Friday, April 24, 2020

Sebastian Faure: Appearing in David Fincher's "Mank"


(October, 2020 -- Los Angeles, CA) Actor Sebastian Faure is honored to be appearing in Mank as Ckark Gable. Mank is an upcoming American biographical drama film about screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, and his battles with director Orson Welles over screenplay credit for Citizen Kane. 


According to Roger Ebert: "The origins of Citizen Kane are well known. Orson Welles, the boy wonder of radio and stage, was given freedom by RKO Radio Pictures to make any picture he wished. Herman Mankiewicz, an experienced screenwriter, collaborated with him on a screenplay originally called The American. Its inspiration was the life of William Randolph Hearst, who had put together an empire of newspapers, radio stations, magazines and news services, and then built to himself the flamboyant monument of San Simeon, a castle furnished by rummaging the remains of nations. Hearst was Ted Turner, Rupert Murdoch and Bill Gates rolled up into an enigma."


Mank / IMDb

Mank is directed by David Fincher, based on a script written by his father Jack, with Gary Oldman in the title role. The film will be distributed by Netflix, and produced by Fincher, Ceán Chaffin, and Douglas Urbanski.

Herman Jacob Mankiewicz was an American screenwriter, who, with Orson Welles, wrote the screenplay for Citizen Kane. Earlier, he was the Berlin correspondent for the Chicago Tribune and the drama critic for The New York Times and The New Yorker. Alexander Woollcott, an American critic and commentator for The New Yorker magazine, a member of the famed Algonquin Round Table, an occasional actor and playwright, and a prominent radio personality said that Herman Mankiewicz was the "funniest man in New York". Both Mankiewicz and Welles received Academy Awards for their screenplay.

He was often asked to fix the screenplays of other writers, with much of his work uncredited. Occasional flashes of what came to be called the "Mankiewicz humor" and satire distinguished his films, and became valued in the films of the 1930s. The style of writing included a slick, satirical, and witty humor, which depended almost totally on dialogue to carry the film. It was a style that would become associated with the "typical American film" of that period.

Among the screenplays he wrote or worked on, besides Citizen Kane, were The Wizard of Oz, Man of the World, Dinner at Eight, Pride of the Yankees, and The Pride of St. Louis.

Mankiewicz's younger brother was Joseph L. Mankiewicz, also an Oscar-winning Hollywood director, screenwriter, and producer.

Film critic Pauline Kael credits Mankiewicz with having written, alone or with others, "about forty of the films I remember best from the twenties and thirties. ... he was a key linking figure in just the kind of movies my friends and I loved best."

David Fincher's father Howard Kelly "Jack" Fincher, who wrote the Mank screenplay, was an American screenwriter and journalist who had written for various magazines and periodicals, notably serving as a chief editor of Life magazine.


David Fincher / IMDb

David Fincher was born in Denver, Colorado, and was raised in Marin County, California. When he was eighteen years old he went to work for John Korty at Korty Films in Mill Valley. He subsequently worked at ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) from 1981-1983. Fincher left ILM to direct TV commercials and music videos in Hollywood. He went on to found Propaganda in 1987 with fellow directors Dominic Sena, Greg Gold and Nigel Dick. Fincher has directed TV commercials for clients that include Nike, Coca-Cola, Budweiser, Heineken, Pepsi, Levi's, Converse, AT&T and Chanel. He has directed music videos for Madonna, Sting, The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Aerosmith, George Michael, Iggy Pop, The Wallflowers, Billy Idol, Steve Winwood, The Motels and, most recently, A Perfect Circle.

As a film director, he has achieved huge success with Se7en, Fight Club and, Panic Room.

His movies often feature several single frames that flash on the screen in the middle of a scene, as in Fight Club, and fluid tracking camera which can access anywhere, a digital age innovation in camera movement pioneered with Kevin Tod Haug.

He frequently has characters in the shadows where you cannot make out their face: Kevin Spacey in Se7en, The Killer in Zodiac, and Brad Pitt in Fight Club.

