Robert Townsend MasterClass

If you missed Robert Townsend MasterClass. Here it is. If you are an aspiring filmmaker this is for you.
This class was at Columbia College in Chicago.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Everybody in the room.

Speaker 2 (00:00):
I want some of you to be born today. I
want you to be born today as artists born, because
sometimes you're sitting on the sideline and you say you
want the dream, but you don't really act like you
want the dream.

Speaker 3 (00:12):
So when he said West Side of Chicago, I was
built a hand.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
My father wasn't there. We were on welfare. My mother
red on her struggle. But I had faith in my heart.
I believed some of you are sitting on a billion
dollar idea. But you gotta believe. You've gotta be willing
to do the work. You're like, you know, you mean,
how did you how did you get from there?

Speaker 1 (00:32):
But let me say, the journey.

Speaker 3 (00:34):
Starts with this film right here.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
Mahogany with Billy d and Diana Ross. And where is
mister Roney? Where are you sitting?

Speaker 1 (00:44):
Where's is he here? He's not here, He's not the room.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
Anyway, the journey started with mister paym On Roney. I
am a young actor in Chicago. I found my way
into theater. I am fifteen years old. I have my
first audition on the South Side of Chicago at a
place called x Bag Experimental Black Actors Guilt that is
where in.

Speaker 1 (01:05):
That sixty feet theater I learned my manners. I learned everything.

Speaker 2 (01:09):
I watched people of color as writers, as directors, as producers,
as set builders, all of that.

Speaker 1 (01:16):
The journey started there.

Speaker 2 (01:18):
So when people say, you know, like right now, I'm
also a tender professor at the number one Film School
USC and so I am proud to be there.

Speaker 3 (01:25):
But can we I'm gonna go to the next slide.

Speaker 1 (01:29):
I wanna share with you my film school.

Speaker 2 (01:32):
That was my film school. I'm very close to Billy
d Williams. That's how my journey started. So a lot
of you that are here and I'm talking to the students,
and I'm talking to those that are sitting on the
fence now that have dreams of making it in this industry.

Speaker 1 (01:50):
That's how I started.

Speaker 2 (01:51):
I was in the cold, freezing in the cold, freezing
watching Milli d and I didn't even do an impersonation
of him there, but he did. Somebody takes It was
like at the end of the movie, it's Diana rosscause.

Speaker 1 (02:02):
I want my own act, I want my own man back.
And Billy goes who said that? Who said that? With
the woman who said that? Police stuff? Forward on this
set is where I started to learn everything. I go, oh,
that's the camera. He's doing the camera. Oh oh, excuse me,
excuse me, what do you do? I under cetematographer, don't
talk to me. Get these extorts back over the place.

Speaker 2 (02:23):
I learned in that moment what everybody was doing, what
everybody was doing for this Now, people said, Robert, what
is gonna stop the creatives from really going to the
next level.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
What's the one thing that's gonna stop these creatives? Fear? Fear?
Who will you surround yourself with is very important. We
call them frenemies.

Speaker 2 (02:42):
Once you leave here, if you say, how was the
class of Robert Towns and it's that one person that goes,
you know you gonna make it?

Speaker 3 (02:47):
You really think you're gonna make it. So something I
want to say to everybody.

Speaker 2 (02:50):
In the room, because part of this is understanding that
once you get to the writing and the director of producing,
that part is easy. It's the mental part because if
you share your dream with the wrong person, they can
kill you.

Speaker 3 (03:02):
And before you are even born on yeah, and doesn't
have to say anything.

Speaker 2 (03:05):
They could just say, oh, yeah, I got this great
idea for a movie, and this movie anybody ever done anything.

Speaker 1 (03:10):
I'm gonna do so and so good luck with that.
I hope you get it. So the first thing I
wanna say to everybody in class, shut up, tact. Don't
talk about your dreams. Be about your dreams. Mm. Don't
talk about your dreams.

Speaker 2 (03:24):
Be about your dreams, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls.

Speaker 1 (03:31):
So journey started here.

Speaker 3 (03:33):
I just started learning, learning, learning, learning, So then it takes.

Speaker 2 (03:37):
Me to.

Speaker 1 (03:39):
This film. This is the film that I had a
breakthrough on. This is when I first learned about directing
this film. Right here, he said, how did you what?
I was an extra? Okay, So here's a story. Uh,
how many of you know the movie Warriors?

Speaker 2 (03:53):
Okay, hands down some of you that don't know the
movie Warriors. The Warriors is a movie about.

Speaker 3 (03:58):
A game, something that happens in New York City.

Speaker 2 (04:00):
All the gangs have come together to make peace. I'm
in the leader. The leader of the gang is the Riffs,
and he's speaking the speech. I'm in his gang and
he makes a speech about peace, peace, peace, and then
somebody shoots him and he hits the ground.

Speaker 1 (04:12):
Somebody says, who did it? Who did it?

Speaker 2 (04:13):
Somebody says the Warriors and The whole movie is about
the Warriors trying to get home to Cony Island safely
because every gang is trying to kill them and they
didn't do it.

Speaker 1 (04:20):
So anyway, we're in Central Park. There are seven hundred
of us out there.

Speaker 2 (04:26):
A hundred are real actors and the rest are real
gang bankers. The prop department hands out sticks, bats, chains.

Speaker 3 (04:36):
And went up the grounds.

Speaker 2 (04:38):
Us people were the games were like this is but man,
people were getting hurt.

Speaker 1 (04:44):
So here's where I changed, and I thought of something different.

Speaker 3 (04:47):
This is when I was born as a filmmaker.

Speaker 2 (04:50):
The body fell over there, and everybody's supposed to run
like crazy. The body sail right there, and I was like,
wait a minute, I'll be the one with the body.
M I'll project my falling leader. So they said, they
started rolling cameras, theydd action.

Speaker 1 (05:07):
I ran to the body. I stand at your body.

Speaker 2 (05:11):
Guarding that body, and then over the bullhorner the guy
there the there's a boy.

Speaker 3 (05:16):
And then after they said cut, the first ad runs
over to me.

Speaker 1 (05:26):
He goes, hey, what's your name? What's your name? I
go Robert, Robert Townsend, the director of Love. What you did?
You just got upgraded? You did a special bet. So
we then took a twenty minute break. I didn't know
why we took this twenty minute break mm, but when we.

Speaker 2 (05:42):
Came back, they had reblocked the scene around me. I
had affected the scene. I affected the scene. After that,
every time I walked on the set, even though I
was just an extra, I walked on my hous in direct.

Speaker 1 (06:05):
What are we shooting today? Going on?

Speaker 2 (06:08):
People?

Speaker 3 (06:08):
But it's going on, So let's get to class.

Speaker 1 (06:15):
That's the hand that I was doing. I didn't have.

Speaker 3 (06:18):
And back in the old God library, I like a
book on filmmaking.

Speaker 1 (06:21):
Let me see. Uh, those are out.

Speaker 2 (06:22):
For their three O FEEB go over making Now for
my young creatives. Here, everything's on your phone. It's not
a phone, it's your office. There is so much information there.
If you said, if I said, Surrey Auditions at Chicago,
Surrey Talent Agents in Chicago, Surrey, how to write a script,

(06:43):
Surrey free classes, it all comes up.

Speaker 1 (06:47):
It all comes up a lot of you.

Speaker 2 (06:49):
And let me say this. We all have twenty four
hours in the day. You have twenty four hours. You
have twenty four hours, you have twenty frives. I have
twenty four hours. What are you doing with your twenty
four hours. If I was to say, I'm gonna hold
you accountable cause you say you want this dream, how
do you spend your twenty four hours?

