Creating Great Characters

One of the most important elements of screenwriting (that's oft overlooked) is the creation of truly compelling characters.  An audience needs someone that they can root for.  An audience needs someone that can grab their attention the moment they walk on the screen.

So what makes a great character?  I believe the definition is surprisingly simple when you boil it down.  A great character is someone who behaves with great character.  Sounds obvious, right?  I remember my grandpa telling me about the old spaghetti westerns:  he said, "people like Clint Eastwood because they get to see justice done."  And it's true.  Look at the characters he plays - they all have a strong sense of justice, morality, and idealism.  They're not ruled by fear and fight with valor to achieve their goals.  Who wouldn't root for such a man?

I think it's also important to give the protagonist a few flaws.  They can't be too perfect or they won't seem real, and a fatal flaw gives a character potential for growth and change.  Take "Simba" in The Lion King.  His biggest flaw is his inability to come to terms with his guilt (ie that he's responsible for his father's death).  It's so strong that he runs away from home and refuses to take his rightful place on the throne.  This provides the story with a beautiful arc when he finally returns and faces down his fears.

Now... it's not too difficult to write a good protagonist, but what about a villain?  Poorly written villains are just cruel for no reason and will annoy you throughout the film.  It's much harder to create a villain with depth and complexity.  For a shining example, look no further than "Darth Vader" of Star Wars - one of the most charismatic villains in cinema history.  Yes, he's evil and wicked, and he's committed countless atrocities against the universe.  But he has many strong qualities as well.  He's disciplined, he's focused, he doesn't tolerate failure - he's also gained mastery of a powerful art.  He has a kind side.  He wants his son back.  He wants to restore order to the galaxy, and most importantly, he's not beyond redemption.  All these things add up to that incredibly moving scene in Return of the Jedi where he tosses the Emperor overboard in an attempt to save his son.

Staying focused

It's been a while since I've updated this blog.  Nearly a year has passed, and I've grown not only as an artist, but as a human as well.  I don't feel you can separate the two - ie. who you are as a person versus your artistic talents.  The two are intertwined, and an adjustment in one will have a profound impact on the other.

Probably the biggest lesson I've learned over the years is staying focused.  I think it's one of the greatest struggles an artist will face.  

For most, talent generally isn't an issue.  If you're crazy enough to pursue an acting career, it's probably because somewhere along the way you felt or experienced a quality of work that gave you the idea that you could play in the big leagues.

So what separates talent from success?  To quote one of my favorite authors, Charles Dickens (from the semi-autobiographical "David Copperfield"):

I have been very fortunate in worldly matters; many men have worked much harder, and not succeeded half so well; but I never could have done what I have done, without the habits of punctuality, order, and diligence, without the determination to concentrate myself on one object at a time, no matter how quickly its successor should come upon its heels, which I then formed.

Order.  Concentration.  Focus.  These are the things that separate the wheat from the chaff.  Unfortunately, we live in a society with tremendous distractions. Facebook.  The Internet.  Shopping.  Alcohol.  Video Games.  TV.  None of these things are inherently evil, but they will not make you a better artist. They will not propel you towards success in your goals.

Focus is knowing what you want.  Focus is knowing what's important in your life, and having the strength and wisdom to realize when something's a distraction.

Suicide Math (formerly known as "Life Could be a Dream")

I'd just like to give a shout out to the cast and crew of Suicide Math (one of the plays I'm producing).  We sold out our opening night, got a glowing review from nytheatre.com, and more importantly we had a terrific show.  I was also just notified that we'll be listed under "Best of the Fringe Festival" at nytheatre.com come Monday.

If anyone's curious here's a few quotes from the review:

"A tight, bright script that does not let up, even for a moment."

"What makes Suicide Math such an engaging work is that the characters are organically gifted with the ability to describe their cages, even as they are fundamentally unable to escape them.

"[David] Gelles digs into his mountains of words with a carnivorous vigor that alone is worth the price of admission"

"[Jonathan Randell] Silver rises to the challenge"

We have a show today at 2:15PM, and we have a handful of shows before we close next Sunday.  If you're in the area, come check us out.  Tickets are $15 online and $18 at the door.  We play at the Robert Moss Theater (440 Lafayette St) and you can find more information at www.suicidemath.com

Great Piece of Advice

Just want to highlight a terrific piece of advice for any actor:

http://www.backstage.com/advice-for-actors/secret-agent-man/advance-your-career-yourself/

If you read this blog you probably know that I produced my own play last year.  The aftermath of that:  I'm involved in three productions right now.  A short film, a play in the NY International Fringe Festival, and a feature film.  One of them is paying me a salary.  One of them has the potential to put me on the map as an actor and a writer.  ALL of them are giving me invaluable experience and improving my network of connections.  I wouldn't be doing ANY of them had I not produced my play last year.  Every single one of these opportunities sprung out of the work I did for my play.

Create your own work.  It's the way the industry is moving these days.

Keep It Professional...

