Cinesite Visual Effects Supervisor Simon Stanley-Clamp on Sam Rockwell’s performance in “Moon” (spoilers!)

“Sam was brilliant. He was like a human motion-control rig himself. At the time you kind of take it for granted. But he really got it. He really understood about performing with himself. So we’d do a run, we’d make a select, then give him an audio feed. This wasn’t on everything - sometimes the sound department would give him a playback and either overnight or during his costume change, he had a little video iPod and he could watch his previous performance. He was spot on. He always got his eyelines right. There were some really subtle things, like stepping out of the way knowing when he’s about to walk into himself. For the table tennis game he preempted jumping out of the way of the table that his other self knocks and pushes towards him. It was really helped by a brilliant performance.” (via)

windycitygirl:

Supposedly the email below was written by an agent at CAA to his clients in order to explain the current state of the entertainment industry. I don’t know if that’s true or not, and I’ve boiled it down quite a bit, but I think it’s an interesting read so take it for what you will with that being said.

Hollywood is being challenged on multiple fronts – labor uncertainty, paradigm shifting and the ‘great recession’. I know a lot of you are getting antsy to get out more, and frankly many of you are in a tight financial pinch; as such, I wanted to describe to you all the current climate in LA and the factors influencing the current environment.

SAG STALEMATE: Since the SAG contract expired on June 30, 2008, there have been few to no STUDIO feature films (this does not include companies such as Lionsgate and the Weinstein Company who are not in AMPTP and as such have completion agreements). Some analysts say there are up to 200 feature films on hold. Around September, we started to see a mass movement of film actors to TV projects. Many of my “name” actors have done one-day guest stars, and we are seeing a number of Guest Star level actors doing CO-STAR roles. Remember from November of 2007 to March of 2008, due to the Writer’s Strike, again there were no feature films shot. So for the film actor, there has only been 4 months of work in the last 17 months. THE BOTTOM LINE: Due to the lack of studio feature film production, BOTH film and TV actors are now competing for a limited number of jobs in the episodic and pilot environments.

PILOT SEASON: During the Writer’s Strike of 2007-2008, Studios adapted and used the void to eliminate pilot season as we know it. Gone are the days of hundreds of pilots. In fact, this year, there are only 67 pilots to have been registered for production – of which only about 35 have been green lit for production.

ECONOMIC IMPACT – THE CONCLUSION OF SAG STALEMATE: Many are hoping that with the end of this stalemate, Hollywood will get back to normal. I have to say, that I am not one who necessarily believes this. First off, due to the economic conditions, most studios have lost their millions of dollars from hedge funds; and European, Asian and Middle Eastern money has dried up. Even Stephen Spielberg has had to beg, borrow and steal to get his company financed…And it wasn’t anywhere near what he originally asked for. I believe that, even after the SAG stalemate is over, there is probably not enough money for 50 Studio Feature Films to be done right out of the gate. BOTTOM LINE: While this will help us move towards normalcy, it will not be the cash cow some people think it will be.

THE GOOD NEWS!! I anticipate that 2009 will be a tough year overall for actors (and agencies). First off, the economy will not likely get straightened out until at least the 3rd to 4th quarter of this year and so all the factors above will remain in place through most, if not all, of 2009. Secondly, until the labor situation gets straightened out, we will not be seeing dramatic amount of film production, and this seems to be dragging along as well. But again, even if it was finalized, there is not enough investor money to see the film production level normalize and increase for most, if not all, of 2009. Also, since movies cost around $40 for two (tickets, popcorn, etc) – this is not a recession proof field anymore. During our last significant recession, there were few choices for guilty pleasures to get away from the stress of our times – so many people flocked to the theatres. NOT SO THESE DAYS, one can go to the web, TV, cable (not around in 1974, 1982, 1988 much), Video Games, Netflix, RedBox. So studios are probably not in any big rush to make films – as people cannot afford this once cheap diversion – better to divert for a few bucks to all the many other sources of guilty pleasures. OKAY, so that didn’t sound like good news…The good news is that there are some paradigm shifts occurring that make 2010 -2012 look like it might be one of the most prolific times in Hollywood history. Due to technological developments, there are more platforms being developed than ever. The internet is driving millions of new viewers each year. Zillion is going to transform the way we view advertising. For those who don’t know, it has recently been unveiled by the maker of Real Player and the ‘mouse.’ It is a system that makes you watch ads before downloading movies (they already have 14,000 Titles ready for download), TV, and other forms of entertainment to your TV Screen. However, the consumer can choose the products they want to see (let’s say you go to retail clothing and watch a Macy’s ad and love the jacket; you can immediately click on the ad/jacket and go directly to their website where you can buy it). Also, you earn points by watching the commercials that you can use towards purchases. Furthermore, SONY and others are now selling TVs that wirelessly connect to your computer, so you can download TV/FILMS at anytime from your computer (websites like Hulu, Netflix, etc) directly to your TV. In short, technology is making more platforms which will require more content than ever. Also, Cablers are all embracing doing scripted shows, some have up to 5 shows this year… again, more content is needed and thus MORE ACTORS!

Coppola on Directing and Actors

Start out by directing plays. One-act stories with 2-3 characters. Get other directors in this with you and stage a night of performances with an audience. Invite your family, friends. What’s important at the beginning is this trinity of acting, writing, and an audience. You need an audience for their feedback. You don’t even have to write a play, use Tennessee Williams, Chekov, the great playwrights. It’s cheaper than film, and the results are quicker.