Debbie Allen Quotes (40 Quotes)

There was too much to absorb. So we had about an 8-day rehearsal, a lot for a movie of this nature.

There are some scenes that work beautifully in a moving, sweeping master, which is how I like to work.

The riot isn't seen in the movie, but it is alluded to. He has this one speech that gives a great sense of texture and paints a picture of what was happening in Harlem then.

Time management is a big part of the director's job.

The production team's first meeting took place at my house. I had ideas and a color scheme in mind, how I wanted the movie to look, because that has to be a real collaboration.

The radio for these women is like television is for us today, which is really like looking at the radio.

A director just pushes them a little this way or that way.

I'm always moving forward.

It's kind of dangerous to cut in the camera, but that's the only way I know how to direct.

But out of limitations comes creativity.

As one who loves literature, art, music and history, I've been deeply rooted in the Harlem Renaissance for many years.

I'm respectful of other artists and I think there is a way to talk to actors to let them know they are making this. It all has to come through them.

In the film world you don't often get much rehearsal time. Only on big-budget films do you have the opportunity to rehearse for a week or two.

It goes back to a style of moviemaking I remember seeing as a child, in movies like The Man With The Golden Arm, which I think was shot all on a sound stage.

I got my dailies every day, although I couldn't always look at them because I was usually preparing for the next day's shoot, both as an actress and as the director.

They had a clear idea about what I really wanted to see, based on our initial conversations, and they did a great job.

The biggest challenge was that we had to shoot so quickly and with such a limited budget.

But it was not possible to do this movie, in this matter of time, without a solid rehearsal period.

You have to examine a scene on the page first. Then you get into the basics of acting: Who are you? Who are you talking to? How do you feel about that person?

Everything has to be well thought out - what do you really need, when can you do with less coverage.

That's the only way I can control my movie. If you shoot everything, then everything is liable to end up in the movie. If you have a vision, you don't have to cover every scene.

(Self-checkout is) negative because more and more retailers are losing the personal touch. People want to do business where people know their name and communicate with them. With a world full of email and more self-service we will begin to start seeking out the basics from retailers who create emotion. There is not emotion out of self-service and most people buy out of emotion.

The clothes back in those days were made so much better than clothes are today. They actually took time to make clothes to fit a woman's body. Today they make clothes that fit sizes, so it stretches to fit this and that.

I actually did a film called Stompin' at the Savoy,about four women who worked as domestics and were trying to get out of that life and into a better one.

I loved that they were real people living in the time of the Harlem Renaissance. The story was rich with culture and character.

I think a good director casts a film so that the actors bring a lot to the table.

As far as pacing the shoot is concerned, I know when I've got it. I don't think there's any reason to take ten takes unless you need them.

The look of the movie has a kind a muted tone to it at first, and then we introduce color to it as we go along.

I design my shots. I walk the rehearsal as the camera and say 'this is where I want to be... I want this look.

Michael Ralph brilliantly plays the street prophet, a West Indian who foreshadows the Harlem riot.

It's rare to find parts where you see two women who relate to each other in that very natural way, with a lot of humor and pathos at the same time.

I didn't need the insurance. I do it again if my DP tells me it didn't look good in the camera or if the actors didn't hit their marks. But if everything was working why do it again?

I use something that is a real staple in the directing world. It's called a dance floor. You lay it down so that it's so smooth you can roll around, and you can put furniture on top of it. It's seamless and you don't see it.

Then you give your actors broad strokes based on what your idea is for what is going on in the room and the circumstances surrounding it.

In scoring we have a lot that was not evident in the shooting. The radio is on all the time.

There was no question about who should play Lou Bessie. Crystal Fox brought to the role something that was really needed.

Even when you have a big budget, you can't just shoot everything.

Making this movie was a great opportunity for me to explore high-definition. I'm glad I got to see what the challenges are, what makes it better. It works wonderfully.

The screenwriter's role was very instrumental, because it's difficult to take a stage play and adapt it for the screen.

I owe a lot to the Brainerd legacy for my accomplishments, ... My pledge to you and my mother is to come here in the spring and have theater arts across the field of Brainerd. I have a commitment to this project, these grounds and what Brainerd is about.