Yesterday afternoon, I told someone how excited I was to attend this event…and to my surprise this person asked “why?”. They mentioned that it seemed like a short-sell of a well-loved piece of work, and that without movement about the stage, it would only be something half-realized. Given that I’d never attended anything of the sort, I had no comeback.
But now I do (More on that later).
“This event” was a special addition to the TIFF 2012 line-up which was announced midway through the ticketing process. A table read of Alan Ball’s Academy Award winning script for AMERICAN BEAUTY, as directed by Jason Reitman. Reitman has been staging these events in Los Angeles and New York already, interpreting screenplays like THE APARTMENT, THE PRINCESS BRIDE, and RESERVOIR DOGS. Reitman reads the descriptive bits of the script and he assembles various actors to take on the iconic parts.
For this event the cast went as follows:
- Bryan Cranston as Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey)
- Christina Hendricks as Carolyn Burnham (Annette Benning)
- Mae Whitman as Jane Burnham (Thora Birch)
- Sarah Gadon as Angela (Mena Suvari)
- Nick Kroll as Col. Frank Fitts (Chris Cooper)
- Adam Driver as Ricky Fitts (Wes Bentley)
- Paul Scheer as Buddy Kane the Real Estate King (Peter Gallagher)
In introducing the cast, Reitman said that were the film to be made today, the only person he could envision playing the lead is Bryan Cranston…and the moment Cranston spoke the iconic “My name is Lester Burnham, I’m 42-years-old”, you could tell he was right. As his opening monologue continued, you could feel a buzz of excitement in the room. We might have all gathered just to see actors we like, but suddenly it was evident that we were witness to something special.
As the show went on, many things became clear. The first was that we were dealing with a team of pros. This read-through was a first pass, not something that had been worked and rehearsed. The actors all gathered for the first time only 20 minutes before showtime. For the most part, you’d never know it. Chemistry became palpable, beats were hit amazingly well, and characters became well-established. That leads me to the second detail that quickly became clear – nobody was sitting on stage to do an impression of an iconic part. Everyone made their parts their own (which is daring), and the interpretations were unilaterally successful.
The star of the show was clearly Cranston. The script for AMERICAN BEAUTY is very Lester-heavy anyway, but the man left no doubt about why he is one of the best in the business. He played Lester’s stoned moments with just the right amount of dopiness and spoke his introspective lines with warmth. He wasn’t doing Walter White, he wasn’t doing Hal from Malcolm in the Middle, he wasn’t even doing Kevin Spacey. He was quite clearly doing “Lester Burnham”…just not a “Lester Burnham” we’d heard before.
Besides Cranston’s acting clinic, there were other memorable moments including the impressive dramatic turn from the usually goofy Kroll, the melancholy chemistry between Driver and Whitman, and Gadon’s wonderfully snide play on the rose-peta-draped sex kitten made so famous more than a decade ago. As if that wasn’t enough, the night also featured Christina Hendricks faking an orgasm. What more could you want?
So back to the question of “why?”
The screenplays of our great films are treasure chests. Beyond the crackling dialogue they contain, there are also unknown inclusions like direction and description. For instance, the screenplay of AMERICAN BEAUTY says “Even in sleep, Carolyn looks determined”…and her moment of realizing that Buddy Kane is there for the taking, Carolyn’s expression is described as “enraptured, like a fervent Christian who’s just come face to face with Jesus”.
We’re in an age where every planned remake is immediately bemoaned…but ask yourself, if you had the chance, wouldn’t you be curious to hear what Seth Rogen could do with Jeff Lebowski? How about Laurence Fishburn as Mr. White in Reservoir Dogs? Events like this allow for a one-night-stand between gifted actors and wonderful words. The results allow for seeing things in the story you might not have noticed before, and a new appreciation of the original work.
This night in particular is the sort of special event that defines my TIFF-going experiences from year-to-year. To use the old cliché, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I couldn’t possibly have thought of a better start to my 2012 festival.
Note: All photos in this post are my own work. If copying and using for other posts, please credit or link back. – RM
13 comments
Nikhat says:
Sep 7, 2012
Woah this sounds amazing. Cranston sounds perfect for a character like Lester, though I’m more curious about Hendricks as Carolyn. Still, would have given away my right leg to be there
Nikhat says:
Sep 7, 2012
Also Reitman directing this would be all sorts of awesome.
Ryan McNeil says:
Sep 7, 2012
They were all wonderful, and Reitman’s a pretty smart cookie for launching this whole series.
Sam Fragoso says:
Sep 7, 2012
This does sound like a lot of fun.
Paul Scheer and Nick Kroll … giving a little “The League” vibe.
Ryan McNeil says:
Sep 7, 2012
You shoulda come! Scheer was actually a late addition filling in for Woody Harrelson who missed his flight into Toronto. Kroll was supposed to play Buddy, and as perfect as that would have been, I was happy to have seen what he did with Fitts.
The man has dramatic chops that Hollywood must start tapping into.
ray brayne says:
Sep 7, 2012
How do you write a screenplay? This is the masterclass answer to that question. Want to write a novel? Read a thousand or so to learn. A play, the same answer. But a screenplay, different story. Most screenplays go unpublished and worse yet actors sign pledges not to reveal, copy, or distribute same(i.e. upload to web). So what is a masters’ class in screenwriting worth? I don’t know but I think you just attended the most valuable event at TIFF!
Ryan McNeil says:
Sep 7, 2012
You got it.
SO much of what makes a great film work is in its script – and in this instance it was even amazing to hear things that had been changed! They were working off the original screenplay, so there’s a moment or two that didn’t make it to the final film…and in listening to them, you understand why the storytelling process is never finished until they turn out the lights in the edit suite.
Now, if only I was able to make it to NYC for his recent Table read of THE APARTMENT.
Nick says:
Sep 7, 2012
I’ve been wishing I could see one of these readings since I first read about them. So cool you took advantage of this opportunity.
Ryan McNeil says:
Sep 7, 2012
Chicago seems like the sort of city that this would come to eventually, so keep an ear out.
Lynn says:
Sep 7, 2012
This sounds like a gem of an event. The words, actors, and a director. It can’t be distilled to more purity than that. Movies give veracity to a screenplay that people sitting at a table can not: settings, effects, etc., taking the audience out of their reality for 2 hours.
A staged reading like this can bring out the human reality of the script by stimulating the imagination of the audience. It is one of the rare times that a screenplay can be treated as “Poor Theater” as defined by Jerzy Grotowski, and an audience can be brought directly into collaboration with the screenwriter, whose words are usually not heard in their entirety. Cool beans!
Ryan McNeil says:
Sep 7, 2012
I forgot to mention that as the script was being read, the screen behind them displayed still frames of the sets so that we could get a sense of place.
It was indeed “Poor theatre”, and the actors started understanding that as the night went on. We began to notice people leaning towards each other, or miming little handheld props. Cranston himself got so into it at one point, he shook his own glasses off his face.
The Vern says:
Sep 7, 2012
Will these be available to listen to at home. I love the original cast but to hear a brand new take would be incredible. They could do a radio drama
Ryan McNeil says:
Sep 7, 2012
So far they haven’t Vern…and colour me stupid for not turning on the voice record app on my iPhone. Hopefully one day, but for now they remain a One Night Only affair.