Quote of the Day/Week- Elia Kazan

Since the Oscars will be televised at the month, we have decided to quote Academy-Award film directors throughout February. Keep in mind that the number of acclaimed film directors who never won an Oscar is a bit shocking, as it includes the likes of Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick and Orson Welles.

But, one film director who is a worth Oscar-winner is Elia "Gadge" Kazan (1909-2003) who won Best Director Oscars for "Gentleman's Agreement" (1948) and "On the Waterfront" (1955). His direction of the screen version of "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951), written by Tennessee Williams, is frequently cited as one of best screen adaptations of a stage play.

Kazan also won three Tony Awards for Best Director, including two Arthur Miller plays "All My Sons" (1947) and "Death of a Salesman" (1949) as well as "J.B.," a 1958 play by Archibald Macleish based on the Biblical story of Job. Cult actor John Cazale, who died at age 42 in 1978, starred in a 1962 off-Broadway production of "J.B.," which was not directed by Kazan.

The son of Anatolian Greek immigrants also directed "Viva Zapata!" (1952) with his frequent collaborator Marlon Brando; a film which us Netflix users are eagerly awaiting for. Interestingly enough, in a editorial by William Kristol in the conservative magazine "The Weekly Standard," this film was cited by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) as his personal favorite. The editorial was written when McCain was running as the Republic nominee for president in 2008.

Kazan also helmed a screen version of "America! America!" (1963) based on his own novel. The movie was partially filmed in Istanbul, Turkey, the city of Kazan's birth. Kazan recieved an Oscar nomination for directing that film as well.

Here is our quote from Gadge:

"A good director's not sure when he gets on the set what he's going to do."

SIDEBAR: Having just returned from The Bahamas, we wanted to recommend other potential tourists to be sure to visit the Ardasta Zoo in the capital of Nassau where one can watch a dancing pink flamingo show at 10:30, 2:10 and 4:10. It would be quite ironic if film director John Waters was at one of these shows (forgive the movie people humor).

In Baltimore, which is the hometown of the eccentric filmmaker, the Maryland Zoo is hosting an adults only Sex in the Zoo talk about the mating habits of animals. Our collective jaws recently dropped when we read about how porcupines mated in the last issue of "Mental Floss."

SIDEBAR 2: For some reason, Godzilla and Quick Draw McDraw are two of the hot links on our blog this week!

Quote of the Day- Tennessee Williams

Since the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, NC, will be presenting the classic 1947 Tennessee Williams play "A Streetcar Named Desire," (starting October 29th) we thought we'd conclude our series of quips from famous playwrights this month with a quote from Williams:

"Death is one moment, and life is so many of them."

Quote of the Week- Tennesee Williams

Today, we continue our long-running Quotes of the Week series with a quip from the late Southern playwright Tennessee Williams (1911-1983).

One of his more famous plays "The Glass Menagerie" is currently in production at Triad Sage in Greensboro, NC, which in my view continuously performs excellent shows-- even musicals! It will run there until Sept. 26.

From Sept. 23-26, there is a Tennessee Williams Theatre Festival in Provincetown, Mass., where another Williams play "Suddenly Last Summer" will be performed with actress Dana Ivey.

Lastly, the 18th Annual Mississippi Delta Tennessee Williams Festival gets underway in Clarksdale, Mississippi- Williams' hometown from Oct. 15-16.

Here is the quote from the playwright who also wrote "A Streetcar Named Desire" and (my favorite of his plays) "Night of the Iguana" among many others:

"All of us are guinea pigs in the laboratory of God. Humanity is a work in progress."