So this is going to be a draft for now.
Sept 29 I went to Feirstein to participate in a student project. The student, Ariana Melendez-Franco, was filming a scene from the movie "Magnolia" in class. It was a small assignment -- tho hopefully will result in some reel for me.
I was away on a retreat the weekend before and only learned that the scene was going to be filmed Monday on Sunday night. Monday I also had an extended doctor's appointment, with lots of testing. Miraculously, I managed to learn most of the lines -- and the student wasn't too picky about errors.
I was interested in the project because this movie is on my to do list, since I'm a Tom Cruise fan & his role in this film is widely considered to be his best acting -- yet I haven't seen it. The scene we filmed was not one of his scenes.
This project was a classic illustration of how important it is to read the whole script, even if you're only filming one scene. In the scene we filmed, I played a woman named Rose who was confronting her husband, Jimmy, about his alleged molestation of their daughter. I somehow had the idea that she was already convinced that he was guilty and that her primary emotion was anger.
The student had a different idea -- probably more based on the real story -- that Rose was trying to figure out whether to believe her daughter or not. Jimmy's responses convinced her that her daughter was telling the truth and she was persuaded to leave her husband. She was both angry and sad, not just angry -- probably more sad.
If I had understood this distinction, I would have approached the scene differently. Hopefully, I got a good enough interpretation based on the direction I received.
The professor also came in and gave some direction. He told me I did a good job, tho, I, at this point, am not at all satisfied with what I did and would have done it quite differently had I really understood the scene.
Anyway, it was a good experience. I actually felt like I was in class myself -- learning something from the professor.
This school is a bit tricky to get to, as I had to take 2 subways and then a bus that only ran every 20 minutes, and I just missed the first one. The G subway stopped at a very confusing intersection on Flushing Ave. Fortunately, other people helped me find the correct bus stop -- in particular a guy who was also filming -- altho in his case it was of someone doing tricks on a skateboard -- dangerous, given that the performer was in the street.
The school itself is at the entrance of Steiner Studio -- a very large movie studio that is also their landlord. The big gate to the studio looked very enticing
On the way back, I discovered a ferry from the nearby Brooklyn Navy Yard to 34th street in Manhattan. If you have the option of taking this ferry to either Feirstein or Steiner Studio, I would highly recommend it. It was much more fun -- tho more expensive -- than the subway. Apparently this ferry also goes to Astoria
Here are some videos I took from the Ferry
Hopefully, when I get some video from the student, I will be able to add it here.
