[Watch the video interview on Youtube here]
Matthew Kalil, Screenwriter/Author/Instructor: Imagine the character now looking at yourself the writer in the other chair next to you, what does she think of you?
Film Courage: What is acting for writers?
Matthew: In my book, The Three Wells of Screenwriting, I have a chapter called Acting For Writers. It came about because I found that there’s something that’s very difficult to teach writers which is how to make their characters real and actually perform and behave in ways as a real person would.
What I found is when an actor inhabits a character sometimes they’ll say things like:
My character wouldn’t do that.
I’m like:
Yes, why not? Tell me.
A lot of writers or people will say:
Because I said so in the script.
But I’m like:
No, the actor is actually living the character. They’re being the character and they’re actually inhabiting the character in a way that is maybe even more than you could in your brain when you were writing, if you are the kind of writer who doesn’t project yourself into your character.
Acting for writers came from this idea that actors when they do something, when they inhabit the character, whatever that magic is that they do when they become the character, they do something that’s not dissimilar to when writers imagine themselves into a character. There’s something going on there that’s a similar thing.
My chapter Acting For Writers came out of that. It’s also important because actors carry the emotional weight of a film. They are the emotion. When we watch a film we feel what they feel and that’s incredible. So to avoid creating wooden characters that are one-dimensional characters in a way it’s difficult as an actor.
If you get a script that’s like I have to make this work somehow, you do so much…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).
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About:
Matthew Kalil is a writer, director, script editor, author and speaker. He has written and co-written over 40 produced episodes of TV and has received various grants, development funding and awards. Matthew’s productions have been screened and broadcast in Canada, Denmark, Morocco, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Kenya, South Africa, Thailand, the United States and the United Kingdom. Since receiving his MA in Screenwriting, he has been teaching, writing and mentoring students for over 20 years. Matthew has developed a unique system of screenwriting theory that helps beginners as well as established screenwriters get in touch with their creative core. His book, The Three Wells of Screenwriting, published by Michael Wiese productions with a foreword by Christopher Vogler, has been describes as a “breakthrough in the writing craft.” His workshops have touched and inspired thousands of participants and his gentle and insightful script editing guidance has helped many writers realize the stories they were always trying to tell. A charismatic speaker, Matthew has enjoyed presenting many times at the London Screenwriting Festival, the Cape Town International Animation Festival and the University Film and Video Association. Matthew is currently an Assistant Professor at the David Lynch MFA in screenwriting in the USA.
About:
Angelique Pretorius is an actor, writer and producer born in London and raised in South Africa. She started her performance journey with ballet and theatre training. When her focus shifted to TV and film she rose to prominence in South Africa by acting in a plethora of local productions. She also worked on popular international TV series, ‘Black Sails’ (produced by Michael Bay) and ‘Strike Back’ (HBO), as well as the TIFF selected biopic ‘Winnie Mandela’, starring Jennifer Hudson. Now based in Los Angeles, her recent film, ‘Mind Thief’, has garnered festival wins, such as ‘Best Screenplay’ at the Boston Sci Fi Film Festival, as well as critical acclaim.
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