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Text Box: GIVE YOUR CHARACTERS (and your actors) A GOOD RIDE “The single most important task of the dramatist is to write great roles for great actors.” — George Bernard Shaw We all know that you cannot get a script sold, a movie done—a greenlight—unless you get a star to say that magic “Yes!” What do actors want? Actors want to “act.” They want to be seen dealing with difficulty and adversity; getting into trouble; getting out of a jam or many jams, one after another. Whatever it is, it must be intense to be worth their efforts. In “A Beautiful Mind” Russell Crowe’s character can barely lead a normal life because of his deep mental illness. I’m sure that many stars were aching to do this character; they love this kind of problem-plagued personality. It lets them do what they love to do: ACT—and act BIG. Another good example is "Buffalo 66." In the opening 15 minutes the only thing that Vincent Gallo needs to do is find a place to urinate. But he can't! And he's just been released from prison! It hurts just to watch this sequence. I’m sure when Gallo was creating the story he was saying to himself “What can I do to keep this guy IN a jam!” Give your actors some intense and emotional material to do, feel, and say. Challenge them with a bumpy emotional ride, whether it’s a thriller like “The Fugitive” or an internalized emotional journey like “The Ice Storm.” They'll want to do your script because they will want to go through that emotional experience. This also helps actors feel they’re growing as artists. Added to this, we all know that challenging roles with intense emotional peaks and scenes get critics’ and the public’s attention. Every actor wants to be BIG—onscreen and off. Why do great actors appear in seemingly lousy movies? One reason is that there is a great role in there and in these cases, stars just want to do it. A good example is Taylor Hackford’s 1997 guilty pleasure classic “The Devil’s Advocate.” I happen to adore this movie. Every role has a nice rich arc of action. Every character has his/her own beginning, middle and end—that adds up to at least THREE good scenes for every performer, even in small roles. But how does Al Pacino end up in a cult movie like this? Just look at the role he gets to play. LUCIFER, Satan himself, THE devil! And he gets this amazing, wild, crazy, eat-the-scenery monologue in the final scene. That last monologue is like a 6-minute guitar solo in a rock concert. THE ROLE IS IRRESISTABLE. I think it’s worth considering the career of Nicole Kidman—easily one of our most gifted actresses. SHE NEVER STOPS WORKING. But look at her pattern. In one year, she’ll do “Cold Mountain,” a big-budget sweeping historical romance of the Civil War. And then, right after she jumps into Jonathan Glazer’s weird and unsettling “Birth”—a low-budget chiller about a little boy who Kidman is sure is the reincarnation of her recently deceased husband. Very weird and done by a first time director. But in both pictures, Kidman really gets a chance to work her talent. This is because ACTORS LOVE TO ACT!!! They are among the most hardworking artists in the profession. When they get a chance to do something great—THEY DO SOMETHING GREAT. I believe it’s one of the last truly magical processes left in our culture. Good writing—tight scene structure, conscientious storytelling, responsible screenwriting and a good feel for a character’s journey—will get you your star. So, no matter what the quality of the whole movie, you’re liable to tempt a star buy writing lead role that a great actor can sink some teeth into. Give your star a chance to win an Oscar. They’ll love you for it. ~~~~~~~~

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