I have much to learn from my daughter Sofia. Her minimalism exposes my limitations: I'm too instinctive and operatic, I put too much heart into my work, I get lost sometimes in bizarre things - it's my Italian heritage.
Francis Ford CoppolaRead
I landed a job with Roger Corman. The job was to write the English dialogue for a Russian science fiction picture. I didn't speak any Russian. He didn't care whether I could understand what they were saying; he wanted me to make up dialogue.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the creative freedom and unique challenges in the filmmaking process.
Francis Ford Coppola's quote illustrates the unconventional nature of his early job in the film industry, where he was tasked with writing English dialogue for a Russian film despite not knowing the language. It emphasizes the importance of creativity and adaptability in art, suggesting that often, the essence of storytelling can transcend linguistic barriers, and that success in creative endeavors can come from embracing challenges and thinking outside the box.
Themes
CreativityFilmmakingAdaptabilityDialogueArt
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a film class to discuss the importance of creativity in screenplay writing.
More from Francis Ford Coppola
All quotes →An essential element of any art is risk. If you don't take a risk then how are you going to make something really beautiful, that hasn't been seen before?
Francis Ford CoppolaRead
I live near San Francisco in the most beautiful spot on earth and enjoy myself in many ways. Yes, I love to work, which for now is to think and read and write, so it's all a dream come true.
Francis Ford CoppolaRead
The essence of cinema is editing.
Francis Ford CoppolaRead
It is a little disappointing to see that your legs are not as strong. But I like the idea of growing old, and the thought of approaching death is not particularly daunting to me.
Francis Ford CoppolaRead
You don't have to specialize - do everything that you love and then, at some time, the future will come together for you in some form.
Francis Ford CoppolaRead
Similar quotes
I'd like to point out to people the divine in a musical language that transcends words. I want to speak to their souls.
John ColtraneRead
Having been an actor and a writer for so long - 20 years or so - I felt that it would be daft to go to one's grave without having directed. It's a natural extension of writing and acting, and so I knew it would happen one day.
Stephen FryRead
When I really have to push and grope and scratch and claw to make a story work, that's a telltale sign that maybe something conceptually isn't right.
David E. KelleyRead
I think I have always tried to do the smaller films. I like to jump around and there is something really nice for acting in a smaller film... But I think now, Hollywood's movies certainly involve a younger generation for the most part and so... I love going back and forth.
Sigourney WeaverRead
Novel-writing can be a cold-blooded business. One uses whatever happens to be lying around in memory and employs it to suit one’s end….Then, again, during the months whilst one is writing about the past, a story is colored by what presently is happening to its writer. So, imperceptibly, the tone of voice changes, original intentions slip away. And I found myself looking through another window at a darker landscape inhabited by neither the present nor the past.
J. L. CarrRead
You can't read to yourself. It's your inner ear that hears a poem. If you hear a poet read his own work, it becomes very exciting. The melody is a great part of it.
Derek WalcottRead