Im genuinely intrigues by some of Bill's comments, though, yes Bill, you are right to
point to the hype (and the genuine market appeal) of actors. Thanks for that later input
from Glen too.
Isn't it too weighted an argument to defend the centrality of directors by citing the
heavyweight Kubrick, whose death does indeed represent 'loss of artistic value', while
dismissing *all acting* as replaceable. I don;t think there's a lazy slippage here between
stars and actors either (though conceptually they're different) because stars in film *are
also* actors. Is the actor being reduced to something interchangeable because s/he is
being seen as a 'sign' - as just part of the mise en scene?
The art/craft of acting is as valid as the arts of writing, painting, sculpting,
photographing and directing. I'm probably not constructing a thorough definition of
'worth/value' here - perhaps others can offer good and useful definitions? - but some
directors (most?) are understandably forgotten, as are most actors, and often for reasons
detached from their 'skill' (in short: for every Kubrick there's a James Stewart, and
Brando is 'less replaceable' than, eg, Jack Clayton, Lance Comfort...). And I don't think
I'm simply being 'precious' about the magic of acting here. De Niro is probably the auteur
of Raging Bull. Despite its editing, Thelma S blatantly and publically admits that
Scorsese sat with her and showed her *how* to edit it. Neither of these propositions
detracts from the considerable skill of Scorsese...
As for the relative invisibility of directors in the popular mind - something Bill
regrets: well, the packed audiences in Manchester this week for No Country for Old Men are
all there because of the Coens, and this month in the UK we have new releases from Van
Sant, P T Anderson, Tim Burton... (all of them marketed under the name of the director,
and patronised by followers of the director's work..
Cheers
Andy
________________
Dr Andrew Moor
Deputy Director, English Research Institute, & Reader in Film History and Theory,
Manchester Metropolitan University,
Manchester M15 6LL
UK
0161 247 3783
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