Archive for September, 2007
Marcel Marceau Remembered
4Heaven Hi!!!
Let’s have a cup of coffee. Make mine a MIME Delight. Hold the Eulogy.
Out of some of the most talented people on earth, Marcel Marceau is among that list. This last Wednesday in France, Marceau’s body was laid to rest. Marceau’s biography is as interesting as his talent. Some say the journey is more important than the destination, and Marcel Marceau is no exception. As a French Jew, he escaped from the deathly hallows of Auschwitz where his father died. Marcel Marceau inspired many artists including Michael Jackson, who borrowed his famous “moonwalk” from a Marceau sketch, “Walking Against the Wind.” As a prime example of a person being in BOP, his focus was always 100%. He was well aware of his surroundings, and anchored the audience with his enigmatic movements. As Actors For Real, we use the picture exercise, to capture our movements, facial expressions, gestures, stature, and our awareness towards our surroundings. Marceau mastered that through mimicry. He was right on que and took us on a journey into his world as he performed in ours. He will be missed, remembered, and cherished, as a remarkable talented performer.
As a young apprentice actor, I had the great fortune of stage managing Marceau when he was starring in his one man show at UCLA. I was in awe of how he revealed the emotional life and psychology of his “Pip” character through mime. I also found out what a philosophical intellectual he was. One day as I was driving with him he asked me if I was happy with my acting career. I replied, “yes.” He told me, “you shouldn’t be. You should never be totally satisfied and happy with your life until you are dead.” I realized that he meant we are all on this Earth to do the best we can, and there is always room for improvement. So never settle. Strive everyday to be the best you can be. His inspiring words have had an extreme impact on my life, and have caused me to strive everyday to be the best I can be. To be the STAR in my own play in life. He will be missed, but never forgotten.
Be Bop!!!
Thom
Expensive Cheap Shots!
1Heaven Hi!!!
Let’s have a cup of coffee. Make mine a Grande mistake. Hold the cheap shot.
Well what would the entertainment business be without drama. If it wasn’t enough that Britney Spears’ dance at the VMA music awards shocked audiences everywhere, and got more hits on youtube.com then any other video the week it was aired, Sarah Silverman found a way to knock her down further and drag her through the coals. Silverman’s comments about Britneys’ children, or “mistakes,” made many people really angry. You would think that the commotion would have died down a little after the awards were over, but (hold your breath), it didn’t! Like a fan to a fire, Silverman found her material, and the only expense is Britney’s dignity. What’s left of it?
False Myth: It’s hard to make people happy/glad/content/feel good.
Sarah Silverman’s comedy is very deadpan, and acerbic. However, considering Britney’s already vulnerable state, there is a boundary one should be aware of. When you turn to your humor at the expense of someone else, you are leaning towards your dark triangle of human behavior. You are running off of negative energy, and the results are sometimes fatal. I think deep down we all find more joy in making others happy. We find positive energy makes the engines of our emotions run smoothly. So, find your funny zone, tell a joke(in good taste), and get in touch with your humor. Pretty soon you’ll start looking at life in a more positive way.
Example:
Negative: The sun is so hot today.
Positive: It’s so nice and warm. Let it shine, baby.
Be BOP!
Thom
Learn the secrets of success that only movie stars know!
1Join Us for a FREE Teleconference as “Coach to the Stars” Thom McFadden reveals how you can be funnier, sexier, richer, and more confident in only 5 weeks!
You’ll also get access to a FREE 13-page Special Report, “From Survival to Success,” with a step-by-step plan to take you from just getting by to getting everything you need.
But that’s not all! Join us on the call and you could win either a FREE 3 day/2 night vacation or a FREE copy of Acting FOR REAL!
To register, click here!
Win a free vacation or other prizes!
1Acting FOR REAL™ launches on October 9, 2007 at 12:00 noon EST! As part of the launch, we’re having a special contest with great prizes!
Want to win a FREE 3 day/2 night vacation? OR a FREE copy of Acting FOR REAL™? Just leave a comment on any post here and be the last person when we pick the winner!
We’ll be giving away one book a day and a vacation on October 9!
Are YOU Coachable?
3Heaven Hi!
Let’s have a cup of coffee. Make mine a red eye. With cream de cream, thank you very much.
WEALTH LESSON: Be COACHABLE 4 REAL.
Wealth is not made it is learned. Wealth is hidden from those who must do it all themselves. There is a great saying "If you give a man a fish you feed him once but if you teach him how to fish then you have fed him for a lifetime". If you are already know how to fish, wealth exposes itself to you, and if you are patient, and willing to be coached, you will be a successful fisher of wealth. If you really desire to make major improvements in your life, you need a personal coach. It's an absolute must!
Books, audio programs, video programs, and seminars all have their place in your personal development quest, but coaching stands apart as the single greatest potential contributor to helping you create a successful life.
The Best-Kept Secret of the Rich:
The richest people in the world use coaches and it are no accident. What all high achievers know is that they need someone who can unemotionally give them an objective view on the results they are working to create in their lives. A coach not only holds you accountable for the results you desire, a coach also provides you with insights, and strategies you can use to achieve those results in the best way possible, or how to cast more lines in the water. TWO heads are better than ONE.
