Weep Week
No,yourecrying.
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The key reason can be summarized in two words: Sally Field.
We should handle it the best way we know how and get on with it.
Thats what my mind says.
I wish somebody would explain it to my heart.
Then she instantly dissolves again into grief spiked with extreme rage.
I want to knowwhyyyy!
Then she reverts to bargaining No, its not supposed to happen this way.
Im supposed to go first and immediately U-turns and drives right back into anger.
I just want to hit something, hit it hard!
No matter how often you watch her work here, it never loses its power.
Thats because Field understood the importance of this scene, which she calls the crux of the film.
Ivereadthat one of the main reasons you wanted to doSteel Magnoliasis because of this scene.
Is that true?Yes.
I mean, quite obviously it is a humdinger of a scene.
Its about these women who hang with her.
Its about the very best of what women friends are.
I have to pay allegiance only to the text and the actors around me and the world.
I could hear that, but I had to be my own MLynn.
The thing with film is that, good or bad, you should probably catch it once.
you gotta catch this little moment.
and venture to pull it away so they can hear.
Ive said before, Get your own prep, and walked away.
All the things I have ever worked on and anything Ive ever done just sort of stays with me.
And as your life goes on, it expands the repertoire that you might call on.
A lot of people who arent actors are really impressed by scenes where actors cry.
This kind of scene, it is what it is.
You work on it, you work on it, and then you let it fly.
MLynn goes through so many different emotional extremes in this scene.
You do all of the history: What happened the day before?
What is the weather?
How long did it take you to get to the cemetery?
Whose car did you ride in?
And you know the dialogue as well as you know your own name.
Herb Ross just kind of let me go.
I didnt know when I would walk.
I didnt know what I would do.
I didnt know when I would stop.
They were all crying off-camera.
Then, when I was off-camera for them, I continued to cry.
Then you get weary.
There is an actual emotional part of your brain that says,You know what?
We dont want to do this anymore.
This is not real and no thanks, were not going there.
You just shut down.
You have to have done it long enough to know ways to get around that.
He would walk around and move from actor to actor.
First it was Dolly, and then Shirley, and then he went over to Julia.
There was one time I think it was Dollys take, because he was fascinated with Dollys fingernails.
I changed it a couple of times.
Instead of saying Shelby, I said Sammy on purpose.
It even made me cry.
We all just completely dissolved then and had to go lay down in the grass.
Was there a line like that for you?Certainly thats one of them.
But to me, I dont think one line or another is why the scene is so powerful.
Also, by then, you know who Shelby is and who all of these friends are.
To me, it was never about one single line or moment.
Except maybe, Here, hit Ouiser.
Which is just the best.
Did you take a stab at do that line slightly differently every time?I mean, not really.
I mean, Herb was very, very, very hard on Julia.
If you ever talk to Julia, shell tell you.
We would all rally around Julia, because she was the baby.
She was sort of the newcomer.
And she waswonderful, and he just picked on her.
Some people just need to have somebody they pick on.
But with you, he wasnt that way.No.
Because he dared not.
I mean, I dont mind notes, but I will argue if it doesnt make sense to me.
But if youre gonna be mean to me, then youre gonna find a warrior.
I may be small, but you dont want to do that.
Does this ring a bell?They would have to tear up a lot at various times.
Not MLynn, she really didnt.
Shirley said shed learned that you better get Vicks VapoRub and put it up your nose.
Or shed put it in her eyes.
I was like,My God.
And I said Nah, no thanks.
I mean, Shirley has had such a stunning career for so long.
When you think of how she began in a different era of acting, even.
But you never tried that method yourself.I may someday, but I doubt it.
If Im not crying, then theres a reason.
If Im not emotional enough, theres a reason; theres something goofy going on.
Either the scene isnt right, or Im not right.
Do you have any idea?There really werent many.
I dont think that I had to do it a whole lot of times.
I think I would have dropped dead.
It was a bazillion degrees.
When you do something like that, youve spent weeks in preparation to allow yourself to get that fragile.
You just have to stay that way, and its exhausting, but thats just the way it is.
Thats the name of the game.
