2 comments about Acting Essentials, or, Just Say Your Lines Like You Mean Them and Don't Bump into the Scenery.

1. This book is really wonderful. I am teaching a beginning acting class, and I like it much better than the university assigned text! Many exercises and a no nonsense approach to acting. Easy to assimilate. Highly recommend.



2. THIS BOOK IS GREAT! IT IS BY MY DADDY AND YOU CAN LEARN MANY VALUABLE ACTING LESSONS AND RESOURCES. I HAVE READ IT AND IT IS VERY GOOD. READ IT. THISBOOKISGREAT!GREAT!GREAT!GREAT!GREAT!GREAT!GREAT!GREAT!GREAT!GREAT!GREAT!GREAT!GREAT!GREAT!GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2 comments about All in the Dances: A Brief Life of George Balanchine.

1. Teachout's short biography of Balanchine has a lot more meat in it than I expected, considering that he makes a comment in the Preface that he wrote it for the casual ballet-goer or even someone who has never been to the ballet. He takes a casual but observant stroll through Balanchine's professional and personal lives and with telling incident and anecdote makes this giant of twentieth-century art come alive, warts and all. Further, his tone is one of kindliness and understanding, even when it comes to Balanchine's inveterate womanizing, without it becoming a work of hagiography. And he conveys in words how Balanchine filled his plotless ballets with "the most extraordinary encounters and events" and changed the face of modern ballet.
   
   I came to this book not as a balletomane but as a lover of the music of Stravinsky whose music, of course, was the aural life blood of Balanchine's art. I was not disappointed in that there were many glimpses of Stravinsky along the way. But more important Teachout's easy style and consummate story-telling ability made this a compulsive read. Many biographers lack that quality.
   
   Frankly I would recommend this book not only to the dance neophyte like me, but to any lover of ballet, or modern dance, or of twentieth century music. It certainly provides a beautifully written record of one of the high points of American culture of its era.
   
   Scott Morrison



2. I will make the inevitable comparison between this book and Robert Gottlieb's short biography of Balanchine. This book is my choice because Gottlieb's book, while businesslike, is a bit earthbound. Gottlieb's biography did not exude the spirit of dance for me. And the biographical facts, reported in brief by both Gottlieb and Teachout, have been given more scope in Bernard Taper's wonderful full length biography. In Teachout's favor, he is a dance critic, and he treats the dances themselves with more insight and depth. As a reader, I feel this added to the book's value. So the book I'll keep on my shelf is Terry Teachout's Balanchine.

No comments about LA 411 2008 (La 411).

5 comments about Acting in Television Commercials for Fun and Profit.

1. "Acting in Television Commercials for Fun and Profit"by Squire Fridell, was a helpful book to read. It was a great step-by-step book for anyone striving to be an actor or actress. It is very informative for anyone who would like to be in a commercial for fun or profit!



2. This book proved to be useful, insightful, and fun to read. For those who have a burning desire to enter the commercial acting business, Squire Fridell provides a step-by-step guide to preparing a résumé, having head shots taken, finding an agent, preparing for an audition, and managing your money, among other things. He also dispels many of the myths surrounding the business, explains how to look out for scams, and provides the reader with an insider's look into how the industry is run and how to be successful in it. For those who wish to act in commercials but aren't sure how to get started, this book is highly recommended.



3. I would just like to say that listening to Squire Fridell"s advice and watching him teach At El Rancho High in Pico Rivera Calif. you could not get better advice.



4. Some "how to" books can become entangled in all of the intracies of the lesson. Squire has "been there" and "done that" and SUCCEEDED. His advise is clear, direct and practical. This book is a valued treasure in my library of books on how to succeed as an actor. You won't be sorry you boght this one.



5. Being a beginner in the commercial acting business I have found this book so simple to read and understand and useful to anyone starting out in this industry. It is full of step-by-step instructions that if you follow will give you a leg up on your competition.

5 comments about Mother Courage and Her Children: Adapted By David Hare.

