There’s nothing like discussing character and story with actors and last week that’s pretty much all I did.
For several days in a row I met with a string of actors at a little café in Surry Hills. It was a incredibly worthwhile exercise. The idea was to meet up, and just have a chat without any specific roles in mind. It was a good way to gauge interest but also the hope is that some of these actors come to mind as I’m developing characters. It makes a real difference to have a specific person in mind as you’re developing a character, being able to write to their particular qualities and quirks.
We also discussed different ways of working together to make films. From the conventional approach of handing over a finished script to working together with a rough idea and fleshing it out, developing the characters collaboratively and workshopping the dialogue.
The work of UK directors Mike Leigh and Michael Winterbottom was discussed a lot, since their more unconventional approaches often involve improvisation and development of characters and dialogue with actors in lieu of a conventionally written script. If you’re interested in learning more about their work, you can watch some interviews with Mike Leigh here, here and here, and a 60 minute interview with Michael Winterbottom here.
After several days of meetings with a bunch of talented people I’ve come away extremely hyped to get these twelve films underway. There’s nothing like discussing film ideas with actors, there’s always such a passion for character and storytelling and such an overwhelming enthusiasm to get their teeth into something worthwhile.
It’s a good reminder to me to make sure that, whatever we make together, it has to be something we’re all proud to have our names on.
Special thanks to Antonia and Stephanie at Fountainhead Casting for organising the meetings.