Everybody comes to film differently; everybody has different backgrounds. Just find whatever your lane is naturally. Don't try to force yourself into someone else's vision or try to tell a story that you're not passionate about.
F. Gary GrayRead
Asking a working writer what he thinks about critics is like asking a lamp-post what it feels about dogs.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote compares writers to lamp-posts, suggesting that writers, like lamp-posts, do not concern themselves with the opinions of critics.
Christopher Hampton's quote illustrates the notion that a writer's work should be independent of external criticism, just as a lamp-post is unaffected by the presence of dogs. This analogy highlights the idea that artists often focus on their craft without letting outside opinions influence their creative process, suggesting that critics' views are irrelevant to the true essence of writing.
Themes
WritingCriticsArtIndependenceCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the pressures of literary criticism, one might use this quote to emphasize the importance of staying true to one's artistic vision.
Similar quotes
There are lots of similarities between being a writer and a lawyer: to tell a story to a jury, hold their attention, make them laugh, make them like you. But what makes being a barrister less satisfying than being a writer is, finally, that it's about what someone else wants you to say.
John MortimerRead
Film seems to be a medium designed for betrayal and violence.
Nick CaveRead
A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know.
Diane ArbusRead
I can't be alone among fiction writers in regarding the world, so much weirder than anything we could make up, as beating us at our own game or in racking my brains over what could possibly constitute a contribution when novels pale before the newspaper.
Lionel ShriverRead
A rapid rendering of a landscape represents only one moment of its existence. I prefer, by insisting upon its essential character, to risk losing charm in order to gain greater stability.
Henri MatisseRead