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Movie Characters That Be Actin’ Up
Monday, November 19, 2012 at 10:23PM There is a method behind the Monday Movie Meme lateness. If you haven’t already, check out the “Life Of Pi” discussion about CGI that was posted earlier today.
Selecting cast members for roles in the short film I’m working on has been a more challenging experience than I thought it would be -- in a good way, I suppose. One thing that I’ve realized is that talent comes in some very unlikely and unsuspecting places. An actor who you might be just “ok” in one role could be perfect for another character and so forth. So, the theme for this week’s Monday Movie Meme is based on performances -- whether good or unsatisfactory: Actin’ Up.
Share on your blog or in the comments section, movies about actors. These films can be biopics or fictional fare where one of the characters work in theater, television, film or one some type of cruise ship touring show, etc. -- you get the picture! Here are my selections for this week’s Actin’ Up theme.
My Tehran for Sale
An Iranian woman, seeking freedom to work as an actress, plans to relocate to Austalia because theatre is banned in her country. She leads a double life -- working as a seamstress and performing in secret underground theater shows in her spare time.
Multi-Facial
“Fast and the Furious” lead Vin Diesel stars in this autobiographical short film about an actor struggling to find work in commercials, etc. because he doesn’t fit casting directors’ stereotypical guidelines for ethnic roles.
Queen of My Dreams*
In this short documentary, actress Fawzia Mirza reimagines the Bollywood heroines that she looked up to as a young girl -- only this time, one of the female stars is placed in a masculine role.
What movies have YOU seen that are about actors?
*Stay tuned for an interview with Fawzia Mirza, from my 2012 Couch Fest files, on this very film!
Reader Comments (5)
I haven't watched but I have heard of Multi-Facial. I've seen a headline or read an article here and there about Asian male actors fitting into the stereotypical roles and wanting to break out of it. I think Dante Basco has been blogging about some of his experiences as well.
Started reading The Life Of Pi today. I'm already 100 pages into it (left off where the boat sank and Pi is in the lifeboat with the animals). Fantastic read so far. It wasn't what I was expecting. Quite a bit about religion and religious journeys, but it ties in nicely with the secondary Zoo motif. Great read!
"Multi-Facial" is a brilliant film. The scene where the other actor thinks he's Hispanic is hilarious. It's ironic that he ended up getting typecast for being a muscle-bound lunkhead. Galaxy Quest is one of my favorite movies about fictional actors.
Angela,
If you still want to check out Multi-Facial, it is available on DVD and you can also find it on YouTube. I’m not sure if I’m familiar with Dante Basco and before you mentioned it….I didn’t really know much about Asian actors having problems with being placed in stereotypical roles.
My lack of awareness on that front is probably due to the unfortunate reality that I either haven’t noticed or paid much attention to Asian actors…and I don’t know if that is because of my own negligence or because of there not being many roles made available to them. Maybe it’s a combination of both but right now, I couldn’t even name an Asian actor…with the exception of B.D. Wong from the Law & Order franchise and that guy who played Hiro on NBC’s “Heroes” show – and that’s television. The last Asian actor I paid attention to was the dude from one of the Kickboxer sequels.
Herman,
If you go to see the movie after you read the book, you MUST write a review about it. Yep :)
You know I don’t do much fiction outside of your five-minute flashes but I’m supposed to be receiving the book one of these days. Maybe I’ll take a looksee after I finish up on the “Year to Live” book that I’m reading.
Maurice,
The only scenes I remember from Multi-Facial are the one where he is talking to his agent or someone at a pay phone booth and the scene we’re he tries to play an Italian guy. I do agree that there are some funny scenes in that movie. I’ve never watched Galaxy Quest. It just didn’t move me much to check it out.
***Thanks for commenting you guys (and gals)! My apologies for the super late reply.***
So many great films about actors. One of my favorites is Singing in the Rain.