The Greatest Showman (Big Play Bone)

Chapter 75 Arrogant goal

Lan Li divides the “buried alive” actor Paul Conroy into two performance levels,

The first part is the expression of emotions, fear when fear, panic when panic, despair when despair, this is a typical expressionist acting; further, the same fear emotions are presented in different ways at different stages. , When Paul just found out that he was buried alive, when Paul failed to call for help with his mobile phone, when Paul realized that death was imminent… These delicate and complicated treatments are a severe test of basic skills.

Real performance-based acting skills are very particular about control. From muscles to the corners of the mouth to the eyes, the whole person is a whole, and the emotions conveyed by every detail change will be different. Maybe the audience can’t describe it in words for a while, but the role After the combination with the plot, the emotion of empathy will be accurately expressed, making watching the performance a pleasure.

Alfred Hitchcock (Alfred-) once clearly stated that all of his works require the use of expressionistic acting and refuse to use methodical acting. The reason is simple. For works such as horror, thriller, and comedy, the accuracy of emotion is the first element.

Although this is an area familiar to Renly, it is not a simple matter, because Paul’s emotions in “Buried Alive” are under chaos and fluctuations, and the turbulence in a narrow space will become more and more along with the advancement of time. Intense and more and more depressing, like a gunpowder keg being compressed continuously, it is no easy task to perform.

What’s more, although Lan Li was a human for two generations, most of the time he talked about performance on paper, and the actual combat experience was not enough after all.

The second part is the excavation of the role, which tests the actor’s understanding of the role and the interpretation of the script. This is no longer limited to the role, but also the relationship between the character and the society, the background of the story creation, and the source of the core theme. And so on, this requires actors to get rid of the performance skills themselves, truly understand the role image, the background of the times, and the social meaning, and then give the performance their own understanding.

In the “buried alive”, the Iraq war is a big background, and the financial crisis brought about by the real estate bubble in the United States is a dark background. Paul chose to accept the work of an Iraqi contractor. This decision itself is not only related to him, but also related to society. .

For example, when Paul contacted the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), they asked Paul not to inform the media. The apparent reason was that he was worried that the media’s malicious hype would reduce Paul’s hope of escape, but it was actually because of the turmoil in Iraq. In this situation, American civilians have been killed one after another there. The United States has always condemned the government/government because of the quagmire of Iraq. The terrible situation of the financial crisis has made the people complain. At this moment, what they need most is “again The news that a civilian was killed” is out.

Therefore, the attitude of the FBI, Paul’s anger, anxiety, and helplessness, presents different content. Just as Lanly said, whether Paul is a civilian or a rich man, a man or a woman, whether he is in the United States or Iraq, this will all lead to different results. Paul himself knows this, and his reaction is naturally different. The details and methods of performance are different. And the content will be biased.

If the expression school pays attention to control, then the method school pays attention to letting go, truly throwing away the self, letting yourself be fully involved in the role, blurring the boundary between yourself and the role, the boundary between reality and illusion , Put yourself in the place to feel and show. For the audience, the connection between them and the characters will be closer, shocking them.

This is a completely new field for Lan Li. In his previous life, his ten years of life were spent in hospital beds, but before that, he had a completely step-by-step life, which was boring and boring. It can be said that all of his Experiences come from movie stories, but everyone knows that movies are always an art, more or less exaggerated or deductive, and ultimately different from reality.

So, in terms of experience, Lan Li is really only “twenty years old”. If you try to send acting skills, Lan Li must start from scratch, and every performance starts from scratch.

Now, Lan Li is trying to combine the two performance methods to find a brand new performance method that gives the character a new touch. If anyone knows Lan Li’s thoughts, he is either swearing at him as a lunatic, or contemptuous of his irresponsibility.

Leaving aside Lan Li’s age, “Buried alive” is just his second work and first film. Now even the performanceist acting skills are far from perfect. He actually wants to merge the two performance methods. It’s simply a fantasy. Even old drama players like Meryl Streep and Daniel-Day-Lewis dare not say that they can do it, let alone Lan Li?

But Lan Li has no such worries. Now that he has been reborn once, since he has decided to constantly challenge the limits of performance, and since he has chosen this path, why not go crazy? What’s more, the so-called innovation is to jump out of the box and imagine boldly. If he just follows the predecessors’ methods in a regular manner, he will never be able to walk his own path, right?