His films often center on people with poor social skills and few friends: The Narrator in Fight Club, Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network, Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Amy Dunne in Gone Girl.

Known for his perfectionist tendencies, often shooting scenes dozens or even hundreds of times to get it exactly right.

Collider's Adam Chitwood describes how The Social Network should have won best picture.

David Fincher also directed the very well regarded The Game a 1997 American mystery thriller film, starring Michael Douglas and Sean Penn, and produced by Propaganda Films and PolyGram Filmed Entertainment. It tells the story of a wealthy investment banker who is given a mysterious gift by his brother - participation in a game that integrates in strange ways with his everyday life. As the lines between the banker's real life and the game become more uncertain, hints of a large conspiracy become apparent.




The Game was well received by critics like Roger Ebert and major periodicals like The New York Times.

Fincher has said that the film is about "loss of control. The purpose of The Game is to take your greatest fear, put it this close to your face and say 'There, you're still alive. It's all right.' "

Douglas said his moody, tormented performance was inspired in part by the divorce proceedings he was going through during the shoot. "It was a time for me to use a lot of myself in the picture," he recalled.

David Fincher is also a prolific television producer. Executive producer of seventy-three episodes of House of Cards, eighteen episodes of Love, Death, & Robots, and nineteen episodes of Mindhunter.




Sebastian Faure is honored to be appearing in Mank: "Every time I pick a role, I always start by understanding the psychology behind that person and the way he perceives life, because acting is all about the thought process in studying the character’s interaction with his surroundings.

Mank is a black and white film, very dramatic, with slow camera movement, very film noir, a tribute to the past.  David Fincher is very close to this story as it's a passion project, it's been five years since he directed a feature, so he is being certain about doing it the right way. Mank was also one of the last scripts written by David Fincher's father Jack Fincher.”


In Mank, Sebastian worked with Gary Oldman, Lily Collins, Tom Pelphrey, Amanda Seyfried, and many others. Who is Tom Pelphrey?


Tom Pelphrey / Collider

Up-and-Comer of the Month: ‘Ozark’ Star Tom Pelphrey

It is Sebastian's belief that the art of acting is a never-ending search in finding the essence of a character. A quest to understand human behavior and push away judgment. It's a search for truth in understanding social psychology in the various circumstances of life.

As Sebastian puts it: "It's not about the start or the finish line, it's about the journey... of discovery, of learning, of growing, and of interacting with others.”

In his perspective, "Acting is an exaggerated imitation of life and life’s purpose is to remain dynamic, to keep moving forward, to take chances through the process of learning and getting out of your comfort zone. The moment you start getting too comfortable with your habits, you are as good as dead as you have lost track of your purpose. We can draw this parallel with acting; a character in any story holds no presence if he has no purpose, no objective.”




He is also appearing as a married man who escapes from his ordinary world, jeopardizing everything he thought was love in The Rose Hat written and directed by Ana Karenina Arley Jiménez.

The Rose Hat is currently on the world-wide festival circuit.

Sebastian Faure intends to continue to pursue his passion for acting. "I'm consistently learning more about life and myself so that I can improve my artistic craft."

Update: First Look At David Fincher's Netflix Film Mank, AKA The Movie That Put Mindhunter Season 3 On Hold

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Sources: Wikipedia, IMDb, Collider, Moviephone



Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Sebastian Faure On His Thoughts, Heart, and Passion Behind His Acting

Thompson Communications

PRESS RELEASE


For Immediate Release

Press Contact:
Steve Thompson
steve@thomcomm.com
856-425-0743


Sebastian Faure On His Thoughts, Heart, and Passion Behind His Acting

(April, 2020 – Los Angeles, CA) It took many years of soul searching for me to understand what I truly wanted to do with my life. For most of my youth, acting was merely a hobby, but later in my 20s I came to realize that it was more than just that. It took me years of working in all kinds of different jobs and realizing that they weren’t meant for me. It was only later that I allowed myself to take a leap of faith and pursue acting as a full time career. It’s not an easy job, work isn’t consistent, however when it is your passion, it all becomes worth it. When you finally find yourself working on something you love, you don’t consider it work, you do it for your well-being. Through acting I found myself opening my mind to how everyone’s perspectives of life could be so different. By telling stories, I felt that I ended up contributing more to society than when I was working as a salesman, or a tennis coach, or any other job I went through before finally settling with acting. For the time being, I live in Los Angeles, and my contribution would be making great aspiring movies.

