Elia Kazan Quotes Page 2

“Stylized acting and direction is to realistic acting and direction as poetry is to prose.”

“The belief that the good in American society will finally win out... I don't believe any more.”

“The first thing you should do with an actor is not sign a contract with him. Take him to dinner. And take him for a walk afterwards.”

“The makers of entertainment must try, in our field, to be honest and grown-up.”

“The more ambivalent you are and the more uncertain you are, then you can get something that you cannot anticipate.”

“The motion pictures I have made and the plays I have chosen to direct represent my convictions.”

“The physical life of the scene is determined by whether the set squeezes people together or whether the set has an escape place in it.”

“The real challenge is not simply to survive. Hell, anyone can do that. It’s to survive as yourself, undiminished.”

“The thing about Brando was that I'd make these directions, and he'd walk away. He'd heard enough... to get the machine going.”

“The world was like a huge red carpet out ahead of me to be walked on. And it stretched on and on, no end.”

“The writer, when he is also an artist, is someone who admits what others don't dare reveal.”

“There is only one thing I respect in so-called Broadway actors... and that is their competitive sense.”

“There was no doubt that there was a vast organization which was making fools of all the liberals in Hollywood and taking their money, that there was a police state among the Left element in Hollywood and Broadway.”

“To be a member of the Communist Party is to have a taste of the police state. It is a diluted taste but is bitter and unforgettable.”

“Whatever hysteria exists is inflamed by mystery, suspicion and secrecy. Hard and exact facts will cool it.”

“When you know what an actor has, you can reach in and arouse it. If you don't know what he has, you don't know what the hell is going on.”

“You have no idea how fragile an actor's self-worth is.”

“You have to remind people of their own struggles. It's a responsibility.”

“Some things exist only because they're talked about.”