On this week’s episode, Sonny is pleased to welcome David Thomson back to the show to discuss his new book, Acting Naturally: The Magic in Great Performances. In this episode we discuss the difficulty of describing what, precisely, actors do onscreen; the trickiness of writing about appearances; why Method Acting was the biggest thing since the advent of sound; and why audiences feel uncomfortable when they find out a filmmaker is less-than-perfect in their personal lives. If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to check out Mr. Thomson’s previous appearance to discuss his history of movie directors. And make sure to share the show with a friend!
Fine in all ways. His remarks on Spacey and Weinstein followed on by post mortem of DJT beyond insightful. Neither here nor there, but just finished the Langella from long ago, similarly wise and temperate I thought. Langella re Monroe, Quinn and JFK made an interesting counterpoint.
Sonny, one of the joys to TBGTH is listening to you re-evaluate yourself--your former opinions, attitudes, even mannerisms--the deeper you get into the expert person you’re interviewing. This was true the last two weeks, interviewing elder statesmen geniuses. Quite fun!
Thank you, glad you’re enjoying the show. And yeah, the last few weeks have been really fun, I think.
I appreciated the thoughtfulness and depth of this interview.
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!
I thoroughly enjoyed this . There was a lot here that we can use to explain our various friendships. what captured us about the person. what things make us resist another person. David Thomson is someone I could listen to forever. I have noticed people in my life trying out different gestures or expressions that I know they got from someone they must admire. It is a fun thing to observe in people. we all do it. Thankyou. Bring him back more often.
As someone who moved around a lot as a kid, I’ve found that even today I do a fair amount of mirroring—of accents, of mannerisms—as a way of trying to fit in.
I really appreciated Thomson’s depth and reflection in his comments. Great interview, Thanks.
Thanks for listening!