A Broad, Locked Up

My carceral interests began at a very young age. I was fascinated by the idea of living, against one’s will, in a miniature society that’s kept completely apart from the rest of the world. Over time this interest expanded to include insane asylums, castaways and cults.

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Billy Bob Thornton on having a singular vision

Edward Hopper…is the writer and actor, and he shows his painting to Bud and Carl, the producer and the director. They say, “Yeaahhhh, Edward, it’s nice, real nice, I like that, it’s kinda moody. We’re just afraid that it’s kinda lonely for what we’re going for here.” And Edward Hopper responds, “Well, that’s the point. The goddamn painting is called ‘Loneliness.'”

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Tim O’Brien on storytelling

“The thing about a story is that you dream it as you tell it, hoping that others might then dream along with you, and in this way memory and imagination and language combine to make spirits in the head.” — Tim O’Brien, “The Things They Carried”

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Face Value

“Julie,” he said. “You need to prepare yourself for tomorrow. These are people who have been devastated. They are self-conscious. You need to not register any shock when talking to them. You need to make them feel welcome and normal. Do you understand?”

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Important People: Rosey Grier

“I was about to meet a star. Not exactly one of my idols, but a man who’d figured largely in my rather limited cultural development. But he was frightening. It had nothing to do with the fact that I was white and rarely saw black people. That wasn’t it. It was the fact that he was a giant.”

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