Just for the record
, I'm going to see "The King's Speech". I was captivated by the trailer. I think many of us write because we can't get the words to come out right the first time.
Or the second.
Or the third.
The movie set in the late '30's and centers on King George VI, the younger son who never thought he'd be king. Hitler is conquering Europe, and the UK needs to hear from their king. George can't speak without stammering, yet he is expected to speak to his country in a radio address. (It can't have helped that Hitler was an amazing orator.)
Anyway, I read this article about the movie today, and in the article was a link to an interview with Colin Firth. He says that as an actor, his job is to understand his character's dilemma, but not concentrate on expressing it. Rather, he should focus on the character's determination to get out.
It took me a second to make sense of it.
He said that if an actor concentrates too much on portraying the problem (in this case, stammering) then the audience sees an actor trying act. But Colin's goal is to pour his energy into portraying his character's struggle against the dilemma. The effort should be portraying the fight, not the enemy.
He said it enables the audience to connect with the character. Few people want to follow a character whose energy is spent getting into their personal hell. But many are willing to walk with a character fighting their way out of one.
I've been banging my head against the wall with revisions. I have so much to do, and precious little time. Even less creativity. But this made sense to me as a writer. I'm working to figure out the tension that pulls my MC through the story. This reminds me that once I clarify that dilemma, I need to go back to my MC's fight against it.
And I need to get back to my own little fight. I'm so ready to get my plot straightened out!
1 Comments on Getting in and then getting out, last added: 11/10/2010
Display Comments
Add a Comment
Great post. Good luck.