Playing good girls in the '30s was difficult, when the fad was to play bad girls. Actually I think playing bad girls is a bore; I have always had more luck with good girl roles because they require more from an actress.
Olivia De HavillandRead
What bothered me was playing one-dimensional parts in films which were really about, 'Boy Meets Girl,' 'Will Boy Get Girl?'
Interpretation
The quote expresses frustration with superficial roles in films that focus solely on simple romantic plots.
Olivia De Havilland's quote highlights her dissatisfaction with the limited and often simplistic roles available to actors in the film industry, particularly those that revolve around conventional, clichΓ©d narratives like 'Boy Meets Girl.' She critiques the tendency of filmmakers to rely on one-dimensional character arcs that sacrifice depth and complexity for the sake of portraying predictable romantic storylines.
In practice
During a film panel discussion about character development, this quote can highlight the importance of depth in storytelling.
Playing good girls in the '30s was difficult, when the fad was to play bad girls. Actually I think playing bad girls is a bore; I have always had more luck with good girl roles because they require more from an actress.
The true artist is not proud: he unfortunately sees that art has no limits; he feels darkly how far he is from the goal, and though he may be admired by others, he is sad not to have reached that point to which his better genius only appears as a distant, guiding sun.
If you watch any good player, they're using different parts of their body and working with instruments that respond to those movements. They're moving in many dimensions at once.
I believe the right question to ask, respecting all ornament, is simply this; was it done with enjoyment, was the carver happy while he was about it?
My #1 job as a thriller author is to give readers the best white-knuckle thrill ride I am capable of. I am first and foremost in the entertainment business. If that suspenseful ride is also terrifying because it hits really close to home, then I am once again doing what I am supposed to do as a thriller author.
There is no theory. You have only to listen. Pleasure is the law. I love music passionately. And because l love it, I try to free it from barren traditions that stifle it. It is a free art gushing forth, an open-air art boundless as the elements, the wind, the sky, the sea. It must never be shut in and become an academic art.
The structure of a play is always the story of how the birds came home to roost.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.