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
I won't call my work entertainment. It's exploring. It's asking questions of people, constantly. 'How much do you feel? How much do you know? Are you aware of this? Can you cope with this?' A good movie will ask you questions you don't already know the answers to. Why would I want to make a film about something I already understand?
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of exploration and questioning in filmmaking, rather than simply providing entertainment.
John Cassavetes expresses that his work in film transcends mere entertainment; it is an exploration of human emotions and awareness. He believes that a successful film should challenge viewers by posing questions that provoke thought and self-reflection, rather than rest on familiar answers. Through this lens, cinema becomes a vehicle for deeper understanding rather than just a means of amusement.
In practice
During a film discussion panel, one might quote this to emphasize the purpose of creative storytelling.
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.
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.
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.
Eventually, I think Chicago will be the most beautiful great city left in the world.
We wait for the tortoises to come. We wait for that lady who walks them. That’s how art works. It’s never a jackrabbit, or a racehorse. It’s the tortoises that hold all the secrets. We’ve got to be patient enough to wait for them.
Creativity is that marvelous capacity to grasp mutually distinct realities and draw a spark from their juxtaposition.
I often use nameless places in my work as a way of allowing the readers to create more of the novel and to make it potentially about their experiences, what they know, a city that they have perhaps seen on television.
Today, architecture is invention. It isn't enough to just be rational - It must also be beautiful.
My message behind this album was finding the beauty in imperfection.
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