GOODBYE SOLO – Fueling My Own Dreams
May 8th, 2009 by txactor
Every morning I start the day reading the newspaper with my 92 year old mother who lives with us. I read the sports page and the entertainment section while she reads the front page news and gives me a blow by blow account of all the latest political intrigue, economic woes, etc. She especially likes to make sure I look at all the political cartoons…she likes to laugh. Even when she disagrees with the point of the cartoon…most of the time…she likes to look at them and laugh. That’s not a bad way to start the day.
Now and then I find something in the paper that makes me want to get the day started faster, get on with it, get GOING. Today was such a day. It was a simple thing…a movie review of the film GOODBYE SOLO and an article about the director, Ramin Bahrani.
GOODBYE SOLO: Movie Trailer – Amazing videos are here
If you don’t know the story of RED WEST, the old man in GOODBYE SOLO, check around. Red grew up in Memphis, TN and for years worked for Elvis as part of the Memphis Mafia. He’s been in scores of films and episodic television shows, has written songs and has forged a career for himself piece by piece. Gotta love his story, apart from this film. But now, he gets a moment to really shine and from all I’ve read and seen in clips, he delivers. Also getting rave reviews is the performance of Souleymane Sy Savane. Just another reason to make GOODBYE SOLO a film I HAVE to see.
When I read stories about directors like Bahrani and films like GOODBYE SOLO, it energizes me. Makes me remember why I wanted to be an actor in the first place. Telling stories. The story told by GOODBYE SOLO is a simple one based on the reviews and accounts I’ve scoped out in the past few minutes of searching IMDB, the film’s web site and even Facebook. I like simple stories, well told.
Reading about this kind of project is exciting, in part, because I know in Austin, Texas right now is someone who is similarly talented (similar to Bahrani, not to me) and who wants to tell a simple, yet compelling story on film. One day, my phone will ring and I will get another opportunity to participate in such a project (I’ve had a couple of great experiences like this already, but I’m greedy…I want more). I can feel it. Is it early signs of senility on my part? Well…maybe so. But I’m an actor and therefore a dreamer and today, the story of GOODBY SOLO has fueled my own desires and dreams and for that I am grateful.
>>I like simple stories, well told. <<
I totally agree, Tommy. In all of the glitz and marketing and business nonsense, it is easy to forget that we became actors so that we could ACT, and in good projects, too.
Fortunately, it is now easier than ever to create and star in our own good projects, though not any easier to make money at them!
Thanks for the article. I’ll look for the film.