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
Most people don't know what they want or feel. And for everyone, myself included, It's very difficult to say what you mean when what you mean is painful. The most difficult thing in the world is to reveal yourself, to express what you have to... As an artist, I feel that we must try many things - but above all, we must dare to fail. You must have the courage to be bad - to be willing to risk everything to really express it all.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the challenges of self-expression and the courage needed to be authentic, especially in artistic endeavors.
John Cassavetes highlights the struggle many face in understanding and articulating their true feelings and desires, particularly when those feelings are painful. He advocates for the courage to express oneself, even if it means risking failure, as a vital part of the artistic process. The essence of art is to explore and confront difficult emotions, reflecting the importance of vulnerability and honesty in creativity.
In practice
This quote can be used in an art class to inspire students to embrace their creativity regardless of the outcome.
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.
When something really hits me, it makes me want to either jump off something really high or lie down and be buried. I want people to get hit and caught by my music.
I have erected amonument more lasting than bronze.
The last song was so deep and raw and pure that I could not escape. It was as if the people were singing in between the notes, weeping and joyful at the same time, and I felt like their voices or something was rocking me in its bosom, holding me like a scared kid, and I opened up to that feeling-and it washed over me.
Novel-writing is, for the novelist, a game of let's pretend.
For my art, there is a common theme most of the time: it is using the things we can see to search for the world we cannot see.
I feel like a ghost wandering in a world grown alien. I cannot cast out the old way of writing and I cannot acquire the new. I have made an intense effort to feel the musical manner of today, but it will not come to me.
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