John Badham's "I'll Be in My Trailer: The Creative Way Between Directors and Actors", is a book every film maker should own. "I'll Be in My Trailer" was published in 2006. I came across the book when one of my teachers used it as a text book for my 'Directing With Actors' class at the Art Institute. This is one of the few text books that most students don't sell back after finals. In this book, film director John Badham discusses first hand directorial experiences including the bridge scene in "Saturday Night Fever". When John Travolta showed up for that scene, Badham had already filmed Travolta's stunt double crawling across a bridge to stop a friend from jumping. The stunt double had already gone home for the day but Travolta told Badham that his character would never crawl. After much heated discussion, Travolta told Badham, "I'll Be in My Trailer". Badham ended up filming the scene with Travolta walking and had to correct the continuity errors in post production.

"I'll Be in My Trailer" also includes interviews with other directors including John Frankenheimer discussing how Frank Sinatra's insisted on completing his performances in just one take on the set of "The Manchurian Candidate". Francis Ford Coppola also talks about living out every director's worst nightmare when he was directing "Apocalypse Now". If you're an actor, this book is especially useful because you get to read about actors being directed including Jenna Elfman, Dennis Haysbert, Michael Caine, Betty Thomas, and Martin Sheen.

Badham defines the language directors use when speaking with actors as "Actor-Speak". Otherwise, directors need to realize that actors are human beings whether they are multimillionaires or amateurs. It seems that there has to be a certain level of sensitivity when offering constructive criticism to the actor because a lot of actors tend to be very sensitive. Providing a healthy and comfortable environment is also essential. Being what Badham refers to as a "Stealth Director", or a passive aggressive director, creates a distance between the director and actor. That sounds like a shot in the foot for the director because if the actor doesn't remember their director on a certain project, how can the director's reputation flourish? Actors often mention in DVD interviews about certain directors making an impression on them. The more aggressive directors are Badham refers to as "War Horses". If I ever decided to be a director, I'd like to be in the middle ground between the "Stealth" and the "War Horse". Even though I've only done stage acting and directing, I can still see it from both sides. I would want to create an environment where I'm working with my actors and they are comfortable asking me for help.

Even if you don't want to direct or act, buy this book. A cinematographer or assistant director would also benefit from reading this book because they also work on the set when the actors are present. Being that I want to be an editor, I still have that actor inside that wants to come out and play every now and then. Directing a huge production sounds like the challenge of all challenges but I'm sure I would get some kind of satisfaction out of it. After all, the first line in the book is, "Making a movie can be a first-class blast most days." Find out what he says next when you buy it!

"HVR-V1P Front" courtesy Jaymis via Flickr Creative Commons

The ratings are in! Actresses Alice Eve and Krysten Ritter are definitely out of our league, but they still have great, practical career advice for young aspiring actors. Erika Thomas sat down with the two beautiful and motivated women to talk to them about their careers in the movie industry.

I've always been a very big fan of stand-up comedy. When I was about 9 or 10, on the rare occasion that I stayed home from school, I would sit around and watch a show on Comedy Central called Short Attention Span Theater which, among others, featured a young Jon Stewart. Anyway, when I first heard the concept for Judd Apatow's Funny People I was very excited. The movie has caught a little bit of flack with critics and viewers. I liked it and recommend it.

New York Times columnist Ross Douthat has an interesting take on the conservative values offered in Apatow's film. While I never personally associated these values with his films, it is an interesting article nonetheless and worth checking out ... if for no other reason that the fact that Ross agrees with me about this being Apatow's best film. (On the subject of films, I literally just checked my email and my roommate asked if I wanted to see GI Joe tonight. Eww. I think I just threw up a little.)

OK, so what does this have to do with careers. Well, while searching through YouTube for some old stand-up from my youth I came across a promotional video of Apatow from the Funny People Tour. In this video (embedded below) we find out his far-reaching interest in comedy and how, as a 15 year-old, Apatow arranged and recorded interviews with some of the greatest comedians of the time - Harold Ramis, Paul Reiser and Gary Shandling to name a few. Apatow started a Radio Show (in high school!) and was able to track down these comedians and have them appear on the show. With ingenuity and motivation like this it's no surprise Apatow has been such a success

The video is a great insight into the art of comedy and offers a good starting point for any potential comedians or comedic actors. I only wish he would make these tapes more available so that we could here the complete interviews and advice from these comics. Oh well, I guess we'll have to have them on ThinkTalk. The vid is below, but here's some advice from Gary Shandling on the art of writing a joke:

I think the most important thing a comic can do is is write from his insides. And as cliched as that sounds you have to write, I think, from personal experience or your own observations, which is how I write.

