John Cassavetes Quotes

John Cassavetes — American Actor born on December 09, 1929, died on February 03, 1989

John Nicholas Cassavetes was a Greek-American actor, film director and screenwriter. Cassavetes was a pioneer of American independent film, by writing and directing over a dozen movies, which he partially self-financed, and pioneered the use of improvisation and a realistic cinéma vérité style. He also acted in many Hollywood films, notably Rosemary's Baby and The Dirty Dozen . He studied acting with Don Richardson, using an acting technique based on muscle memory. His children Nick Cassavetes, Zoe Cassavetes and Xan Cassavetes are also filmmakers... (wikipedia)

I'm a great believer in spontaneity because I think planning is the most destructive thing in the world.

You can fail in films because you don't have the talent, or you have too much humility, or you lack ferociousness. I'm a gangster. If I want something, I'll grab it.

Everyone who makes a film is at the major distributors' mercy.

You can defeat fear through humor, through pain, through honesty, bravery, intuition, and through love in the truest sense.

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?

John Cassavetes Quotes

Login with