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Portrait of Debbie Allen

Debbie Allen

(1950) Actor

40 quotes in 298 categories

Debbie Allen is an actor, best known for Highly Paid Expert.

Quick Facts About Debbie Allen

Born: January 16, 1950
Profession: Actor
Notable works: Highly Paid Expert

About Debbie Allen

Deborah Kaye Allen is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, singer, director, producer, and a former member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She has been nominated for 22 Emmy Awards, and two Tony Awards. She has won a Golden Globe Award, and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1991. In 2026, she received an Academy Honorary Award.

Biography source: Wikipedia

Quotes by 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…

Dreams

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The riot isn't seen in the movie, but it is alluded to. He has this one speech that gives a great sense…

Gives

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Be true. Be beautiful. Be free. In the midst of segregation and racism Mamma raised us to be independent and free. We…

Beautiful

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The clothes back in those days were made so much better than clothes are today. They actually took time to make clothes…

Body

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My mother Vivian Ayers always instilled within her children that our opinions, our thoughts and our ideas about what was possible was…

Children

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

Big

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If you just change one person's life, you feel like you've done something. But if you can change a whole lot of…

Change

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

Firsts

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The production team's first meeting took place at my house. I had ideas and a color scheme in mind, how I wanted…

Because

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

Cameras

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

Cinema

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I've had a lot of experience auditioning people, and I can do it rather quickly even though sometimes I let them linger…

Can do

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

Art

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There are so many famous people now that are not really gifted or talented at doing anything other than getting made up,…

Acting

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I didn't need the insurance. I do it again if my DP tells me it didn't look good in the camera or…

Actors

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

Actors

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I use something that is a real staple in the directing world. It's called a dance floor. You lay it down so…

Dance floor

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Making this movie was a great opportunity for me to explore high-definition. I'm glad I got to see what the challenges are,…

Better

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

Biggest

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

Masters

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But out of limitations comes creativity.

Creativity

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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…

African american

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

Bigs

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Fame is fleeting, honey. Fame is fleeting and it changes.

Fame

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I design my shots. I walk the rehearsal as the camera and say 'this is where I want to be... I want…

Cameras

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