Learn English Robert De Niro Passion always trumps Common Sense with BIG subtitles
Dean green beans University leadership
faculty staff parents friends and the
2015 class of New York University’s
Tisch School of the Arts thank you for
inviting me to celebrate with you today
Tisch graduates
you made it and
think about that the graduates from the
College of Nursing they all have jobs
the graduates from the College of
Dentistry fully employed the Leonard and
Stern School of Business graduates
they’re covered the School of Medicine
graduates each one will get a job the
proud graduates of the NY School of Law
they’re covered and if they’re not who
cares they’re lawyers the English majors
are not a factor
they’ll be home writing their novels
teachers there all be working shitty
jobs lousy pay yeah but still working
the graduates in accounting they all
have jobs
where does that leave you envious of
those accountants I doubt it
they had a choice maybe they were
passionate about accounting but I think
it’s more likely that they used reason
and logic and common sense to reach for
a career that could give them the
expectation of success and stability
reason logic common sense at the Tisch
School of Arts are you kidding me but
you didn’t have that choice did you you
discovered a talent developed an
ambition and recognized your passion
when you feel that you can’t fight it
you just go with it when it comes to the
arts passion should always trump common
sense you aren’t just following dreams
you’re reaching for your destiny you’re
a dancer a singer a choreographer and
musician the filmmaker a writer a
photographer a director a producer and
actor an artist yeah you’re the
good news is that that’s not a bad place
to start now that you’ve made your
choice or rather succumb to it your path
is clear not easy but clear you have to
keep working it’s that simple you got
through Tisch that’s a big deal or to
put it another way if you got through
Tisch
big deal
[Applause]
well it’s a start on this day of
triumphantly graduating a new doors
opening for you a door to a lifetime of
rejection it’s inevitable
it’s what graduates call the real world
you’ll experience it auditioning for a
part or a place in a company it’ll
happen to you when you’re looking for
backers for a project you’ll feel that
when doors close on you while you’re
trying to get attention for something
you’ve written and when you’re looking
for a directing or a choreography job
how do you cope with it
I hear that valium and vicodin work I
don’t know you can’t be too relaxed and
do what we do and you don’t want to
block the pain too much without the pain
but when we talk about though I I would
make an exception for having a couple of
drinks if hypothetically you had to
speak to a thousand graduates and their
families are the commencement so
[Applause]
rejection might sting but my feeling is
that often it has very little to do with
you when you’re auditioning or pitching
the director or producer or invested me
just have something with someone
different mind that’s just how it is
that happened to me recently when I
auditioned for the role of Martin Luther
King in Selma which was too bad because
I could have played the hell out of that
part I felt it was written for me but
the director had something different in
mind and you know she was right
it seems the director is always right
don’t get me wrong David Oh yellow Oh
was great I don’t think that I would
have cast a break but I got two more
stories these really happen
I read for Bangla drum slowly seven
times the first two of the three times I
read for the role of Henry Wiggins the
part eventually played by Michael
Moriarty I read for the director I read
for the producer then they had me back
to read for another part the role of
Bruce Pearson I read for the director I
read for the producer I read for the
producer and his wife I read for all of
them together it was almost like as long
as I kept auditioning they would have
time to find someone they liked more I
don’t know exactly what they were
looking for but I’m glad I was there
when they didn’t find it another time I
was auditioning for a play they kept
having me back I was pretty sure I had
the part and then they went with a name
I hated losing the job but I understood
I could just as easily lost a job to
another no-name actor and I also would
have understood it’s just not personal
it can really be nothing more than the
director having a different type in mind
you’ll get a lot of the direction in
your careers some of it from directors
some from studio heads some from money
people some from writers though usually
they’ll try to keep the writer out of
there at a distance
and some from your fellow artists I
loved writers by the way I keep them on
the set all the time listen to all of it
and listen to yourself I’m mostly going
to talk about these I these ideas and
movie actor terms but I think this
applies to all of you you’ll find
comparable situations and all the
disciplines the way the director gets to
be right is you help him or her be right
you may start out with different ideas
the director will have a vision you will
have ideas about your character when
you’re you’re young actors starting out
your opinions may not be trusted as much
as they will later on in your career
you’ve been hired because the director
saw something in your audition you’re
reading in you that fit their concept
you may be given the opportunity to try
it your way but the final decision will
be the directors later in your career
when there’s a body of work to refer to
there may be more trust from the
director but it’s pretty much the same
thing you may have more opportunities to
try it your way and may think the
director has agreed to your take agreed
your take is the best but if it’s a
movie
you’ll be not you’ll be nowhere near the
editing room where the director makes
the final decision it’s best when you
can work it out together as an actor you
always want to be true to your character
and be true to yourself but the bottom
line is you’ve got the part and that’s
very important as a director or producer
you also have to be true to yourself and
to the world a film a dance a play
they’re not tensely where artists get to
play and express their individuality
their works of art that depend on the
contributions and collaboration of a
group of artists and it’s a big group it
includes production and costume
designers directors of photography
makeup and hair stage managers assistant
directors choreographers etc etc many
