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I’m never certain of a performance – my own or the other actors’ – or the script or anything. But to me it seems there’s only one place in the world the camera can be, and the decision usually comes immediately.

Orson Welles

Hollywood is a gold-plated suburb suitable for golfers, gardeners, assorted middlemen, and contented movies stars. I am none of these things.
ORSON WELLES

Gardener Gold Hollywood Movie Myself Stardom
My kind of director is an actor-director who writes.
ORSON WELLES

Director Kind Myself Writing
Paris is the playwright’s delight. New York is the home of directors. London, however, is the actor’s city, the only one in the world. In London, actors are given their head.
ORSON WELLES

Actor Director Home Movie Play Respect World Worth
The trouble with a movie is that it’s old before it’s released. It’s no accident that it comes in a can.
ORSON WELLES

Accident Movie Old Trouble
I look back on my life and it’s 95% running around trying to raise money to make movies and 5% actually making them. It’s no way to live.
ORSON WELLES

Life Live Money Myself Run Try
Create your own visual style. Let it be unique for yourself and yet identifiable for others.
ORSON WELLES

Creation Identity Style Unique Visual Yourself
At twenty-one, so many things appear solid, permanent, untenable.
ORSON WELLES

Age Appearance Permanent
Criticism is the essence of creation.
ORSON WELLES

Creation Criticism One Liner
Never expect justice in this world. That is not part of God’s plan. Everybody thinks that if they don’t get it, they’re some kind of odd man out. And it’s not true. Nobody gets justice – people just get good luck or bad luck.
ORSON WELLES

Bad Expectation God Goodness Justice Kind People World
Crooks aren’t the worst people, just the stupidest. The fleas of the world.
ORSON WELLES

People Stupidity World Worst
I want to give the audience a hint of a scene. No more than that. Give them too much and they won’t contribute anything themselves. Give them just a suggestion and you get them working with you. That’s what gives the theater meaning: when it becomes a social act.
ORSON WELLES

Act Audience Meaning Myself Work
The ideal American type is perfectly expressed by the Protestant, individualist, anti-conformist, and this is the type that is in the process of disappearing. In reality there are few left.
ORSON WELLES

Expression Ideal Perfection Reality
A bad word from a colleague can darken a whole day. We need encouragement a lot more than we admit, even to ourselves.
ORSON WELLES

Bad Darkness Day Encouragement Need Ourselves Word
If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story.
ORSON WELLES

Choice End Happiness Stop Story Yourself
Criminals are never very amusing. It’s because they’re failures. Those who make real money aren’t counted as criminals. This is a class distinction, not an ethical problem.
ORSON WELLES

Amazing Crime Failure Money Problem Reality
The director is simply the audience. His job is to preside over accidents.
ORSON WELLES

Audience Director Himself Job Simplicity

I’m never certain of a performance – my own or the other actors’ – or the script or anything. But to me it seems there’s only one place in the world the camera can be, and the decision usually comes immediately.

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I’m never certain of a performance – my own or the other actors’ – or the script or anything. But to me it seems there’s only one place in the world the camera can be, and the decision usually comes immediately.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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