1. It is a good, good play,
   that is what they say.
   The English translation of the songs is pretty good.
   It is definitely great literature, even in translation.
   I've read Greek master drama/ tragedy that wasn't as convincing.
   The characters are realistic
   and the situations are true to life.
   But in the realism is the blow of a weapon
   that strikes us.
   Courage fails the brave mother
   as her children are stripped from her in death by war.



2. In what appears to be a permanent war in Iraq it is not untimely to address the question posed by Bertolt Brecht of how individuals caught up on the margins of warfare cope, for good or evil, with the traumas, unappetiting personal decisions and unmitigated horror of it. Brecht, the master Communist playwright, has taken a story of a working mother's struggle to survive as a camp following petty merchant in the Thirty Years War of the 17th century in Germany as his backdrop to investigate one aspect of that phenomena- the elemental struggle for individual survival. And it is not pretty. This mother is not the mother who gains increased political consciousness in another Brecht classic-The Mother. Far from it.
   
   If the simple moral of the story is that war does nothing to elevate the human spirit or bring out the better instincts of our nature Brecht has made his point in rather stark terms. The struggle of Mother Courage to keep her `mom and pop' business going at the cost of the lives of her children may not go down well with today's more squeamish audiences but the unfortunate fact is that all over the world, and most notably in today's Iraq, those very same kind of cold, calculating decisions are being made by families in order to survive. The fact that it is a mother, the source of life and supposed nurturer-in-chief, who is sacrificing her children only makes that observation more compelling. Brecht wants us to see that, while greed and acquisitiveness may not be eternal human characteristics, under conditions of scarcity that have dominated most of human history the struggle has led to some very strange behavior. In the end his play is not only a cry against war but the economic conditions that engender war as well. That would require some mighty big changes. But we better think about it.



3. There is not a single passage of entertainment in this play, or anything even scarcely enjoyable about the reading experience. You will never finish it unless you are at all interested in the Thirty Years War. If you're going to read anything by Brecht, try the witty 'Threepenny Opera', which succeeds at everything that Brecht needs to do to impart his political beliefs without putting his readers to sleep.



4. I read this book for my European History AP class...actually for the summer work. I chose it because it seemed short and easy to read. Boy was I wrong. I did not enjoy this book at all. My recommendation is to choose another play. Each scene was totally different, which I did not like. The language is a bit confusing. Overall, I do not recommend this book...sorry.



5. "Mother Courage and Her Children" is a repugnant play. With odious characters, a misguided plot, and pitiable dialogue, it's a marvel this play has survived the times. I would hate to see the play performed - pure torture. A waste of time, and I do not recommend.

5 comments about Vivien: The Life of Vivien Leigh.

1. This biography was very intimate and gives you a good look at what Vivien Leigh was and went through. She was the most dedicated actress even at the cost of her mental health. We come to see the two great loves of her life: Laurence Olivier and acting. For those who want to know more about her I would recommend this book. It makes you feel like you know her personally. She is one of my favorite actresses of all time and I now have a new found respect for her.



2. Writing about Vivien Leigh's life is a difficult task, as I'm sure any author would tell their reader contemplating the idea of researching this fabulous woman's life. The reason is because those who know details about her and knew her best don't say much, leaving a lot to be desired sometimes. However with that said, `Vivien: The Life of Vivien Leigh' by Alexander Walker is a tremendously satisfying read about an actress's life `Gone with the Wind' all too soon from us all. I find this work exemplary and worthy of anyone's attention. Still there is comfort to be found in the films she leaves behind. I've only seen three of them so far, those being `Gone with the Wind', `A Streetcar Named Desire' and `Waterloo Bridge'. I have read that `Waterloo Bridge' was a favourite film of Vivien's. I absolutely adore her in it as well so that will continue to be a favourite of mine too. I'd love to see more of her films but I am so happy with the films of hers I do have. Before reading this, I read `Audrey: Her Real Story' by Alexander Walker and loved it. I loved `Vivien' equally. I could see a lot of myself in Vivien. I found we shared some of the same interests. She loved to act on the stage and I do too. She really didn't enjoy making films or her time in Hollywood she really loved the theatre more, but not really suited to musicals. However I'm sure she was fabulous in whatever she pursued as her rather short but worthwhile film career suggests. The novel `Gone with the Wind' remains to me one of my all time favourite books. Margaret Mitchell was an author without equal. I do enjoy however like Vivien William Shakespere, and Charles Dickens. Vivien read all of Charles Dickens's work. When it comes to Shakespere Laurence Olivier and Vivien seem to have just about gone through his entire work on the stage as well as some on the screen. They were like royalty. I think they would have made a wonderful couple for the twenty years they spent together. Before Laurence Olivier, Vivien was married to Leigh Holman and Leigh became her stage name instead of Vivien Hartley. Vivien had one child called Suzanne Holman, and two miscarriages. Later in her life Jack Merivale was very important in her life. Joan Plowright interested me with Laurence Oliver, and Vivien's school friend later actress like Vivien, Maureen O' Sullivan. Maureen was Jane Bennet in `Pride and Prejudice' in 1940 with Laurence Olivier and many other films I'd love to see. Another marvellous edition to an already spectacular book is the introduction to each chapter with a quote by Vivien Leigh, with I believe two or three exceptions "Walking Corpses" being really a joint description of both Laurence and Vivien and "What time is it in London?" In any case I find them an added touch of genius to an already incredible biography. A chronology of Vivien's life is another excellent feature of a busy life included here. I would have loved to see the `Romeo and Juliet' play Vivien and Olivier put on. The pictures are excellent! I love them all. The shot from `The Skin of Our Teeth' play in 1945 is one picture I find particularly wonderful and Olivier's favourite photo is absolutely stunning! Vivien wanted the lead in `Rebecca' but didn't get the part. Other films that interest me are `Anna Karenina', and then there is `Ship of Fools' Vivien's final film. I'll watch anything of hers I can find. There is so much packed into this book but it's all good. I read this when I was twenty-six a very exciting year for Vivian Leigh. The year she got the role of Scarlett O' Hara, a role always disputed and unclear how she exactly got the lead. The explanation in `Vivien' seems perfectly fine to me. When I was twenty-six I thought I had a pretty lucky year too. If anyone were to write a biography on me and if Alexander Walker were still alive I'd want it to be him. Instead I'd like Beverly Gray to write a biography on me or better yet I'd try my hand at my own autobiography. I truly believe this is the best biography on Vivien Leigh's life. Alexander Walker was very fortunate enough to meet Vivien Leigh for this biography an outstanding accomplishment for him, worthy of praise, even though she was in ill health at the time, and had electroshock therapy throughout her life. I love Vivien's gift giving. I'm sure Vivien and I would have got on famously together. It was very difficult for me to find a copy of `Vivien', because they were out of print. Now that I have one I can't imagine living without it. Vivien lived an outstanding life on stage and screen worth emulating. I hope to find other Vivien Leigh fans who admire her life as I do. Irreplaceable.



3. This book is a great journey into Vivien's life. It describes her life from beginning to end in a delicate and true way, making the reader really feel her struggle against her desease, so little known at that time. I have always loved Vivien as an actress and after reading this biography I got to love her even more. She was a great actress!



4. .
   In this seemingly fair and accurate portrait, common pitfalls of a celebrity biography are avoided, such as a gossipy tone, sensationalism, and gushing admiration. Such writing shows respectable restraint, as Miss Leigh's life has all the makings for a tawdry tale.
   
   The only faults are that at times the business end of Ms. Leigh's career is overemphasized, such as contract and agent negotiations. However, facts more interesting to a movie fan take up less space. For example, there are only a few backstage stories on the making of "Gone With the Wind", with even less on "A Streetcar Named Desire". One interesting story told is that Vivien Leigh refused to perform Scarlett O'Hara's retching sounds, as it would be undignified.Olivia De Haviland therefore filled in the sounds. Perhaps the author felt this kind of backstage story is available elsewhere and does not belong in a biography. Though I accept that, I would have preferred more backstage stories than the business end of Ms. Leigh's career, which slowed down the reading.
   
   Also, Ms. Leigh's erratic behavior is often understated. Some incidents are told as if a friend was telling you dinner recipes, then informs you that her daughter set fire to the school, followed by more recipes. In the way you would say, "She did what?" to your friend, I found myself rereading certain paragraphs, because I did not fully capture the extent of Miss Leigh's behaviour on a first read due to its factual presentation. More vivid descriptions would have been appropriate, without necessarily being sensationalistic.
   
   Perhaps the author was too restrained for this fan of both movies and Vivien Leigh. But I felt this to be a worthwhile read, because more importantly, I felt as though I had gotten to know Ms. Leigh, as a woman who loved deeply, suffered much, worked hard and at times acted thoughtlessly, while happening to act in movies.



5. As a fan of Vivien Leigh, I was hoping for a biography that would delve more into her personal life. Instead, it dragged with pages and pages dedicated to mostly her career. However, if you can breeze through the boring parts, the rest is worth it.

1 comments about Acting, Imaging and the Unconscious.

1. I'll admit that at first glance Eric Morris's System can seem scary and misaligned. But I believe it to be a very misunderstood system.
   
   I too was skeptical in the beginning, but after studying this technique (with Eric, but mostly with Anthony Vincent Bova in NYC, Eric's protégé), and after seeing the difference from "acting" and what this Work creates, there's no way I'd ever go back to the "acting" form.
   
   Eric Morris teaches the actor how to react honestly and in the moment, including everything that's going on inside and out-the other actor, the props, the imagined objects that one might be working for-that impels you to "do" whatever the character is required to "do", but out of a real reaction, not just because you're doing it.
   
   I've studied Adler, Strasberg, Meisner, and with Robert Lewis. I've hashed through the process of verbs, actions, objectives, obstacles, and onward; and they're all good and dandy for figuring out what's going on in a script, what the characters are doing and why; but other than that, these techniques never helped me figure out HOW to make it real to ME... How to get to a place where I'm actually functioning from a real, organic, truthful state ... How to get to the point where I am "doing" all the script tells me to do, fulfilling the "actions," out of an honest REACTION to what's going on.... Not just "playing" as if I am; how, in essence, creating the realities of the character....
   
   No matter where you go, all the great teachers (and actors) say the same thing, "Acting is reacting." Even the most used and cherished word in the actor's language, LISTENING, is about focusing outside of yourself and REACTING to what is there. This Work trains the actor to create the stimuli that will fulfill the demands of the piece, specifically, wholly, and with Truth.
   
   For the most part, plays and movies are imagined circumstances, and we as actors, have to create stimuli to react from, so we're not just faking, or indicating our performance. I'd rather watch two people have a relationship on film or on stage, than two actors reciting words, no matter how well they "act" it. If they don't believe it, I won't. This System trains you to create those stimuli and REACT to them honestly, fully and truthfully.
   
   A crucial part of Eric's System is based on Instrumental Work, which is the process of identifying blocks and fears and tensions to expression and, one-by-one, through the use of hundreds of exercises, eliminating them. It's really about self-awareness-learning about yourself and how you function, so you can "get out of your way" and function truthfully on stage or film and get to where you need to get to in a scene. I think this is the aim of every method, but I feel that this System is the only one to address the issues of the actor on a personal level. If I'm tense and depressed (in real life; me the actor), I'm not going to be able to REACT truthfully in a scene where the character has just won the lottery and is jumping with joy. If I push for the emotion, I'll be faking and will "act" that I'm joyful. If this is enough for you, then Eric's work is definitely not your thing. But if you're looking for creating reality and REACTING with truth, nothing surpasses this Work.
   
   I know that Meryl Streep, Brando, Ed Norton, Johnny Depp, Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, and a handful of other amazing actors don't fake it, don't just indicate the realities of the character and the circumstances. They create them. Be it imagined stimuli they are creating, or through the available stimulus around them, they open themselves up and REACT truthfully to everything -the other actors, the set, the space, the props, the object or person via Sense Memory, etc. I KNOW they do this for a fact! They've talked about it for years.
   
   Eric helps you get to the place that they do-where you can function truthfully, where your instrument is accessible and available, where you are open and are willing to go where the character needs to go, emotionally, psychologically, and physically.
   
   My advice is read Eric's books. If they pique any interest in you, if they strike a cord, study with Eric or Anthony, or at least contact them for further information about the system. I think you'll be quite surprised and utterly amazed at the tools this Work can provide you as an actor.

5 comments about Joe Turner's Come and Gone (August Wilson Century Cycle).

1. Herald Loomis says this to his estranged wife in the final scene of this play, set in a 1911 Pittsburgh boarding house.
   
   The play was first performed in 1986, and it is part of August Wilson's ten-play tetracycle about African-Americans in Pittsburgh during each decade of the 20th century.
   
   Charles S. Dutton and Delroy Lindo played the role of Herald Loomis in the early productions of this play. Loomis is a 32 year old man who is looking for his wife, whom he lost touch with after he was put on Joe Turner's chain gain in Memphis for seven years.
   
   Seth Holly is the 50 year old owner of the boarding house in which Loomis and his daughter stay (along with Holly's wife and a number of other residents). Seth is both practical and skeptical (of people, banks and society): "Anybody liable to do anything far as I'm concerned." (2.1)
   
   It's a story about identity and relationships. Bynum, the 60 year old mystic who lives in the house, sums it up well: "Seem like everybody looking for something."
   
   Herald Loomis is looking for himself.



2. We lost a great playwright when August Wilson died a few years ago. And the greatest contribution to theatre was the chronology of 10 socially critical plays. August Wilson's plays contained a lot of dialogue, with great monologues, that drove the plight of African Americans.
   
   As Joe Turner is from the second decade of storytelling, you can begin with "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" which takes you to the world of black musicians in the 20s. Explore the chronology of August Wilson.
   
   Joe Turner's Come and Gone is about the disconnect from slavery and the search for their identity and place in America.
   
   The setting for "Joe Turner's Come and Gone" takes place in a boarding house where owners Seth and his wife operate with strict rules for the many transients. Joe Turner is NOT a character in the play, but a man who enslaved Harold Loomis, the main character, for years. Now Loomis tries to find his wife. This is a wonderful story with folklore, blues, spirituality, search and identity, which is metaphorically referred to as a "song". ......Rizzo



3. "Joe Turner's Come & Gone" is the first play of Wilson's that I've read. I finished the play the week before his death. As a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, many have obviously already recognized the quality of Wilson's work. "Joe Turner's Come & Gone" won the Tony Award for Best Play in 1988 with L. Scott Campbell winning the Tony as Best Featured Actress in a Play for her portrayal of Bertha Holly. Set in a Pittsburgh boardinghouse in 1911, the play is part of Wilson's cycle of plays. Seth Holly is a no-nonsense man who does not allow any shenanigans. His wife Bertha cooks and tries to soften Seth's hard edges. Seth makes dustpans and coffeepots out of metal for travelling salesman Rutherford Selig, who is the lone Caucasian in the show. The show is populated by a series of characters including Jeremy Farlow who is a young guitar player who longs for a girl. Molly Cunningham and Mattie Campbell fill the bill. Herald Loomis is an ex-convict who was incarcerated because of Joe Turner. He got out of prison and found his daughter Zonia. (I think I remember the character was named after Wilson's mother.) Herald, as his name might imply, has a spiritual mission to locate his wife. Loomis employs the peddler Selig who makes extra money by finding people whose names he records as he makes his rounds selling his wares. Angela Bassett played Martha Pentecost who has changed her name from Martha Loomis and is eventually reunited with Zonia. Bynum Walker is also a mystical character who has stories of the shiny man. The play's action flows together organically with great tension and humor. The otherworldly mystical elements imply both spirituality and superstition. The play is an interesting reading experience that makes you wish you'd been able to attend one of the 105 Broadway performances! Enjoy!



4. The title "Joe turner's Come & Gone symbolizes the American socialized system of oppression. Joe Turner is "the Man", Joe Turner is jail, and oppression. In this play, Herald Loomis has been detained by Joe Tuerner for seven years. Upon his release he searches to find his daughter and his wife while all along he has been searching for his inner self.
   Bynum Walker is a "Rootworker", one who practices unconventional spiritual worship. He lives in the boarding house an tells a story of a shiny man who has the secrete of life. This secret that he refers to, the secret of life, symbliizes the meaning of all in existance and most impoprtantly the knowledge of self. Joe Turner, "the Man", "the system", and American society have stripped, robbed,and raped the African American of self. It is this quest for idenity that Herald Loomis searches for within himself. This same quest is also found in all of the other characters in the play as well. Those that come to the boarding house are unstable and have not found their true selves. Even Seth and Bertha, the owners of the house also quest for their idenity. They have a better financial system than the others, but they are stil timid when they encounter white America. Seth constantly states the rules of the boarding house. He proclaims to operate a clean, safe, and respectful house. He feels that any other behavior would call too much attention to him and his home. Resulting in white American society to take oppresive actions against his achievements.
   Joe Turner's Come & Gone is an excellent concept that spiritually looks at the concept of knowing ones-self. August Willson's use of quest for idenity among all his characters allows the reader to unmistakenly find a connection with their own secret song to sing.



5. August Wilson, a Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright captures the essence of the African-American experience of slavery, migration, and the quest for an identity. These themes are part of the written slave narrative, from which the African-American literary tradition was born. In "Joe Turner's Come and Gone", Wilson brings the struggle of migration from the agricultural South to the Industrial North to light; set in the early 1900's when this great migration had just begun. The quest for self/an identity is one of the many scarring ramifications of slavery, and the result of namelessness. Wilson, is able to capture this central theme through religion, allegory, and music-Jazz/Blues. The quest for ones identity is rooted in the metaphorical use of the quest for a song. Songs mean different things for different people; they touch people in different ways. Why? Because each individual is unique, each individual has a song, an identity. With the historical culture of the African-American, and its connection to Music, this collaboration of rhythms and imagery proliferate the importance of this quest to life. Wilson, like Toni Morrison, offers his work as an illustration of the Blues Theory of Art-the idea that music has the ability to reach deep into the soul, and pull from it the raw feelings that may otherwise be unreachable. Music goes to the core of ones being, and helps the healing process. With Loomis, this was evident in the search for his song, his identity, it was all part of the restorative process, yet a consequence of America's greatest shame-Slavery. I must say that "Joe Turner's Come and Gone" in a wonderful way, using symbolism, folklore, and like Jazz, a non-written form of art, serves as an anchor and captures the heart of the African-American experience.

2 comments about Mnemonic.

1. I don't think that the text of this play really captures the experience of seeing the Theatre De Complicete production. I like to think that I know my theater, modern and otherwise, but I left the show in a state of shock. This play made me completely reconsider what the medium of theater could accomplish. Reading this play is not the same thing as the ephemeral, mystifying experience of a live production, but I suppose it's the next best thing.



2. this is anotherone of complicites masterpieces. a travel through our imagination-full of miracles

5 comments about Some of Me.

1. Isabella Rossellini lays bare some of her life in "Some of Me," an autobiography that reads like a prism -- it splits her life into many images, while never really forming a whole. It's an intriguing read, with plenty of interesting details about a unique life, but somehow Rossellini never quite bares her soul.

   Rosselini writes about her childhood in Italy, with movie icon Ingrid Bergman as a mother, and revolutionary filmmaker Roberto Rossellini as a father. She reluctantly entered acting -- and almost stopped forever when her first film was a flop -- and became a Lancôme cosmetics model, only to be fired for her age. She tells of her son's adoption, her battle with scoliosis, her failed marriage to Martin Scorsese, and the background of her vast mixed family.

   "Some of Me" is less like an autobiography than snapshots of Rossellini's life. It's non-linear, darting from adulthood to childhood to adolescence with no order. She doesn't explain much about her husbands and lovers, but explains plenty about the wet nurse who cared for her and her twin sister as babies.