I've recently signed on to produce the play "Suicide Math" at the New York International Fringe Festival.  We're currently in the process of casting, and I'm reminded again of how often actors get in their own way.

So I'm combing through the submissions, and I finally see a headshot I like.  Solid resume.  Solid training.  Great.  I'll bring him in.  Then I look at his other headshots and I see something that resembles a family vacation photo.  I shake my head and move on.

We get hundreds of submissions.  We bring in maybe 40 people.  Every detail counts.  We want to work with perfectionists.  We have to be picky.  If you can't manage to present yourself in a professional manner then what does that say about the commitment to your craft?

Why Actors Get Paid

It's been a while since my last posting.  I'm happy to say that things have been busy for me.  I was cast in a new play (which had a staged reading a few weeks ago), a short film, and this weekend I'll be acting in a trailer for another short film.  I'm also revising my latest script ("Nice Guys Finish Last") which I'm happy to say is nearing the end of its development process.  Last week I attended Vanity Fair's 2013 Tribeca Film Festival party and got to rub elbows with acting legends like Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken.

The point of all this work is to make an income, and so I thought a good topic for today's blog should be Why Actors Get Paid.

The business of acting has huge supply and demand problems, and from an actor's point of view the numbers are not in your favor.  For every role that goes out, there are literally thousands of talented actors that are willing to do it for free to advance their career.  So with all this free talent floating around, why would a producer pay anything at all?  Two reasons:

1)  Your Marketing Value.  Producers need to sell tickets.  They need to fill seats.  You can produce the best film in the world, but if it's marketed poorly, you won't make a dime.  One of the best marketing tools a producer can employ is casting a well known actor.  Actor's like Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise have huge fan-bases.  When they star in a new movie, millions of fans will flock to the theaters and buy a ticket.  That's why these guys can command their $20 million+ salaries.

But this works on a smaller scale too.  Producers also need their films reviewed by critics and seen by industry executives.  Contrary to what you might think, the press does not review everything that's submitted to them.  It's actually just the opposite.  They're very selective.  But casting a up and coming young actor can get their attention.  So suppose you don't yet have a fan-base, but you've won a few minor awards and your work's been generating a lot of buzz in the industry.  Critics and studio heads are mildly curious about your work.  That's an extremely valuable commodity for an actor to have, and producers will pay well for it.

So how does one develop market value?  Or a fan-base?  Well... ultimately it boils down to talent.  Which is why it's so important for an actor to master their craft.  It's not enough to be "above average."  You have to excel.  You have to be among the very best.  Movie stars have fan-bases because at some point in their careers they did some incredible work.  Their "break out" role.  And people enjoyed it so much they're willing to pay money to see them again.

But what if you're just starting out, and you're name doesn't have any marketing value?  Shouldn't you get paid too?  Of course you should, and that brings us to the second reason why actor's get paid:

2)  Unions.  Every actor should get down and thank God that unions exists.  Because without them most of us wouldn't get paid a dime.  It's a cut-throat business and producers have to be very tight with how they spend money.  If they could get away with hiring actors for free, they'd probably do it.  If you don't believe me, just look at all the non-union work that pays nothing.  Unions require producers to pay us a fair rate, and since all the big name actors are union, any production that wants to hire them needs to be union as well.

This is why it's so important for actors to join the union.  It's nearly impossible to make a living if you don't.

The Golden Rule

I'm working on several projects right now - one of which is a staged reading for a new play called The Darling Siblings by Ty DeMartino.  I'm one of the producers, and one of my responsibilities is to find and book a venue and a rehearsal space.  I've checked out a dozen or so small theaters, and something happened the other day that reminded me just how important it is to treat people with love and respect.

I was touring a space that we were considering for a venue, and the woman at the front desk was incredibly rude to me.  I won't go into details, but suffice to say, I'm generally a really nice guy, and it takes a lot to upset me.  So I politely excused myself and left.  Not worth my time.  Here's the aftermath:  

• They lost out on the rentals for the event which totaled around $1,500.  
• I've used this studio in the past for auditions, rehearsal rentals, etc.  Won't be doing that anymore.  Over the the next five years that could total several thousand dollars.
• People ask me all the time about where to rent space for theatrical projects.  Guess who I'm not recommending?

In the grand scheme of things it's not that big of a deal.  It was a small slip of the tongue.  But that small slip cost that company several thousand dollars over the next few years.  In today's economy that could be the difference between being in profit or operating in the red.

Apply this lesson to anyone working in a creative field:  it's hard enough to make it as it is.  It's even harder when you act rude to people.  Doesn't matter if you had a bad day or if there is some small misunderstanding.  People don't forget it when you're rude.  And you never know who it is that you're speaking to (or who they might become).  Nobody makes it alone.  That relationship you just burned?  It might have been the one person who would've propelled you to success.

People will forgive you for doing a bad job (always strive to do a good job, but we all know nobody's perfect).  People will not forgive you if you're rude to them.