Supplemental Post 3 - Ali Appelbaum

       Dyer's chapter in Stars and Gledhill's chapter in SID both mentioned the process of method acting, a process that I find to be incredibly bizarre. It made me think about James Franco, who is known for being a method actor. Spring Breakers, the 2012 Harmony Korine film, was filmed in my beach town of St. Petersburg, Florida. St Pete is NOT a film hub, so this experience was extra special. People scoured the city for celebrities, hoping to get a picture with Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, James Franco, or Ashley Benson. I am ashamed to say, that I was definitely a part of this. In fact, I got kicked out of the hotel Ashley, Selena, and Vanessa were staying in for lingering around the lobby waiting for them, even though I was a member of the hotel gym.
       James, on the other hand, stayed at a different hotel across town near my house in order to be removed so he could focus in on his character. Not only is James known for method acting, but he is known for preying on younger girls. Word on the street was that James was method acting for this particular film. If you've seen the film, you know that this basically meant that his method was going to be to act like a sleeze throughout the duration of time they spent filming. Soon enough, I heard that a girl from my high school was dating James Franco. They spent every day together, she became his personal chauffeur, and I can only imagine whatever else they did. This girl essentially lost all of her friends because she spent all of her time with him. She was barely eighteen (thank goodness, she was eighteen), and he was thirty-four. It was odd. And, it made me think, at what point is it method acting and at what point is it just an excuse to be creepy and do things that aren't really socially acceptable? Where do you draw the line? If you are playing the role of a criminal, is it appropriate to turn into a criminal? I don't think so. I think there are other ways to connect to a character rather than completely losing yourself in the character. I've tried it and it quite simply doesn't work. You cannot become what you are not. You can place yourself in situations that will teach you more about the lifestyle of your character, but it is really very difficult to just become someone else, especially when you're doing five shows a week or jumping in and out of takes. You can try to "feel it," but most of the time, what you want to feel will not come and you can't let that drag you down in a performance.
       Honestly, the details of James' relationship with the girl I knew were kept pretty quiet, so we don't really know if their time together was motivated by his character work, but it is a strong possibility. But, I do know that she eventually broke up with him because she wanted to take someone else to prom. :)