I recall that the hero of "Hearts of the West" -- the wannabe cowboy actor played by Jeff Bridges -- follows the same advice, answering "Sure!" to every question, e.g., Can you jump out of a second-story window onto the back of a horse?
Shakespeare probably told a funny story about auditioning Richard Burbage for Romeo & Juliet and saying, "Well, Dick, you sound fantastic for the role. But, I have to ask, you'll be totally comfortable with heights when climbing up to Juliet's balcony, right?"
This is exactly how Classic Hollywood actor Antony Quinn got his start. In 1936, while filming his classic Western The Plainsman, filmmaker Cecil B DeMille cast Antony Quinn largely on his answering questions pertaining to the role of an Indian "Can you speak fluent Sioux?" and so forth etc. Quinn parlayed his role into two more films for DeMille, and then married his daughter Katherine (which also didn't hurt his rising in Hollywood during this time in his career).
If anything, Spieberg was imitating DeMille, who was among the earliest major filmmakers to insist on realism in scenes that required dangerous stunts--if the actors themselves couldn't or wouldn't do their own stunts themselves, the stuntmen would have to go through the ringer.
Numerous stories persist of among the most dangerous stunts on DeMille's sets in Classic Hollywood, from the real arrows laced with fire being shot at actress Paulette Goddard (who preceded to walk off the set from major fright, and was never cast again in a DeMille film), Gloria Grahame having an elephant put his foot on (or brushing up against) her face while lying on the ground, to of course Victor Mature refusing to wrestle an actual lion (not a midget in a lion suit). After berrating Mature for being yellow, DeMille then proceeded to use his whip against the lion. In his defense he probably thought he was making allowances for Mature, as the lion being used was a "senior citizen" or elderly lion and not one in his prime.
So reading about actual sharks being used in Jaws, filmmakers using the real thing to get a sense of realism from their actors while doing their own stunts (whenever possible) goes back to the beginning of Hollywood. While Cecil B DeMille wasn't the first filmmaker to insist on realism for stunts in his scenes, he was among the most prominent of filmmakers and continued this practice throughout his career.
After all, not only must the show go on, but it has to be as visually realistically appealing a show that the audience is seeing on the screen.
My recollection, from reading a long-form article about the making of "Jaws," at the time it was released, is that the stunt diver for that scene was also exceptionally short (in the 4-foot range, I believe), in order to make the real shark look bigger by comparison. The real Great White in that scene was big, but not nearly the size the "Jaws" was supposed to be.
I know exactly what you mean; been there, too: Yes. Makes sense. As Capt. James Tiberius Kirk of the fictitious NCC-1701 star cruiser, once opined to 1st officer Spock: "Is there a way to bypass this? Analysis, Mr. Spock."
The new Godzilla movie has a Japanese actress who speaks many lines in English, a language which she transparently doesn't understand a word of. But she gets out the syllables and hot damn does she look good while doing it. Actors are hired so we can their gaze at their stunning 50-foot high faces while they emote. I don't give a shit what their SAT scores were or what languages they can speak. And honestly, if Mr. Spock was a real person who existed in real life, but he was a smelly mumbler, then I'd still rather watch Nemoy play the role. Some people are hired for backstage, others for frontstage.
I recall that the hero of "Hearts of the West" -- the wannabe cowboy actor played by Jeff Bridges -- follows the same advice, answering "Sure!" to every question, e.g., Can you jump out of a second-story window onto the back of a horse?
This could be the oldest showbiz anecdote.
Shakespeare probably told a funny story about auditioning Richard Burbage for Romeo & Juliet and saying, "Well, Dick, you sound fantastic for the role. But, I have to ask, you'll be totally comfortable with heights when climbing up to Juliet's balcony, right?"
"Yes."
This is exactly how Classic Hollywood actor Antony Quinn got his start. In 1936, while filming his classic Western The Plainsman, filmmaker Cecil B DeMille cast Antony Quinn largely on his answering questions pertaining to the role of an Indian "Can you speak fluent Sioux?" and so forth etc. Quinn parlayed his role into two more films for DeMille, and then married his daughter Katherine (which also didn't hurt his rising in Hollywood during this time in his career).
If anything, Spieberg was imitating DeMille, who was among the earliest major filmmakers to insist on realism in scenes that required dangerous stunts--if the actors themselves couldn't or wouldn't do their own stunts themselves, the stuntmen would have to go through the ringer.
Numerous stories persist of among the most dangerous stunts on DeMille's sets in Classic Hollywood, from the real arrows laced with fire being shot at actress Paulette Goddard (who preceded to walk off the set from major fright, and was never cast again in a DeMille film), Gloria Grahame having an elephant put his foot on (or brushing up against) her face while lying on the ground, to of course Victor Mature refusing to wrestle an actual lion (not a midget in a lion suit). After berrating Mature for being yellow, DeMille then proceeded to use his whip against the lion. In his defense he probably thought he was making allowances for Mature, as the lion being used was a "senior citizen" or elderly lion and not one in his prime.
So reading about actual sharks being used in Jaws, filmmakers using the real thing to get a sense of realism from their actors while doing their own stunts (whenever possible) goes back to the beginning of Hollywood. While Cecil B DeMille wasn't the first filmmaker to insist on realism for stunts in his scenes, he was among the most prominent of filmmakers and continued this practice throughout his career.
After all, not only must the show go on, but it has to be as visually realistically appealing a show that the audience is seeing on the screen.
A wonderful piece. Truly appreciative.
The other side of this is that the actor needs to decide if he wants the role.
My recollection, from reading a long-form article about the making of "Jaws," at the time it was released, is that the stunt diver for that scene was also exceptionally short (in the 4-foot range, I believe), in order to make the real shark look bigger by comparison. The real Great White in that scene was big, but not nearly the size the "Jaws" was supposed to be.
Similarly, the adult film industry uses short actors and actresses to make the uh, "sharks" look larger.
I know exactly what you mean; been there, too: Yes. Makes sense. As Capt. James Tiberius Kirk of the fictitious NCC-1701 star cruiser, once opined to 1st officer Spock: "Is there a way to bypass this? Analysis, Mr. Spock."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01L3T2cBCBo
The new Godzilla movie has a Japanese actress who speaks many lines in English, a language which she transparently doesn't understand a word of. But she gets out the syllables and hot damn does she look good while doing it. Actors are hired so we can their gaze at their stunning 50-foot high faces while they emote. I don't give a shit what their SAT scores were or what languages they can speak. And honestly, if Mr. Spock was a real person who existed in real life, but he was a smelly mumbler, then I'd still rather watch Nemoy play the role. Some people are hired for backstage, others for frontstage.