Speaker 3 (07:03):
Well, the game is on.

Speaker 2 (07:05):
Hey, hey, hey, I don't have to watch every Bear game.
There's a few I can miss. I don't have to
go to every party. I don't have to. Let me
say this, I appreciate you guys all being here on time.
But there's a thing that I call self sabotage aboutage.
It's to the nitty gritty because it's not so much
what's set in you too.

Speaker 1 (07:22):
The day you have to film, you forget to charge
your phone.

Speaker 2 (07:25):
The day on you don't your take, then you have
to film, You get into a fight with your mama,
your daddy, your girlfriend, your boyfriend, daddy.

Speaker 1 (07:31):
Self sabotage.

Speaker 2 (07:32):
And you may say it like but no, the way
he came at me, No, no, no. If you want
this career, you gotta learn how to keep them together.
All right, let's go to the next slide. So now
let's get into it, and I'm gonna make it a
little interactively. So my journey starts with this gentleman right there,
keenan Ivory wins.

Speaker 3 (07:49):
We are young comedians in New York City.

Speaker 2 (07:52):
I'm online auditioning to for the improvization, and.

Speaker 1 (07:55):
I'm the first brother. I'm early, I'm always early. I
was here early, so I'm the first guy on line.
And then if there's three people in front of.

Speaker 2 (08:01):
Me, and then the line gets long and it's all
these it's I'm the old person of color.

Speaker 3 (08:04):
And then all of a sudden, his young brother comes
up and he goes.

Speaker 2 (08:06):
Hey, man, you trying to be a comedian too, And
I look at him and I know he's cutting a line,
and so I'm like.

Speaker 1 (08:11):
Yeah, I'm trying to get a comedian. Yeah, yeah, and
he go he goes, he's a wait, think of this joke.
I come from a family ten kids. My father had
stretch bonds.

Speaker 2 (08:22):
And I go, that's funny, man, that's funny, and he goes, Bunny,
he's keen and every wings.

Speaker 1 (08:25):
My name is Robert Townsend. All we had was a
pocket full of dreams. MM.

Speaker 3 (08:31):
So we start talking sharing our dreams.

Speaker 1 (08:42):
That's the two of us together. Hey man, we look
at these images.

Speaker 2 (08:45):
Man auditioningly for negative nothing but n drugs, gang bangers,
first pill?

Speaker 1 (08:50):
My mother?

Speaker 2 (08:50):
Would baby be the best Pip, you can be little
church friends from me. Let's then a part of me
started to die. Part of me started to die as
an artist. That part of me was like, what are

(09:11):
we going to do? Either I continue to do this
negative stuff or I turn it around. At that point
when people say why did you become a filmmaker, Why
are you on this mission?

Speaker 1 (09:23):
Why do you have that body of work there? The
reason I have that.

Speaker 3 (09:26):
Is because I know images are powerful. They travel the
world like a bad publicy.

Speaker 1 (09:32):
So either you control the narrative or the narrative controls you.

Speaker 3 (09:37):
So in this room there's a lot of creative energy,
a lot of minds that will be born.

Speaker 1 (09:41):
So now let's get into my process.

Speaker 2 (09:44):
All right, Writing the world starts and I gotta go
through everything very fast. Writing is rewriting. Writing is rewriting.
Writing is rewriting because a lot of times you have
the first idea in your head, but you haven't thought
it through. You haven't thought through every every moment, every
iota of it. Thank you so much, you haven't thought

(10:05):
through all the beats. In terms of writing, I break
down my characters. I do character bios.

Speaker 1 (10:11):
I break down the scenes, everything.

Speaker 2 (10:13):
I set up in the story, I pay off. So
if the guy has something. And one of my favorite writers, director,
producers is Billy Wilder.

Speaker 1 (10:22):
Billy Wilder is a legend.

Speaker 2 (10:23):
If you want to really study film, classic film, I
want you to look at the Apartment. I want you
to look at someone like get Hot. He is one
of the greatest writers. And my second director that I
love the most is a Leah Kazan and he did
a film called The Face in the Crowd East of Eton.

Speaker 1 (10:40):
So writing is crucial. And here's the thing. Some might go,
I don't want to share this with nobody, ma'am. I
don't want to share this because they gonna steal my idea.
They gonna steal my idea.

Speaker 2 (10:51):
If you are truly creative and there's a creatives well,
no one can still your idea.

Speaker 1 (10:56):
People can do movies about singing.

Speaker 2 (10:58):
Groups, but it will not be five heart beats. What's
the difference, Oh, Man, Robert Joe, you got extra sauce. Yeah,
I'm talking about the extra sauce today, ladies and gentlemen.
The extra sauce you guys came and I'm like, I'm
here to give.

Speaker 1 (11:13):
So those that.

Speaker 2 (11:13):
Will take the food will eat, and they will be
reborn or born in this moment.

Speaker 4 (11:18):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (11:18):
So with Keenan and I, we did.

Speaker 2 (11:20):
Twenty five drafts of The Five Heartbeats. If you haven't
seen the documentary making the Five Heartbeats, please.

Speaker 1 (11:26):
Check it out. So in the writing process, it's serious.
We really take it, you know. I mean, we're having fun, but.

Speaker 2 (11:36):
We show up early, we hit hard, see you later.
I go home, I watch television. It's still in my body.
It's still in my body when I write. I write
to jazz with no words in it because I just
wanna hear the vibe. Sometimes I'll have stuff that will
have vibes and sounds to it, but I initially no words,

(11:57):
no words.

Speaker 1 (11:57):
I just wanna get into my spirit, get in my spirit. Also,
I will give my script to fifteen twenty people that
I love and respect, and they will break it apart
and they go like Robert. I go like, and I
don't get mad.

Speaker 2 (12:10):
It's not like what you don't understand, my kid, It's
the character was supposed to what we do that.

Speaker 1 (12:16):
No, I didn't think about that. Oh my god.

Speaker 2 (12:21):
Oh Like Keenan and I we were writing the Five Rbs,
and we were stuck at the Brothers and we go like,
how how can they get together? I said, I don't wanna
be corner Keen. That's me Corny.

Speaker 1 (12:32):
It's like when jtc's duck and ducksy's JT. You know,
it's like mandalk me yuh nah h huh. And then Keene.

Speaker 2 (12:39):
Goes and Kenya always does jumping jacks. That's how he works.
I have the bad he does jumping jacks. Push up
to all of that. And then Kenny goes.

Speaker 1 (12:47):
Rob what if uh j T?

Speaker 2 (12:51):
Mary Rose and they got two kids and one kid
is named Duck. Hell yeah, that is the process.

Speaker 1 (13:07):
Writing, directing, producing is a muscle. But more over, you're.

Speaker 2 (13:10):
Just getting say you're at least right one hour, we're
three other go to the inn where but I'll refuse
with energy, yes, yes, yes, yeah, alright, continuing on now,
I wanna talk about this. This is very crucial here.
Know the world, know everything about the world.

Speaker 1 (13:29):
What time did the character get home? If you got home?
Excuse me one second, light to the side, please, I'm
excuse me, ex excuse me.

Speaker 2 (13:35):
If a character is coming in and we say the
character had a long night and the character came in
the house at ten thirty, the character came home at
two o'clock. The character's been drinking heavy and came in

(13:56):
at three point thirty. He's had six vodkas plus uh,
tequila and everything.

