Debbie Allen Quotes

• 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

• Time management is a big part of the director’s job.

  Debbie Allen

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

  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

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

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

  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

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

  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

• It’s kind of dangerous to cut in the camera, but that’s the only way I know how to direct.

  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

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

  Debbie Allen

• I’m always moving forward.

  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

• 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

• 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

• Everything has to be well thought out – what do you really need, when can you do with less coverage.

  Debbie Allen

• Even when you have a big budget, you can’t just shoot everything.

  Debbie Allen

Debbie Allen (24)

Birth:	16th January, 1950
Nationality:	American
Profession:	Actress, Choreographer, Dancer, Director, Producer

About

Deborrah Kaye “Debbie” Allen was born in Houston, Texas. She is an American actress, choreographer, dancer, director, and producer. She is perhaps best known for her work on the 1982 musical-drama television series Fame, where she portrayed dance teacher Lydia Grant, and served as the series' principal choreographer. She earned B.A. degree in classical Greek literature, speech, and theater from Howard University. She first began receiving critical attention in 1980 for her appearance in the role of Anita in the Broadway revival of West Side Story which earned her a Tony Award nomination and a Drama Desk Award, she would receive a second Tony Award nomination in 1986 for her performance in the title role of Bob Fosse's Sweet Charity. She was nominated for the Emmy Award for Best Actress four times during the show's run. She was also lead choreographer for the film and television series, winning two Emmy Awards and one Golden Globe Award. She was also part of the television series In the House, and directed numerous episodes of Girlfriends, All of Us and Everybody Hates Chris.

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Today's Anniversary - 28th January

Births

• 1957 - Nick Price
• 1937 - Ken Hill
• 1957 - Nicholas Raymond Leige Price
• 1954 - Rick Warren
• 1853 - Jose Julian Marti Perez

Deaths

• 1991 - Red Grange
• 1988 - Klaus Fuchs
• 2005 - Nicola James Capaldi
• 1996 - Joseph Brodsky
• 1947 - Morris Raphael Cohen