It’s about time a 55-year-old British woman is the heroine of an action movie. I may have to write it.
We've got people looking at our seamy side and our sad side a lot of the time because that's easier. It's much more difficult to make a film about happiness with lots of jokes in it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that portraying darker or sad aspects of life is often easier than depicting happiness and humor.
Emma Thompson highlights the tendency of filmmakers and artists to explore the more sorrowful or complex aspects of life, acknowledging that these themes are frequently more accessible and resonant with audiences. In contrast, crafting narratives centered on joy and humor is a challenging task, often requiring a deeper understanding of positivity and creativity. This reflection invites a conversation about the value of happiness in art and the significance of representing a fuller spectrum of human experience.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a film panel discussing the challenges of depicting happiness on screen.
More from Emma Thompson
All quotes →If you've got to my age, you've probably had your heart broken many times. So it's not that difficult to unpack a bit of grief from some little corner of your heart and cry over it.
Sometimes I get to put on posh frocks and be Madam Glamour, the vendor of my wares. My lovely friend Kath, a stylist, puts me into things I'd never dream of. But my real life is very different. It's very, very home-based - an intense domestic life, that's the core of everything.
Just write. It doesn't matter what you write. Just sit at your desk and write.
I think books are like people, in the sense that they'll turn up in your life when you most need them.
Can he love her? Can the soul really be satisfied with such polite affections? To love is to burn - to be on fire, like Juliet or Guinevere or Eloise.
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