Elia Kazan Quotes

Quotes about:

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

  Elia Kazan

  Real, Challenges, Hell

  Elia Kazan, Jeff Young (1999). “Kazan: the master director discusses his films : interviews with Elia Kazan”, Newmarket Pr

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• What's called a difficult decision is a difficult decision because either way you go there are penalties.

  Elia Kazan

  Business, Decision, Way

  Elia Kazan, William Baer (2000). “Elia Kazan: Interviews”, p.161, Univ. Press of Mississippi

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• I've come to believe that everything worth achieving is beyond one's capacity - or seems so at first. The thing is to persist, not back off, fight your fight, pay your dues, and carry on. Effort is all; continue and you may get there despite everything.

  Elia Kazan

  Believe, Fighting, Effort

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• Look for the contradictions in every character, especially in your heroes and villains. No one should be what they first seem to be. Surprise the audience.

  Elia Kazan

  Hero, Character, Looks

  Elia Kazan (2009). “Kazan on Directing”, p.260, Anchor

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• Wonder is our need today, not information.

  Elia Kazan

  Needs, Information, Today

  Elia Kazan (2011). “Elia Kazan: A Life”, p.689, Knopf

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• One final thing a director needs: The ability to say 'I am wrong' or 'I was wrong.' Not as easy as it sounds. But in many situations, these 3 words, honestly spoken, will save the day.

  Elia Kazan

  Sound, Directors, Finals

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• The camera is more than a recorder, it's a microscope. It penetrates, it goes into people and you see their most private and concealed thoughts.

  Elia Kazan

  People, Cameras, Microscopes

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• Never underestimate the narcissism of a writer.

  Elia Kazan

  Narcissism, Underestimate, Never Underestimate

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• Take it from a director: if you get an actor that Sandy Meisner has trained, you've been blessed.

  Elia Kazan

  Blessed, Directors, Actors

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

  Elia Kazan

  Life, Beautiful, Writing

  "The Essentials: 5 Elia Kazan Films You May Not Know". www.indiewire.com. February 22, 2013.

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• You've got to keep fighting; you've got to risk your life every six months to stay alive.

  Elia Kazan

  Inspirational, Fighting, Risk

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• I value peace, too, when it is not bought at the price of fundamental decencies.

  Elia Kazan

  Fundamentals, Decency, Values

  "A Statement: Communism, Free-Speech, and 'Naming Names'" by Elia Kazan, www.capitalismmagazine.com. April 19, 1999.

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• I was born in Turkey in an extremely oppressive climate at the time of pogroms, massacres, really. An immigrant appreciates the freedom more.

  Elia Kazan

  Turkeys, Appreciate, Climate

  Source: www.interviewmagazine.com

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• I used to spend most of my time straining to be a nice guy so people would like me.

  Elia Kazan

  Nice, People, Guy

  Elia Kazan (2011). “Elia Kazan: A Life”, p.7, Knopf

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

  Elia Kazan

  Party, Police, Taste

  "A Statement: Communism, Free-Speech, and 'Naming Names'" by Elia Kazan, www.capitalismmagazine.com. April 19, 1999.

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• I'm small, but I'm neither compliant nor agreeable.

  Elia Kazan

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• I was always a self-conscious person.

  Elia Kazan

  Self, Self Conscious, Conscious

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• I gave my life to the Group Theatre, because in it I'm building something for myself. What I build, I am.

  Elia Kazan

  Theatre, Groups, Building Something

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• I hate the Communists and have for many years and don't feel right about giving up my career to defend them. I will give up my film career if it is in the interests of defending something I believe in, but not this.

  Elia Kazan

  Giving Up, Hate, Believe

  "Arthur Miller's Daughter Humanizes Playwright in New Documentary" by Glenn Garvin, reason.com. March 16, 2018.

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• I said to Tennessee, this thing is becoming the Marlon Brando show.

  Elia Kazan

  Tennessee, Becoming, Said

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• I was very intense. I think it's a privilege to be an actor.

  Elia Kazan

  Thinking, Actors, Privilege

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• The only guy who was at all helpful as a producer was Sam Spiegel with On the Waterfront. He's one of the few who even knows what he's doing.

  Elia Kazan

  Guy, Helpful, The Waterfront

  Source: www.interviewmagazine.com

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• I was an outsider... but I was also sympathetic with people that were struggling to get up, because I struggled to get up.

  Elia Kazan

  Struggle, People, Outsiders

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• 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.

  Elia Kazan

  Actors, Dinner, Firsts

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• Anybody who informs on other people is doing something disturbing and even disgusting.

  Elia Kazan

  People, Disgusting, Disturbing

  Elia Kazan, Jeff Young (1999). “Kazan: the master director discusses his films : interviews with Elia Kazan”, Newmarket Pr

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