Action!: Professional Acting for Film and Television

Benedetti, ACTION! Professional Acting for Film and Television (Sourcebooks)

FRONT COVER QUOTE:

“After this book hits the shelves don’t be surprised if the quality of American film acting takes a needed step forward. Benedetti has penned a true how-to guide for actors who want to shine onscreen. . . . Grab this book and earn that money you’re making!”

–Alfre Woodard

BACK COVER COPY:

Multiple award-winning producer and leading teacher of acting Robert Benedetti offers a no-nonsense, detailed, and clearly structured approach to the fundamentals of acting for the camera. Benedetti uses the same approach he has employed in writing and teaching for nearly forty years–defining underlying principles, presenting them in a logically sequential program of development, and providing experiential exercises to help aspiring, as well as experienced, actors shine in film and television.

Here’s what some of today’s most recognizable actors are saying about ACTION! Professional Acting for Film and Television —

“ . . . Robert Benedetti brings his experience as both an acting teacher and a film producer to the subject of screen acting. For those seeking a road map to a successful screen performance, read and enjoy!”

–Don Cheadle

“Bob Benedetti is one of the most intelligent and insightful teachers that I know. His lifelong dedication to the field of drama, along with his numerous accomplishments in film and television, make this book a ‘must read’ for actors on any level.”

–Noah Wyle

“This is the first book I know that recognizes the difference between acting for the stage and acting for film and television.”

–Ossie Davis

“How I wish I could start my film career all over again, with everything I now know in one hand and Bob Benedetti’s book in the other. I am happy to discover, however, that unknowingly I have always been in agreement with D.W. Griffith: film acting is thinking.”

–Patrick Stewart

Robert Benedetti is a multiple Emmy® and Peabody Award-winning film and television producer and a distinguished teacher of acting and directing. He was an early member of Chicago’s Second City Theatre and was president of Ted Danson’s Anasazi Productions. Most recently, Professor Benedetti was honored with the Lifetime Career Achievement Award for 2005 from the Association for Theatre in Higher Education.

In Action!, Peabody and multiple Emmy award-winning producer and leading teacher of acting Robert Benedetti offers a practical, detailed and clearly structured approach to the fundamentals of acting for the camera. The first part of the book is a step-by-step guide to how an actor fits into the process of shooting a film or television show. The second part describes how to prepare yourself for any role through detailed instructions for creating the inner life of a character.

Benedetti's analysis of sample scenes, such as Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman and the sitcom Cheers, helps readers become experts and complete naturals in front of a camera.

The book features:

How acting for the camera is different from acting on stage

Complete coverage on how to start an acting career in film or television

All major film production personnel, terms and forms

Detailed discussion of self-training for the camera

Robert Benedetti was formerly Dean of the School of Theatre at the California Institute of the Arts and Head of the Acting Department at the Yale Drama School. For the past eight years he has been a film and television producer/writer, and recently won an Emmy and a Peabody award as producer of the HBO film, A Lesson Before Dying, and an Emmy award for HBO's Miss Evers Boys. His other published works include The Director at Work, The Actor at Work, and The Actor in You.