Film experts Mark Rydell, Martin Landau and Lyle Kessler to host The Total Picture Seminar at UCLA

Writers, directors and actors spend hours honing their individual skills, but when it comes time to collaborate there’s no promise that they can work together. According to Oscar-nominated director Mark Rydell, it doesn’t have to be like this.

On Nov. 14 and 15, Rydell will be joined by Oscar-winning actor Martin Landau and screenwriter Lyle Kessler in Haines 39 for a film workshop where collaboration is key. For $250 for two days ($125 for UCLA students), writers, actors and directors from all across the country can attend The Total Picture Seminar where five-minute screenplays will be made on the spot. The process, from idea to execution, will take place during the workshop, and the problems that surface will be worked out in front of them.

The concept isn’t new. The Actors Studio West, where Rydell and Landau currently serve as co-artistic directors, has used this collaborative approach for some time. According to Rydell, they are passing down a legacy that began more than 60 years ago.

“Mutual respect is significant,” Rydell said. “There are writers that are interested in only hearing their work, (and) directors who are not aware of the process that an actor goes through to achieve what he has to.”

The plan for the workshop is to bridge this communication gap with these three experienced filmmakers, each from a different discipline, breaking down the film process. This will give attendees the chance to look at the film process on a smaller scale in order to understand the different elements that must interact.

As a director who got his start as an actor, Rydell said he credits his understanding of actors for his positive on-set experiences over the years. With experiences such as directing Henry Fonda and Katherine Hepburn toward Oscar-winning performances in the film “On Golden Pond,” it has all come down to communication and respect.

Paul Castro, an alumnus and a professor of screenwriting, is also a proponent of cross-discipline collaboration. As a member of the Writer’s Guild of America, the Screen Actor’s Guild and a soon-to-be member of the Director’s Guild of America, Castro said he views collaboration as a necessary component of film production.

“To not collaborate and to think it’s just one big machine with a lot of moving parts, it’s hurtful to the production,” Castro said.

Unfortunately, no matter how many shiny Oscars the studios garner from such collaborative atmospheres, this Kumbaya approach to film production hasn’t been embraced by studio executives.

“The truth of the matter is that you have to fight for this all the time,” Rydell said.

He said a lack of rehearsal time allotted for members of the cast and crew leads to obstacles when it comes time to shoot.

“Too often, you all meet on the first day and people who are supposed to be lovers for 40 years are just being introduced,” Rydell said.

The themes of collaboration and communication being pressed by The Total Picture Seminar have resonance with UCLA film students. Adam Petke, a fourth-year film student, said he found that an understanding of the acting process and the possession of a commonality of language has helped his directing. However, Petke said that collaboration is something the campus could improve on. Despite being located within 20 yards of each other, he sees a lack of coordination between the film and acting programs.

Petke cited one incident where a class exercise at the film school required theater students from Macgowen, which was next door. On the day of the exercise, there were no actors.

“We’re all here yet there needs to be more group days,” Petke said. “Everybody meeting in Freud Theater for mixers or something.”

Castro, however, sees the celebration of all three disciplines in UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television as the reason behind the number of Oscars its graduates have won.

“I wouldn’t be wrong in saying that it doesn’t take a village to make a successful movie ““ it takes a UCLA Theater, Film and Television grad and his or her friends or those who possess comparable skills and talent,” Castro said. “It’s no surprise that more Oscar winners have walked our halls and our graduations.”

Many colleges seem interested in the idea that Landau, Rydell and Kessler are selling. The seminar, originally meant to be a one-time special event, has been met with requests for campus bookings across the country. According to Rydell, there are even talks of taking the workshop across the pond for a European tour.

For Rydell, the growing interest is an exciting prospect, giving him and his colleagues the opportunity to give young film students the equipment they need to be successful in film making, including what he considers to be his greatest piece of advice.

“All great art rests on telling the truth. The real pursuit of an artist is to tell the truth.”