Speaker 1 (14:12):
Do you understand something that's simple as time?

Speaker 3 (14:17):
Something simple as time?

Speaker 1 (14:19):
Time?

Speaker 3 (14:20):
Okay, knowing the world, knowing the world.

Speaker 1 (14:22):
Uh, let's uh okay. Uh. Who's working on a film
that they haven't shot yet? Oh you're right here, sir. Oh,
give me the character's name.

Speaker 5 (14:35):
No.

Speaker 1 (14:35):
One character, one character, Julie, Julie. So she's like Madonna.
She only has one name. What's her name? Okay? See okay, pause?

Speaker 2 (14:46):
Al right, so you just said Julie. I said the
character's name. So the character's name is Julie. Describe the character.
This is gonna be live action. Now tell me about
the character.

Speaker 1 (14:56):
Oh, now it's on. Okay, I was. I was like,
am I talking to myself? Thank you? What is the character? Oh?
She's rejected? Wealthy? She's rejected.

Speaker 2 (15:07):
She's wealthy, Yes, wealthy, has a lot of issues with
her mom.

Speaker 1 (15:12):
She has a lot of.

Speaker 2 (15:15):
She has a lot of issues with her mom. Can
I have a mic for himpoies? I want everybody to
hear this. Yes, can you fly in for me. Ah,
there we go?

Speaker 1 (15:26):
Is it on? Alright? So what's the character's name? Now?
Her name is Julie. She has a lot of rejection.

Speaker 3 (15:31):
Her name is Julie. Okay, Julie. She has a lot
of rejection.

Speaker 1 (15:35):
Father issues issues. How old is she? Thirty three? Where
does she work? She's an entrepreneur, she's an honor. Why
she does read no word? That's she's right.

Speaker 2 (15:45):
Here's the thing when you are going, I'm gonna keep
it right here, when you are going for the check
and you are talking about being born. So you have
a woman that's thirty one. She wants to be an entrepreneur.
You just gave me Julie. Now here's where we make
it interactive. Character names are very powerful. There's only one
Vito Corleone. There's only one Tony Montana. So right now,

(16:07):
ladies and gentlemen, give me some so we other issues.
She's thirty one, she's an entrepreneur.

Speaker 1 (16:12):
But he didn't give me detail of why he's an entrepreneur,
Why she's an entrepreneur. So give me some name.

Speaker 2 (16:17):
Give me some character names that would make a star
want to be in this movie.

Speaker 1 (16:21):
Yes, oh, Seila, what bonds Sela bonds not bad, not bad.
Give me something else, Give me something else. What you got? Vanity? Eh,
need more, needs more? What you got? What you got?

Speaker 6 (16:35):
Jersey Mon, jersey Monnett, Yes, Everson. But give me a
full name, like a character and first name and last name.
Nobody's like one name? Uh way in the back over there, Yes, sir.

Speaker 1 (16:48):
Lost this Ali? What is it? This Ali? Lutis Ali?
Are you starting to feel energy? Starting to feel energy?
What you got? What you got? Lena Saint, James, Lena Saint?
What you got? What you got? Raven Hill? Some energy there?

(17:09):
Some energy there? Are you seeing what I'm saying? Brother?
What you got? Gnise Richmond? Your niece, your niece, your
niece reached energy? What you got? What you got? Sack
Cardy Craves, Ricardi cravits. What you got? Sassy bell, sassy bell,
sassy bell, sassy bell? I got and I got right?

(17:31):
What you got? Last one? Diamond Patterson?

Speaker 2 (17:35):
Okay, ladies and gentlemen, Just in that exercise, did you
fill the vibration?

Speaker 1 (17:39):
Go up on your piece?

Speaker 3 (17:40):
Yeah? Yeah?

Speaker 1 (17:41):
Why did he go up? Why did he go with? Anybody?
Why did he go up? Anybody wanna answer? Anybody? Answer yes, yes, bingo,
you hear the.

Speaker 2 (17:53):
Name and you can't wait for the person to walk
into the room.

Speaker 1 (17:56):
Alright, moving on, ladies and gentlemen. So no, the no,
the world logic police, creative collaboration, these people with synergy.

Speaker 3 (18:07):
But but I it did. It was because of the people.

Speaker 1 (18:09):
But certain names had more vibration.

Speaker 2 (18:13):
Yeah, and as a creative you gotta understand that vibration.

Speaker 1 (18:17):
Yes, so that oh there it is.

Speaker 2 (18:20):
Cause then if you ever that came in an actress
can go who is sass?

Speaker 1 (18:26):
No? No, no, no, no, no no no. Let let me
let me say, let me, let me say this. Let
me say this.

Speaker 3 (18:31):
Normally a usc this is exactly what happens.

Speaker 2 (18:35):
And when I go, everybody email your stuff to this
gentleman right here from and then you would get it.
And the students go like yeah, cause sometimes people go, uh, collaboration,
you know, I got it.

Speaker 1 (18:44):
I know what I'm doing.

Speaker 3 (18:45):
And if you understand the collaboration is a gift.

Speaker 1 (18:48):
And like how you responded, you understood the gift.

Speaker 2 (18:51):
So did you go like wait, wait, wait a minute
in this town say oh god, who who's in that
last one?

Speaker 1 (18:57):
But you get what the exercises?

Speaker 2 (18:59):
Yeah, alright, so Uh, we're going to logic police.

Speaker 1 (19:03):
Logic police, logic police.

Speaker 2 (19:05):
Okay, so you saw the receie, all the movies, all
the television shows, all of that. I have to understand
the logic of all worlds. The character would do this,
The character would would do this right. So sometimes with
young writers, we watch you like we're.

Speaker 1 (19:23):
Playing, you know, a game. We go like, he gonna
go to the store, and he he gonna get to
the eggs. He got the eggs. She don't come back.

Speaker 2 (19:31):
She don't say you ate the baby, daddy, she said it.
With logic, you question everything why like a little kid,
why why why do I have to go to the store?

Speaker 1 (19:43):
In real movies, all drudging mm, the character turns fifty
today and the character just thinks about their life and
oh my god, and that the character's best friend dies.

Speaker 2 (19:56):
In a car accident and she wants to live. It's
all triggered by certain logic. People don't just do stuff
for no reason.

Speaker 1 (20:06):
So logic police, I go through every script with logic,
why why why? Why?

Speaker 2 (20:12):
Moving on, ladies and gentlemen, moving on, All right, let's
get to directing. Hollywood Shuffle was my first film. I
had never directed anything in my life. This is the
very first thing I ever directed. The film was shot
in twelve days, twelve of the hardest days of my life.
I am writing, directing, I'm co writing with keithan Ivory Williams.

(20:35):
I'm directing, I'm starting the film, I'm producing the film,
and I'm also the first ad background place.

Speaker 1 (20:43):
Is Tommy Tommy. So people go, you mean you shot
the whole film in twelve days. So let me say
this to you.

Speaker 2 (20:55):
You have to be around it to understand it, to
model yourself after it model. And he's in the room now,
mister pay mun Rami is right here right. He has
been my mentor since I was fifteen years old.

Speaker 3 (21:14):
At the La Monzino Theater and ex bag I watched him.

Speaker 2 (21:16):
Write, direct, produce with his wife Bosikua Myers. And when
you see it, then you go, oh, that's not costume designers,
production designers of color.

Speaker 1 (21:28):
I saw it all. So when I came to do
this film, I had never directed before.

Speaker 3 (21:33):
And there were certain people that treated me really bad.

