fox: girl with a fan.  fangirl. (fangirl)
fox ([personal profile] fox) wrote2007-06-05 09:54 am

an open letter to Paul Gross

Dear Mr. Gross:

Hiya, Paulie, what's up.

Listen, I'm really enjoying Slings & Arrows. I was interested but the tiniest bit skeptical when I first heard of it, because to be perfectly frank I thought you were in on the writing and/or directing, and while you're gifted at both (but listen, not at writing music; keep singing, if you must, but please stop inflicting your compositions on us until after they've improved), I have pretty reliable Issues with people directing themselves. Granted, it's worse when they do it on stage, but even in film and television, when the director is his own star -- even when it goes well, one feels it could have gone better with a little more compartmentalization. I realize that this means Dead Again, for example, would either have not starred or not been directed by Kenneth Branagh, which would have made it a whole different film; but then the same could be true of Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet. Rough with the smooth, you know?

But I digress. Really enjoying S&A, as I said. But listen, between Constable Fraser and Hamlet (a production for which I don't blame you, by the way) and Chris Cutter and Geoffrey Tennant, when was the last time you played a character who wasn't in some way off his nut? I don't recall Cutter speaking to ghosts, but it was a pretty close thing, and even without him you're three for four in the spectral-visions department. Doesn't this worry you at all?

Side note to Martha Burns: doesn't this worry you at all?

best regards
Fox.

[identity profile] knitmeapony.livejournal.com 2007-06-05 05:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Haha, I was talking about this with a friend, and we were thinking about conversations between Paul and his agent:

Agent: "Listen, we've got this great production for you..."

PG: *skimming script* "Right, I'm a little busy, let's cut to the chase. Am I haunted in this?"

Agent: "...."

PG: "Preferably by a father figure, but I'll accept if it's just by 'the past'."

Agent: *... sigh*

PG: "Is there any way we can make this more Canadian?"