There’s something that we can all learn from Peter Bogdanovich’s book ‘Who the Hells in it?’
When he was directing a film with a young actor in the late 90’s he mentioned as a way of encouraging him that he reminded him of James Cagney; the young actor had no idea who he was talking about.
On another occasion he asked another young actor to handle the scene more lightly ‘more Cary Grant’ in style and again he got a totally blank reaction.
People in show business must make themselves familiar with the great past achievement in their chosen field.
The young audience seems not only to be totally ignorant of the past actors but have practically no interest in any film shot earlier than maybe 1980 or 1990. The classics of the 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s might as well be in Sanskrit.
Silent pictures are not even worth raising as a distant possibility. Black and white films are even is an anathema.
The great names of the past mean nothing to younger filmgoers. that they are missing untold pleasures, that there is an overflowing treasure of joyful, enriching experiences waiting for them doesn’t seem to be within their realm of consciousness.
Young Actors and filmmakers job these days is to make themselves accessible to the classics, to the past stars or else they’ll be forgotten.
Do yourself this favour and google a list of the top classics and go and watch those, whether on Amazon, Netflix, Apple or even YouTube if they’re available.
They are such a rich heritage that to allow the classics to disappear into obscurity will deprive us of the beauty and the profound human achievements.
To keep the past alive is our principal objective in the film and acting world.
So, let us not let their lights go out when they have so much to give us in return.