| Finding the Rhythm | 2003-03-07 19:42 3 comments |
 by Flemming FunchI was just watching an interview with Christopher Walken on the Charlie Rose Show. He mentioned that the way he studies a script to prepare for a movie is as follows: He lays out all the pages in front of him in his kitchen and then he goes through them backwards, reading only his own lines, not looking at the other people's lines at all. Then he tries doing the lines in different voices, like as Elvis or as a U-boat commander, etc., still backwards. He does that until he finds the rhythm of it all, and it feels natural. He doesn't pay attention to the story. And when it feels right, and he senses the rhythm, then he goes and shows up on the set. And somehow, magically, his interpretation of the character always fits. But at the same time it always comes from an unexpected and unpredictable, possibly unnerving and unsettling, but always delightful place. ...Hm, I seem to find some deep wisdom there, that applies to many other things in life. Don't just try to fit in and do what is expected and required of you. Go and find your own true rhythm, and when you really feel it, come in and discover that, miraculously, it fits perfectly with everybody else's rhythms, and together we manifest something wonderful that has never before been seen. |