They've tried to manufacture other Marilyn Monroes and they will undoubtedly keep trying. But it won't work. She was an original.
Interpretation
The uniqueness of Marilyn Monroe cannot be replicated, despite attempts to do so.
Billy Wilder emphasizes the irreplaceable nature of Marilyn Monroe's talent and persona, suggesting that no matter how hard people try to recreate or imitate her, they will always fall short. This reflects the idea that true originality is unmatched and cannot be manufactured, highlighting the value of individual authenticity in a world often driven by imitation.
In practice
During a film class discussing iconic performers, this quote highlights the challenge of achieving true originality.
Film’s thought of as a director’s medium because the director creates the end product that appears on the screen. It’s that stupid auteur theory again, that the director is the author of the film. But what does the director shoot-the telephone book? Writers became much more important when sound came in, but they’ve had to put up a valiant fight to get the credit they deserve.
What critics call dirty in our pictures, they call lusty in foreign films.
I have ten commandments. The first nine are, thou shalt not bore. The tenth is, thou shalt have right of final cut.
Happiness is working with Jack Lemmon.
Hindsight is always twenty-twenty.
I'd worship the ground you walked on if only you walked in a better neighborhood.
All I know is when I start getting serious about songwriting... it's like a playground. All responsibilities slip away and you're with your essence. There can be delight there and self-discovery. You can dance there... I think of it as my serious playground.
When she listened to songs that she loved on the radio, something stirred inside her. A liquid ache spread under her skin, and she walked out of the world like a witch.
A ballerina takes steps given to her and makes them her own. Each individual brings something different to the same role.
I have offered myself to the inkwell of the wordsmith that I might be shaped into new terms of being.
It took, for me, a long time to develop this idea of what to do on the radio. But from the beginning of my time in radio, I had pretty non-traditional tasks.
Even when I'm writing plays I enjoy having company and mentally I think of that company as the company I'm writing for.
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