   Rossellini gives the feeling of being at peace with the world -- she's gotten past her initial heartbreaks and problems. Some strong emotions -- grief at her mother's loss, anger at Lancôme's attitude towards her -- seep through. But Rossellini never really bares her deeper emotions or her soul. This book is like having a deep conversation with her: you will hear about her life, but won't be able to really get down and deep.

   Despite that, Rosselini has a bright style, full of melancholy and humor. She relates conversations with her now-dead parents, talks about pelting the paparazzi with rocks, and Audrey Hepburn's dirty fingernails. She lets readers see another side of Ingrid Bergman -- a loving neat-freak, who calmly tells her daughter that she's acquainted with the F-word.

   "Some of Me" is an apt title -- it gives us part of the picture, and leaves you feeling that parts of it are still hidden. Isabella Rossellini's book is engaging, but somehow feels unsatisfying.




2. I don't usually run up and get a book autographed by the author. But person at the luncheon was mesmerizing. I sat there and thought about her mother Ingrid Bergman, her trials and tribulations, her remarkable beauty, her astonishing talent, and her warmth and genuineness. It was a wonderful and heartwarming 2 hours. I think everyone felt they had met a friend. The book? It covers the waterfront, written in crisp, clear, engaging style. Honest, memorable, including her unforgettable encounters with Anna Magnani, Katharine Hepburn, Martin Scorsese (ex-husband), Gary Oldman. Film, modeling, Television, businesswoman, human being. "Is being remembered a kind of antidote to death? Is fame a sor of eternity? A remedy to the sadness of the end? Does having a famous mother, whoisstill seen every day on TV smiling, crying, walking, talkin, maker her death different, less definitive than other deaths?" This book will last!



3. My mom and I have this barometer of how personable a celebrity seems. If they seem like someone we'd get along with, we say he/she could "live on our street". I liked Isabella so much, she could be my next-door neighbour! (I'm even pretty sure she wouldn't mind that I just called her by her first name!)
   
   I loved this book! It's funny and real, and Ms. Rossellini comes across so charmingly, flaws and all. It's not a linear autobiography--it skips about from her childhood to early adulthood willy-nilly, and doesn't strictly stick to reporting things that happened in her life. She gives a lot of insight into her own personal philosophy that somehow gives the book a much more friendly, conversational tone than the typical memoir. If I had to have a complaint, I'd wish that she were a little more gossipy about her famous husbands/boyfriends, but that's just not her style.



