But I'd be lying if I didn't say that every time you go to make a film, you're desperate to either do it better than you did it last time or to not repeat yourself.
Paul Thomas AndersonRead
It's a gamble you take, the risk of alienating an audience. But there's a theory - sometimes it's better to confuse them for five minutes than let them get ahead of you for 10 seconds.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Taking creative risks can alienate some people, but sometimes it's worth it to challenge the audience's expectations.
This quote by Paul Thomas Anderson emphasizes the importance of taking risks in creative endeavors, particularly in filmmaking. It suggests that while there is a danger in confusing the audience, it can ultimately be more beneficial to challenge them momentarily than to simply cater to their expectations, which may not pose a meaningful engagement with the work.
Themes
RiskCreativityAudienceArtConfusion
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a film discussion to illustrate the importance of creative risks.
More from Paul Thomas Anderson
All quotes →No matter how many times you do it, you don't get used to the sadness - for me at least - of coming to the end of a film.
Paul Thomas AndersonRead
I really subscribe to that old adage that you should never let the audience get ahead of you for a second. So if the film's abrasive and wrongfoots people then, y'know, that's great. But I hope it involves an audience.
Paul Thomas AndersonRead
My filmmaking education consisted of finding out what filmmakers I liked were watching, then seeing those films. I learned the technical stuff from books and magazines, and with the new technology you can watch entire movies accompanied by audio commentary from the director. You can learn more from John Sturges' audio track on the 'Bad Day at Black Rock' laserdisc than you can in 20 years of film school. Film school is a complete con, because the information is there if you want it.
Paul Thomas AndersonRead
I always had a dream about trying to make a movie that had no dialogue in it, that was just music and pictures. I still haven't done it yet, but I tried to get close in the beginning.
Paul Thomas AndersonRead
We’re all children of Kubrick, aren’t we? Is there anything you can do that he hasn’t done?
Paul Thomas AndersonRead
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