You don't make a film because the audience is ready for it. You make a film because you have questions that are in your gut.
If there's magic in boxing, it's the magic of fighting battles beyond endurance, beyond cracked ribs, ruptured kidneys and detached retinas. It's the magic of risking everything for a dream that nobody sees but you.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the unseen struggles and sacrifices involved in pursuing one's dreams, especially in challenging fields like boxing.
In this quote, Paul Haggis describes the unique and powerful essence of boxing as a metaphor for pursuing one’s dreams. It highlights the intense physical and mental challenges athletes face, symbolizing broader life struggles where individuals often fight against adversity and pain in the pursuit of their goals, which might remain invisible to outsiders. The 'magic' he refers to is not just about winning, but about courageously enduring hardships and maintaining unwavering dedication to a personal vision that may go unrecognized by others.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a motivational speech for athletes to inspire them to push through their limits.
More from Paul Haggis
All quotes →Film is an emotional medium; it's not a logical medium. It's not an intellectual medium, so every decision you make as a filmmaker and an actor has to be emotional in some way, even in the rejection of logic.
Similar quotes
You can't have a hit every time. The main thing is to keep on working and not be afraid to take risks. It's better to do something that's not perfect and successful every time. It's important to be fearless and move forward, to learn from what went wrong.
Failure is delay, but not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead-end street.
Vision creates faith and faith creates willpower.
Put blinders on to those things that conspire to hold you back, especially the ones in your own head.
Do not let us speak of darker days, let us speak rather of sterner days. These are not dark days: these are great days-the greatest days our country has ever lived; and we must all thank God that we have been allowed, each of us according to our stations, to play a part in making these days memorable in the history of our race.
Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit.