Acting in Film

you! Try to hang on to your contribution without being distracted. I know how difficult this is because the only time I ever "dry" is when I get over-fascinated by bad acting. But you really don't know what the director has in mind, and he's the guv'nor here. He may end up using all the shots of you reacting and just use the other fellow's part as a voice off camera. Or it may never have been his intention to have you both in the shot. Regardless of his original intention, he may change his mind during the editing. So always act and react as if you were getting the ideal response because you never know what's going to be used once the editing begins. The director's going to do what's best for the picture, and if you have been at your best, you may find that you get to be shown in the final cut.

    When a scene is blocked to everyone's satisfaction, marks are made on the floor, or strategic twigs are placed on the ground if you are outdoors, or you will be required to line yourself up with a fixed object because you must end up either in that preordained spot or else be out of focus. Obviously an actor can't look down to see if he has hit his mark, so the way to ensure accuracy is to stand on the mark, then say your line at performance pace while walking backward to an earlier position. When you go forward from that earlier position, saying the same line, you wind up on the mark. If you practice the rhythm of this a few times, you won't go wrong. You won't forget your line, either, because words and movement will be married in your head, like a song and dance.

    HANNAH AND HER SISTERS
    Directed by Woody Allen. Orion, 1985.

THE STAND-IN
    Once the blocking is fixed, the lighting technician goes to work. At this point, you get out of the way and a stand-in who has been watching your moves during rehearsal takes over. Sometimes lighting a scene can take an hour and a half to two hours, and no one expects the actor who's in the scene to stand there that long. My stand-in is usually a big 6'2" blond guy whose face is the same height from the floor as mine to ensure that when I get back on the set my face won't be in the dark. Stand-ins will sometimes get you a cup of coffee; my stand-in is a particular friend of mine. But stand-ins can on occasion send you rushing out to look at yourself in the mirror. I've been in movies now for close to twentyseven years, and when I first started, they'd say, "This is your stand-in," and there'd be this great-looking young guy standing there. Eventually, one morning you come in and they say, "This is your stand-in," and there's this old fellow standing there with a bald head, wearing a wig.
    In America, I've even had a woman stand-in. Now, in the States in particular, you get a lot of women in the cinema. The days of all-male crews are over. When I worked with Alan Alda, who's a great feminist, it was the first time I'd worked with a female first assistant director. I did a double take when I worked on a picture in Los Angeles and there was an electrician who looked just like Julie Christie. It was really strange to see this beautiful girl walking by, carrying a lamp, with great big muscles in her arms. Needless to say, she did a marvelous job.

    The last event before you shoot is a final makeup and hair check. This is the part that the assistant director always tries to rush along because if people are selfindulgent, this can take up a lot of time. But, remember, it is your face up there on that screen, so be firm if you think you need attention. A good makeup artist will always be keeping a sharp eye on you anyway because, after all, it's their reputation up there as well.
RELAX AND BE NERVOUS
    At this point, if you haven't prepared properly, your nerves may threaten to swamp you. But because you've reduced your fear of the unknown by preparing as much as possible, you should be left with a healthy amount of nervous energy-useful energy that can be channeled into performance. One way of releasing that nervous energy productively is to experiment with various relaxation and focusing exercises.
    Here's a little number I do before a long take: take a slow deep breath in, then bend over and let your arms dangle, really relaxed. Straighten up slowly, breathing out gently and evenly. This exercise relaxes you, helps concentration and gives you control. If you are going to be shooting a scene where you need extra tuning up, just inhale and exhale quickly for a short time-it gets the oxygen to