QuoteProject
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.
Tom Hanks
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

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.

Themes

DirectingFilmCreativityLetting GoAcceptance

In practice

Example use cases

During a filmmaking workshop, to emphasize the importance of moving on after editing.

More from Tom Hanks

As an actor I am always waiting for my luck to run out.
Tom HanksRead
Even the simplest choice can make a jaw-dropping difference in our world.
Tom HanksRead
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.
Tom HanksRead
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?
Tom HanksRead
I think it's better to feel good than to look good.
Tom HanksRead
If you look at romantic comedies as pieces of commerce, the audience is looking for wish fulfillment.
Tom HanksRead

Similar quotes

My #1 job as a thriller author is to give readers the best white-knuckle thrill ride I am capable of. I am first and foremost in the entertainment business. If that suspenseful ride is also terrifying because it hits really close to home, then I am once again doing what I am supposed to do as a thriller author.
Brad ThorRead
Does art have a future? Performance genres like opera, theater, music and dance are thriving all over the world, but the visual arts have been in slow decline for nearly 40 years. No major figure of profound influence has emerged in painting or sculpture since the waning of Pop Art and the birth of Minimalism in the early 1970s.
Camille PagliaRead
I think it's important to earn your fan base and not just try to immediately advance to the top. If you ride to the top quickly, you're liable to fall as quickly. Take your time. It's a long journey ahead of you as an artist. There's nowhere that you're supposed to be other than right now living inside of your art.
Jason MrazRead
Every great film should seem new every time you see it.
Roger EbertRead
For the creation of a masterwork of literature two powers must concur, the power of the man and the power of the moment, and the man is not enough without the moment.
Matthew ArnoldRead
I say, 'If I had a serious brain injury I might well write a children's book', but otherwise the idea of being conscious of who you're directing the story to is anathema to me, because, in my view, fiction is freedom and any restraints on that are intolerable.
Martin AmisRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.