In the second life, Lan Li did not come to be conservative.

In Lan Li’s view, the basic skills of Expressionism are undoubtedly an advantage. It is like the foundation of a tall building, solid, stable, and precise. On the whole, expressionism’s control is too strong, too crafty, and lacks aura. Eddie-Redmayne (Eddie-Redmayne) is a typical representative. It is not that his performance is not good enough, but the routine is too obvious and the frame is obvious.

On the other hand, the method is too random, not only is it easy to exert too much force, but the situation of understanding deviation will lead to the collapse of the entire character; from another perspective, the actor can follow his own Interpretation of style and own understanding. The kind of madness that wanders on the edge of madness will give the character a sense of uncertainty. Leonardo DiCaprio (Leonardo-) is the representative. In fact, his performance Frequently exerting too much force, too much is too late, but the movie-watching experience brought to the audience is vivid and lifelike.

It can be simply understood this way. All performances of the expressionist school are rehearsed in advance, and the actors have a good idea, and then at the right time, at the right place, in the right way, dedicated to the correct performance, solid basic skills to make the performance one This kind of enjoyment and constant polishing of skills, that kind of craftsman spirit is enough to move every audience.

All the performances of the method school are unpredictable. After the actors have truly integrated themselves into the role, they put aside all the restraints and put them into the performance, but no one can know the effect before watching the monitor. They are easy to lose control. , And even lost. Once the actor enters the role, it is difficult to control, not necessarily completely accurate, may be too exaggerated, and may be slightly insufficient, but the fusion of reality and illusion can bring soul-shocking viewing experience.

Therefore, it is Lan Li’s goal to integrate the two performance methods, learn from each other’s strengths, and develop a performance method of his own.

Rodriguez is a director, and his research on performance is naturally not so profound, but he also knows that it is not easy to show both levels according to what Lan Li said-even more To be precise, this is an extremely difficult thing. Even those first-line actors who are known for their acting skills dare not to praise such Haikou; however, if successful, not only the depth and thickness of the role will be qualitatively changed. , And the whole work of “Buried Alive” will be reborn.

It is a good thing to have a lofty goal, but the premise is to be down-to-earth; the end of a good lofty goal can only be broken.

Rodriguez looked at the confident and calm Lan Li in front of him, his eyes shook slightly for a moment, and then he stood up abruptly, “Give me a minute.” Before the words fell, he ran wildly and hulled away. In the crowd, just for a short while, in a blink of an eye, Rodriguez appeared in sight again, dashed back excitedly, and sat down again in front of Lan Li, “Here.”

Rodriguez handed Lan Li a small notebook, but before Lan Li could take it, Rodrigue took it back. “Wait.” He lowered his head and began to flip through the notebook, flipping it, and While thinking deeply about After hesitating and pausing for two times, he nodded to express his affirmation, and then showed the book in front of Lan Li, “You read the script, and then we come Give it a try.”

Placed in front of Lan Li’s eyes is a “buried alive” script.

Lan Li took the script and showed a smile, “So, is the audition finally going to the main topic now?” The calm and calm expression made Rodrigue more and more curious.

In the formal audition session, the casting director will test the actors in different ways. It may be just chatting, it may be to let the actors perform a pre-prepared performance, or it may be a conversation on a specific topic… However, the most The most common is a scene where the script is selected on the spot, which tests the actor’s ability to react on the spot, and also tests the actor’s ability to read the script, and of course the actor’s line skills.

Rodriguez does this now.

He watched Lan Li’s movements intently, a little nervous, a little expectant, a little curious, and a little excited. No matter what kind of medicine is sold in Lanli Gourd, for him, a live performance is the best test method to see how many catties Lanli has, whether it is a mule or a horse, and take it out for a stroll.

I saw that Lan Li was not in a hurry and immediately began to read the lines. Instead, he briefly scanned both pages of the script to get a general understanding of the cause and effect; then he determined a part of the scene and read it carefully; the third time it was low. Sheng said all the lines again. The whole process is very fast, but the rhythm is not too slow, the control is very good, and the professional attitude is immediately revealed.

Suddenly, Rodriguem remembered the incident that Lanly mentioned when he just met. Fortunately, he did not watch the “Pacific War”, so he did not have a fixed impression. This is a good thing.

Is it really?