Wednesday, 30 November 2016

Subject of Study: To what extent does Jared Leto's use of method acting allow a more authentic performance?


Sources:
Films:
Item 1: Suicide Squad (2016):

For Jared Leto's role of the Joker in the resent film Suicide Squad, he used method acting to further understand and embody his role and truly become the Joker. During filming Leto would send his co-workers "gifts". These "gifts" included sending his on screen lover Margot Robbie a love letter in a box that also contained a live black rat, he also sent al cast members used condoms and anal beads, he exclaimed after filming that this was to truly embody the elements of surprise and spontaneity that are key characteristics of the joker. Leto's performance of the joker in suicide squad does represent that of someone psychopathic and someone fuel by spontaneity and surprise. He managed to reflect truly upon a new interpretation of the joker and captured key elements of the character.
 
Item 2: Chapter 27 (2007):

While preparing to play Mark Chapmen in the 2007 film Chapter 27 Jared Leto gained 62 pounds. he did this through binging on copious amounts of both classical fast food such as pizza and pasta and melted pints of Haagen-das ice cream, olive oil and soy sauce. Although this aloud Leto to truly embody the character it came at a great cost of having to be in wheelchair and dealing with extreme pain, as well as this Leto also got gout and dangerously high cholesterol. During this performance Leto gets lost in the vengeful character of chapmen and appears to be very over the top in his performance, this may be a result of becoming too involved and reading far more into the character than needed which brought on an inaccurate representation of Mark Chapmen.

Item 3: Dallas Buyers Club (2013):

Jared Leto didn't just go extreme with his weight for 'Chapter 27' he also lost an extreme amount of weight to truly form his transgender, drug addict, prostitute character Rayon in the 2013 film Dallas Buyers Club. Leto dropped 30 pounds as well as waxing his entire body from head to toe for the filming of Dallas Buyer Club. This created a truly realistic representation of his character that helped him win 6 awards including a Golden Globe for best supporting actor and an Academy award for best supporting role. Rayon is a character that has many powerful attributes, form being a prostitute to a transgender woman. Instead of focusing on these key personality points Leto focused more on the characters physical look, this therefore didn't allow a well informed and convincing performance of the character.

Articles:
Item 4: Pop Culture Rankings: From Daniel Day-Lewis to Jared Leto, the best and worst in method acting - 4th August 2016:


This article gives the top five and bottom five method acting performances and unfortunately Jared Leto fills the bottom five. In the top five Nicolas Cage gets praised for his role in 1984's Birdy, where he removed two of his own teeth to fully embody the role and give an amazing performance. Whereas Jared is placed in the bottom five. One instance is where his 'method' style stole a role from a 'real' transgender woman for the film Dallas Buyers Club and was made out to have tried too hard to become a method actor and put more of his effort in off screen than on it.


Item 5: Hollywood has ruined method acting - 11th August 2016:


This article makes the point that method acting is no longer used to create a convincing performance but more for an outlandish marketing technique. Leto had to differentiate himself from Heath ledger's Oscar winning performance in 2007"s The Dark Knight both in performance and approach to the jokers character. This tells us that cinematic today can take advantage of certain characters to gain even more media attention and this article explains why it’s believed Jared Leto's "method acting" is more of a marketing technique than approach to acting. This helps give an idea of how Leto uses his 'method' techniques more to gain a name as an actor than to give a truly realistic performance of his characters.


Item 6: A Brief History of Things Modern Neanderthal Jared Leto Has Done to Get in Character - 27th July 2016:

This article backs up Jared and his method acting style and states that Leto's style is to help gain insight into the character and become more involved. He uses method acting as a process to allow himself to give thoughtful and depth performances. This article also tell us about how Jared gets into character from the start to finish of a project and uses method acting as he has no formal acting training. Matthew McConaughey also talked about his experience with Jared on the set of Dallas Buyers Club. This is useful as it gives you a look into how and why Jared uses the method acting style as well as giving his co-stars views of his techniques and performances.


Item 7: ELLE: 9 Times Jared Went Full Method for a Role 4th August 2016

This article explains different roles of Jared's where he as perceived to go 'full method' this meaning he want to extremes to capture his character and truly embody their characteristics and appearance. This is useful as it shows the different roles where Jared went the extra mile when accessing a role, where he changed his body personality and living style to really connect with his characters.
 
Item 8: What is method Acting?| the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute

This Website lays down the original definition of method acting as said by Lee Strasberg. This gives the basis of what the method acting style is.

Documentaries:

Item 9: Lee Strasberg: 'The Method Man' - 20th December 2014:




This documentary examines Lee Strasberg and his controversial philosophy of method acting. Lee used to coach top Hollywood actors such as; Paul Newman, Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, James Dean and Marilyn Monroe. The documentary also looks as the people who idolise him for his skilled influence on acting compared to the people who saw him as a evil manipulative man who had a poor effect on those who were emotionally vulnerable such as Marilyn Monroe. This documentary forms a foundation of what the method acting style is and where it originated from it allows me to see how it has developed and how Leto's style both differs and involves similarities from the original method acting way.


