BOB Discussion Question #6, Oldies but goodies

[captainjacksparrow]

Originally Posted by Karen
on 6/25/05 at 05:24 AM

Both Tim and Johnny were influenced greatly by some veteran, classic older film stars, Johnny by the silent stars like Chaplin and Keaton and Tim by Vincent Price.
How do you think this influence and respect for older stars motivated them as artists? How do you think it affected their work?

[captainjacksparrow]

deppraved

Everyone draws from something or someone and their earliest childhood experiences. Kids are impressionable and have great primal memory capacity.
You can hear popular musicians' influences. Just by listening to them, you can tell who they've been listening to. The predecessors whom you tend to emulate, consciously or sub-consciously, are the ones who you identify with and relate to on a deeply psychological level, and sometimes you can't even explain why.

[captainjacksparrow]

Karen

I think that in Johnny's case, with the silent film stars, he studied their ability to portray emotions through their eyes and body actions and reactions...and I think that's pretty evident in his films. Johnny doesn't just say the words...he feels them.

[captainjacksparrow]

JP

When studying to be an actor, I believe you need to research and study those who were great talents. Silent movie actors had to rely on facial expressions and body language; the ability to "say" what is felt without speaking.....powerful. I think this has influenced both Tim and Johnny in their careers. Tim often refers to the "silent movie actors" in his commentaries, and how he looks for that ability in the actors he choses. I have watched some of Johnny's movies frame by frame, and there are such subtle nuances in Johnny's eyes that are not seen when watching a film. This ability on Johnny's part, and the understanding and use of that ability on Tim's part, make for characterizations and stories that are believable, even if fantastical and slightly left of center.

[captainjacksparrow]

MerryK

The movies and the actors back then didnt have all the computerized.. generated stuff that is out there now. They had to depend on themselves.. their own unique characteristics to get across to the viewing audience what they were trying to achieve. I'm sure the movies from back then are a major source of learning.

[captainjacksparrow]

Jeppody

I'm late again, sorry Teach.
I immediately thought of Benny and Joon, as no doubt everybody else did, but also the fact that we know Johnny asks for less script to say because he feels that facial expressions and body movements can portray more than the spoken word. He also puts me in mind of mime artists sometimes too.