Excerpt from: The New York Times - 4 July 1999

Title: What They Say About Stanley Kubrick

Tony Curtis (actor; co-star of "Spartacus")

Stanley would never capitulate. I remember he asked for 15 or 20 extras for a little scene and the assistant director came over and said they had talked it over [with the studio] and decided to cut down the amount of extras. And Stanley said, "No, we'll double the amount." He refused to allow anybody to tell him how to do the picture.

....One scene with Kirk and me, Stanley looked around and said to Russ Metty [the director of photography], "I can't see the actors' faces." Russ was sitting in his high chair, and there was one of those lights on the floor and he pushed it with his foot and the light skewered right into the shot. He said, "Now, is that enough light?" Stanley looked and said, "Now it's too much light." Cool through the whole experience -- nothing made him nervous.