Acting

Yeah, I haven't thought about her backstory too much yet. Haven't even decided what nationality she's going to be. Once I do, something may suggest itself, though honestly, I'm not a huge advocate of detailed backstory. I usually just want to give enough information to show what brought the character to the particular point in time where story takes place.

Look Tim, does it really matter what other people think? You're writing this so it's your world. The only question you really have to ask is did I give my character the ability to get her herself out of the mess she finds herself in and what does she need as far as knowledge and skills to believably make her self-reliant. Is she witty? Does she think fast on her feet? Does she have a talent for noticing her environment and adapting what's there to aid her should she find herself in peril? And if you must have some kind of backstory, please try and find something original. I am so sick and tired of the ex-marine or the ex-FBI agent or the ex-CIA agent. Maybe she's just an ex-wife that picked up martial arts for exercise and found it be a body positive experience. Just be original. Maybe she was an ex- female baseball player that left the sport to become a Muslim bride but when she was accused of cheating and was being stoned in a public honor killing, she picked up the rocks and threw beanballs at her attackers killing them all and pitching a perfect game. Now I don't think any writer would have the balls to write a scenario like that except me, but you catch my drift. Just don't think outside of the box, kick the box as far away from you as possible. Studios, directors, and producers will always change everything anyway. Just write like the wind and get it done.

I actually have a bit of a reputation for writing pretty good women characters, but there is something missing in this one that I can't quite put my finger on. So, I thought I would pose the question to the actresses out there to see what traits attracted them to roles, in the hope it might inspire a new perspective I hadn't considered. The next step will be to go back and look at some of the classic noirs like Chinatown, and Double Indemnity, and Body Heat to see how those writers handled the question of attraction and danger but, hopefully, finding a slightly different lens to filter it through,

Tim Morell yes I would want to know what led her to where she is. Also, how she handles/views giving 'favours'. By that I mean what is the story she tells herself about why she does it. I would also want to know her hopes and dreams. As well as about her childhood and how it influenced her to feel disempowered up until that point. Can't wait to hear more at some point.

Does the character have any phobias? How does it affect how she interacts with the people in her life? Does she have pets? Is she more of a cat person or a dog person? Does she not have pets at all? Does she have a phobia of cats or dogs due to being attacked by one in her childhood? Also, what was her childhood like, her time in school? Was she bullied? Being bullied might give her ptsd and affect her trust in people later in life. Just throwing ideas out there. Overall, it's your decision how to write the character.

I will be adding THANKSGIVING to my list. Yes, I am surprised there aren't some Hallmark Thanksgiving movies. The one I watched on Thanksgiving a couple of years ago is called PILGRIM. Horror/slasher movie on Hulu. These first Thanksgiving reenactors come to a family's dinner. And welp- let's just say, it's not the turkey that gets carved.

Brittany Christine Hello!! OMG how long have you got, lol: "Home for the Holidays", early Robert Downy JR; "Miracle on 34th Street", classic Thanksgiving Day Parade; "It's a Wonderful Life", tears; "a funny one, "Holiday in Handcuffs", if you can find it, with Melissa Joan Hart and Mario Lopez, hilarious! ; "The Family Man", with Nicholas Cage and Tea Leoni, it's fantastic. So, so many more, but these are great finds. Hope it helps, and have a blast with your friends!

Juliana Philippi It's been super long since I've seen Home for the Holidays that I don't remember it anymore so that's the perfect time to watch again! & I love Melissa & Mario have never heard of Holiday in Handcuffs so look forward to checking it out! Just looked up the Family Man trailer and it looks so good too- it's gettin watched, thank you for these!

My Thanksgiving Film lineup while we cook always includes: Stuck in Love, Son in Law, Addams Family Values, Chicken Run, and if we have time for a dark comedy- The Oath.

When I think of American Thanksgiving, I think of football, but as someone who loves thrillers and K-Dramas, I can't recommend the series The Glory on Netflix enough, Brittany Christine.

I have signed may be a dozen NDAs as a background actor Aaron Marcus and would you believe, most of them were for GLEE? We could say we worked on it, but you couldn't talk about the scenes, because apparently a lot of people would spoil the ending on social media. Which is why we had to start signing NDAs and sometimes they would even film different endings.