If you feel you’re coachable, check out my website: www.actingforreal.com, and sign up for the newsletter, and my blog. Let me Coach You to Success for Real.
We are all on a wonderful economical journey.
See You At The Top.
Be Bop
THOM
The Joy of Giving!
1Heaven Hi!!!
Let’s have a cup of java. Make mine a latte of giving.
Children and families throughout the United States, and the world, get up in the morning and wonder if they are going to have enough food to eat, enough money for school, or even a house to live in. Some children even wonder if they are even going to be able to survive from some heinous sickness or disease, because they lack the medication for their ailment. While some people live in abundance, others live in squalor, and many ask; is there a solution? Yes and the answer is Giving For Real. In Bill Clinton’s new book, “Giving,” he explains the pure joy and karma like reward that one receives from giving. If everyone gives everyone receives, making the need less severe and better enabling that person with a more enriched life by; better educational opportunities, proper nutrition, housing, and medication. In essence you set a balance. As an Actor For Real you know that to be Balanced, Observant, and Present (BOP) is the essence of excellence. If you are in BOP you will be aware of the needs of yourself as well as others. And giving to others in need feels great. Let’s face it our children are our future. So, why not make their life a little better to live, so they will experience a more beneficial future. At Acting For Real we have chosen to GIVE. 15% of our funds from the products sold go to two wonderful charities; Feed the Children, and Mercy Corps. Acting For Real knows the joy of giving, and the importance in providing a safe, secure lifestyle for the future of our children, as well as ourselves. We all know the happiness we feel when we receive a gift. It doesn’t even compare to the excitement of giving one. So give, and experience the joy.
Be Bop
Thom
Another Cup of O.J.
3Heaven Hi!!!
Let’s have a cup of coffee. Make mine a red eye. Hold the O.J.! So what stays in Vegas must stay in Vegas 5-10 years, at least for O.J.
Our famous former football hall of famer just made another landmark moment in his career. If the glove doesn’t fit you must have quite, however, this time it was a baseball catcher’s mitt, and it did fit. Theft, with a gun in a Las Vegas hotel has been added to the list of O.J.’s accolades. There are two sides to being a hero and a celebrity, and one of the most crucial elements to that mix is influence. Attention can be a vise. Many fall to attention as many fall to a drug. Before O.J. underwent his trial, back in 1994, he was known to use his celebrity persona to give to charity. Now, his focus is to become a celebrity once again merely for attention. It has become his drug. We as the public are the enablers that feed his addiction; the dark side of celebritism. So we need to shift our focus back to our positive role models. What ever happened to our Heroes For Real; Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Mohamed Ali, and Jesse Owens? Let’s really start focusing on positive role models. As opposed to feeding the dark addictive side to celebrity life. As actors for real, we have the need to model excellence; to find a hero for ourselves. So let’s shift our focus towards our positive role models, and maybe then we will see less celebrity mug shots, and more inspirational stars.
Be Bop!!!
Thom
3:10 to Yuma
0Heaven Hi!!!
Let’s have a cup of coffee. Make mine a Yuma Express, hold the revenge.
Dan Evans (Christian Bale) is an honest rancher — which is to say, poor. The ultimate humanities character. He’s crippled by debt, and crippled physically too, a souvenir from the War Between the States. Events change when Dan is offered $200 to escort the outlaw Ben Wade, played by our western “gladiator,” Russell Crowe, safely into custody on the 3:10 train with a makeshift posse comprising a veterinarian,a wounded Pinkerton operative, Peter Fonda, and a businessman Dallas Roberts. However, Dan does it for the money, for respect, and because he believes it’s the right thing to do.
Over the course of the journey, the articulate, genial Wade whittles away at each of these convictions, even as he looks for any opportunity to level off the odds. Wade struggle for control portrays him as the power character of the film.
This film was adapted from an early short story by Elmore Leonard that was previously filmed in 1957 with Glenn Ford and Van Heflin, “3:10 to Yuma” strikes a fair balance between physical action and psychological warfare, but always at its core is the question of how we are to measure these two men?
Crowe plays Wade very gently. He’s a man utterly at ease with himself, commanding and confident no matter that he spends much of the picture in chains. Crowe’s performance makes him all the more attractive revealing his sexuality as his 50% of personality. The other 25% of Crowes personality was his passion and power directed towards being DRIVEN to dominate, and passionate about his mission.
It’s also clear that he’s utterly ruthless.
By contrast, Christian Bale’s Evans is still striving to prove something. He may occupy the moral high ground, but most often he’s the one picking himself out of the dust. Bales attempt of maintain the law and follow through with justice as well as survive as a poor civil war vet, tags this character as the prime definition of a character of humanities. His power balance tips in order to dominate Crowe, however maintaines his passion for justice which keeps him as a Balanced, Observent, and Present(BOP) character.
This well made movie lucidly depicts all the elements of the Acting For Real method. Rich, potent, passion, exuded from this film as well as action to keep you riveted. A so called “Lethal Weapon,” set in 1876. An Acting For Real success.
If you would like to know how to break down a movie using the creative triangle of human behavior, stop by before you go, and buy my book. This book will not only teach you the dynamics of movie structure, and character, but will help you understand what roles you are playing in your life. Whether it is onscreen or off screen, learn how you can be the star in your play in life.
Be BOP!!!
Thom
