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A NEW SLANT ON ACTING

A slim but pragmatic and helpful manual for navigating a film set.

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An industry primer offers novice actors a guide to surviving their early careers in Hollywood.

For new actors freshly arrived in Hollywood, getting to practice their craft on a real film set is probably the main thing on their minds. But successful actors know that there is a lot more expected of them on a movie set than mere acting. With this book, Mongiello (Start Your Own Screen-Printing Business, 2008) seeks to prepare actors for operating within the world of the film set so that they can give the finest performances and leave the best impressions. Some “actors will overwork themselves and their crews because they don’t know some basics that make for a much better movie,” writes the author in her foreword. “If you remember the suggestions in this book, then directors, producers, and crews will want to hire you over and over again.” Mongiello preaches the gospel of professionalism: showing up prepared, on time, and agreeable. She describes the processes of a set, from call sheets and one-liners to the various responsibilities of gaffers, grips, and script supervisors. She also goes into the etiquette of working with directors, hitting a mark, navigating hair and makeup, and practicing on-set ethics. In addition, the author delivers off-set advice regarding acting classes, coaches, and that trickiest of topics: money. Despite a few peculiarities (the volume is dedicated to “my dearest friend, L. Ron Hubbard”), Mongiello’s manual supplies advice that is generally practical and sound. Her prose is direct and easy to follow, as here when she provides a tip for preserving emotional continuity during scenes shot out of order: “A good way to keep track of all this is to get a hold of the continuity one-liners the script supervisor makes. These are like a table of contents for the movie. Underneath each one-liner write what the character is going through.” The work is a quick read without much filler. The author is a fellow thespian taking a newbie under her wing. Even if her counsel is sometimes clipped, it comes from lived experience and will save actors the pain of learning it for themselves.

A slim but pragmatic and helpful manual for navigating a film set.

Pub Date: April 2, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-5320-7089-1

Page Count: 158

Publisher: iUniverse

Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019

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THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE

50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...

Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.

Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").

Pub Date: May 15, 1972

ISBN: 0205632645

Page Count: 105

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972

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NUTCRACKER

This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

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