new trend, is get a bunch of people together, get some writers together, start doing some webisodes, don’t wait for someone else to make you known.
There’s an expression that o love, and I…it was from a man named (Wes) “Scoop” Nisker, he was newsman in San Francisco, and he would always sign off the news with this phrase and that is: “If you don’t like the news, go out and make some of you own!”
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