The idea of social performance, that we're always performing identities, is something I got fairly obsessed with. I think it's probably because I am a person who went to 15 different elementary and middle schools. I moved all the time, often having to run out in the middle of the night because my mom couldn't pay the bills. There were schools where I'd be the poor loser kid. There were schools where I'd suddenly be the smart kid or the cool kid, although that was very seldom.
Robert GreeneNo moment is wasted if you pay attention and learn the lessons contained in every experience.
Robert GreeneThere's a real tension between it being a collaborative art process, which is almost like performance art of yourself, and, as we talk about the movie, it's kind of a mix between melodrama and cinรฉma vรฉritรฉ. This involves ideas about playing the role of yourself and the movie of your life and all these other things.
Robert GreeneI'm afraid I'm just too intense to have soft ideas, you know, about what to read when you're trying to pass the time.
Robert GreeneI have the point that everybody essentially have these unique set of DNA you have. There's something different about you genetically. You are unique is what I am trying to say - the combination of experiences and emotions you have felt are never repeated.
Robert GreeneJay-Z is more naturally gifted. He didn't depend as much as 50 did on his personal story. Jay-Z has a great story, he came from a pretty rough background. But 50's early success was so much fueled on the story and where he came from. With Jay-Z, I feel he has a more natural gift for language and for music itself. 50 really had to study and work at it much harder.
Robert Greene