Speaker 2 (21:36):
There were certain people that said no, like I was crazy.
Let me unders let me explain.

Speaker 1 (21:40):
Something to you. In nineteen eighty.

Speaker 2 (21:42):
Four, the idea of somebody writing directing, producing, and starring
in their own film. Was going against a billion voices
that said it couldn't be done. Everyone thought we were crazy,
You're gonna make a movie and only had sixty thousand dollars.
I had sixty thousand dollars because I had done a
soldier story, Streets Fire and American Flyers, and I was like,

(22:03):
you're gonna get a Porsche and you get.

Speaker 3 (22:05):
A Jag And I was like, no, I wanna make
a movie.

Speaker 1 (22:07):
I want to make a movement.

Speaker 2 (22:09):
So then I said, I will teach myself Niko Laing
and so enter it too, the picture, the Townsend Bible.

Speaker 1 (22:19):
So you go, you did a movie in twelve days
like I have right now.

Speaker 2 (22:24):
My students at USC they have four days to do
a five minute scene, and they struggle with trying to
do a five minute scene in four days.

Speaker 1 (22:33):
Part of in this game is being organized. You must
be organized.

Speaker 2 (22:38):
You must speak through everything, every bit of detail.

Speaker 1 (22:42):
So as producer, I got how much toilet paper is there?
How much you say craft service? How much is that
da da da? Now the acting part, if you love acting,
it's already there. You ain't got to worry about that.
It's already there. Now as a director of where it's going,
I count it by reason. I did it so that
when days is fort no money, no money, zero zero,

(23:03):
it's all York. It's gone. It's gone. It's gone.

Speaker 2 (23:05):
So let's get into the towns and Bible. And this
is what I live by to this day. All right,
So on every movie, every television show I've ever done,
I do the towns and Bible.

Speaker 1 (23:17):
What is in the Bible? First you have is it daytime?
What's the location?

Speaker 2 (23:21):
Interior Columbia College conference room.

Speaker 3 (23:26):
Then we go to description of the scene.

Speaker 1 (23:29):
Is it day or night? Description of the scene, Then
we say lighting and source of light like.

Speaker 2 (23:34):
Today, there's Floresa's there, there's lights coming off the screen,
there's lights from the exit sign. I'm going into detail
on everything, so I don't think I think everything through
color scheme.

Speaker 1 (23:46):
Today's great tones.

Speaker 2 (23:47):
Robert's gonna wear black, he's gonna have glasses, he's gonna
do d wardrobe, hair and makeup. Camera movement, Oh, I
could get Dolly tracks in here. I think we're gonna
go handheld. I think through everything. Camera position there, camera
position there. I think about music for this scene as
it starts off. It's a little soft tension score because
the audience doesn't know what to anticipate. Then, as Robert

(24:09):
starts to talk, there's a little funny theme because he's
kind of silly and funny, but he's.

Speaker 1 (24:14):
A real teacher.

Speaker 2 (24:15):
Then I go special notes on the scene on this day.
I'm gonna need a tripod and the camera here. I'm
I need a tripod and the camera here. I need
a camera there in the front row. I need a
gentleman in a suit like this. I need a camera
like that. I need four people over here that are
working on the crew in black.

Speaker 1 (24:31):
All of this is in my detail.

Speaker 2 (24:34):
Every movie, every television show, all my stuff comes in
on time and on budget because I am prepared.

Speaker 1 (24:42):
Now, if you say you want the.

Speaker 2 (24:44):
Dream, then you gotta outwork, because let me say this,
as you guys are in this room right here, and
I'm talking with you guys, there's ten thousand.

Speaker 3 (24:53):
Of these rooms all across the country, and everybody's hungry.

Speaker 1 (24:57):
Everybody's hungry. They want to eat. Look y'all act like
y'a don't wanna eat.

Speaker 2 (25:01):
And then you make excuses on other people, you know,
like some people come up and say, man at nineteen
eighty four man will they said I wasn't gonna make
it and that.

Speaker 1 (25:08):
Day, really he didn't show up for the camera shoot.
That's what messed every day up for my whole life.

Speaker 3 (25:17):
That's why, like what you doing, there's a lot of
rejection in the game.

Speaker 1 (25:23):
But what is for you is for you. What is
for you is for you. What is for you, it's
for you. So this is the uh production bible here?

Speaker 2 (25:34):
Before I get into mind, who else is working on
a film that, Let's go through their production bible.

Speaker 1 (25:38):
Let's go through one scene, one scene, one scene.

Speaker 2 (25:40):
Anybody got one scene that they'd like to talk through
if you got something to shoot?

Speaker 1 (25:43):
All everybody scared?

Speaker 2 (25:44):
Now you're in the front man, come on up, So
so I wanna talk about this.

Speaker 1 (25:58):
So when are you shooting? Currently shooting? Now it's going
to wrap up. What's the scene you're gonna be about
to shoot?

Speaker 7 (26:05):
I'm a newscaster reporting on what happened basically a police
officer where a black police officer was fired for saying
nigga on the job.

Speaker 2 (26:13):
Okay, and and you should be no just kidding, no no, no, So, uh,
what's so you're gonna shoot the scene now?

Speaker 1 (26:21):
Right? All right, So let's say you take place.

Speaker 7 (26:24):
It is in the hallway that the fight that he
basically a fight broke out and he had told the
student you going to jail now, nigga, and it's happening
in that very hallway.

Speaker 1 (26:33):
Okay. So so okay, so it's hallway. So basically hallway.

Speaker 2 (26:36):
Correct, Okay, just give me this stuff's crackt So hallway?

Speaker 1 (26:40):
Is it daytime and nighttime? Daytime? Okay?

Speaker 2 (26:43):
So the description of the scene is how how do
you what's your log line?

Speaker 7 (26:47):
News reporter walking down the hall reporting on this segment
on police officers getting fire?

Speaker 1 (26:52):
Okay, all right, source of black life, source regular hallway
lighting or any open? Is there any because is this daytime?
He said? Correct? Is there any like pouring in from
the hallway? No? Why because of the college I'll work for.

Speaker 7 (27:06):
It's a science building, but it has lockers, so it
looks like a high school.

Speaker 1 (27:10):
So that's what I'm working with. Okay, no, no, no, no.
But but here here's the thing. You say, you have
a long hallway. Are there doors in the hallway? Doors
lockers on the east side and maybe some doors on
the side, and there's no door that opens up to
another office. So what's the flatch?

Speaker 3 (27:24):
I have one hallway door open, police.

Speaker 2 (27:28):
Those doors sint out, so that if I had light
shining in from here and I'm walking down the hall
like this, it could get.

Speaker 3 (27:35):
Me some more interesting character stuff.

Speaker 1 (27:38):
I can put a light in here and.

Speaker 3 (27:39):
They add to it, or I could throw a light
over there.

Speaker 1 (27:42):
But you see what I'm saying, because right now, if
you say just Fluoresci's, I'm like, what's in that door there? Continue? Police?
What's the color scheme?

Speaker 7 (27:51):
I worked with my DP on that to go ahead
and flesh out what the color scheme was.

Speaker 1 (27:55):
But I'm wearing a suit as well. Okay, I stay
with you, stay with me color. So this is for
all my creators. You trying. I want you guys to
be born. Are you with me? Yeah?

Speaker 2 (28:10):
So see here's the thing I know I'm put. I
just yanked you out of the crowd. But this is
what I'm talking about in terms of detail.

