Molly Ringwald Says Writing is Like Acting

Posted on August 25, 2012 at 3:59 pm

Molly Ringwald, star of the John Hughes films Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, and The Breakfast Club, is now 44 years old and a mother in real life and on “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.” And she is the author of a new book, When It Happens to You: A Novel in Stories. In a piece that appeared in the New York Times this week she discusses the connection between acting and writing.

The appeal of diving into a character has always been the back story: everything that my character has been through up to the point when the audience first encounters her. I have eagerly invented intricate histories that I shared with no one — except during an occasional late night boozy discussion with other like-minded and obsessive actors.

I remember writing one such biography before filming “The Breakfast Club”; it is one of my greatest regrets that I didn’t think of saving it for posterity…What I do recall was imagining my character Claire’s unhappy home life. There were hints to it in the script that John Hughes had written — “It’s like any minute … divorce” — but no explanation was given as to why the parents were divorcing. I envisaged the fights (an overly “social” drinking mother, an emotionally crippled and withdrawn father) that Claire endured along with her older brother (I gave her an older brother whose existence never made it into the film).

It is fascinating to consider that the same imagination that goes into creating the performances we see on screen can be used to create a novel — and that some day that novel could become a screenplay that could inspire some actors to create their own expanded views of the characters’ lives to make their performances richer, deeper, and more complex.

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When a Movie Scares Your Child

Posted on August 25, 2012 at 8:00 am

There’s a viral video this week of a couple of children who were upset by the new Disney film, The Odd Life of Timothy Green. SPOILER ALERT: The title character does not die, but he moves on to another place and that is hard on the couple who were hoping to be his parents. Some children enjoy the scary-funny zombies, ghosts, and witch in ParaNorman but others will be disturbed by the decaying bodies and the ghosts showing the way the characters died.

Dr. Michael Rich’s blog, Ask the Mediatrician, has some very sensible and reassuring advice for parents whose child was upset by a film.

Help your daughter process what she saw and how she feels about it. Most concerning content can be managed well by talking to your child about it and helping her process it. Try the following:

Listen to your child. Have her tell you about the scene as she saw it, and what about it scared her. Then affirm her feelings, saying, “It sounds like that was really frightening for you. I can understand why it would be hard to fall asleep.”

Answer your child’s questions. Topics like death—and particularly murder and suicide—can be very difficult for young children to understand. Offer simple explanations that will be meaningful to her.

Comfort your child. Reassure her that she’s safe, and that the people she loves are safe. Offer hugs and stuffed animals to hold, especially at bedtime.

Let her set the pace. It may take her some time to process, but she’ll ask questions when she’s ready to. For weeks after seeing The Artist, my boys would sometimes questions like, “Why would he want to kill himself? Why is anything so bad?” Answer your child’s questions when she has them, waiting for her guidance as to what she needs reassurance about.

Forgive yourself. Don’t continue to feel guilty over making a judgment call that backfired. Remember that there will always be situations outside of your control that may upset your daughter. Use this as a learning experience and try to improve the next time around. If your daughter is invited to another movie that you won’t be able to watch first, maybe do some research on it online, or ask a trusted friend who saw the film if she feels as though it is appropriate for your daughter.

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Tribute: Sesame Street’s Jerry Nelson

Posted on August 24, 2012 at 8:29 pm

We bid a sad farewell to Jerry Nelson of Sesame Street, and the Muppets, who has died at age 78. He will probably be best remembered for providing the voice of The Count.

He was also featured as Sherlock Hemlock.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95GJ-kJ-Nzc

Lisa Henson, daughter of Muppet founder Jim Henson, said, “Jerry Nelson imbued all his characters with the same gentle, sweet whimsy and kindness that were a part of his own personality. He joined the Jim Henson Co. in the earliest years, and his unique contributions to the worlds of Fraggles, Muppets, Sesame Street and so many others are, and will continue to be, unforgettable. On behalf of the Henson family and everyone at the Jim Henson Co., our deepest sympathies go out to Jerry’s family and to his many fans.”

May his memory be a blessing.

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“The Beauty Inside” — A Social Media Movie

Posted on August 24, 2012 at 3:59 pm

The Washington Post reports that a new movie called “The Beauty Inside” will invite the audience to become part of the film. Computer chip giant Intel is

teaming up with Toshiba to give aspiring actors an opportunity to star in a multi-part film alongside the likes of Topher Grace and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. The movie is directed by Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning film director Drake Doremus. The first episode, which was released on Aug. 16, has received multiple shares on Facebook and views on YouTube — a great marketing coup for the two tech companies.

The next installment lands Thursday.

The film centers around Alex, a protagonist who, every day, is someone different. The film, narrated by Grace, reveals Alex’s struggles as a different person, particularly as it relates to his sex life, and his chronicling of his various personalities. Aspiring actors can audition bysubmitting their photo and video via Facebook to Doremus and his team. A lucky few will be chosen over the course of the five films to star alongside the two-person celebrity cast.

A character will carry and use an Intel-powered Toshiba laptop through the film (note the film’s title), making it not just crowd-sourced but product placement/infomercial-based as well.

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Happy 100th Birthday, Gene Kelly!

Posted on August 23, 2012 at 11:22 pm

What a glorious feeling! From Singin in the Rain

One hundred years ago, one of the movie’s most enduring stars was born. Gene Kelly made dancing look athletic and he made it look just plain fun. He was also an innovator in Hollywood who always wanted to try something new. His centenary is a great reminder to share his classic films with your friends and family. This is from It’s Always Fair Weather, which also has a great dance number with garbage can lids.

And this is from Anchors Aweigh

With Judy Garland in his breakthrough film, For Me and My Gal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOsCYEGHnME

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