ABSTRACT

This comprehensive collection provides theoretical accounts of the grounds and phenomenon of film acting. The volume features entries by some of the most prominent scholars on film acting who collectively represent the various theoretical traditions that constitute the discipline of film studies. Each section proposes novel ways of considering the recurring motifs in academic enquiries into film acting, including: (1) the mutually contingent problematic of description and interpretation, (2) the intricacies of bodily dynamics and their reception by audiences, (3) the significance of star performance, and (4) the impact of evolving technologies and film styles on acting traditions.

 

chapter |16 pages

Introduction

Acting, Casually and Theoretically Speaking

part I|73 pages

Aesthetics

chapter 1|14 pages

Acting Matters

Noting Performance in Three Films

chapter 2|14 pages

Living Meaning

The Fluency of Film Performance

chapter 3|15 pages

Play-Acting

A Theory of Comedic Performance

chapter 5|14 pages

“Brando Sings!”

The Invincible Star Persona

part II|76 pages

Reception

chapter 6|14 pages

“Look at Me!”

A Phenomenology of Heath Ledger In The Dark Knight

chapter 7|13 pages

Is Acting a Form of Simulation or Being?

Acting and Mirror Neurons

chapter 8|15 pages

The Bond That Unbinds by Binding

Acting Mythology and the Film Community

chapter 9|17 pages

From Being to Acting

Performance in Cult Cinema

part III|60 pages

Culture

chapter 11|15 pages

Story and Show

The Basic Contradiction of Film Star Acting

chapter 12|17 pages

The Screen Actor's “First Self” and “Second Self”

John Wayne and Coquelin's Acting Theory

chapter 13|9 pages

Acting Like a Star

Florence Turner, Picture Personality

chapter 14|17 pages

Niche Stars and Acting “Gay”

part IV|59 pages

Apparatus

chapter 16|13 pages

Sonic Bodies

Listening as Acting

chapter 17|15 pages

Dance of the Übermarionettes

Toward a Contemporary Screen Actor Training

chapter 18|15 pages

Articulating Digital Stardom