Debbie Allen Quotes & Sayings

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

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

There was a time when fame meant that you were either someone who is really gifted in your field or you were making an impact or you are famous because you were a really horrible person, you know? But now, you can become famous by eating a frog. It's just not the same thing. — Debbie Allen

If you just change one person's life, you feel like you've done something. But if you can change a whole lot of them and get them looking at themselves differently, it's amazing. — Debbie Allen

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. — Debbie Allen

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

Fame is fleeting, honey. Fame is fleeting and it changes. — Debbie Allen

I'm driven by passion. I mean, I am tired right now. I work to a point of abandon. I am fueled by my understanding of the need for self-expression that exists for young people. — Debbie Allen

In places in the world where we don't speak the same language, or even understand that we pray to the same God, we dance to the same beat, that is the ONE. — Debbie Allen

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. — Debbie Allen

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? — Debbie Allen

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

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. — Debbie Allen

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? — Debbie Allen

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. — Debbie Allen

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. — Debbie Allen

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. — Debbie Allen

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

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

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

Failure: Is it a limitation? Bad timing? It's a lot of things. It's something you can't be afraid of, because you'll stop growing. The next step beyond failure could be your biggest success in life. — Debbie Allen

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. — Debbie Allen

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

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. — Debbie Allen

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

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

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. — Debbie Allen

The first thing that goes into shooting a scene is understanding whats on the page. — Debbie Allen

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

But out of limitations comes creativity. — Debbie Allen

Be true. Be beautiful. Be free. In the midst of segregation and racism Mamma raised us to be independent and free. We saw ourselves as citizens of the world, not of a block. — Debbie Allen

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

I'm always moving forward. — Debbie Allen

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

I've had a lot of experience auditioning people, and I can do it rather quickly even though sometimes I let them linger and give them time, but I kind of know after I see them do a couple of steps. I know. — Debbie Allen

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. — Debbie Allen

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