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

  34 Copy quote

• 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

  56 Copy quote

• 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

  37 Copy quote

• 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

  28 Copy quote

• Wonder is our need today, not information.

  Elia Kazan

  Needs, Information, Today

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

  22 Copy quote

• 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

  17 Copy quote

• 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

  4 Copy quote

• Never underestimate the narcissism of a writer.

  Elia Kazan

  Narcissism, Underestimate, Never Underestimate

  13 Copy quote

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

  Elia Kazan

  Blessed, Directors, Actors

  28 Copy quote

• 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.

  8 Copy quote

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

  Elia Kazan

  Inspirational, Fighting, Risk

  24 Copy quote

• 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.

  9 Copy quote

• 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

  19 Copy quote

• 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

  17 Copy quote

• 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.

  16 Copy quote

• I was always a self-conscious person.

  Elia Kazan

  Self, Self Conscious, Conscious

  8 Copy quote

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

  Elia Kazan

  7 Copy quote

• 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

  18 Copy quote

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

  Elia Kazan

  Tennessee, Becoming, Said

  10 Copy quote

• 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.

  15 Copy quote

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

  Elia Kazan

  Thinking, Actors, Privilege

  8 Copy quote

• 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

  10 Copy quote

• 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

  18 Copy quote

• A good director's not sure when he gets on the set what he's going to do.

  Elia Kazan

  Motivational, Directors, Not Sure

  9 Copy quote

• If you're going to play a cowboy, show up with the horse at the audition

  Elia Kazan

  Horse, Cowboy, Play

  6 Copy quote

Page 1 of 4

← Prev

1

2

3

4

Next →

• facebook
• twitter
• googleplus
• email
• linkedin