"It is fundamental to fiction and drama, as both actors and directors, that we be able to have empathy for people we are not. We might be more or less like someone, but we can always find empathy. I think "Anna Karenina" is a great novel about a woman, and Tolstoy isn’t a woman. And by extension, I’m willing to extend my empathy to a man like Tolstoy. Conversely, I expect the same respect and empathy from the men I work with. That they will trust that I have enough empathy within me to imagine the things I have in common with their characters, even if my gender isn’t one of them." Filmmaker Liza Johnson



I love this quote from Liza Johnson. She was responding to the fact that she worked mainly with men on her most recent film, "Elvis & Nixon", but in the process Johnson accentuates the importance of empathy. It is an essential quality for artists; and if their work succeeds, it leads to a similar empathetic reaction in an audience.

Empathy can extend to all forms of life, and that was illustrated by the work of marine biologist and documentary filmmaker Rob Stewart. Stewart's body was recovered in waters off the coast of Florida this week, where he was filming a sequel to his award-winning doc "Sharkwater". Stewart, originally from Toronto, was an ardent conservationist and only 37 years old. In his words, "Conservation is the preservation of life on earth, and that, above all else, is worth fighting for."

Here's the latest article from the Drama Movies site at BellaOnline.com.

Elvis and Nixon Film Review
The unlikely meeting between President Richard Nixon and pop superstar Elvis Presley is creatively re-imagined in this film from director Liza Johnson.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art61639.asp

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