Life's barely long enough to get good at one thing. So be careful what you get good at.
Matthew McconaugheyRead
I've read a lot of really great characters in some really crappy stories, where I said, like, 'Boy I could shine here, but the story sucks.' I don't want to be part of that.
Interpretation
Great characters can be overshadowed by poor storytelling, and it's important to choose quality narratives.
Matthew McConaughey reflects on his experiences as an actor, expressing that even if he encounters well-developed characters, he prefers not to associate with subpar stories. He values the integrity of the narrative and believes that one should strive to contribute to worthwhile projects rather than settle for mediocrity.
In practice
In a discussion about film projects, this quote can highlight the importance of narrative quality.
Life's barely long enough to get good at one thing. So be careful what you get good at.
I know who I am. And after all these years, there's a victory in that.
I don't dislike any of my exes. If I took time to form a relationship, it's gonna hurt when we move on, but are you puttin' White-Out over all that beautiful time together? That was real time in your life. It's connected to where you are today.
You know who it is? It's me in 10 years. So I turned 25. Ten years later, that same person comes to me and says, 'So, are you a hero?' And I was like, 'not even close. No, no, no.' She said, 'Why?' I said, 'Because my hero's me at 35.' So you see every day, every week, every month and every year of my life, my hero's always 10 years away. I'm never gonna be my hero. I'm not gonna attain that. I know I'm not, and that's just fine with me because that keeps me with somebody to keep on chasing.
I love having my hands in the dirt. It is never a science and always an art. There are no rules. And if it comes down to me versus that weed I'm trying to pull out of the ground that doesn't want to come out? I know I'll win.
Kids will remind you that, even though you've gone down a road 100 times, it's brand new for them - and that's healthy.
When I first began choreographing, I never thought of it as choreography but as expressing feelings. Though every piece is different, they are all trying to get at certain things that are difficult to put into words. In the work, everything belongs to everything else - the music, the set, the movement and whatever is said.
[T]he visibility of styles is itself a product of historical consciousness. ... The very notion of "style" needs to be approached historically. Awareness of style as a problematic and isolable element in a work of art has emerged in the audience for art only at certain historical moments - as a front behind which other issues, ultimately ethical and political, are being debated.
When you try to unravel something you've written, you belittle it in a way. It was created as a mystery.
Pixar films are not realistic. They are believable for the worlds we are creating.
That's the thing about musicians: The priority is to create something new that's never been before. And you put your life on the line every time that you play.
You should make something. You should bring something into the world that wasn't in the world before. It doesn't matter what it is. It doesn't matter if it's a table or a film or gardening-everyone should create. You should do something, then sit back and say, 'I did that.'
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