Film Acting

To the wider world, Al Pacino exploded onto the scene like a supernova. He landed his first leading role, in The Panic in Needle Park, in 1971, and by 1975, he had starred in four movies—The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, Serpico, and Dog Day Afternoon—that were not just successes but landmarks in the history of film. Those performances became legendary and changed his life forever. Not since Marlon Brando and James Dean in the late 1950s had an actor landed in the culture with such force.

Believe it or not, America's fascination with celebrity culture was thriving well before the days of TMZ, Perez Hilton, Charlie Sheen's breakdown, and allegations against Woody Allen. And the stars of yesteryear? They weren't always the saints that we make them out to be. Part biography, part cultural history, the stories contained in this book cover the stuff that films are made of: love, sex, drugs, illegitimate children, illicit affairs, and botched cover-ups.

Instead of starting with what is real and trying to wrestle that onto the screen, Patrick Tucker explains how to work with the realities of a shoot and work from there toward the real. His step by step guide to the elements of effective screen acting is an extension and explanation of a lifetime of work in the field, containing over 50 acting exercises and the tried-and-tested screen acting checklist.

Mr. Caine gives you a once-in-a-lifetime chance to rob him blind! The man who's hypnotized the camera lenses for a quarter of a century reveals the most closely guarded secrets on script preparation, working with the director, forming a character, voice, sound, and movement.

Master your facial expressions. Complete your on-camera training. Change your life. Contrary to popular belief, the camera doesn’t magically place emotion or thought on your face - you do. Here’s the thing about facial communication...your face speaks an emotional, cognitive, and emblematic language. Knowing how to speak this language fluently and authentically is a skill and often the difference between booking the on-camera job or not. Mastering how your face speaks to the camera starts here.

Esper worked closely with Meisner for 17 years and has spent decades developing his famous program for actor's training. The result is a rigorous system of exercises that builds a solid foundation of acting skills from the ground up, and that is flexible enough to be applied to any challenge an actor faces, from soap operas to Shakespeare.

Directing movies promises vast rewards--but not for free. Traps and pitfalls await even the most talented, most skilled and hard-working director. "Darkest Secrets of Film Directing" by Tom Marcoux offers priceless knowledge. Knowledge of those traps lying ahead. More, he describes effective countermeasures with which to handle each one. Problems on set come in many forms. Directors need to spot them in advance and fix them as each arises. When the crew turns on you, a name actor goes through a breakdown mid-shoot, or the producer starts squeezing your budget--knowing all these and the rest...

Life of a Background Actor… SUCKS!!! By The Honest Background Actor Did I get your attention? Good... What you are about to read may be shocking because the film industry makes tons of money on each project. You will not believe it when you read some of the stuff that goes on.

This is the THIRD EDITION of a popular acting book that was originally published in 2009. So much has changed in the acting profession since then, even since the SECOND EDITION that was published in 2012. In this book you will find the most up-to-date information on How To Book Acting Jobs. A significant book on the casting process for network, cable, streaming, new media and film, told with compassion, wisdom, and brutal honesty by someone who has spent 25 years (and counting) in the audition, working on Emmy-winning TV shows. Cathy shares the secrets of 'the audition,' the pressure cooker...

*AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER* Actor-dancer Alyson Stoner narrates their revelatory and incisive memoir—from family violence and betrayal, to eating disorders and religious trauma—may begin in Hollywood, but its chilling relatability will resonate with anyone navigating...

On stage and screen, we know a great performance when we see it. But how do actors draw from their bodies and minds to turn their selves into art? What is the craft of being an authentic fake? More than a century ago, amid tsarist Russia’s crushing repression, one of the most talented actors ever, Konstantin Stanislavski, asked these very questions, reached deep into himself and emerged with an answer.

This unofficial guide follows the career that has accorded him status as a comic genius and garnered a fanatical following from his early exploits as a stand-up comic to his role as producer and co-creator of Seinfeld and HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm. It explores the backstory of the conception and development of Curb Your Enthusiasm, a mostly improvised sitcom in which the actor stars as a fictionalized version of himself.

An irreverent and sometimes humorous study of acting in films. What to do before you get to Hollywood. Chapters on action, listening, comedy, voice, face, movement, and auditioning. Includes exercises and scenes for practice.

Philip Seymour Hoffman was one of the most brilliant, mercurial actors of his generation—a performer capable of unspeakable tenderness and unflinching ugliness, often within the same scene. From his breakout roles in Boogie Nights and The Talented Mr. Ripley to his Oscar-winning performance in Capote and his devastating work in The Master and Synecdoche, New York, Hoffman carved a path through modern cinema unlike anyone else. Nothing Left to Perform traces the shape of that path—its peaks, spirals, vanishing points—and lingers inside the contradictions that defined him. This is not a...

Her name is synonymous with elegance, style, and grace. Over the course of her extraordinary life and career, Audrey Hepburn captured hearts around the world and created a public image that stands as one of the most recognizable and beloved in recent memory. But despite her international fame and her tireless efforts on behalf of UNICEF, Audrey was also known for her intense privacy.

The casting director for Chicago, Pippin, Becket, Gypsy, The Graduate, The Sound of Music, and Jesus Christ Superstar tells you how you can find your dream role! Absolutely everything an actor needs to know to get the part is here: What to do that moment before; how to use humour; how to create mystery; how to develop a distinct style; and how to evaluate the place, the relationships, and the competition. In fact, Audition is a necessary guide to dealing with all the "auditions" we face in life. This is the bible on the subject.

Jesse Vint is a veteran of over 100 films and television shows. He has also produced, directed, and written full-length feature films that have played throughout the world. Jesse shows actors how to internalize. Once they listen to this audiobook, they will have a clarity about acting and what it is that they have never had before, regardless of how long they've studied.

Few actors have had a career as dynamic as that Kathleen Turner's; success has followed her from the television screen to major blockbusters, from indie films to the theater stage. Over her 40-year career, Turner has developed an instinctual knowledge of what it takes to be a successful actor, and, in her conversations with esteemed film professor Dustin Morrow, she shares these lessons with the world.

Hollywood was built on beautiful and complicated matinee idols: James Dean and Marlon Brando are classic examples, but in the 1990s, the actor who embodied that archetype was River Phoenix. As the brightly colored 1980s wound down, a new crew of leading men began to appear on movie screens. Hailed for their acting prowess and admired for choosing meaty roles, actors such as Johnny Depp, Nicolas Cage, Keanu Reeves, and Brad Pitt were soon rocketing toward stardom while an unknown Leonardo DiCaprio prepared to make his acting debut. River Phoenix, however, stood in front of the pack.

A great guide to beginning a career as a professional actor including chapters on acting classes, acting terminology, how to perform scenes and monologues, cold readings and auditioning.