20150717

ACTING

The band Will To Power (the name was inspired by Frederick Nietzsche) successfully turned Peter Frampton's 1975 song, 'Baby, I Love Your Way' (peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 at the time) into a No. 1 song in 1988. 

In the song, after singer Elin Michaels sung "I love your way", Bob Rosenberg then sung, "If I leave here tomorrow, will you still remember me? For I must be traveling on now, there's so many places I gotta see. But if I stayed here with you girl, things just wouldn't be the same, 'cause I'm as free as a bird now. And this bird will never change." 

"Old movies never die, they just get re-shot," it was explained. Henry Sheehan made the observation in 1983, "Some pleasures are denied us as we get older. It's a sad day when we've finally grown up too much to be plopped on a parent's knee and told a story. Some of us revive the experience with children of our own, but that's a different pleasure, sweet though it may be. For most, the storytelling experience is re-created through the movies." 

Back in 1976, "grown ups" were told, "Plan your movies before you begin shooting, and be logical in filming the action. It should have an opening which sets the scene, a middle that develops the story, and an ending. The beauty of movies is you do not have to shoot in sequence – you can bring order out of chaos in your editing. Make most shots at least 10 seconds long, and even longer if the shot is interesting. Train yourself to count seconds without having to look at a watch, and count to yourself as the film is running through. A movie camera is designed to record movement, not create it. A series of unrelated shots will not interest any viewer for more than a few moments. Avoid bewildering your audience with jumps in sequence." 

Michael Nader had been acting since 1963 when he was "under contract with American International Pictures." It was reported, "He was discovered by the husband of model agency-owner Wilhelmina while he was buying shoes in New York." Micheal remembered 20 years later, "It was bizarre. I'd be shooting these beach movies during the day, then devouring (Ingmar) Bergman and (Federico) Fellini at night at a local art theater." In 1983, Michael Nader played Alexi Theodopolous on the TV series 'Bare Essence'. From 1984 to 1989, he played a mining engineer, Dex Dexter on 'Dynasty'. Michael said he got the part because "the energy that Joan (Collins) and I had was what became the final statement. Joan and I had real charisma...I did my screen test with Joan. She's the main actress on the show I work with. There is more to her than just an act. She can give you 8 different looks. One minute she can be quite childlike, the next she can be demanding. Yet there's a lot of fun on the set...Something just clicked with us. I know Joan read that scene in the same way with the other guys, but it worked for us. It seemed as if we had an understanding, as actor and actress." 

"What's down on tape or film is where I was at, at that time," Michael Nader made known in 1984. Karrie Emerson remarked, "'Dynasty' and 'Dallas' are both done on film, so you've got to re-shoot the same scenes many different times. 'Edge (of Night)' is done on tape and shot quickly in sequence, just like a play." Stephanie Beacham believed, "Film looks so much better. The most important thing is that with film, the director stays on the floor. In tape, the director is off somewhere in a control booth." Gordon Thomson added, "I think of it ('Dynasty') as a gothic serial." He had played the Egyptologist Aristotle Benedict White on a daytime soap opera. "On 'Ryan's Hope', we shot 15 pages a day. On 'Dynasty', we shoot only 7…'Dynasty' has a lot more scope, because it has the freedom film gives you as opposed to the restriction of tape." 

Donna Mills reminded, "Daytime shows come into your home every single day. Also, the daytime soaps are on tape; it's a different medium from the night time series which are on film. Tape is a more immediate medium. It's like it's really happening as you're watching – like the news – so people feel much closer to it. Film, on the other hand, sets up a barrier, almost like a 4th wall, so that the audience feels they're watching a story in which the actors are accepted as playing roles, unlike a daytime soap where the actors seem to become the characters they play." 

In 1984 on 'Dynasty', "there will be multiple cliffhangers and each one, if you look closely at the plot structure, will be right on target." Michael stated, "I’m certainly not ashamed of the show: it seems to me that when you can consistently entertain tens of millions of people every week, you don't have to make excuses. Everyone's ideal is to be in a show which is both critical and a popular success." 

It was pointed out, appearing on 'Dynasty' had been "good for both my career and my financial condition...(The Broadway play) didn't pay too well so I supported myself as a model (for Zoli). I was one of the top ones, but I hated every minute of it. I was also was a waiter for a time, starting off by peeling onions in the basement of Maxwell’s Plum. I was also on 'As The World Turns', for more than 3 years (1975-78). I didn't like it that much, either." It was reasoned as Kevin Thompson, Michael was merely a "hunk-in-training." 

Michael Nader attended Santa Monica City College and the Actors Studio in New York. After returning from Hawaii in 1981 he worked for a year in a pizza restaurant but "I did not find it shaming in any way. Money has not been that important to me. I have always been my own worst enemy in that way, because with a different attitude I could have done well much earlier." Gordon confessed, "I have a respect bordering on fear for certain authority figures like bank managers and loan officers." Of acting, Gordon insisted, "Good acting is good acting wherever you find it: in prime time, in daytime or in politics...My accountant said to stop spending money on the house and get some go-to-hell money...It sounds wonderful to read about all the money we are supposed to make but you kiss goodby to two-thirds of the gross in commissions and taxes."

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