This is where my journey truly began, and through this discourse, I’m hoping to shed some light on how acting can help one find purpose in life.

Acting is an exaggerated imitation of life, and I will explain why. The camera reflects what the director wants you to see, the movie is narrated by the director. An actor tries to live in the moment and shows genuine emotion for each scene. The director is therefore the compass, guiding the actor through the narrative journey while focusing on the specific tone, rhythm of the story.

A story can be romantic, dramatic, satiric, or even comedic, that is why I call it an exaggerated imitation of life. 

An actor’s craft starts when he books the job; he starts researching and tries to understand the essence of the character he will be portraying. Is it a character that is seeking love, seeking revenge, or wants a father’s acknowledgment? What is that character looking for in life? Everyone has a drive, an objective they want out of life. In any movie, if a character seeks nothing out of life, he serves no purpose in the story and holds no presence. 

Once you understand the character’s objective, the next step is to find the common ground between your own personal experiences and the character’s mindset. Finding parallels are necessary in order for an actor to convey genuine emotions. The more specific you are, the deeper you get.

However important it is for an actor to mold his struggles to the characters circumstances, it is equally imperative for him to understand the characters obstacles. Without struggle, there’s no satisfaction from the audience.

The more obstacles presented in front of the character and blocking him from chasing his objective, the more appealing the story.

These are only a few of the points that an actor must take into account when understanding the mindset of his character, and bringing him to life. I am currently studying at the Ivana Chubbuck studio and if I had a book to recommend you all to read. It would be the “The Power Of The Actor,” the 12 steps Chubbuck technique that will help you take a character from script to a living, and breathing character.

I promise you, I learned a lot from her book.

Acting is about learning the mindset of a character and not judging it. No matter how evil your character might be, in his mind, his actions are justified as a means to his goal. The more you learn about the abundance of perspectives in society, the more you will understand the essence of human behavior and psychology.

With this knowledge, you attain a better understanding of the meaning of a purposeful life, and the workings of the human psyche. 

It might seem complicated; what is our purpose in life? I can’t tell you specifically what it is, but what I came to understand through acting is this.

Life’s purpose is to remain dynamic, to keep moving forward, to keep chasing your passion, your objective. If you have reached your objective, set the bar higher. Never allow yourself to settle for the minimum.

As a human being, you learn more from your failures than your successes. By learning, you are growing and gaining knowledge about life and about yourself. Do not be afraid of change or the unknown. Getting out of your comfort zone is the only way to learn something new. It is in our nature to develop habits and to grow accustomed to a routine, we tend to go on autopilot mode. Habits create laziness, change demands effort.

Most people live their lives in an endless cycle, with nothing to chase. It is essential not to allow yourself to get too comfortable with your habits, to take any opportunity that comes your way, this will inevitably help you grow as a person. It is also important to understand that the more you are open to listening to others, the more you will learn.

We all have a purpose. At the end of the day, life is about finding that purpose. Us humans live together and work together in a society, we are all linked on a daily basis. What can your purpose offer to our society, and what contribution you make will help society to progress for a better future?

This is my philosophy in a nutshell, a quick peek into the mind of an actor. I hope this drives you to find what you are looking for.


All the best,
Just an actor,
Sebastian Faure

IMDB.me /Sebastianfaure
IG : @sebastian_faure


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Sebastian Faure's Most Recent Press Release on His Journey from Fine Art to Film Acting

Sebastian Faure is available for interview by appointment, pending availability.




Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Sebastian Faure’s Journey from Fine Art to Film Acting

Thompson Communications

PRESS RELEASE


For Immediate Release

Press Contact:
Steve Thompson
steve@thomcomm.com
856-425-0743


Sebastian Faure’s Journey from Fine Art to Film Acting


Currently Working in David Fincher’s Mank

(April 2020 – Los Angeles, CA) Sebastian Faure was born in the cultural melting pot of Dubai. Brought up in a French-Polish family, his colorful upbringing in the Gulf led him to have a strong understanding of many different cultures.

His romanticized perspective of the world had him cast aside at a young age but proved to be valuable once his mother introduced him to the arts. "The first time I held a pencil and started drawing was when I was with her. The first time I had to recite a sonnet in class, I was practicing at home with my mum. She was always there to support me. For that, I'm grateful." Once he got to explore his fathers' film collection, he was hooked. Being a part of the magic of making movies soon became his raison d'être. 

Although his father advised him against pursuing a job that has no safety net, he allowed him to attend the prestigious Sorbonne University in Paris, with a major in Art History and Archeology. Despite having to compromise to put his fathers' mind at ease, Sebastian never lost his desire to pursue an acting career. So without his fathers' knowledge, he started taking theater classes. He graduated from the Sorbonne with a Bachelor's Degree in Art History and Archeology and a Minor in Theatre.

Moving back to Dubai, he worked as an art consultant in a gallery for three years before finally taking the first step towards following his passion by moving to Los Angeles, where he earned a Masters in Fine Art Acting at the New York Film Academy. He is grateful to have been coached by people like George McGrath, Isabella Hofmann, Joe Basile, George Russo, and Ken Lerner, to name a few.

He became acquainted with many acting techniques such as Stanislavski, Meisner, Lee Strasberg, Chekhov, and Grotowski. He was able to take something from all of these techniques in order to create his own style.

After graduating, he started working by taking part in whatever project that came his way. Because of his determination, he developed a reputation, leading him to get work in higher caliber projects. 

It is Sebastian's belief that the art of acting is a never-ending search in finding the essence of a character. A quest to understand human behavior and push away judgment. It's a search for truth in understanding social psychology in the various circumstances of life. 
As Sebastian puts it, "it's not about the start or the finish line, it's about the journey... of discovery, of learning, of growing, and of interacting with others.” In his perspective, acting is an exaggerated imitation of life and life’s purpose is to remain dynamic, to keep moving forward, to take chances through the process of learning and getting out of your comfort zone. The moment you start getting too comfortable with your habits, you are as good as dead as you have lost track of your purpose. We can draw this parallel with acting; a character in any story holds no presence if he has no purpose, no objective.”

He is currently training the Chubbuck technique with Michael Monks. Sebastian’s determined focus on developing his craft is beginning to pay off; today, his IMDb profile shows forty-six film and television credits!


He is now known for his roles in Blue, playing alongside Judith Scott and Chelsea Lopez, in the multiple award-winning Knead for Love, accepted at the Cannes Film Festival and most recently in the upcoming David Fincher film Mank where he is performing with Gary Oldman, Lily Collins, Tom Pelphrey, Amanda Seyfried, and many others.

Mank follows screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz's tumultuous development of Orson Welles' iconic masterpiece Citizen Kane, and Mank is already developing some Oscar buzz.


"Every time I pick a role, I always start by understanding the psychology behind that person and the way he perceives life, because acting is all about the thought process in studying the character’s interaction with his surroundings.”


He is also appearing as a married man who escapes from his ordinary world, jeopardizing everything he thought was love in The Rose Hat written and directed by Ana Karenina Arley Jiménez.

The Rose Hat is currently on the world-wide festival circuit.

Sebastian Faure intends to continue to pursue his passion for acting. "I'm consistently learning more about life and myself so that I can improve my artistic craft."

On his immediate horizon is the upcoming Indiana Jones 5, for which he will soon be auditioning.


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Mank on IMDb

Sebastian Faure is available for interview by appointment, pending availability.