I have a one-track mind. That's all that I'm interested in - love. And the lack of it. When it stops.
John CassavetesRead
There is no reason why a serious film, one about life, can't be enjoyable, maybe even fun. Emotions can be very entertaining, you know. I try to use them generously in my films.
Interpretation
Serious films can be both meaningful and enjoyable by incorporating emotions effectively.
John Cassavetes emphasizes that films addressing serious themes, particularly those about life, can still provide entertainment and joy. By infusing emotions into his work, he believes that filmmakers can create a more engaging and gratifying experience for the audience, proving that depth and fun are not mutually exclusive in cinema.
In practice
In a discussion about influential filmmakers at a film festival.
I have a one-track mind. That's all that I'm interested in - love. And the lack of it. When it stops.
I like to act in films, I like to shoot 'em, I like to direct 'em, I like to be around 'em. I like the feel of it and it's something I respect. It doesn't make any difference whether it's a crappy film or a good film. Anyone who can make a film, I already love. But I feel sorry if they don't put any thought in it because then they missed the boat.
My parents allowed their two sons to be individuals. My family was a wild and wonderful place, with lots of friends and neighbors visiting and talking loud and eating loud and nobody telling the children to be quiet or putting them down.
There's a difference between ad-libbing and improvising. And there's a difference between not knowing what to do and just saying something. Or making choices as an actor. As a writer also, as a person who's making a film, as a cameraman, everything is a choice. And it seems to me I don't really have to direct anyone or write down that somebody's getting drunk; all I have to do is say that there's a bottle there and put a bottle there and then they're going to get drunk.
As an artist, I feel that we must try many things - but above all we must dare to fail.
Filmmaking is exploring. Why would I want to make a film about something I already understand?
Art is a never-ending dance of illusions.
Ah, good taste! What a dreadful thing! Taste is the enemy of creativeness.
Beauty in music is too often confused with something that lets the ears lie back in an easy chair. Many sounds that we are used to do not bother us, and for that reason we are inclined to call them beautiful. Frequently, when a new or unfamiliar work is accepted as beautiful on its first hearing, its fundamental quality is one that tends to put the mind to sleep.
A story is a living thing, it moves and shifts.
Is it wrong, wanting to be at home with your record collection? It's not like collecting records is like collecting stamps, or beermats, or antique thimbles. There's a whole world in here, a nicer, dirtier, more violent, more peaceful, more colorful, sleazier, more dangerous, more loving world than the world I live in; there is history, and geography, and poetry, and countless other things I should have studied at school, including music.
You hear it said time and time again by successful directors: You have to make a movie for yourself. Don't make it for anyone else.
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