more than name that I won’t now everyone
plays an important part in essential
part a director or producer
choreographer or company artistic
director these are powerful positions
but the power doesn’t come from the
title the power comes from trust respect
vision
work and again collaboration
you’ll probably be harder on yourself
than any director I’m not going to tell
you to go easy on yourselves I assume
you didn’t pick this life because you
thought it would be easy you may have to
answer to a director for a job but you
also have to answer to yourself this
could create conflicts for you you want
to play the role your way and the
director has a different idea discuss it
with the director maybe there’s a
compromise a Zoe there always should be
the space to try it both ways but don’t
make it but though but don’t make a
production but don’t make don’t make a
production out I guess this is some
typos here because it’s not a democracy
on the set or on the stage someone has
to make the final decision someone has
to pull it all together that’s the
director so don’t be obdurate no one’s
going to see you do it in the quote
quote unquote
right way if you’re not on the stage or
in the movie I can answer the question
that’s on all of your minds right now
yes it’s too late to change your major
to directing while preparing for my role
today I ask the new a few Tisch students
for suggestions for the speech the first
thing they said is keep it short and
they said it’s okay to give a little
advice it’s kind of expected and no one
will mind and then they said to keep it
short it’s difficult for me to come up
with advice for you who have already
said upon your life’s work but I can
tell you some of the things I tell my
own children for first whatever you do
don’t go to Tisch School of the Arts
get an accounting degree instead then I
contradict myself and as corny as it
sounds I tell them don’t be afraid to
fail
I urge them to take chances to keep an
open mind to welcome new experiences and
new ideas
I tell them them I tell them that if you
don’t go you’ll never know you have to
have them just to have to be bold and go
out there and take your chances I tell
them that if they go into the arts I
hope they find a manner churring and
challenging community of like-minded
individuals a place like Tisch if they
find themselves with a talent and a
burning desire to be in the performing
arts I tell them when you collaborate
you try to make everything better but
you’re not responsible for the entire
project only your part in it you’ll find
yourself in movies or dance pieces or
plays or concerts that turn out in the
eyes of the critics and audiences to be
bad but that’s not on the not on you
because you will put everything into
everything you do you won’t judge the
characters you play and you shouldn’t be
distracted by judgments on the works of
the works you are in whether you’re
working for Edward or for Rico Fellini
or Martin Scorsese your commitment and
your process will be the same by the way
there will be times when your best isn’t
good enough there can be many reasons
for this but as long as you give your
best you’ll be ok did you get straight
A’s in school if so good for you
congratulations but in the real world
you’ll never get straight A’s again
there are ups and there are downs and
what I want to say to you today is that
it’s ok instead of rocking caps and
gowns today I can see all of you
graduating in custom TSO a t-shirts on
the back is printed rejection it isn’t
personal
and on the front your model your mentor
your battlecry next you didn’t get that
part that’s my point
next you’ll get the next one or the next
one after that you didn’t get that way
this job at the white oak tavern next
you’ll get the next one or you’ll get
the next gig tending bar at Josie’s
[Applause]
you didn’t get into Juilliard next
you’ll get into Yale or Tisch
you guys like that joke so it’s okay no
of course choosing tissues like choosing
the arts it isn’t your first choice it’s
your only choice I didn’t attend tissue
for that matter any college or my senior
of high school or most of the junior
year it’s still I felt part of the Tisch
community for a long time I grew up in
the same neighborhood as dish I’ve
worked for and with a lot of people who
attended tissue including Marty Scorsese
class of 64 as you learn your craft
together you come to trust each other
and depend on each other this encourages
taking creative risks because you all
have that the sense that you’re in it
together it’s no surprise that we often
work with the same people over and over
I did eight pictures with Marty and plan
to do more he did about 25 with his
editor Thelma Schoonmaker who he met at
Tisch when she worked on a student film
in the summer of 63 other directors
Cassavetes Fellini Hitchcock came back
to the same collaborators over and over
almost like a repertoire company and now
David O’Russell and Wes Anderson are
continuing that tradition try to
treasure the associations and
friendships and working relationships
with relationships with the people in
your classes and your early work you
never know what might come from it there
could be a major creative shift or a
small detail that can make a major
impression in taxi driver Marty and I
wanted Travis Bickel to cut his hair
into a mohawk an important character
detailed but I couldn’t do it because I
needed long hair for the last tight
that was starting right after taxi
driver and we knew a false mohawk but we
knew we knew a false mohawk would look
well false so we were kicking around one
day at lunch and decided to give it one
shot with the very best makeup artist at
the time dick Smith if you saw the movie
you know that it worked and by the way
now you know it wasn’t real
friendships good working relationships
collaboration you just never know what’s
gonna happen when you get together with
your creative friends Marty Scorsese was
here last year speaking to the 2014
graduates and now here I am here we are
on Friday at a kind of super-sized
version of one of Allison’s student
lounge hangout sessions you’re here to
pause and celebrate your accomplishments
so far as you move on to a rich and
challenging future and me I’m here to
hand out my pictures and resumes to the
directing and producing graduates
[Applause]
I’m excited and honored to be in a room
full of young creators who make me
hopeful about the future of the
Performing and Media Arts I know you’re
gonna make it all of you break a leg
next thank you
[Applause]