节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-05-07
难易度:Medium
关键字:motivate, realistic, production, thriller
OK. Welcome back from the break, everybody.
Even before he was a teenager, Logan Lerman established himself as an actor who
took on very difficult and emotionally challenging roles.
Successes in these demanding roles only increased his status as a Hollywood star
that's on the rise.
Let's read about Lerman's first official movie role over on page 21.
(Music).
Logan Lerman.
Lerman landed his first movie role in The Patriot when he was 7.
Later that year, he acted in What Women Want.
But after a few years, Lerman stopped acting.
Although he was still going to school like most children, he wanted a more
relaxing, normal life.
A few years later, a new interest in film production drew him back into the
movie business.
Since then, he has appeared in many movies, including dramas, thrillers and
comedies.
(Music).
So Logan Lerman was very young when he started acting.
He learned that he loved acting and wanted to try when he was just 3 years old.
By the time he was 4, his parents already had an agent as well as two
commercials that he had been in.
Yeah. He had auditioned and acted in those commercials, so.
He auditioned, he tried to get a part in the commercials, and he was successful
at the age of four.
That's very young to start acting.
But it wasn't until a little later, Lerman landed his first movie role in The
Patriot when he was 7 years old.
Now this is pretty amazing for a 7-year-old.
Yeah, it is.
There are a lot of children that live in Los Angeles that can be in commercials;
I actually know several of them from where I grew up.
But if you are in a movie, that is a big deal.
Now he landed a part in that movie.
What does it mean if you land something like that?
When you land something like that, it's not like landing an airplane.
Instead, it is that you get it, that you have won and are now being that part in
the movie.
And Ryan, I think it goes even further that this was not just any movie.
This was The Patriot, starring Mel Gibson.
It is a very famous, very good movie about American history.
It's a well done movie.
And Logan played the part of a child, obviously, he was 7 years old, in that
movie.
And he did a wonderful job.
So later that year, he then acted in a movie called What Women Want.
That's right.
And he played a younger version of the main character in that, who also happened
to be Mel Gibson.
So he's done a couple of movies with Mel Gibson, and both movies were very good.
And he was in them when he was just 7 years old.
Right, so he's very young.
It looked like his acting career was really just becoming more and more a big
part of his life.
But then after a few years, Lerman stopped acting.
Now that's very strange for someone who wanted to do acting at such a young age
and who was already so successful.
For them to just stop when they were 7 or 9... how old he was when he stopped?
Just a couple of years later is very odd.
Yeah, I... I think that... actually I can understand that.
I was in a couple of small things as a child, um, one or two commercials like
that.
But I... I stopped as well.
And that's not as much for the same reasons as him, though.
He wanted to go to school like most children.
He wanted a more relaxing, a more normal life.
And I can understand that as a child, you want to fit in, you want to be normal,
you want to have friends.
And I'm glad that his parents let him have that option.
A lot of child stars either don't want that, or can't have it because they're in
such demand.
But I'm glad that Logan got to take some time off to be a kid.
Right. I think this is a great idea for him.
And so we see here he... yes, he loves acting, yes, he wants... he wanted to be
in those things, but he also wanted a relaxing life, a normal life.
Well, just a few years later, a new interest in film production drew him back
into the movie business.
So he started out being interested in the acting side, but now he has an
interest in the production side.
OK. I like the "production" side.
That has to do with how you make the movies, how you use a camera and how you
edit the film to make the finished movie.
That's right.
He was interested and it drew him back, it brought him back to the acting and
movie industry.
Well, since then, he's appeared in many movies, including dramas, thrillers and
comedies.
All right. These sound fun.
Dramas, of course, those have to do with how people interact with each other,
usually following a story maybe with a man and a woman and how they communicate.
And comedies are funny movies.
What about thrillers?
Well, "thrillers" are a certain genre, a certain category of either book, play,
film...
(or "film" also means a movie) that is exciting and is usually a little bit
scary and solves a crime most often.
Now I really enjoy thrillers because I like the crime-solving section of movies.
And it's exciting because you're a little bit scared, you're kind of on the edge
in your seat waiting.
Yeah, they're very exciting.
Now we see here now there are two reasons why Logan went back and is now being
in films and acting again.
The first one, of course, he loves acting.
We know that one.
But now we see there's another part too.
He also loves the film production.
He loves to see how it all works together.
And that's what got him back acting again.
That's right.
He's back in the acting scene, and he's doing different kinds of films which
will definitely help him if he decides to go into production.
Having experience in different areas is always a wonderful thing.
So he's got a love for movies, a love for dramas, thrillers, comedies.
He's enjoying his job, and I think that is fantastic.
Well, for right now, let's go to the Chat Room.
Hey, Bryan.
Hi, Ken.
Did those books just get returned?
Actually, no. They're new to the library.
They were donated by the parents of that kid we helped find.
The kid you helped find?
When was that?
I guess you weren't here that day.
A couple of weeks ago, a kid came in and said he was lost.
He had a library card, so we looked up his contact information and called his
parents.
I bet his parents were really grateful.
They were.
Apparently, he'd been missing for a few hours and they were really worried.
They were so relieved when they came to pick him up.
It was really dramatic.
Dramatic?
Do you mean they were just acting, like in a play?
Oh, no, they weren't acting.
The word "dramatic" can refer to theater, or it can refer to exciting events
that cause strong feelings like you might see in a play.
Oh. That makes sense.
Can the noun "drama" be used that way too?
Sure.
We could talk about the drama of the child being reunited with his family, for
example.
So drama has two definitions.
It can be a play, or it can be something emotional that happens.
Yes. And actually, there's a third definition too.
Oh, really?
What's that?
Drama is a type of movie that focuses on characters and how they deal with a
problem or crisis.
So dramas have a lot more dialogue in them than action movies do.
I see. You know, I just saw the movie The Social Network the other night.
Would that be a good example of a drama?
Yes, and so would Titanic.
OK. Well, I'm really glad you resolve the drama of that lost child.
And maybe I'll check out one of those new books.
Be my guest.
(Chinese).
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.
(Chinese).
And that's it for today's Language Tips.
I'll see you tomorrow.
Bye-bye.
Thank you, Michelle.
Because it's such a huge part of his life, it's hard to believe it when Logan
Lerman says acting is just a hobby.
Friends, what are some of your hobbies?
And do you think you can make a career out of them?
Check in with our English Corner and share your thoughts.
While you're there, download this lesson's Activity Sheet and see how good you
are at unscrambling sentences.
You can find it all at StudioClassroom.com.
OK, everyone, I hope you have a magnificent Monday.