As an actor I am always waiting for my luck to run out.
Tom HanksRead
That's what's nice about directing a film and having it done: There's nothing more I can do about it. It's done. That's it. All I can do is let it go and hope that people are kind to it.
Interpretation
The essence of directing a film lies in the release and acceptance of the finished work.
In this quote, Tom Hanks reflects on the completion of directing a film and the importance of surrendering the project once it is finished. He emphasizes the emotional relief that comes with letting go of control and hoping for a positive reception from the audience, acknowledging the inevitable distance that comes between the creator and their work after it is done.
In practice
During a filmmaking workshop, to emphasize the importance of moving on after editing.
As an actor I am always waiting for my luck to run out.
Even the simplest choice can make a jaw-dropping difference in our world.
My kid could get a bad X-ray and I could get a call from the doctor saying I have something growing in my bum and that would change my perspective on everything instantaneously, on what is and what is not important.
Back in World War II, we viewed the Japanese as 'yellow, slant-eyed dogs' that believed in different gods. They were out to kill us because our way of living was different. We, in turn, wanted to annihilate them because they were different. Does that sound familiar, by any chance, to what's going on today?
I think it's better to feel good than to look good.
If you look at romantic comedies as pieces of commerce, the audience is looking for wish fulfillment.
I love singing. I love it, and it doesn't feel like a chore. It's an expression.
When you want to touch the reader's heart, try to be colder. It gives their grief as it were, a background, against which it stands out in greater relief.
See, a painting is much cheaper than making a film. And photography is, you know, way cheap. So if I get an idea for a film, there are many ways to get it together and go realise that film. There's really nothing to be afraid of.
Without music, life would be a mistake.
Imagine an eye unruled by man-made laws of perspective, an eye unprejudiced by compositional logic, an eye which does not respond to the name of everything but which must know each object encountered in life through an adventure of perception. How many colors are there in a field of grass to the crawling baby unaware of ‘Green?’ How many rainbows can light create for the untutored eye?
When you make movies, it's such an important period of time, when you look back at each one of them. You want to be able to say that you did something that was a challenge and that changed you.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.