The two major ones I had to sign NDAs for were: The Dark Knight and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. We couldn't say what we were working on, the production even had a code name. It was so tight, that they took our phones at check in and had a security guard watching them. If you had to make a phone call, you had to do it in front of him. They were not fooling around. No pictures allowed even. One extra got fired because she swore she lost her phone on set and had people look for it. They fired her for having her phone on set, turns out she left it in her car. But she was not rehired. These studios don't play.

The irony is, they keep the extras locked down tight, but the crew, (who also sign NDAs, are allowed to keep their phones, and do take pictures on the sly) are the ones who end up posting the spoilers.

So don't violate your NDA. You won't just get fired, you might possibly also be sued and blacklisted, FYI.

I used to be in a Facebook group similar to that Haley. Casting Directors for Actors, basically an AMA. They had a separate one for headshot review. But like anything on Facebook it became a toxic waste dump and was shutdown.

Hi Suzanne, it is so true. It is amazing what people will say online. So many things that they would never say to someone in person. We always have to be very careful where we go online for information.

Haley, so glad you subscribed. Just click the notification bell and you will always know when a new video has been uploaded.

Aaron Marcus thanks for this. I would have thought it was obvious no to share on socials after signing a non-disclosure. At the same time I can also imagine how if I got really caught up in the excitement of booking a job I might get carried away and 'forget'.

Ashley Renee Smith really enjoyed watching this. Glen Powell is so down to earth and has a great sense of humour. I totally agree with him that acting is about play. That's why i love it.

Thank you Amanda Toney . This is going to be useful when I start to self-tape again.

Congratulations on making the bold move, Suzanne Bronson! I used to be a lurker on Stage 32. After RB gave the community a challenge to be more active, I started being a lot more active. I've had a lot of success on here since. Meeting people, learning about different areas of the industry, getting script requests, paid jobs, and more.

That's great Maurice Vaughan see my comment to RB's blog. Similar to what you just said.

Suzanne Bronson I know the money is on its way to you! For me, it is deciding to get back to acting classes in January to continue my training at a time when time-wise it is really not practical due to my two young kids. However I realise that I need to honour it no matter what if I want something to come of it and also because it has brought me joy so i need to honour the joy too.

Sorry to hear you got ripped off, Michael T Gregory. Was it a screenwriting agent?

Hey Michael,

I'm always warning others of the scumbags that infiltrate the industry and yet I get warned not to bitter (Truthful) or stand-offish (Cautiously optimistic). Now the biggest rip-off when dealing with agents is that they are all, to some degree, rip-offs. There are no REQUIRED licenses needed to become a literary agent. They mostly just weasel their way into the bedrooms and backseats of "decision" makers and studio head morons that love to greenlight overpriced bombs like The Running Man remake and lose 100's of millions of dollars.

That being said, the biggest rip-offs are stealing your screenplay and then ripping you off out of cash. Never pay an agent anything! They get 10% of what they structure a deal for. Always copyright your work. The process is fairly simple through The Library of Congress. After that, you just can't be just a screenwriter anymore. You should have some rudimentary knowledge on how to construct a business plan which will include, but not limited to a shooting schedule, a budget for Above the Line and Below the line talent, a cast wish list, but don't go for too big of a name because that no longer has any pull with audiences because audiences are becoming sick and tired of being lectured by these celebrities on what they should like as opposed to what they just like. The thing is, there are a lot of morons out there ready to take your money. They say you need to hire a Line Producer. Now you don't. You need to budget for one then when he's hired, he can make the appropriate adjustments.

Thing is that you have to research these people. I have had producers talk a big game and after a little digging have found out that they produced nothing of note. I myself am a director/screenwriter that made a film for $2,200.00 which grossed $4,500.00 on a 3 day/9 show weekend at a privately owned theater. The film featured over 14 locations and over 20 actors so I never lost money, but studios would rather lose $100M than take a gamble on a $1.5M budget action film.

Don't take anyone on face value alone. Do some research or have a trusted friend research them. Everyone says "They know the business," but according to the track record just from 2025 alone, none of these "professionals" know anything about the film industry or they are just to dense to learn from their past mistakes.

