You never know what you do that could be totally out of left field, which actually might work and give something fresh to the whole scene, to the character, whatever. If you have that with a director who then knows how to shape it, either in the direction, in the moment, or in the editing, then that's good.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the value of creativity and collaboration in art, highlighting unexpected contributions.
Robert De Niro's quote reflects on the unpredictability of creativity and the importance of collaboration in the artistic process. He suggests that sometimes, the most unconventional ideas can bring freshness and vitality to a project, particularly when working with a director who has the skill to refine and shape those ideas. This highlights the synergy between artistic freedom and skilled direction, which can lead to innovative and compelling results.
In practice
This quote can be used in a creative workshop to inspire participants to think outside the box.
I spent lunchtime in a grave during the filming of 'Bloody Mama.' When you're younger, you feel that's what you need to do to help you stay in character. When you get older, you become more confident and less intense about it - and you can achieve the same effect.
I think Hollywood has a class system. The actors are like the inmates, but the truth is they're running the asylum.
The mind of a writer can be a truly terrifying thing. Isolated, neurotic, caffeine-addled, crippled by procrastination, consumed by feelings of panic, self-loathing, and soul-crushing inadequacy. And thatβs on a good day.
If you're an actor, always be true to your character. If you are not an actor, have character and always be true to yourself.
Marijuana is a useful catalyst for specific optical and aural aesthetic perceptions. I apprehended the structure of certain pieces of jazz and classical music in a new manner under the influence of marijuana, and these apprehensions have remained valid in years of normal consciousness.
So What or Kind of Blue were done in that era, the right hour, the right day. It's over; it's on the record.
I knew I could only play Cyrano if he were Americanized. I had no intention of writing the script myself. I was afraid of it. You're playing with fire when you tamper with a classic. So I went looking for a writer. But it was such a personal idea, and anyone I would give it to would make it his own. It's hard to ask Neil Simon to write your idea.
[A writer is] a priest of eternal imagination, transmuting the daily bread of experience into the radiant body of everliving life.
The things that affect you most deeply - the things that will destroy you if you don't sing about them - are the things that you often end up singing about. It's really just about saying those things that everybody thinks but no one will say and making a connection by uncovering these diamonds that are inside of all of us that no one wants to tell each other about.
I was walking along a path with two friends - the sun was setting - suddenly the sky turned blood red - I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence - there was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city - my friends walked on, and I stood there trembling with anxiety - and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature.
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