Speaker 1 (28:17):
So that if you.

Speaker 2 (28:17):
Said the color scheme is great, So I'm going to
wear a tan jacket.

Speaker 1 (28:22):
So I'm made. So you scalky ss d the check.
Now let's get to wardrobe. How are you dressed in
a navy blue suit? Okay? Okay, pause, pause, pause.

Speaker 3 (28:32):
What's the name of the character, Duncan James, Duncan James.

Speaker 1 (28:37):
What does he do? He's a reporter? Correct? How long
has he been a reporter? Ten years? Ten years? Uh?
What does he like? What does he do for hobbies?
Plays guitar? He plays guitar. Okay, So Duncan James is
a reporter, but he plays the guitar. Does he love
being a reporter and he hates it? He loves it?
What if he see you know? Okay, he cave it.

(29:00):
He loves it.

Speaker 2 (29:00):
So he's a musician in his spare time. Okay, ladies
and gentlemen, Okay, we have a guy. How else can
he's got a blue suit on? Now, he's got a
blue suit. How else can he be dressed? How else
can he be dressed? We we know he's a reporter.
He loves music. How else can he be dressed?

Speaker 1 (29:14):
Yes?

Speaker 3 (29:15):
At the back?

Speaker 1 (29:15):
Do you have a sweater and a nice little ball
card getting around it? Okay? Sweater? Nice card again? Somebody else?
Give me creative yes, sir, yes, sir? Purple a purple
print suit? Give me something yes? Yes, dirty sneakers on? Okay,
you can wear he can wear a hat with his

(29:37):
suit and make it more artsy. What you got a tattoo?

Speaker 3 (29:40):
A tattoo of his favorite album?

Speaker 1 (29:42):
Oh nice? What you got?

Speaker 2 (29:44):
Scruffy?

Speaker 1 (29:46):
Scruffy to shovel, trying to get his big break? Yes,
check TIMEO meet another jacket? What you got?

Speaker 3 (30:00):
A pin of it on his lapel like that, love that,
love that?

Speaker 1 (30:03):
What you got? What you got?

Speaker 3 (30:05):
One music notes on his tide.

Speaker 1 (30:07):
What you got? You got? A slight staying on this
on this suit from.

Speaker 2 (30:11):
Playing last night and he didn't have time, So staying
on his suit cause he needn't have time to play.

Speaker 1 (30:15):
Okay, g I love it. I love it. What you got? Yes?
You you? You? Rings and jewelry cause he's artsie.

Speaker 3 (30:23):
What you got? Big decorative glasses? Interesting?

Speaker 1 (30:28):
Yes?

Speaker 3 (30:29):
Shirt side shirt tuckue, but only on one side.

Speaker 1 (30:33):
What you got? Sweater? A green sweater? Okay?

Speaker 3 (30:38):
What you got a ugly cosmy sweater, A ugly cosmy sweater.

Speaker 1 (30:42):
Here we go, oh blue suit, black tail neck and
a micro right here? Okay, I see you writing there?

Speaker 3 (30:49):
Oh okay, okay, So so everybody's listening.

Speaker 1 (31:01):
They're listening. So what time of day is it? It
is late afternoon, late afternoons. Oh, give me a time,
three o'clock. It's three o'clock school slap huh, because schools
just let out. School just let out, so everybody's gone, correct.

Speaker 7 (31:17):
They typically don't let outsiders into school after well doing
school hours.

Speaker 3 (31:21):
Okay, so this is for everybody in the film.

Speaker 1 (31:24):
That looks terrible.

Speaker 3 (31:25):
So I would have somebody mopping up, cleaning up.

Speaker 2 (31:28):
I could have two teachers down the hall talking to
each other like I can't do anything with cathein.

Speaker 1 (31:33):
He's just us. You didn't say what I'm saying, because
that's life.

Speaker 2 (31:40):
He can be coming in, but it goes down. Everybody
goes three o'clock. We gotta get the help out of here.

Speaker 1 (31:47):
Do you understand?

Speaker 3 (31:49):
Because as as filmmakers.

Speaker 1 (31:51):
We create reality. We create reality. So if he comes
in and then why somebody goes, how can I help you?
There could be a security guard and it goes like
I'm just here doing a story. All right, go down
there and stuff like that. Now, now, girl, what you
talking about now? Which you know I mean have a
whole weight for world? No, the world? Cre Uh? What
do you walking down the hallway? What's your camera movement? Oh?

(32:13):
Straight on?

Speaker 2 (32:13):
Uh?

Speaker 1 (32:13):
What is that? Tight shirt. Okay, alright, so here here's
here's the thing there.

Speaker 2 (32:17):
So if if I say to you, uh, and this
is for everybody here, you must study film.

Speaker 1 (32:25):
So then if you say, I know the hallway is
like here, you know, you go.

Speaker 2 (32:28):
I wanna start with a high angle, tilt down and
find him walking down the lowly hall. I wanna start
on the classroom door and pan off the door as
one of.

Speaker 1 (32:37):
The teachers is leaving with their briefcase and he comes
this way. So it's understanding movement. So part of the
dance for you is what is the movement music? What
kind of music do you hear? Subtle? Yep, that sort
of after school special classical.

Speaker 2 (32:56):
Okay, so here's the thing that I would say, let's
play the music game.

Speaker 1 (33:01):
So and w So the scene is serious, right he
does he have somebody? No, he's uh howdle log.

Speaker 8 (33:08):
So he had a camera guy? Yeah you talking about
I don't see the c you just say camera guy. Oh,
I see who is this camera guy? One of the
new uh some one that sign from the news station.

Speaker 3 (33:20):
Okay, give me a funny name of a camera guy.

Speaker 1 (33:22):
Give me a camera guy that's a freaking character. What
you got.

Speaker 3 (33:25):
Jerry, Jerry, what you got?

Speaker 1 (33:32):
What you got? Dudley White?

Speaker 2 (33:35):
Alright, day we gonna do.

Speaker 1 (33:36):
We gonna do the day, baby, we gonna do anything.
Give me another day, Give me another day, Give another.

Speaker 6 (33:41):
Thing, Yes, yes, yes, rippler, rippler, gripper, gripper.

Speaker 1 (33:47):
Okay, give me another one, Get another one more energy.

Speaker 3 (33:49):
Sussy James, Sussy James.

Speaker 2 (33:54):
Give me another one, Give me another one, cause uh,
that's why you hit.

Speaker 3 (34:02):
Huh Joba jeez, Joe Malone, Joe Maloney, what you got.

Speaker 1 (34:06):
When O'Neill huh, whend and O'Neill brandon.

Speaker 2 (34:10):
O'Neill brandon, O'Neill cat what you got little charncey, little chauncey,
little chohncey. Come on, man, let's do this time right, Okay,
hands down, hands down?

Speaker 1 (34:20):
You what did you feel? What did you see? What
did you hear? Uh? Stussy? Oh, ripper, let's see he's Jarry.
But but here's the thing, how did it affect your brain? Mm?

Speaker 7 (34:34):
And it made me thinking it was a different names
that could might work together for this person at who
how I would talk to that person.

Speaker 4 (34:39):
Like, thank you, I have a seen I've seen ronna blah,
runnah blah.

Speaker 2 (34:52):
We are moving on, and I see Derek Dalla has
just joined the conversation, my childhood friend of that green
sit over there. B all right, oh Landlman, Now we're
into the Bible. This was my Bible for the five heartbeat.
So when a lot of you say I love the
five heartbeats, I love this is the work that was

(35:14):
happening behind the scenes.