Item 10: The Origins of Acting 'The Method' - 29th April 2015:




This video looks at the history of theatre and acting techniques tracing the roots all the way back to the Ancient Greeks, through the Italian Renaissance and finally to the psychological approaches in the 20th century under the term 'method'. This documentary truly shows where method acting was firm and how it developed from just an idea to a process, it reflects in different cultures and times that have used the style and different approaches that can be taken to becoming a master of method acting.

Books:
Item 11: On Method Acting - Edward Dwight Easty - Published 1989:

This book talks about the method acting style and the way actors can use it. This book is used more as a guide of how to become a method acting and the different steps and styles used in this technique. It is therefore useful in teaching those who are new to the method acting process about it different styles and techniques and which could be suited to them.

Item 12: Stanislavsky's Legacy - Constantin Stanislavski - Publishes 1981:

This novel gives more of an insight into Stanislavsky's influence on his 'method' and his interpretations of it. These views have become the central force determining almost every performance we see on screen or stage. Therefore this is useful in creating an understanding of great influences of method acting and how it became what it is today.

Item 13: Strasberg's Method: As Taught by Lorrie Hill - Loraine S. Hill 1985

This book clearly lays out all ideas of Lee Strasberg's teachings. This book is easy to read and gives different exercises to help further a actors method style. This book is here to almost act as a substitute to having method acting lessons from Strasberg himself.

Interviews:
Item 14: Leto On Method Acting - 30th May 2014:




During this interview Jared Leto talks about how he uses method acting to truly become the character and block himself out from everything to truly focus and become an intense and direct performer. He talks about how he found this was the best way for him to work, not to try and become the character but to help put up a wall and underrated the character characteristics and personality. This is representative of the reasons why Jared uses the method acting technique and someone of the processes and style he uses to allow him to give his best performance, this therefore makes this source very useful in giving us a look into what Leto truly does while method acting and why.

Item 15: Charles Roven Talks Jared Leto Joker Method Acting and David Ayer - 12th November 2015:




During this interview Charles Roven talks about briefly about Jared's Oscar winning performance where he used method acting as well as how he acted around the set of his most recent film Suicide Squad. During the interview he chats about how Jared acted on set and treated other cast members to remain in the character of the Joker. This interview is quiet useful as it allows us to see Leto’s point of view of his own acting style and how it was used in practice on one of his recent film and an opinion one of his most difficult roles.


Item 16: Jared Leto: The Unlikely Triumphs of a Rock-Star Movie Star - 27th July 2016




During this interview Jared talks about his experiences while playing the Joker in Suicide Squad (2016) he talk about his how he used method acting to full embody and understand the character and his characteristics. This interview is only useful in giving an insight into Leto's performance in his most recent film suicide squad. it is not representative of all of his work but does show us his most recent method acting techniques and how they have been applied.


Clips:
Item 17: ALL JARED LETO JOKER SCENCES SO FAR!!!
 
I am using this clip so that i can give the audience and insight into Jared Leto's role as the Joker and allows them to form their own opinion of the character.


Photos:
Item 18: Photo of Jared: Photo taken from Elle article '9 Times Jared Leto Went Full Method for a Role

http://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/g28585/jared-leto-method-moments/
 
 
I am using this photo as it gives the audience a view of the different characters Jared has portrayed and helps the audience gather who I'm talking about.
 
Item 19: Comparison Photo of Jared Weight in Chapter 27



I am using this image as a visual stimulus so the audience can grasp an idea of Jared dramatic weight change for the film Chapter 27.
 
Item 20: Comparison photo of Jared and Dallas Buyers Club's Rayon

Made by me for the presentation



 
I am using this image as a visual stimulus so the audience can grasp an idea of Jared dramatic weight change for the film Chapter 27.
 
Photos of Lee Strasberg and Constantin Stanislavski

These photos are used as a visual stimulus for the audience to see and connect more with who these people are.


 
 
Item 21: Photo of Lee Strasberg





 
 
 
Item 22: Photo of Constantin Stanislavski
 
 
 
 
Item 23:
Photo of Jared Leto:


 










Rejected Items:
Films:
American Psycho (2000):
I have rejected American psycho as Jared only played a small role in this picture and there is not sufficient evidence to argue his method acting technique. It is therefore not very useful.

Articles:

Every Crazy Thing The Suicide Suad Cast Has Said About Jared Leto's Joker - 8th March 2016
http://www.mtv.com/news/2913661/suicide-squad-cast-jared-leto-joker/
I have rejected this item as it focuses more on the cast members opinions and experiences with jared method acting and also only focuses on one of Leto's movies where he used the method acting style.
Documentaries:
A2 Fim Studies - Method Acting Documentary - 7th January 2016:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKBpJTSeXVQ
I have rejected this item as it is a documentary that only briefly explains key aspects of method acting and his history and was created for a lesson and not created specifically for the subject or method acting and how to inform people whom are not taking the A-level subject.
Books:
Creating a Role - Constantin Stanislavski - Published in 1981:
I have rejected this item as i already have a novel that help the reader understand and become a method actor, the book is more of a guide to the techniques ad styles of method acting.

Interviews:
Jared Leto Talks Heath Ledger's Joker Legacy - 27th July 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiFAL89ybvg
I have rejected this interview as it is more of a short new report on Jared's interview with Rolling Stones and focuses more on the part of the interview where Leto talks about his impression of Heath's performance of the Joker in 2008's The Dark knight.
 

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