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October 6, 2019

What Richard Brody Gets Wrong About "Joker" in the New Yorker

With all due respect, I don’t think I have disagreed with an article in the recent past more than I do with Richard Brody's review of Joker in the October 3 issue of The New Yorker.
This is the second article I’ve read making accusations against Todd Phillips (who I was no big fan of until this movie) that I believe are largely misplaced. The first is the accusation that he’s whitewashing the infamous Bernard Goetz subway shooting, racializing it and essentially defending Goetz. Really? Is that what Phillips was intending to do? How do we know that? I find the accusation dubious at best.
Next, the author doubles down and accuses Phillips again of racializing the attack by a group of non-white youth. Never mind that the very next attack occurs exclusively by white men and this is the one where he goes full Goetz. I’ll chalk this up to sloppy reviewing. I believe I’m being generous.
Next, I simply have to look at the films of another “downer” director, David Fincher - Seven, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Insomnia, Zodiac, etc. - as Exhibit A of equally dark and cynical storytelling. Like those films, Joker has a place, and frankly, I loved it. Furthermore, I have no idea how you tell the story of Joker without going to a very dark place. ‘Nuff said.
Last but not least, I am confused by what Brody is saying about conservative versus liberal politics. I don’t see the film as either promoting gun violence or limiting gun control to the mentally ill. Although I do agree with the author’s interpretation of a possible indictment of radical liberals, though I’m actually OK with that. Because I see it as a cautionary tale about the excesses of any radicalism, right or left, and about the dangers of allowing our radicalism to create vacuums for crazy people to come in and seize the agenda. I think that’s a really important thing to put out there. Perhaps the most important thing we could hear at this point in history. I fear that the knee-jerk reaction against the film, especially from the left weirdly, will cause us to miss this important lesson.
Overall, I see the film as a necessarily dark and cynical descent of a disturbed individual through the circles of hell and into the abyss. That’s exactly what this film should be. Of course that makes it uncomfortable viewing. Of course that makes it feel sinister and ominous. Of course that means some people won’t like it and other people arguably shouldn’t even see it. And of course it’s open to interpretation and co-opting, like many, many good films. But it has something to say and that’s why I loved it, even though I’m not sure I totally enjoyed it any more that I “enjoyed” (in the usual sense of the word) the aforementioned films by Fincher, but still find them important and worthy.
I didn’t interpret Joker as an indictment of either right or left, but rather as a warning to all of us to be careful about the social and political conditions we create, as well as an invitation to be more compassionate and thoughtful toward our fellow human beings. And, lest we forget, an origin story of a master villain.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I completely respect Brody’s right to feel the way he does about this film. I just think he’s largely missed the mark and couldn't disagree more.

August 14, 2019

Auditioning Advice from Vancouver Actor Michael Coleman

Michael Coleman is a Vancouver-based actor who has appeared in Once Upon a Time, Supernatural, Stargate, Smallville, and animated hits like Hello Kitty, Dragonball Z, and Inuyasha.

He is also co-founder of the production Rebel West Pictures, with several film and television projects in development, including Thirty-Seventeen and the television series, Hipsterverse, both set for release in 2019.

In addition to working in front of and behind the camera, Michael Coleman is also an educator and founder of Story Institute, an accredited, arts-based post-secondary school and think tank for serious actors, writers, and music creators.

With over twenty-five years experience in the Vancouver film and television industry, he knew acting was the career he wanted to pursue as early as high school. Many of his childhood idols were actors, actresses, and writers he grew up watching and he loved their life of creativity. If this is what his idols were able to do for a living, he thought me too! I want in on this life of storytelling and affecting how people feel.

"This is a subjective industry," says Coleman, "with subjective opinions on what people like, what the rules are, and what makes a bookable performance." So how does one ensure they are always able to deliver their best and respect the casting process and consistently deliver bookable auditions?

Coleman says there are 4 rules one should adhere to in every audition that are universally respected.


1. Be prepared. "This is more than just remembering your lines or being 'emotional'”, says Coleman. It means understanding the core elements of story and character and scene work. It means having a clear motivation or goal and knowing what it costs you if you don’t achieve it. Being grounded and authentic. It means having rehearsed your scenes out loud with a scene partner and having triggers or personalizations that allow you to fall into the character efficiently and effectively for the audition.


2. Be efficient. Casting has lots of people to see. This is also a part of being prepared. You have the drive/walk over to the audition and time in the waiting room to emotionally connect to where you need to be for the audition. Many actors use this time to be social and try to reduce the jitters with casual banter. This is a time to lock into the role and scene(s). Treat it like a stage performance. If your scene is coming up shortly you aren’t off with other cast or crew socializing, you are in the wings, preparing to go on.

3. Be on time. To be early is to be on time. To be on time is to be late. To be late is unforgivable. An audition scheduled for 1pm means you should be signed in and preparing by 12:45pm at the latest. "You only get so many minutes in the audition room," says Coleman. "Why would you do anything other than ensure you are always grounded and ready to deliver your best work?"

4. Be directable. This doesn’t mean nodding at the idea given by a director or casting director, this means being able to truly understand the note and being able to apply it throughout the scene. "There is nothing more frustrating," says Coleman, "than an agreeable actor who says they want the note but then aren't able to apply the feedback given." Try saying the idea back in your own words to ensure you truly understand what they are saying. Think the scene through and ask yourself where this note shifts things and how your motivation or goal may need to be revisited in order to respectfully apply the goal.

