America 1987

Chapter 14 Crying Scenes

After David Ovitz gave Catherine a brief explanation, he laughed and said, "You've been asking me questions all along; now it's my turn to ask you."

"Go ahead and ask."

Is this your first time acting in a crying scene?

Catherine looked up at him curiously. "What's wrong? Did I not act naturally enough this morning?"

"Hmm..." David was taken aback by the question and replied after a moment of contemplation, "Anyway, in my opinion, it's natural enough. It should have no problem moving the average viewer after the movie is released."

"Oh," Catherine said thoughtfully after hearing this comment, then answered David's question, "It's not the first time. When I'm acting in plays, I practice crying scenes in front of a mirror beforehand."

"Back then, because I was on stage and the audience was quite far away, I really cried to make them believe me. I sometimes overdid it while acting, and after a crying scene, my voice would be hoarse for half a day."

As Catherine ate her lunch with a knife and fork, she casually chatted, "It's better to act in movies. You don't have to be so exaggerated, and it's not as tiring to act."

David Ovitz was somewhat speechless. He had even skipped the crying scene for her during the audition because he was worried she wouldn't be able to pass the test. Now it seemed like he had gone to all that trouble.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. She studied dance and acting from a young age, performed on stage with the Catholic Church's dance troupe at the age of 12, and obtained her first Actors Guild membership card at the age of 15. She was also called "the most promising newcomer" by London theater critics. How could such a resume be judged by common sense?

Moreover, musicals are a type of stage play, and they are the most integrated and demand the highest level of comprehensive ability among all types of stage plays. To be able to play the lead role in such a play, one must definitely have some talent.

If this were in China, he'd probably be a top performer sitting at the same table as the Beijing People's Art Theatre and the National Theatre of China.

Having stage actors act in movies is, in a sense, a game-changer.

After all, stage plays don't have post-production dubbing or retakes; they have to be done in one take.

In addition, the last row of audience members in the theater is dozens of meters away from the stage, which requires a very high level of skill in delivering lines and control over body rhythm.

Actors who can persist in this field for several years will definitely have a much stronger foundation than students who graduate from ordinary acting schools.

Meryl Streep and Anthony Hopkins are the best examples.

David Ovitz hesitated for a moment, but decided to ask for advice anyway, though he put on a very calm demeanor, as if it were just a very ordinary question.

"Cathy, how did you act out that crying scene this morning? I noticed that even the last tear fell from the middle of your eye. How did you avoid the corner of your eye? Did you have any techniques?"

Although David's main profession is directing, he is also quite interested in acting. It's rare to come to this era, with countless classic Hollywood films from the 90s. It would be a real shame not to pick a few of his favorites to enjoy on the big screen.

Catherine nearly laughed at his earnest, affected manner, and couldn't help but clear her throat. "Actually, to achieve the effect you're talking about, you just need to figure out how to control your facial muscles."

"The first thing is to relax and keep your face relatively relaxed, so that tears can flow more easily to the center."

As she spoke, Catherine put down her knife and fork, gently patted her cheek, and then adjusted her angle, tilting her head slightly upward and gently squeezing the muscles between her eyebrows to guide the tears towards the center.

Catherine, who was practicing synchronously as she had instructed, suddenly and intentionally lengthened her breathing intervals and slowed her breathing rhythm.

David primarily judged by the changes in the curve of the other person's chest.

"How is it? Are the tears flowing down from the middle?"

Catherine's eyes were slightly red, her breathing was a little erratic, and she seemed to be speaking with unsteady breaths.

David looked closely and found that a tear was indeed flowing down the other person's delicate, collagen-rich face. Judging from the tear stain that had not yet dried, it was clear that it had flowed from the middle of her eye.

Wiping away her tears with her sleeve, Catherine calmed her breathing and then asked with a smile, "Isn't it amazing that you can produce tears so easily?"

"Yes, a little," David answered honestly, but he immediately followed up with, "Were you intentionally changing your breathing rhythm just now?"

"Yes, that's right. Inhale for 3 seconds, hold your breath for 5 seconds, and then add a 2-second sigh."

Catherine brushed the strands of hair that had accidentally fallen in front of her back behind her ears with her hand.

"This irregular rhythm will put the body in a state of mild hypoxia and tension."

She pressed a finger against her chest, which was gradually calming down, and added with a smile, "and the feeling of pressure in the chest cavity, thus simulating the physiological characteristics of emotional excitement."

"Body memory?" David wasn't distracted by her deliberately suggestive gestures.

Seeing that the other person was unmoved, Catherine picked up her cutlery again and prepared to continue eating. "You can think of it this way: first, get your body into a 'physiological state of crying,' and then use that to influence your psychological emotions."

David said "oh" to indicate that he heard, and then continued eating.

Using the body to evoke emotions, rather than waiting for emotions to arise before crying, is a standard, technically-driven acting approach, and indeed the best method for efficient filmmaking.

However, it's easier said than done. When David went back that night, he tried the method Catherine had suggested several times, but all his efforts failed. It seems that he still needs to combine his understanding of the character with genuine emotion to see results.

However, the male lead he plays doesn't have many crying scenes, so there's no need to rush for now.

Moreover, he now has to figure out how to deal with someone's interrogation...

"David?" After watching Catherine and Whoopi Goldberg rehearsing in the corner for a while, Tony turned and called out to David, who was sitting next to them busy fiddling with the camera.

"What's wrong?" He leaned closer and asked in a low voice, "Are you pursuing Cathy?"

"No," David Ovitz said with a serious expression, "Absolutely not. Why are you suddenly asking me this?"

Tony didn't expose the other man's poor acting. "I'm just reminding you that although this is New York, we'll be back in Los Angeles soon."

"I know what I'm doing," David said, giving the other person a serious look. He was somewhat surprised that the original owner of this body and he were so close that he would even say such things. "Is this a required course for anyone starting out in Hollywood filmmaking? I'm sure I've taken it."

Their seemingly rambling conversation actually contained a lot of information.