Tom & Alissa

I was listening to Sidney Lumet’s commentary on Network and he said something profound about acting:

I think one of the things that the actors in live television were able to assimilate as part of their technique was the same thing the theater gives you which is the necessity of making the dramatic selection in advance. You don’t get a chance to work in the detail that you do in movies shot by shot, but you sure have a much better idea and a sense of control over the entire arc of the character and that is irreplaceable, because that teaches you to use whatever you need sparingly and not to repeat anything.