Kathleen Turner on Acting

September 15, 2018

Turner, the husky-voiced screen star known for iconic roles in Body Heat and Romancing the Stone, weighs in on her 40-year career in question-and-answer format, led by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and author Morrow (digital film production, Portland State Univ.). However, the title sells this book short. Yes, Turner talks about her methods and how acting in films, on television (she started in the soap The Doctors), and on the stage differ, but this volume is also a master class on show business. Turner candidly discusses her career and movies, with some no-nonsense, insider observations about herself and the film business, but this is not a juicy celebrity biography (she gave us that with her 2008 memoir Send Yourself Roses). No, this is a serious and insightful work on acting and directing and what it takes to make it in that competitive world. VERDICT For anyone involved in film, television, or theater or wishing to be.--Rosellen Brewer, Sno-Isle Libs., Marysville, WA

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2018
In a series of wide-ranging conversations with award-winning filmmaker and film professor Morrow, Turner plays her finest role?herself. This is not a tell-all memoir but a master class in acting: they discuss her approach to performing in a variety of roles, from her 1981 film debut, in Body Heat, to more recent stage appearances in The Year of Magical Thinking and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and much more. In a 40-year career, Turner has done it all?stage, film (both indie and blockbuster), and television. Each conversation offers insight and advice in Turner's inimitable style, a heady brew of wit, warmth, and knowledge to spare. In addition to the analyses of individual roles, there are also discussions of a number of specific acting topics, such as auditioning, choosing roles, working with the script, and acting on the stage versus the screen. Morrow also offers mini essays about a single scene in each of 11 of Turner's films. A treat for fans and a treasure for drama students and aspiring actors.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)