It's hard to believe the Beetlejuice Minute has been going strong for an entire month now! It seems like only yesterday Barry was telling Julie all about the Star Wars minute, and the Beetlejuice Minute was born.
But we won't rest here. The plot is getting thicker as Beetlejuice himself arrives on the scene this month. The Beetlejuice Minute will expand to bring you even more guest stars to pontificate on Tim Burton's lunacy as well as bring back guest favorites, screenwriter Chris Taylor, and actor/director Anthony Phillips.
Haven't started listening in yet? Click here to get all caught up with the ghost with the most!
But we won't rest here. The plot is getting thicker as Beetlejuice himself arrives on the scene this month. The Beetlejuice Minute will expand to bring you even more guest stars to pontificate on Tim Burton's lunacy as well as bring back guest favorites, screenwriter Chris Taylor, and actor/director Anthony Phillips.
Haven't started listening in yet? Click here to get all caught up with the ghost with the most!
I couldn't possibly write November's newsletter without mentioning Tim Burton's newest quirky confection "Miss Perrigrin's Home for Peculiar Children.
I thought the film was a return to Tim Burton's original gothic sensibility even though it borrows from his more colorful aesthetic rather than the darker blacks and reds. I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery laid out in the beginning concerning the who and the how and the why of the orphanage for peculiar kids.
Some will prefer the faster pace the film rollercoasters to at the end but even though it IS a kids film and the ending caters to them, I enjoyed just getting to know the characters and work through the questions it sets out during the more leisurely opening act. I think children old enough to read the book will like this one but the younger tykes may want to wait until the rest of the family watches it at home. Though I highly recommend adult Tim Burton fans go see this on the big screen. The visuals are lush and create an atmosphere Burton does best.
I thought the film was a return to Tim Burton's original gothic sensibility even though it borrows from his more colorful aesthetic rather than the darker blacks and reds. I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery laid out in the beginning concerning the who and the how and the why of the orphanage for peculiar kids.
Some will prefer the faster pace the film rollercoasters to at the end but even though it IS a kids film and the ending caters to them, I enjoyed just getting to know the characters and work through the questions it sets out during the more leisurely opening act. I think children old enough to read the book will like this one but the younger tykes may want to wait until the rest of the family watches it at home. Though I highly recommend adult Tim Burton fans go see this on the big screen. The visuals are lush and create an atmosphere Burton does best.
Do you love acting but get bored memorizing lines? Or worse, you're bored and the lines just don't seem to quite stick? Have you ever been on stage or on camera and everything starts off fine but halfway through you keep thinking what’s next? OMG I hope I remember what’s next!
Try memorizing the lines backwards. When you memorize backwards you will have gone over the last line of that text a lot more often than the first line. This virtually eliminates the fear or forgetting what’s next because the ending of the piece will be so thoroughly memorized.
Another plus side to memorizing backwards is that it helps keep you from getting locked into a line reading because the novelty of memorizing backwards keeps the lines fresh during the process.
Here’s how you do it. Say you have to memorize the following lines:
Patricia said we have to get back before four.
Personally, I think she’s nuts because I wouldn’t want to waste any precious daylight hours when we could be searching for Tom.
He’s so scared of the dark he’ll probably go into hiding.
First you would memorize: “He’s so scared of the dark he’ll probably go into hiding.”
Once you have that down you might break the next sentence into a shorter segment like this. “We could be searching for Tom. He’s so scared of the dark he’ll probably go into hiding.”
Etc. etc. Now go forth and conquer that next script with confidence. You can do it!
Try memorizing the lines backwards. When you memorize backwards you will have gone over the last line of that text a lot more often than the first line. This virtually eliminates the fear or forgetting what’s next because the ending of the piece will be so thoroughly memorized.
Another plus side to memorizing backwards is that it helps keep you from getting locked into a line reading because the novelty of memorizing backwards keeps the lines fresh during the process.
Here’s how you do it. Say you have to memorize the following lines:
Patricia said we have to get back before four.
Personally, I think she’s nuts because I wouldn’t want to waste any precious daylight hours when we could be searching for Tom.
He’s so scared of the dark he’ll probably go into hiding.
First you would memorize: “He’s so scared of the dark he’ll probably go into hiding.”
Once you have that down you might break the next sentence into a shorter segment like this. “We could be searching for Tom. He’s so scared of the dark he’ll probably go into hiding.”
Etc. etc. Now go forth and conquer that next script with confidence. You can do it!
If you liked this month's Adventures in Acting you can find 39 more exercises just like it, plus 21 exercises putting all your skills together. That's a total of 60 exercises delivered daily to your inbox for 60 days in my Acting on Fire eCourse. All of the activities are designed to be done alone between classes when you don't have a scene partner or acting gig to go to. Click here for more about Acting On Fire.
It's time to share some love for my friends I'm proud and lucky to know.
Fellow podcaster and movie sound guy with the most, Barry Rathbun just completed work on the music documentary "Roots of Fire." A look at the future of Louisiana French music featuring Cajun and Zydeco performances from 2016's Festival Internationale.
I'd also like to give a shout out to retro 50's movie director Christopher R. Mihm. He just made a big announcement about his 12th film in 12 years! Watch the super teaser trailer for the movie he'll be working on this year "Demon with the Atomic Brain." If you love the trailer and want to be a part of the making of this Sci Fi Adventure, get an early copy of the film, a numbered certificate plus your name in the credits, click here to contribute!
Fellow podcaster and movie sound guy with the most, Barry Rathbun just completed work on the music documentary "Roots of Fire." A look at the future of Louisiana French music featuring Cajun and Zydeco performances from 2016's Festival Internationale.
I'd also like to give a shout out to retro 50's movie director Christopher R. Mihm. He just made a big announcement about his 12th film in 12 years! Watch the super teaser trailer for the movie he'll be working on this year "Demon with the Atomic Brain." If you love the trailer and want to be a part of the making of this Sci Fi Adventure, get an early copy of the film, a numbered certificate plus your name in the credits, click here to contribute!
If you have suggestions of things you'd like to see included in the Cinema Bliss newsletter or would like to be a contributing writer for a column then drop us a line at info@cinemabliss.com. We take compliments and comments too! Thank you. ~ Julie