My greatest debt will always be to the movie-going public of yesterday and today, without whose love and devotion I would have had no story to tell.
Interpretation
This quote expresses gratitude towards the audience for their support in storytelling.
Gloria Swanson is acknowledging that her career and the stories she tells in her films are made possible by the affection and dedication of the movie-going public. Without the audiences who appreciate art, filmmakers would have no platform to share their narratives, highlighting the symbiotic relationship between creators and viewers in the film industry.
In practice
When giving a speech at a film festival.
So they were turning, after all - those cameras. Life, which can be strangely merciful, had taken pity on Norma Desmond. The dream she had clung to so desperately had enfolded her. Norma: You see, this is my life. It always will be! (In a whisper) There's nothing else - just us - and the cameras - and those wonderful people out there in the dark. All right, Mr. De Mille, I'm ready for my close-up.
I have gone through a long apprenticeship. I have gone through enough of being a nobody. I have decided that when I am a star, I will be every inch and every moment the star! Everybody from the studio gateman to the highest executive will know it.
A good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read.
It's a bit naff, but there is something exciting about pulling a bit of pottery out of the ground that's 2,000 years old.
You need some insecurity if you're an actor. It keeps the pot boiling. I haven't yet started to think about retiring. I was shocked when I heard about Paul Newman retiring at age 82. Most actors just fade away like old soldiers.
I am very happy to design haute couture. It's a love story between couture and me.
Making art is complicated because the categories are always changing. You just have to make your own art, and whatever categories it falls into will come later.
Writing is an act of empathy. You are occupying and understanding a point of view that might be alien to your own--and work is often the keyhole through which you peer.
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