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The arts examines itself
On my 24th anniversary in Hollywood, I’m doing a lot of reflecting on the evolution of the performing arts and the artists who bring them to life. Today’s industry model of self tapes and social media is wildly different than the one I met in 2002, when audition materials were still distributed by fax and heaven help you if you didn’t have a current headshot stapled to your resume when you got to the waiting room. Get with the times, or get left behind.
Capturing the nuance of creative process without pretense requires a balance of humor, self awareness, and love for the form that transcends the people making it. It should come as no surprise then that I love art when it examines itself.
Far from comprehensive, the following is a list of personal favorites in chronological release order. A curated selection of films that encapsulate the complicated psychology of being a performer on stage or screen. Dancers, actors, and musicians all grappling with the contradictions of living the dream and fearing the shadows as time marches on. These narratives tackle competition, aging, mental and physical illness, delusion, political unrest, and the toll a life in the arts can take on relationships.
The Red Shoes (1948) - dir. Powell & Pressburger. The gold standard of the impossible choice.
-“Why do you want to dance?”
- “Why do you want to live?”
All About Eve (1950) - dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Paragon of the American theatre grapples with the threat of being usurped by her young fan.
Sunset Boulevard (1950) - dir. Billy Wilder. A silent film star whose relevance faded with the advent of sync sound draws a young screenwriter into a co-dependent relationship with murderous results.
Cabaret (1972) - dir. Bob Fosse. A raucous cabaret company performs their subversive nightly act in Weimar era Berlin on the eve of the Second World War.
All That Jazz (1979) - dir. Bob Fosse. Fosse directs his autobiography, reckoning with his drug use and womanizing through his singular artistic lens.
The Dresser (1983) - dir. Peter Yates. “You must find what light you can.”
Amadeus (1984) - dir. Miloš Forman. Salieri really hates the young, tacky genius called Mozart.
A Chorus Line (1985) - dir. Richard Attenborough. Auditioning really is like this.
Waiting for Guffman (1993) - dir. Christopher Guest. Passion minus discernment equals joyous delusion at small town community theatre.
The Company (2003) - dir. Robert Altman. A meditative slice of life at a Chicago ballet company.
Black Swan (2010) - dir. Darren Aronovsky. Body horror on pointe shoes. “I just want to be perfect.”
Birdman (2014) - dir. Alejandro Iñarritu. Meta-analysis of fame and legacy in one spellbinding shot.
The Disaster Artist (2017) - dir. James Franco. Delusion, thy name is Tommy Wiseau.
Honey Boy (2019) - dir. Alma Har’el. Heartbreaking portrait of child stardom, and an unflinchingly accurate portrayal of the problematic stage parent.
Tár (2022) - dir. Todd Field. Portrait of a problematic leader. You’re just not used to women getting away with it.
The Last Showgirl (2024) - dir. Gia Coppola. The feminine companion film to The Disaster Artist. A veteran Vegas showgirl can’t see the forest for the rhinestones.
Watch and learn.