DO be specific about what your actor did right.
After a take, never say “That was great!” It’s too vague, too general. Say something like “When you turned at the door and said your line I really believed you.” That’s specific. An actor will never forget that comment.
DON’T lie to your actors.
Ed Asner: “What do I want from a director? To be honest. I had a prominent director say, ‘I want you to do the scene this way.’ He treats me like an idiot! I said ‘I can’t do it that way, because we’re on page 65 now and on page 50 I did this, this and this.’ He says, ‘Oh great, I see what you mean’. When I saw the picture he had recut the scene to be his way. How can you trust somebody when they’re two-faced?”
Judge Reinhold: ”The actor should never feel he’s being manipulated. The director should be creating a trusting environment for you and making you comfortable. If you HAVE to manipulate them, let them know it afterwards and tell them why. Otherwise they’ll figure it out on their own and never trust you again.”
DON’T hide behind the video-assist monitor.
The video assist monitor is a convenient place for directors to hide. But the actor is performing for you, not some mythical audience in the future. You want to give him appreciation now, not in the future. The very best place to do that is right beside the camera where they can see you. If you have to look at the video assist, then do it during the rehearsal and playback. The cinematographer can watch the monitor for camera mistakes.
DO discuss nudity and any other very special or unusual needs before you cast someone.
Few things are guaranteed in life. This is one of them. When you have nudity in a scene it won’t be a fun day. Women are uncomfortable with it. Men are uncomfortable with it. Transsexuals are uncomfortable with it. Even a porn star becomes more modest than Queen Elizabeth.
David Ward: “You can be sure you’re going to have two very uptight actors, who want to know exactly what you’re going to do. How much you’re going to show. Most actors really don’t like to do sex scenes. Most directors don’t either, because it’s hard to do them in a way that’s really sexy and it’s hard to do them in a way that’s original.”
Martha Coolidge: “I took the actors into my confidence, turned the video monitor around — they were both very nervous about it — showed them their picture and said, ‘This is choreography. Love scenes are not real.’ Young actors frequently fear that it’s going to be real sex, and what they’re going to have to do. And you turn around and tell them ‘no,’ if you don’t want to do something or you don’t want something seen, we’re going to stage it so the camera can’t see it. “
Even shooting partial nudity, in underwear or bathing suits can be a problem. People hide a lot they don’t like about their bodies under their clothes. If a scene calls for them to be in their underwear they can get really uptight about showing whatever “it” is. In one movie I wanted an actress to wear cutoff jeans. No way said she. The costume designer whispered to me that the actress hated her legs. That ended that. I am not making somebody wear something they are uncomfortable with.
There is only one way to handle any degree of nudity and/or onscreen sex: Discuss it with the actor frankly and up front. Do this before you hire them, while you still have leverage. If you are going to have resistance better to know it now. Never wait till the last minute. You will have a train wreck.
Go through the scenes with the actor. Tell them what you are planning, how it will be seen onscreen. Get story boards drawn so they can see what you mean exactly.
Jan de Bont: “In Basic Instinct that one famous shot set the whole relationship. Sharon Stone didn’t want to do it originally. I had to shoot the shot myself. I said, ‘Sharon, you really have to spread your legs a little more, otherwise it’s not going to work. I have to see something.’ She said, ‘But I don’t want to see it.’ I said, ‘Don’t worry about it too much. In this scene, we have to get a sense that you’re not wearing anything, otherwise the whole scene, we might as well throw away.’ That was a matter of just creating a trust with her… Of course she was aware of the fact that it did, because the camera’s between your legs, and there’s light there. You’re not filming shoes.”
JB: “Didn’t I read somewhere she claimed she was tricked?”
Jan de Bont: “Wait a second, that’s impossible.”
There are strict Screen Actors Guild rules, which protect actors from having to do any nudity that hasn’t been previously discussed with them and agreed to in writing.
When you finally do shoot a nude scene/sex scene only have a skeleton crew on the set. But watch out. Suddenly crews that haven’t been on the set in days make up bogus reasons why they have to be there. Don’t forget to look up in the rafters. Overweight crew suddenly have to climb 90 steps up to the fly floor to check an electrical connection…. and they’re just the Teamsters.
