Theorizing Film Acting Edited by Aaron Taylor NEW YORK LONDON First published 2012 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Simultaneously published in the UK by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2012 Taylor & Francis The right of Aaron Taylor to be identified as the author of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Theorizing film acting / edited by Aaron Taylor. p. cm. — (Routledge advances in film studies) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Motion picture acting. I. Taylor, Aaron. PN1995.9.A26T53 2012 791.4302'8—dc23 2011041097 ISBN13: 978-0-415-50951-0 (hbk) ISBN13: 978-0-203-12321-8 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by IBT Global. Contents List of Figures ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction: Acting, Casually and Theoretically Speaking 1 AARON TAYLOR PART I Aesthetics: Understanding and Interpreting Film Acting 1 Acting Matters: Noting Performance in Three Films 19 BRENDA AUSTIN-SMITH 2 Living Meaning: The Fluency of Film Performance 33 ANDREW KLEVAN 3 Play-Acting: A Theory of Comedic Performance 47 ALEX CLAYTON 4 Performed Performance and The Man Who Knew Too Much 62 MURRAY POMERANCE 5 “Brando Sings!”: The Invincible Star Persona 76 GEORGE TOLES PART II Reception: Film Acting, Audiences and Communities 6 “Look at Me!”: A Phenomenology of Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight 93 JÖRG STERNAGEL vi Contents 7 Is Acting a Form of Simulation or Being? Acting and Mirror Neurons 107 WILLIAM BROWN 8 The Bond That Unbinds by Binding: Acting Mythology and the Film Community 120 KEVIN ESCH 9 From Being to Acting: Performance in Cult Cinema 135 ERNEST MATHIJS 10 Acting and Performance in Home Movies and Amateur Films 152 LIZ CZACH PART III Culture: Film History, Industry and the Vicissitudes of Star Acting 11 Story and Show: The Basic Contradiction of Film Star Acting 169 PAUL MCDONALD 12 The Screen Actor’s “First Self” and “Second Self”: John Wayne and Coquelin’s Acting Theory 184 SHARON MARIE CARNICKE 13 Acting Like a Star: Florence Turner, Picture Personality 201 CHARLIE KEIL 14 Niche Stars and Acting “Gay” 210 CHRIS HOLMLUND PART IV Apparatus: Technology, Film Form and the Actor 15 What Becomes of the Camera in the World on Film? 229 WILLIAM ROTHMAN Contents vii 16 Sonic Bodies: Listening as Acting 243 JENNIFER M. BARKER 17 Dance of the Übermarionettes: Toward a Contemporary Screen Actor Training 256 SEAN AITA 18 Articulating Digital Stardom 271 BARRY KING Contributors 287 Index 293