Speaker 1 (35:15):
You watched the movie, but I was going in deep.

Speaker 2 (35:18):
I was looking for the wardrobe, the sound design, what
the music sounded like. You guys look and go ooh,
flash and they battling. I was thinking through every beat
off that the casting. I saw close to ten thousand
actors to be in this film.

Speaker 1 (35:33):
I did not settle. I never settle. I keep going, going, going.

Speaker 2 (35:37):
I am going after classics every time I get behind
that camera.

Speaker 1 (35:41):
Last night, my episode Force aired with this gentleman right here,
Ronald Blow.

Speaker 2 (35:52):
It is the mid season episode, and I also have
the season finale.

Speaker 1 (35:55):
But I do this work on everything, and as you see,
there's a lot of detail. I know sometimes my students
going coup offers. This is exhausty. Are you trying to
really be in the game? Are you really do you
really want it? Are you playing. If you're playing, then
you don't have to be here just men and Robert Townsend.

Speaker 3 (36:11):
But if you're being somebody today, work you out doing
this thirty now.

Speaker 1 (36:15):
Plug love it it. I love it. I wouldn't. I'm
having the best time ever. I want you guys to
have the best time ever if you choose to be born.
So that is from the five Heart Beats.

Speaker 2 (36:26):
You see the detail there, then this is from ten
thousand Black Men named George.

Speaker 1 (36:31):
Again, I get into all detail. Okay, camera movie. I
got three cameras on that day. The color scheme down here.

Speaker 2 (36:38):
It's a period piece, so I even get into the
porter's uniforms. Missus Robinson's dressed conservative but.

Speaker 1 (36:45):
A classy dress. Elizabeth is in a playful dress period.

Speaker 3 (36:49):
Her hair is styled.

Speaker 1 (36:51):
You know. I get into every bit of detail. I
don't leave anything to be like, oh, I didn't think
about that. You gotta think about everything. This is the work.

Speaker 3 (37:01):
Like if you say, how's Robert Towns as successful?

Speaker 1 (37:03):
Why is his movies? His movies are different? He had
a little thoughts in his Because I take time for
every piece of detail. I'm working every angle, thinking through.

Speaker 2 (37:11):
When I get you my production meeting, my production very
fast and very quick because all production heads go, man,
you've talked.

Speaker 1 (37:17):
Through the whole world.

Speaker 2 (37:19):
Now when I'm working I work with Ruth Carter on
on on the five hard Beats, It's Ruth Carter. So
Ruth goes, I see what you got, Roberts about this?

Speaker 1 (37:27):
What about this?

Speaker 3 (37:28):
Hey Hallie should be in this?

Speaker 1 (37:30):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3 (37:33):
I have ideas, but.

Speaker 1 (37:34):
She takes it to the next level. This is the
production bible. And so I know you go like, well,
you know, Professor Townsend, You're you want us.

Speaker 2 (37:43):
To really do a lot of work. I just wanna
say action and cut. No, baby, there's a lot of work.
Because let me say that it's about this generation. The
good news is that everybody has a camera. The bad
news is everybody.

Speaker 1 (37:55):
Has a camera. There is no quality control.

Speaker 2 (37:58):
Right like flight today, all these people in the room,
how many will reach across the.

Speaker 1 (38:03):
Aisle to say, I'm a writer, please read my script.
Everybody trying to get everybody trying to get to me.
And here's the thing.

Speaker 2 (38:11):
I remember when me and Keenan were first starting and
we go to this producer and the producer goes, please
meet in this cabin. You know, mister Winny has can
you get the spike?

Speaker 1 (38:23):
Can you get this? Fike leave? And we're sitting there
going like, no, but we got some He's funny and
I'm funny. We can do some stuff. He goes, can
he get the spike? And we were just like, he
ain't the one for us. He ain't the one for us.
So my thing to you is that today, try to
network work that muscle. Hi. I'm a writer. Hi, I
know you can't do anything for me, but da da

(38:44):
da da.

Speaker 2 (38:44):
Like my students at school, there's some real talented writers
and I tell them all the time, don't get insecure.

Speaker 1 (38:50):
Don't get like he's better than me. She's better than me.
I'm not gonna make it at all.

Speaker 2 (38:57):
Ryan Coogler graduated from USC. I talked to his professors.
Some people were nice to him.

Speaker 1 (39:03):
He's a boy from Oakland and he a street boy,
but he doesn't talk right. You know. So my shots
are gonna be here and I'm going to set shuff
that I'm going to do. He's like, you know, I
feel it right. You know what's right here is you
know I wanna do? And he's just got that street thing.

Speaker 2 (39:17):
But he's brilliant as brilliant. So today you never know
who's next to you in the room. Mm continuing on, guys,
cause my time is going fast. This is from Media
Man again, same bible. I had to break down everything.

Speaker 1 (39:28):
This is the two pay scene. I go, he uh
make up?

Speaker 2 (39:31):
We see him wearing two pay number one. I went
through seven different two pays. I knew what I wanted. Okay,
then same source Billy Holliday music is same to see four.
We need to find rare album covers to be placed
at very places in in mister.

Speaker 3 (39:45):
Moses, I'm thinking through every piece of detail.

Speaker 1 (39:47):
I'm not sleeping right. So when people go like, ooh,
Media Man's my favorite, Oh my god.

Speaker 2 (39:51):
You know the other day, you know, uh uh, Leon
Rodgers was talking about his thirteen year old daughter and
she goes, I.

Speaker 3 (39:56):
Wanna see that movie again with the the boy took
the blind.

Speaker 1 (39:59):
Hair and he said, old the lords.

Speaker 2 (40:01):
You know.

Speaker 1 (40:01):
So this is the detail, ladies and gentlemen, this is
the detail. This is the detail.

Speaker 2 (40:07):
I know somebody you are tired right now, like man,
I'm exhausted being in his class.

Speaker 1 (40:11):
But if you get the food and you can run
with it, clean house. So that whatever is holding you down,
negative energy, like I had to learn early on my
grand look. She didn't believe in me. So she was like,
how that acted thing coming.

Speaker 2 (40:26):
And my mother was at work at the post office
and she would just talk to me like this hit me.
She turary keto just hit me with all this negative
stuff and I ate the food, negted her, hit that
ear and went through this year, went out that ear.

Speaker 1 (40:37):
So right now, some of you have a lot of
gook on you, gook, gook, gook. How do you get
the gook off to get to your destiny? Get it off,
get it off, get it off, because a lot of you,
Because here's the thing, can dreams come true? Ye, I'm
a living example.

Speaker 2 (40:58):
You can't say nothing to me because it's like you
from shick Out. Yeah west Side, uh huh uh huh yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (41:02):
I went to Heffron, I went to West Garfield.

Speaker 2 (41:04):
Up a great center, went to leif Ericson because we
moved around a lot, went.

Speaker 1 (41:08):
To Austin, went to Prowser. You can't tell me nothing.
I was cold. I was on that al freezers, Yes, yes,
I was. I was going to Goldblats in all of
different doors. Back in the day.

Speaker 2 (41:20):
I was on Madison. Okay, let's talk. Now, go to
the next phase. So we've done our bible, We've done
our production bible. We know the world now, we know
every piece of jewelry. And as you see, collaboration is good.