Michael T Gregory so very sorry to hear this. I can see why it feels even more bitter because your work is worthy of an agent. I can see also then how that could have made you more open to this fraudster. I know there was a post a few months ago about an actor who almost got ripped off by an agent.

Great answers everyone!

Suzanne Bronson From an actors POV in a class - paying attention while other actors are performing their work (no texting, chatting, etc) punctuality, familiarity with the material you will be performing, listening to the acting teacher when he/she is talking. Just a few pet peeves as I have experienced them.

being able to work s part of a team, being able ti coloboirate with others abd bringing their ideas to the table, inmag8ination in terms of characater development whilst paotrying them.These ar definitely the most important things i have found when colobrating with client representataives. Trust is another,

I can relate David Horton

Actor ualities go!

Suzanne Bronson Not yet!

I wish ! :) Suzanne Bronson . How about you?

I have but on a much smaller scale. And maybe not what you're looking for for an answer but it was something I produced.

My first feature film "Turbo Cola" (currently available wherever you go to watch movies! Had to get that plug in there! Lol!). We made a really good Indie film. It won Best Comedy and Best Indie Film of the Year for 2023 (according to Film Threat) and I got to act in it in a small role.

Mind you, I had only been acting for 6 months when this thing was made. I had, maybe, three other IMDb credits at the time. Fast forward a few years and I'm STILL talking about this film. But because I took a chance on me and Produced a film, it led to sooooo many other acting gigs.

I've been told on sets (usually non union commercials) that they picked me, not only because I had the look that they were going for, but that I had been in a feature film that did well. On three separate occasions the Directors of these commercials, I had met on our festival circuit.

Sometimes, the thing that changes your life is when you take a chance at making your own stuff.

Thanks for this question!

On the flip side, has not getting a role changed the trajectory of your career? I was listening to the Bones rewatch podcast, and the director of the pilot said that Jonah Hill was in serious contention for the role of Zach Addy. The network loved him, Hart Hanson said he wasn't right. Jonah Hill's whole career is because he did not get cast in BONES.

Something to remember when you don't get a part you really wanted.

bumping this up

Suzanne Bronson yes so simple and yet no so simple in my experience

https://pro.imdb.com/videoproembed/vi4036345625?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

Is that a memorable moment for you Jack Teague ? What made it so?

My apologies, Suzanne, didn't see your response until now. It was for me. IMO, it seemed potentially reflective of conversations hetero parents have with gay children who have been ostracized, capturing remorse, seeking understanding. Being totally outside my personal experience, I had to find that emotion.

Hey what are some memorable moments?

I think it's great that Lucy Liu stood up for her worth, Alexandra Stevens!

Some producers, directors, writers, etc. embrace diversity in the industry, and I think it should be done a lot more.

I think the name of a character should be changed if a person of a different race takes over the role (sometimes). Sometimes names aren't just names in stories. They have meanings, and some of those meanings are cultural.

I guess that's up to all involved. I agree with Maurice Vaughan Sometimes it matters, sometimes it doesn't. Really depends on the writer. I don't see the problem with the name in Lucy Liu's case. Since she said she didn't want to change it to an Asian name, I think that's great. I know Hispanics with non Latino names. I have an ex who is Hispanic, but has a Swedish last name, as that was the name of his step father and his step father raised him. I think it's great if they don't even explain in the movie why she has the last name Slevin.

Interesting that Lucy Liu said she was tired of being seen as the Dragon Lady from Kill Bill. I have forgotten all about that. I remember her as playing Dr. Watson on ELEMENTARY. Which, btw, is another iconic gender reversal and ethnic recast. (See previous post in this lounge for reference.)

I agree, Suzanne Bronson. I use names for different races sometimes, like Brian. And I think it's great if they don't even explain in the movie why she has the last name Slevin. Everything doesn't need to be explained, and it could create some mystery in the story for the audience.

Everything Everywhere All At Once, Ashley Renee Smith. Michelle Yeoh is incredible in that film! Her role inspires me to write better characters. I need to rewatch the movie, especially to study her character and Stephanie Hsu's character.