“I came in on this movie after there had been a director and I came in after Tom Courtenay had talked to Ron Harwood about making a movie. So, you know Tom and Albert Finney had been friends since the beginning of their career as they became stars around the same time - Tom always reminds me that Albert was first with Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and then Tom with The Long Distance Runner.” KnowsFirstsLongNightStarsCareersMorningDirectorsDistanceSundayTomsRunnersSaturdaySaturday NightLong DistanceSunday MorningDistance Runner Author:Dustin Hoffman
“So, most of it was done over the phone. But one of the first things I did as a director, because it's one of the first things you should do, even though most don't, is to ask good actors who they think is right for the part. They know better than anybody. But without missing a beat Maggie said Pauline Collins. I didn't know Pauline because I hadn't seen Shirley Valentine, but then I saw this thing that she did with Woody Allen [You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger], in which she was wonderful as a psychic, and I said to her on the phone: "The dialogue seemed improvised."” ThinkingKnowsShouldFirstsSaidDoneActorsAsksDarkSawsWonderfulMissingDirectorsBeatsPhonesStrangerDialogueTallValentinePsychicsWoodyGood ActorsMaggie Author:Dustin Hoffman
“I got into acting so that I could meet girls. Pretty girls came later. First, I wanted to start off with someone with two legs, who'd smile at me and look soft.” FirstsLooksTwoWantedGirlActingLegsPretty Girl Author:Dustin Hoffman
“You go to the cinema and you realize you're watching the third act. There is no first or second act. There is this massive film-making where you spend this incredible amount of money and play right to the demographic. You can tell how much money the film is going to make by how it does on the first weekend. The whole culture is in the crap house. It's not just true in the movies, it's also true in the theater.” FirstsDoePlayWholeFilmCultureHouseRealizingAmountThirdsTheaterIncrediblesCinemaMassiveWeekendCrapDemographics Author:Dustin Hoffman
“Well first of all, it's hard to shoot a movie and break for a long time and then come back and do, in a sense, one of the biggest scenes that each character had.” FirstsWellsLongHardCharacterBreakSceneLong Time Author:Dustin Hoffman
“So when I told my parents I wanted to go into acting because I was flunking out of my first year of junior college, they were relieved that I had picked something other than joining the army. But I can't imagine how they had high hopes for me.” YearsFirstsI CanWantedParentActingImagineCollegeArmyJuniorsJoiningRelievedJoining The ArmyFlunking Author:Dustin Hoffman
