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The Mailer Review/Volume 2, 2008/The Unknown and the General: Difference between revisions
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Having said that, I had been living in L.A. for a couple of months thinking that I would ply my trade there, perhaps snare some lucre, and then hightail it to Japan. This was my secret ambition. I had seen some Kabuki theater in my travels and had an interest in learning more about its history and tradition. One day I received a letter in the mail from Norman, who knew of my move, but I hadn’t been in touch with him for a while. It was the most extraordinary document: | Having said that, I had been living in L.A. for a couple of months thinking that I would ply my trade there, perhaps snare some lucre, and then hightail it to Japan. This was my secret ambition. I had seen some Kabuki theater in my travels and had an interest in learning more about its history and tradition. One day I received a letter in the mail from Norman, who knew of my move, but I hadn’t been in touch with him for a while. It was the most extraordinary document: | ||
<blockquote>To whom it may concern: | <blockquote>To whom it may concern: | ||
This recommendation for Stephan Morrow’s work is unsolicited by him. I have worked with Stephan as his director on two projects: “Strawhead” which we performed at Actors Studio in workshop for eleven performances, where he played the parts ofJoe DiMaggio and a biker; and again in my movie ''Tough GuysDon’t Dance'', where he did a superlative job in the role of Stoodie. In both projects he did an exceptionally fine job. He’s not only a strong actor with fine talents, but he’s stand-up and always gives 100% of himself to the project and the people he works with.He’s responsive and active in relation to a director, and I intend to use Stephan Morrow whenever I see a role for him in anything I’m directing in the future. | This recommendation for Stephan Morrow’s work is unsolicited by him. I have worked with Stephan as his director on two projects: “Strawhead” which we performed at Actors Studio in workshop for eleven performances, where he played the parts ofJoe DiMaggio and a biker; and again in my movie ''Tough GuysDon’t Dance'', where he did a superlative job in the role of Stoodie. In both projects he did an exceptionally fine job. He’s not only a strong actor with fine talents, but he’s stand-up and always gives 100% of himself to the project and the people he works with.He’s responsive and active in relation to a director, and I intend to use Stephan Morrow whenever I see a role for him in anything I’m directing in the future. | ||
Sincerely | Sincerely | ||
Norman Mailer<blockquote> | Norman Mailer<blockquote> | ||
To say that I was impressed by his thoughtfulness is insufficient for a gesture of such generosity, not to mention the mood of hope it put me in. Not every actor can brandish a letter of recommendation from perhaps our greatest living writer. Witness the following scene: I’m in a meeting with a casting person for some project or other, or maybe it was a super-agent, my memory fades. Upon reading the letter, this young woman whose instinct makes her eager to please, says something like: “Oh, Ryan O’Neal—I ''love'' him ...” (Pause. Noncommittal. It was not a blockbuster.) “I heard about that show,” she continued. “And Norman ''Mailer''. Oh yeah, we read him in high school.” (Her inflection might describe the oldest pair of shoes in her closet.) Then, with much enthusiasm. “I loved that famous play of his: ''Death of a Streetcar''. It made me cry.” Me too. So much for letters of recommendation from literary giants in the film capital. | To say that I was impressed by his thoughtfulness is insufficient for a gesture of such generosity, not to mention the mood of hope it put me in. Not every actor can brandish a letter of recommendation from perhaps our greatest living writer. Witness the following scene: I’m in a meeting with a casting person for some project or other, or maybe it was a super-agent, my memory fades. Upon reading the letter, this young woman whose instinct makes her eager to please, says something like: “Oh, Ryan O’Neal—I ''love'' him ...” (Pause. Noncommittal. It was not a blockbuster.) “I heard about that show,” she continued. “And Norman ''Mailer''. Oh yeah, we read him in high school.” (Her inflection might describe the oldest pair of shoes in her closet.) Then, with much enthusiasm. “I loved that famous play of his: ''Death of a Streetcar''. It made me cry.” Me too. So much for letters of recommendation from literary giants in the film capital. | ||