Speaker 1 (41:37):
Every project that we have just played with has gotten better.
And you feel the vibration go up. Yeah. So now,
movement pattern? How do characters move in the scene? How
do they move? How do they move? How do they stand?
Do they stand? Is he standing like this and like,
hey man, you got my money? Is he standing like this?
Hey man, you got my money? Is he standing like this? Aymen,

(41:59):
you got my money? Is he standing like this? Hey man,
you got my money. As directors, we have to figure
out how they stand. If you go he just standing? Year? No? No,
What's what?

Speaker 2 (42:14):
What could be more interesting? Y? We call it actor business.
So I will give actors business. I'm gonna show you
some clips in a second, and I give actors business.
So I can say, you got a a bad mail
on your finger, so as you're talking, you know.

Speaker 1 (42:29):
You got my money, not just asking you got my money.
I didn't change any dialogue. I just gave him actor business. Right.
Sometimes I will give actors business. So I'll go like,
oh the hell this listen, you get my money? No?
Did you get did you get my money?

Speaker 2 (42:48):
Right?

Speaker 1 (42:49):
Oh? Man, did you get my money? No? No, no, no?
Did you get my money? Or you? Yeah? Actor business?

Speaker 2 (42:59):
Sometimes in a lot of these films, you guys don't
get the actors any business.

Speaker 1 (43:02):
So they all talk like this, yes you know, I
got a whole mind now and they have nothing to do.

Speaker 2 (43:12):
So that looks like a student film because they're not
thinking about life. When you think about life, everybody's got
places to go.

Speaker 1 (43:19):
It's only on them that people. I have a new
and in no hurry, I got lines. I got lines
as opposed to I got so you got my money? No?
I just want to know have you you got my money? Yet?
I'm trying to clean up. I'm doing something. I'm not
just I'm here to talk. I don't have a job talk.

Speaker 2 (43:42):
So part of understanding, because I have worked with so
many actors, really smart actors, director to direct them.

Speaker 1 (43:52):
What am I doing in the scene rock you're cleaning,
and you're cleaning, you're looking for a cord here, and
you go, got my money? Man? I give them something
rather than like I ain't nothing to new, ain't.

Speaker 3 (44:04):
Nothing to do.

Speaker 1 (44:04):
So uh, let's go back to our guy, my guy
walking down the hall with uh, where's my re reporter guy?
Where's he at? Where he right there? Okay, So ladies
and gentlemen, let's play. Let's play actor business. Right now.

Speaker 2 (44:20):
He's walking down though he be doing walking down? Yes,
sorr okay, a badge area, strumming his.

Speaker 1 (44:26):
Fingers, you know, yes. What else?

Speaker 3 (44:30):
He could be watching the posters as the school comes in.

Speaker 1 (44:34):
He could be stained off his suit.

Speaker 3 (44:35):
Love it, love it, love it, love it, what you got,
adjusting adjusting his tie, love.

Speaker 2 (44:40):
It, love it, love it, trying to compel h nothing
change right here, I'm in nothing is it's allybody else in.

Speaker 1 (44:47):
The back road, Yes, he's humming the tune that he
was playing last night.

Speaker 3 (44:50):
He's humming the tune he was playing last night.

Speaker 1 (44:53):
Didn't not b are you with me?

Speaker 9 (45:02):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (45:03):
Yes, uh okay. So he's checking his watch, like, let
me get this interview over with. In the back row,
he can be talking to his cameraman.

Speaker 2 (45:13):
He could be talking to his cameraman. So yeah, okay,
so again, cause I I asked you, you said, cameraman.
So it's like you know, w what I forgot the day?

Speaker 1 (45:20):
But he had a great day.

Speaker 2 (45:21):
But you follow what I'm seeing? So movement pattern? Back
to movement pattern? How the characters move? Uh, somebody's late
for work, somebody hates their job. Now this is all
directing question.

Speaker 9 (45:40):
Yeah, something interest without I'm watching and something seen? How
the move is the movement patterns? How can you suggest,
like to make you more interested?

Speaker 1 (45:52):
For seeing partners people that are in the scene, but
they're not speaking like they're supporting. So say there's somebody's
confronting somebody.

Speaker 2 (46:01):
Okay, i'm'a I'm gonna break it down. I'm gonna break
it down for you now. So let's so that's a
great question. How how do you deal with movement patterns?
So let's get into a actual movement pattern so I
can just show you what it looks like. And then
I'm gonna show you some examples cause our time is
going fast. Man. So this is from Best Man final chapter.
This is Quinton and Shelby. So I put a AQ

(46:22):
for Quentin, ask for Shelby. They have a condo that
they live in and the two of them come in.
They have a seat on the the the couch and
something happens. And so for every movie, every television I
will twenty thirty times because I go, no, no, no,
he should be on this side.

Speaker 1 (46:39):
No, no, no, he should be on that side.

Speaker 3 (46:41):
He should come around this side, he should be that side,
this side.

Speaker 1 (46:43):
So I do it and go over and over it
again and again. So, uh, you know what I need.
Let's go to the next slide. Casting. Uh, I'm gonna
say this real quick, cause our time is getting getting close. Uh.
Ninety percent of the job of the director's casting. Reason
casting is important is because.

Speaker 2 (47:04):
I don't care what great how great your camera angle is,
how great the wardrobe is, how great the music is.
If the actor does not have a performance, you have nothing.
A lot of people go, well, my cousin's gonna play it, and.

Speaker 1 (47:14):
So and so and so on and so I do
not care.

Speaker 2 (47:17):
Have auditions anyway. When you have auditions, you learn your material,
you get to hear it. You go that's fat that works.
Oh that could be better.

Speaker 1 (47:25):
I call it fat mouth.

Speaker 2 (47:27):
Sometimes you have actors that do monologues and it doesn't
feel right, like I wouldn't say that, like good.

Speaker 1 (47:31):
Good morning, per chance that you came today. You don't
talk that way, So how do.

Speaker 2 (47:36):
You make it authentic for coming out of the actor's mouth.
So part of the thing with casting is that that
is ninety percent of the job. Everything else doesn't matter.
And have auditions. In auditions, you can work your craft,
learning to work your muscles.

Speaker 1 (47:53):
Hey, can you do it again this time? This time?
Think about think about the death of your brother. Okay,
can we do it? Okay, here we go this time.
I like what you did there, but can you be
a little bit more afraid? Okay? Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's
how you learned. Are you with me? Yeah? Moving on,
moving on, moving on, moving on.

Speaker 2 (48:14):
Working with actors, if you are prepared with all of
the homework, You've done the Bible, you've done your movement pattern,
you know what you're doing. Now you can sit and
talk with those actors, get to know them, get to
pull out the best.

Speaker 1 (48:27):
A lot of actors don't have strong muscles, So.

Speaker 2 (48:30):
It's about talking to the actors, getting to know them,
take them out.

Speaker 1 (48:32):
How do they feel? If you've been in love, it's
a little bit in love before. One of the I
use a lot is from oh, emotionally tracking the characters.
We are not in one emotion.

Speaker 2 (48:44):
The whole time like I'm happy. No, in between the lines,
you can be sad. You can trigger something. A song
can come on the radio and you have a bad memory.
The song can come on the radio and you can
have a great memory. So gears changed.

Speaker 1 (49:00):
So when I break down a script, I go gear gear, gear,
gear gear. I emotionally track everybody. So you got the
five hard beats.

Speaker 2 (49:07):
Duck is having one experience on the stage, choir boy
is running off the stage.

Speaker 1 (49:12):
Eddie's having another experience. Dressers having another experience.

Speaker 3 (49:16):
Big Red is smiling, Cookie is booing.

