Working with actors (Woody Allen)

As a collective group of filmmakers, we love Woody Allen. It may even be apparent in our work, as we love actors, the process of working with them, and giving them the freedom to fly.

Here is a little snippet of Woody Allen's work method with actors, as we try to steal every bit of info for when we make our films with our own actors. Hope this helps. Make sure to give us credit for anything you steal.

by David Geffner, Photos by John Clifford/DreamWorks LLC

"Classically framed in medium two-shots with warm, naturalistic lighting, Allen's long, flowing takes not only "get out of the way of the jokes," but they let the actors dominate the action. Aside from the occasional split-screen or extended tracking shot, Hollywood Ending is filmmaking that is just clear and funny.

"There are two things that are fairly consistent in my films," Allen said. "I don't do a lot of close-ups and I use many long masters. I like the perspective of the master shot back to the camera, and I like to give the actors the chance to move freely and experiment within the scene. Obviously, as the writer of all my films, I have specific ideas as to style and tone. But mostly I let the content dictate the form. The most successful comedic filmmakers — Chaplin, Keaton and Billy Wilder — tended to keep things simple, if for no other reason than to clutter the comedy can be fatal.

Of course, over the years, if you want to stretch out as a director and have more fun with the medium, there might be some conflict in your approach to style and technique. That's come through with some of my past movies where I have been more aggressive with the camera, or the lighting, or editing, etcetera. What I've found through experience is that you can only make your presence felt as a director on the more serious films, or, in my case, the more serious comedies. My first concern on truly comic films, ranging from Bananas to Hollywood Ending, is always to protect the laughs in the picture."

Allen also is legendary for protecting his actors.

"I always frame up the shot myself and show that to the DP," Allen said. "The DP gives his feedback and once we've got the shot established, and he's lit it, I'll bring in the actors. I don't like to rehearse — this is purely personal taste, mind you. I'll show the actors where to stand, since I've already essentially blocked out the scene for myself, without storyboards, when I wrote it. More than 90 percent of the time, the actors are fine with my blocking. But sometimes they'll say they want to change it and, of course, we try that. I'm certainly not going to force an actor into something he doesn't feel good about doing."

In fact, Allen's technique revolves entirely around his faith in, and respect for, an actor's abilities. While he is a scrupulous refiner of mise-en-scene and camera movement, improvisation does play a part in all of Woody Allen's films.

"I give my actors a lot of freedom to improvise. I never want an actor to feel stuck with my dialogue, or that if he has ideas he can't bring them up during the scene. If he makes some egregious mistake, I'll correct him after the take and say, 'You can't really say that because later in the movie your changes will be contradicted.' Or, 'Don't do that — it's too filthy or incoherent.' But that practically never happens because I cast very good actors who know what they're getting into with me. They understand the script and know they're free to make that role their own. If that means forgetting what I wrote and using their own dialogue, that's fine as long as they make it believable. The believability of the situation is everything to me."

Hollywood Ending, like many of Allen's films, is set in crowded Manhattan bars and restaurants. Here is where Allen shines. Characters flow in and out of the frame as the camera tracks invisibly around the swirling conflict of love and war in the big city. It all looks ridiculously smooth and effortless on-screen, with most of the audience's attention riveted to the conversation at hand. But the hours Allen spends in setting up such shots typically occupy most of the day.

"While other directors might set up quickly and shoot a lot of coverage, I spend most of the time setting up, perhaps until three in the afternoon. When everything is choreographed just right — actors crossing through the frame to various places, lighting just so — when it's finally ready, I shoot it, and that's it. I don't do any coverage.

"As soon as I get a take I really like, I do one more after it just to see if they can top it, and [the actors] very rarely do. Ninety percent of the time, when I'm watching my dailies, the take just before the last take that I'm looking at is the one we use. Some directors gain the time by shooting a lot of coverage. That's not me. I gain the time in really perfecting the setup. Then I shoot it and it's done."Examine any interview in which Hollywood's most prominent actors are asked what directors they'd really like to work with and, invariably, Woody Allen's name comes up. Allen is considered the consummate "actor's director" with actors from theater, film and television clamoring for an opportunity to work with him. But don't book your flight to New York just yet, even if you are Hollywood's most bankable commodity. As the director explained, his casting process is methodical and tailored to personal methods tested over decades of filmmaking.

"I generally inquire about the actors before I cast them to find out if they are loose and easy and flexible," Allen said. "I've avoided working with actors that are really intense and don't get up to speed until the 18th take. I don't have the patience, or the money, for it. To me the great majority of making a film is simply common sense. This is the joke, this is what you have to do, and we all come out and do it. Anybody can screw up a few takes. But if the actor constantly needs 18 takes to get up to speed, it's irrational."Like many master filmmakers, Allen has worked with one casting director, Juliet Taylor, on all his films dating back to Love and Death in 1975. He trusts her implicitly to supply the best creative ammunition for his script.
"Sometimes I write roles specifically for actors. Diane Keaton would be perfect for this role, or Dianne Wiest might be right for this role. But, mostly, I just give the script to Juliet, and she'll give me a list of 15 people that she thinks might be possible for that role, some of whom may be actors I've never even heard of."

The director cited an example from Bullets Over Broadway where Taylor asked him to meet actor Chazz Palminteri. "He had never been in a movie and I had no idea who he was," Allen recalled. 'The second he walked through the door I thought to myself, "This is what I had in mind when I wrote this part. He's absolutely perfect.' So I cast him. The pitfall of writing parts for specific actors is that they may not be available and then you're disappointed. This has happened to me in the past and it's not a great experience."