Improvisation

They improvised and fashioned a bed for Antoine. We asked co-screenwriter Marcel Moussy how Truffaut had cast his first feature, and Moussy told us this. For the main role, Truffaut placed an ad in France World that said something like, seeking young boy of 13 to act in leading role in a new film. He didn't even spell out any physical characteristics. So lots and lots of boys came to audition, and they came from just about everywhere.

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a group that moves up together, each one with his own special expertise. And we were constantly improvising, particularly since we weren't shooting on the set where the scenery has been designed to match your plans. We changed everything around as needed, but that contributed a distinctive flavor of life to the film. The actual locations determined the mise-en-scene.

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Alan K. Rode

Despite his off-the-wall antics, the hulking six-foot-four Carey was a singular actor. He improvised crying and wailing about not wanting to die as he was being marched to be shot by a firing squad in Kubrick's Paths of Glory and squirted beer in Marlon Brando's face in The Wild One. In addition to Kubrick, directors including Francis Coppola and Quentin Tarantino sought Carey out. $5,000 is a lot of dough, and that's what I'm paying it for, so nobody has to know my business. All right, John, I got no troubles with you. I'm with you.

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