Speaker 2 (49:20):
Big Cookie switches its emotion emotion emotion track track track
track track track track.

Speaker 1 (49:25):
Are you with me? Yeah?

Speaker 2 (49:27):
Okay, moving on because we're down to the stretch and
I just want to share some stuff.

Speaker 1 (49:31):
Okay. This is a book that I would recommend. Ivona Chubbick.

Speaker 2 (49:34):
So many people have won Academy Awards and Tony Awards
because of her book.

Speaker 1 (49:38):
She has a technique and techniques that I think are invaluable.

Speaker 3 (49:42):
I work with her to this day, working on many things.

Speaker 1 (49:46):
Hallie thank her when she won her Academy award.

Speaker 2 (49:49):
Brad Pitt, all these people, Judith Light, so study here's
the thing, if you want to be a great director,
know what actors do you know how they think?

Speaker 1 (49:57):
Know how they think, know how they process? Rather than
crat No no, no, no, no no no. How do
you how do you get there? How do you get there?
How do you get there? Moving on? Moving on? All right?
Best man? Final chapter?

Speaker 2 (50:09):
Can I get somebody to be Quintin and somebody to
Shelby and somebody to restage direction? Uh?

Speaker 1 (50:15):
You know what? And I need somebody with a big voice.
You you can't have a little bitty voice. I'll go
with you. I don't know. And let me have you
a man in the hat. And then who can restage directions?

Speaker 2 (50:24):
You?

Speaker 1 (50:24):
You served right here. Once you restage directions, here we go.
Here's the script. Let's go really fast. This is interactive.
This is come here, come in here. Here's here's the pages.
Here's a page. Come down quickly quick? QUI quick? Wait?
You got no time? Then you have to sit down.
You'll see I'm take come on down all right, wait
for my action. Let's just read it. So here's what
I tend to do. I will have actors just read it.
No performance at first, just reading the script. Uh and uh,

(50:50):
all right, here we go. The two of you shared
this mic, and then I have another mic. Please fly
to me, please here think you are timely fast.

Speaker 3 (50:56):
Here we go, Here we go, guys, here we go,
and let's just read it from the top.

Speaker 1 (50:59):
Where for my action, reach, stage direction, everything and action.

Speaker 10 (51:03):
Interior Quentin and Shelby's Midtown mansion night. Quinn and Shelby
have collapsed on the couch, tipsy and giddy. Quentin yells
in his phone, you.

Speaker 1 (51:12):
Missed it, erchie Berch. It was so dope, and it's
with this man.

Speaker 3 (51:18):
Call me back and call hard.

Speaker 1 (51:20):
He loves you. You're drunk, drunk in love.

Speaker 3 (51:25):
Let's go somewhere man, somewhere far, just you and me,
and soon I'm serious.

Speaker 11 (51:31):
They laugh and kiss. Shelby snuggles up closer.

Speaker 1 (51:34):
To my Okay, how about turks and caicos? Love it gorgeous,
blue water, cool breeze, or maybe aspen.

Speaker 11 (51:43):
Quentin sits up right grimaces.

Speaker 1 (51:46):
What's wrong? Nothing? I think we were just laying funny.
Tell me more about where we're going. Oh, Dubai is
always a good idea. You better call down on one.

Speaker 2 (51:58):
Something's happening, Okay, yeah, yea, yeah, yeah, he's he's dying.

Speaker 1 (52:03):
Yeah, that was very good.

Speaker 2 (52:04):
He was like, something's happened now I on all right, Uh,
let's read it this time with performance one more time.
Here we go and read stage directions. Everbody's paying attention,
I'm gonna show you the clipping.

Speaker 1 (52:13):
There we go, and and give me some energy. He's drunk,
he's had like, haven't you ever drank before? You give
me something? Hear something to give me something?

Speaker 3 (52:24):
And and and you give me something acting you look
at Yes, yes, I'm gonna see it.

Speaker 1 (52:28):
You're both drunk. You had a good time. You had
a good time. Can you take your hat off? And
they care you?

Speaker 3 (52:32):
Yes, all right, let's go, let's go, let's go.

Speaker 1 (52:41):
Here we go, Here we go, Here we go and
and read some energy. Give you some minutes, younu give
Here we go go and oh wait with your hair's
cause this I'm it's gonna drive me crazy. Right here
we go.

Speaker 10 (52:52):
Quilby's midnight collapse. He and get you, Quintin yells in
his phone.

Speaker 1 (52:57):
You missed it, Bertie Birch.

Speaker 3 (53:00):
It was so dope you and Cannas were miss may
call me back and call harder.

Speaker 1 (53:06):
He loves you. You drunk, drunken love.

Speaker 3 (53:10):
Let's go somewhere somewhere far, just you and me, and
so I'm serious.

Speaker 1 (53:17):
They laugh and kiss.

Speaker 11 (53:19):
Shelby snuggles up closer to him.

Speaker 1 (53:21):
Okay, how about turks and Keko?

Speaker 3 (53:24):
Love it gorgeous blue water?

Speaker 1 (53:27):
Cool breathe or maybe.

Speaker 11 (53:28):
I spend Quentin sits uprighting grimaces.

Speaker 1 (53:33):
What's fun? Nothing? I think we were just laying funny
timmy boy about where we going. I is always a
good idea. Baby.

Speaker 9 (53:44):
Wait, okay, fine, seventeen our rain ride, you get restless?

Speaker 1 (53:51):
Live bla, oh you better call down one one. Something's happening. Alright, alright,
let me.

Speaker 2 (54:06):
So.

Speaker 1 (54:07):
So, ladies and gentlemen, you just saw the scene. They
just read the scene.

Speaker 3 (54:12):
Now I'm gonna tell you what we did while we
were shooting.

Speaker 1 (54:15):
So, as I'm shooting the scene, I'm like after business.

Speaker 3 (54:19):
I said, okay, right now, they're supposed to sit on
the couch, and that was it.

Speaker 2 (54:23):
They're just sitting on the couch and then something happens
to him. So I'm always thinking after business. I'm in
that hotel room thinking about other stuff. So I said,
what if you come in and it's all sexy and
everything and you give him a strip tease and he
gets on the couch and while he's.

Speaker 1 (54:39):
Getting the strip tease, he gets excited.

Speaker 2 (54:42):
And so Melissa gos Rob I did the strip teas
in the first episode that we shot.

Speaker 1 (54:46):
I don't wanna do it again. And I was thinking,
you know, but I I'm a different director, and I'm like,
I would go da da da da. So she goes,
I don't wanna do it.

Speaker 2 (54:52):
Terrors goes, I'll do it, and I was like, you're
gonna do it, and Terres goes, yeah, man, I'll be
drunk and I'll do a strip teach. So that became
the actor business. So here's a look at the scene
and I go moment to moment b to be oh.
We talked to the pattern pattern again. They come through
the front door. They're gonna sit on the couch and

(55:13):
I and I but once he said he'd do the strip,
I switched it.

Speaker 1 (55:16):
Here we go. You it was so you.

Speaker 5 (55:30):
Too, quit Hello, My husband is really he's not a way.

Speaker 1 (56:33):
I don't know. He just fell to the ground like
he's up freezing all right, Like you just saw what
I was talking about.

Speaker 2 (56:52):
Actor business, taking time, emotionally tracking the characters. Our time
is almost up.

Speaker 1 (56:58):
And I'm gonna take questions out. I'm gonna take some
questions I know they wouldn't fact. I have a whole stop,
but we're gonna stop right here and lud say of
your question