--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "whynotnow7" <whynotnow7@...> wrote: > > I just saw "Casino Jack" with Kevin Spacey, and he was > brilliant in The Usual Suspects too. Of the two actors > you mentioned, my impression of you is more in the > direction of Kevin Spacey, vs. Robin Williams. RW > strikes me as ZANY and frenetic, and you don't come > across that way on FFL.
I know that this is a "Yahoo repost" and that you probably wrote it some time ago, but I'll reply anyway, because I love Kevin Spacey. Lately I've been toying with taking the train to London so that I can see him perform Shakespeare's "Richard III" onstage there. That said, I'll agree with at least one other poster here by saying that I was totally underwhelmed by "Casino Jack." The story didn't compel me, and neither did Spacey's portrayal. Sometimes the magic works, and sometimes it doesn't. As for Robin Williams, the man has *range*. He can be zany, but he can also be the finest of dramatic actors, as in his performances in "One Hour Photo" and "Insomnia" and "Good Will Hunting" and above all, "The Final Cut." > Here on Fair Field Life, the series, I'll go with a combo > shake of Kevin Bacon and Bob Denver's iconic Gilligan for > my character. Both seem appropriate to me. Isn't it a pity that more people didn't follow up on the "fun" aspect of FFL as a TV series? Wouldn't you have loved to see who other "posting personas" here would have chosen to play their roles in the series? I sure would have. In particular I would have loved to see who Curtis chose to play him. And Rick, and many others. > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > I'm a fan of television. I think some of the best > > work in the motion picture arts is being done on > > TV. The genre of a TV series or mini-series, in > > the wrong hands, can turn high art into low schlock, > > as lamentably happened with the American remake of > > "Life On Mars." Or, in the right hands, a TV series > > or mini-series can become the counterpart of a great > > novel. > > > > I've watched or rewatched a few TV series lately, > > from start to finish, in a kind of exercise in trying > > (a la "Manhunter") to recapture the mindset of good > > storytelling. So I've been thinking about what makes > > a good story into a great story. One of the things > > I've come up with is character arc. Do the characters > > stay pretty much the same through an entire 6-to-12 > > episode mini-series (or season of an ongoing series), > > or do they keep changing on you? I've found that I > > prefer stories filled with characters who change on me > > a lot, who have long and complicated character arcs. > > > > For example, two performances in the last couple of > > years strike me as standouts in terms of character arc. > > The first was in, of all things, "Spartacus: Blood and > > Sand." Early on we are introduced to -- and by "intro- > > duced to" I mean we get to see literally everything > > there is to see about her, nude -- to a character > > named Ilithyia. She is played by an Australian actress, > > Viva Bianca. When we first meet her, she seems a bit > > of a beautiful but shallow dingbat. But over the course > > of 12 episodes she turns into one of the most evil > > villains I've ever seen onscreen. Ilithyia is right up > > there with Hannibal Lechter. She did things in this > > series that completely surprised me and made me think, > > "Whoa! Reassessment time. This woman is not who I > > thought she was." I love that. > > > > Another actress who got to play a character with > > *tremendous* arc just got ignored in the Emmy nominations, > > which I think is a cryin' shame. Emilia Clarke gave a > > knockout performance as Daenerys Targaryen in "Game Of > > Thrones." Again, we are introduced to her naked, leading > > us as viewers to think we've seen all of her. When we > > first see her, she's a beautiful but naive virgin, and > > a bit of a spoiled princess. Technically she's not a > > princess; she's the rightful queen of the whole land. But > > she's still 15 or so and unformed. To watch the change > > in her as she is married off to a barbarian warrior lord, > > becomes the queen of his tribe, and gives birth not only > > to his son but a few more magical creatures as well is > > jaw-dropping. It's almost the definition of "high > > character arc." > > > > So this got me thinkin' about the arc of some of the > > characters on the TV series of Fairfield Life. Do we have > > a high arc, or a low arc? Do people tend to change over > > the years, or stay the same? And IF they change, do other > > people let them, or is there a concerted attempt to draw > > them back "into character" and replay the same scenes > > they played years ago, in exactly the same way? No > > answers here, only questions. Now to the fun part: > > > > What if Fairfield Life WAS a TV series? Would it be on > > during prime time, or as a daytime soap? Would it be on > > FOX or AMC or HBO or the Oprah Channel? How would TV > > Guide classify it -- would it be considered more like > > "John From Cinncinnati" or more like "Jersey Shore?" > > Which actor or actress would you want to play you in > > the series? Has the series jumped the shark, or is it > > just getting into its classic "Lucy" episodes period? > > > > This post, based on my watching of the series so far, has > > the potential to turn either into a fun thread or a > > contentious one. Or a mix of both. I'm curious to see > > what'll happen. > > > > I'm gonna go for the fun part. I'm thinkin' that I'd like > > to see my character played by Kevin Spacey, doing a kind > > of combination of Verbal Kint and Lester Burnham. Either > > that or Robin Williams. > > >
