There’s always been this hocus-pocus or magical, mystical thing associated with the making of film that sort of psyches people out and makes them think that this cannot be done; that this is a craft that cannot be learned.
Interpretation
Spike Lee emphasizes that filmmaking is often seen as a mysterious art that can only be mastered by a select few.
In this quote, Spike Lee addresses the misconception surrounding the craft of filmmaking, suggesting that it is often viewed as an elusive and unattainable skill. He implies that many people are intimidated by the idea of making films because they believe it is a complex art that cannot be learned or mastered, when in reality, it is a skill that can be developed through practice and dedication.
In practice
Use this quote to inspire aspiring filmmakers during a workshop.
I think that anyone who lives in New York, who's lived here, who's spent any time here, knows that it's basically a love-hate relationship, you might say. Even though I still think it's the greatest city in the world and I wouldn't live anywhere else, there're still things about it one doesn't like. The love far outweighs the negative.
There's an unwritten law that you cannot have a Jewish character in a film who isn't 100 percent perfect, or you're labeled anti-Semitic.
The truth is I've been doing Kickstarter before there was Kickstarter; there was no Internet. Social Media was writing letters, making phone calls, beating the bushes.
It gets dangerous when you start allowing people to validate your work.
All directors are storytellers, so the motivation was to tell the story I wanted to tell. That's what I love.
Because many advances have happened, we've lost the urgency (and that's just human nature) that we had before, when we couldn't vote, couldn't use mass transportation, or drink from the fountains.
I don't know where my songs come from... If I knew, I'd know too much, more than we are allowed on this plane.
The violinist is that peculiarly human phenomenon distilled to a rare potency - half tiger, half poet.
It is a terrible thing for an author to have a lot of people running about his book without any invitation from him at all.
I aspire to a poetry of great formal integrity, deep passion and high intellect, and I have many models for how to do that.
I can explain all the poems that were ever invented - and a good many that haven't been invented just yet.
O why do I ever let anyone read what I write! Every time I have to go through a breakfast with a letter of criticism I swear I will write for my own praise or blame in future. It is a misery.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.