August 5, 2019

How Stories Made, Then Broke, and Can Still Heal The World

I'm not going to lie, the last eight years, one month, and thirteen days of my life have been flat-out amazing.

During that time, I have had the incredible honour of learning with and then teaching hundreds of professional and aspiring storytellers, while I myself wrote (sometimes for money!) for comics, film, web series, and corporate advertising. 

My students have been screenwriters, novelist, actors, directors, producers, animators, video game designers, social media marketers, business professionals, moms and dads, grandmas and grampas. 

They've come in all shapes and sizes, all ages, genders, and stages of life, and arrived from different backgrounds and levels of experience with a diverse range of personal and professional goals. 

They are high school students, full-time employees, working moms, and retirees. Boomers, Xers, millennials, Zs, and eventually, whatever comes next. They’ve come from all over the world and somehow ended up around classroom tables and in convention rooms, offices, and labs where I have the crazy privilege of leading them on journeys that change their lives and mine.

Some just want to see if they’ve got a book in them. Others want to sell an award-winning script or best-selling novel. Some have had a story brewing inside for so long, they know they’ll explode if they don’t get it out, while others are like a blank page, ready to start completely from scratch. Some have been writing forever, others have never written a thing in their entire life. Some are ready to rock ‘n’ roll, others are terrified. 

But they all have one thing in common: they are extremely motivated to write. To begin (or continue) creating worlds and characters they hope will entertain and inspire their fellow human beings.

Oh, and almost all of them have one other thing in common: They don’t get how seismically, explosively, world-changingly powerful story is. Not yet, at least.

I know what you might be thinking. Really, Paul: world-changing? I mean, sure, I was moved by stories people read to me when I was a kid. And I've perused a few on my own. And, hey, who doesn’t love a great movie or TV show? But world-changing? That’s a bit much, isn’t it?

Nope. Don’t believe me?

Story Make (or Break) Our World

Answer this question: Do you believe that every human being is worthy of equal respect and opportunity, regardless of age, gender, orientation, or any other involuntary personal consideration? That everyone should have some say in the way society runs and the laws that govern daily life? 

If you live somewhere in the western hemisphere, I’m going to take a wild stab and guess your answer is “yes”. But does everyone in the world believe in the equal rights of all? Not by a long shot. In fact there are entire countries and regions of the world that don’t believe this, several in fact, with policies or practises that quite clearly express their belief that all people do not have equal rights. 

Meanwhile, our belief in universal equality is so deep, so automatic, such a given, that we call human rights “inherent” and “inalienable”, and shake our heads of the rest of the world for just not getting it.

But here’s a truth that may shock you: the only reason we believe in equal human rights is because that’s the story we’ve been telling each other in this part of the world for the past 350-ish years. The story is called “democracy”, and it’s attached to an even older story that goes back to the time of the ancient Greeks. There is clearly no globally-agreed-upon consensus regarding equal human rights or we wouldn’t have a thing called the United Nations trying so desperately to build one. Democracy is an idea, facilitated by a story (or more accurately, stories) proposing that nations, communities, families, and individuals live better, freer, happier lives with democracy than without it. It’s a story that motivates us, drives us, inspires us, propels us. . 

Pretty powerful for a story, right? 

And it's one we've been telling each other for a long time, so long in fact that we assume it's truth is universally accepted. The fact that it isn't embraced by all is a reminder that it is, in the end, just a story.

Adolph Hitler had a story. 
Mahatma Gandhi had a story. 
ISIS has a story. 
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had a story. 
Martin Luther King had a story (fuelled by a dream). 
Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, had a story. 
The current American President has a story. 
And that’s just the twentieth century! 

I could go on forever. And given the right conditions, the right crisis or opportunity, and the right marketing, the story of just one person can completely transform our world, tilt the social and political axis of the planet, for good or for evil. That’s no exaggeration, it’s a fact: stories change the world.

And unless mother nature gets us first, stories will either be what save us or finally destroy us. Heavy. Or empowering! Depends on your perspective.

(Almost) Everything is a Story

Next to eating, sleeping, and getting it on, telling stories is the one thing humans have been doing longer and more often than anything else. Before homo sapiens could put two intelligent words together, we were already sharing stories on cave walls and acting them out before enraptured hunters huddled around fires…in 3-D! 

Every single thing we do, say, and believe – good, bad, or indifferent - is based on stories:

The family unit is a story.

Money is a story.

The Middle Class is a story.

Every religion is a story.

Every political and business institution is a story.

Every news report, every blog post, every good ad - all stories.

Our notion of how life is supposed to work (go to school, get a job, retire) is a story.

Every joke is a story.

Every conversation is a story.

If I asked you right now how your day went, what would your first instinct be? To start telling me a story! “How was your day, Karly?” “Oh, it was crazy. I took the bus to work today and of course it was raining and of course I forgot my umbrella and then this crazy person got on one stop before mine and started yelling ‘Hallelujah!’ and the driver had to stop and…” See? We can’t help it. 

And here’s the coolest part: if we want to, we can revise these stories. Or create entirely new ones. It’s called change. It’s our choice. Just depends on how creative we’re willing to be!

Thankfully, having an influence as a storyteller doesn’t require the sky-high, megaton weight of an Oprah or Gandhi. 

A single mom named Joanne Rowling wrote a little series of books about a boy and his magical friends that inspired millions to discover and own their power and do good in the world. (They were also just freaking entertaining!) Justin Halpern turned a series of blog posts into a runaway bestseller called Sh*t My Dad Says

And there’s no reason to believe you can’t be next.