4. This book is an enjoyable read. Isabella Rossellini has a knack for a clever turn of phrase and she guides the reader through a witty recollection of her life. If you're looking for scandal or hot gossip, you're going to be sadly disappointed. Rossellini has chosen to write a breezy look at her complicated, and often controversial, life. She is Ingrid Bergman's daughter; Americans don't know her father. Her mother inspires awe in the hearts of Americans. In the minds of most American audiences, her father is simply the lover who caused Bergman's ruin in the '50s. Rossellini had some idea of her parents' scandalous relationship, but she was sheltered from most of it because she lived in Italy. Any discussion of Rossellini's life must begin with an examination of her parents and their effect upon their daughter. Bergman was an actress first, and a mother second. She valued her career more than her life as a mother. Rossellini does not portray her mother as a monster, or a lunatic who brandishes wire hangers at every turn. Ingrid Bergman is a complicated woman whose love of film and acting infused her entire life. She loved her children -- and she did not mistreat them -- but her first love was her acting career. As a daughter, Rossellini resented her mother's devoting to her career but she never questioned it. She never questioned her father's relationship with her mother, who was married at the time that she became involved with Roberto Rossellini. A major scandal ensued. Bergman exiled herself in Italy for many years. Upon her return to America in 1958, she won an Academy Award for her performance in Anastasia. Rossellini never explores her mother's feelings about being forced to leave America because of the scandal, nor do we get a full portrait of their marriage. Rossellini was not an attractive man, and it must have been his mind and his artistry that attracted Bergman to him. Writing about Rossellini's mother is unavoidable. Isabella Rossellini is the daughter of a famous actress. Her mother was the repository of the audience's dreams and ambitions. They wanted to be her, look like her, talk like her. It is now Isabella's turn to be that repository of dreams. Isabella Rossellini undertook this role when she became the exclusive model/spokeswoman for Lancome cosmetics. The campaigns were an enormous success, and profit margins for Lancome went up considerably. Rossellini was often known more for her Lancome ads than her film career. Lancome was not a company that prided itself on tact and personal warmth. When the company perceived Rossellini as too old, they tried to force her to resign so that they would not experience a public relations nightmare. Isabella refused to resign and the company terminated her employment. The company obviously underestimated the public, which was outraged that Rossellini had been fired. The company eventually hired Juliette Binoche, who looks suspiciously like Rossellini, for other Lancome ads. Rossellini simply reports these events; she does not make judgments about the people involved. She states the facts as she sees them, which brings up another interesting point about this book. Isabella Rossellini intentionally lies throughout large chunks of this book. She revels in her deceptions, as when she says that she gave birth to two children when she actually adopted her son. She is a natural storyteller and she weaves an interesting portrait of an actress struggling to define her own identity. One such defining moment was the film, Blue Velvet. Rossellini portrayed a brutalized torch singer in David Lynch's bizarro cinematic concoction. In one scene, she emerges from the bushes completely naked, bruised, and beaten. During the filming of this difficult scene, fans lined up with picnic baskets and chairs to watch Rossellini film the scene. Rossellini went to Lynch, and asked him to remove the people from the location, as she did not believe they should watch this difficult scene. David Lynch did nothing. She performed the scene in front of the crowd, and afterward, the audience left. They could not handle the difficult nature of the scene. Lynch's refusal to protect Rossellini's privacy as an actress makes his forays in cinematic misogyny completely

   understandable. Rossellini's relationship with Lynch is not understandable. She does not detail the relationship but it is difficult to fathom why an intelligent woman would become involved with such a loony schmuck. Her marriage to Martin Scorsese also does not come under much scrutiny except for an affair with another man that produced her daughter. I wanted to know why she linked herself to men that create films which are so openly hostile. Rossellini does not provide me with that kind of analysis, but what she has provided is a wonderful, light trifle of a read. Immensely readable, it is evidence that Rossellini is more than just her mother's daughter.




5. Who could resist a book that connects lounging around in bed all day with "spiritual and intellectual wisdom"? Isabella Rossellini's Some of Me is a perfectly wonderful memoir of, well, some of her memories, experiences, interests, and lies. Rossellini assures the reader at the beginning of the book that she lies, and it's a disarming admission which sits interestingly with the candid and transparent prose style she has mastered. Rossellini's memoir details her relationship with her parents, Scorcese, Lynch, and her children, as well as her private passions and interests. For all her discretion, the narrative feels candid, and humorously ironic in a manner that is disarmingly personal because it feels so intimately addressed to the reader.

   Rossellini tells of her conversations with "ghosts," a way of tying herself to her past that tweaks the conceit of the lie to provide a quite poignant meditation on loss when it is gracefully and passionately accepted. Her wrangle with Lancome over their decision that she was too old to represent them deals with loss in a more vigorously defiant way, and yet with a certain savoir-faire: Rossellini warns us that this section will be boring, her way of distancing herself from her own disappointment, perhaps, but also something of a lie.

   But what's so intriguing about this book is the way in which Rossellini relies on memory's imprecision to move from topic to topic. From a discussion of her mother's advice that to live a happy life one requires "good health and a short memory," Rossellini moves to her forgetfulness, her mother's obsession with cleaning and to her own feelings about various cleaning implements, and then to the manifestation of her philosophy of living provided in the arrangements of objects in her home. These associative and nostalgic rambles are often poignant, and seldom lose a sense of coherence. Rather, they show how artless really excellent and thoughtful prose may seem.

   And then there are the pictures: again, an artless miscellany that offers everything from hand-drawn cleaning instruments to objets trouves, art objects given to her by Lynch and others, and a collection of personal snaps as well as fashion photographs. Rossellini loves things for their simplicity, beauty, and richness. If you do too, enjoy this book.