Really not a funny guy? Check out The Links for advice for other careers ...

Scene and Not Heard Found Another Facebook Job Victim: You have to click through to see the screen grab. Suffice it to say it's not wise to call your boss a "pervvy wanker" in a status update when your boss when you've added him as a friend. Hilarity did not ensue.

The Wall Street Journal Reports : "The average household income of a snorkeler last year was $92,373, highest among 93 sports tracked, according an online survey of more than 41,000 people by the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, a trade group of sports retailers and marketers." I don't know what this means or what implications it has or why it's interesting ... but I just wanted to put it out there.

Mashable Adds Science To the Job Hunt: "Intelligent Job Hunt [by UpMo] is akin your own professional agent, but their job search engine claims to combine sophisticated algorithms with scientific analysis. They then combine that with the information you’ve provided to present you with the targeted opportunities that are right for your desired career path. It’s an intelligent job search that doesn’t totally suck the life out of you and your professional quest." Sounds sophistimicated.

Did you know that ThinkTalk has a career show for actors? The Spotlight has featured interviews with Jason Schwartzman (you may have just seen him in Funny People), Claire Danes (you may have seen her in your dreams), and Shia LaBeouf (you definitely saw him in your dreams ... or Transformers). This show is a great resource for aspiring actors, with some great tips on developing your character, getting a first break and making it big. To the right is a short clip of actor Lance Gross answering a question on landing an agent.

Today, I found a fascinating post at Robin Hanson's Overcoming Bias blog on Actor's use of "status" to make dialogue with other actors more realistic. Not being an actor myself (though I did play Curly in Oklahoma once in High School!) I was unfamiliar with this concept. But after reading the excerpts in Robin's article I began to grasp it ... and it blew my mind. Acting coach Keith Johnstone explains:

Status is a confusing term, unless it’s understood as something one does. You may be low in status, but play high, and vice versa. … We always like it when a tramp is mistaken for the boss, or the boss for a tramp. … I should really talk about dominance and submission, but I’d create a resistance. Students who will agree readily to raising or lowering their status may object if asked to `dominate’ or `submit’. …

Many people will maintain that we don’t play status transactions with our friends, and yet every movement, every inflection of the voice implies a status. My answer is that acquaintances become friends when they agree to play status games together. … If I take a cup of tea to a friend then I may say `Get up, you old cow’ or `Your Highness’s tea’, pretending to raise or lower status. Once students understand that they already play status games with their friends, then they realize that they already know most of that status games I’m trying to teach them.

Get it? If not, head over to Robin's blog for more info (and be sure to read the comments, he has some smart commenters). But if you do understand, I think this is a great concept for actors. Once you can view your companion in the proper status for you character it will break down any awkwardness or barrier to a smooth, comfortable scene. For more info on acting advice, be sure to check out ThinkTalk's The Spotlight.

Alright, that's a lot of info. Just some short, quick Links today ...

Cheezhead Lists the Cities Where Raises are Rising: DC tops the list (yay!), with Tampa, Boston, Philly and Denver rounding out the top 5. The raises average just over 2% for the regions on the list, with around 76% of companies stating that they will be offering raises. So if you're looking for a move, these are areas to consider.

Ere.net Reports on Radio Resumes: An LA station is giving job seekers an opportunity to record 30-second advertisements for their resume over the air and then lining to the resumes on the station's website. This is a pretty cool concept and a great way to get your name into the public sphere.

The New York Times Advocates Statistics Careers: "The rising stature of statisticians, who can earn $125,000 at top companies in their first year after getting a doctorate, is a byproduct of the recent explosion of digital data. In field after field, computing and the Web are creating new realms of data to explore — sensor signals, surveillance tapes, social network chatter, public records and more. And the digital data surge only promises to accelerate, rising fivefold by 2012, according to a projection by IDC, a research firm."

Larry Winget, ”The Pitbull of Personal Development”, is coming to ThinkTalk’s Spotlight to talk to Zack about his career as a speaker, author and TV host.