Half the people in Hollywood are dying to be discovered and the other half are afraid they will be.
Interpretation
This quote captures the duality of the desire for recognition and the fear of exposure in the entertainment industry.
Lionel Barrymore's quote reflects a fundamental truth about the human experience, particularly in the context of Hollywood, where many individuals yearn for fame and recognition while simultaneously fearing the potential consequences of being in the spotlight. This paradox illustrates the complexities of ambition and the insecurities that often accompany the pursuit of one's dreams in a competitive and judgmental environment.
In practice
This quote can be used to open a discussion on the pressures of fame in a film studies class.
Maybe it'll stop you trying to be so desperate about making more money than you can ever use? You can't take it with you, Mr. Kirby. So what good is it? As near as I can see, the only thing you can take with you is the love of your friends.
I am sure that never was a people, who had more reason to acknowledge a Divine interposition in their affairs, than those of the United States; and I should be pained to believe that they have forgotten that agency, which was so often manifested during our Revolution, or that they failed to consider the omnipotence of that God who is alone able to protect them.
When a private talk over a bottle of wine is broadcast on the radio, what can it mean but that the world is turning into a concentration camp?
Experience demands that man is the only animal which devours his own kind, for I can apply no milder term to the general prey of the rich on the poor.
Many things are mechanical and should remain mechanical. But mechanical thoughts, mechanical feelings—that is what has to be studied and can and should be changed. Mechanical thinking is not worth a penny. You can think about many things mechanically, but you will get nothing from it.
Matter is spirit moving slowly enough to be seen.
There is a grandeur in this view of life, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful are being evolved
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