--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you're not making epic, archetypal…" description: "\"If you're not making epic, archetypal films on some level, I think you're wasting a great potential of cinema.\" — Alexander Payne" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbb/alexander-payne-5223_cinema_if-you-re-not-making-epic-archetypal-fil_1023070.png" --- # If you're not making epic, archetypal films on some level… ![“If you're not making epic, archetypal films on some level, I think you're wasting a great potential of cinema.” quote by Alexander Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbb/alexander-payne-5223_cinema_if-you-re-not-making-epic-archetypal-fil_1023070.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbb/alexander-payne-5223_cinema_if-you-re-not-making-epic-archetypal-fil_1023070.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbb/alexander-payne-5223_cinema_if-you-re-not-making-epic-archetypal-fil_1023070.png) > “If you're not making epic, archetypal films on some level, I think you're wasting a great potential of cinema.” [Alexander Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-payne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote urges filmmakers to aim for grand, timeless storytelling rather than settling for mediocrity, suggesting that true cinematic potential lies in creating epic, archetypal works. **In simple terms:** Make films that are epic and timeless. Key Takeaway Pursue bold, archetypal storytelling. Themes cinema ambition storytelling artistic vision Mood inspired determined Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - independent film projects - studio pitches - screenwriting workshops - film festivals Key Concepts Mythic narrative cultural impact creative risk Questions to Reflect On - What stories could become timeless if given the chance? - How can you balance commercial viability with artistic ambition? A Different Perspective Budget constraints and market pressures can limit the ability to create epic, archetypal films. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Epic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epic/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Technology will need to make many more huge leaps before one can ever view films with the level of picture and sound quality many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/technology-will-need-to-make-many-more-huge-leaps-before-one-can-ever/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [I don't think that's a wasting game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deejay/i-don-t-think-that-s-a-wasting-game/) [David Deejay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deejay/) > [I don't think we're wasting people in space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/majel-barrett/i-don-t-think-we-re-wasting-people-in-space/) [Majel Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/majel-barrett/) > [“When you use your pen to think, you’re never wasting ink.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/when-you-use-your-pen-to-think-you-re-never-wasting-ink/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [If I did only one thing at a time I'd think I was wasting my time. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/the-richly-cadenced-prose-is-hypnotic-the-research-prodigious-the/) [Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/) > [To realise belatedly that there are Swahili epic poems which rival their European equivalents for sweep and power has been exciting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-foden/to-realise-belatedly-that-there-are-swahili-epic-poems-which-rival/) [Giles Foden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-foden/) > [“An epic without a focus - without a single action, a coherent plot, a single terrible point to make - was just a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/an-epic-without-a-focus-without-a-single-action-a-coherent-plot-a/) [Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/) > [The epic poet has behind him a tradition of matter and a tradition of style; and that is what every other poet has behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lascelles-abercrombie/the-epic-poet-has-behind-him-a-tradition-of-matter-and-a-tradition-of/) [Lascelles Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lascelles-abercrombie/) > [“Stop waiting for permission to be epic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-b-truant/stop-waiting-for-permission-to-be-epic/) [Johnny B. Truant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-b-truant/) > [The epic disappeared along with the age of personal heroism; there can be no epic with artillery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-renan/the-epic-disappeared-along-with-the-age-of-personal-heroism-there-can/) [Ernest Renan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-renan/) > ['Forever Evil' is my love letter to DC super villains. It's my chance to take all of the villains I've worked with and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-johns/forever-evil-is-my-love-letter-to-dc-super-villains-it-s-my-chance-to/) [Geoff Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-johns/) > [My first three manuscripts were epic fantasy - like high fantasy - and then the fourth one was a historical fantasy about Mozart as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-lu/my-first-three-manuscripts-were-epic-fantasy-like-high-fantasy-and/) [Marie Lu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-lu/) > [Would you like a side of epic with that fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabi/would-you-like-a-side-of-epic-with-that-fail/) [Gabi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabi/) ## More by Alexander Payne > [I want all of my films to belong to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/i-want-all-of-my-films-to-belong-to-me/) [Alexander Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-payne/) > [I spend a long time casting, but once I've cast a film there's a reason why I selected those people. So I'm hands-on in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/i-spend-a-long-time-casting-but-once-i-ve-cast-a-film-there-s-a/) [Alexander Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-payne/) > [You just never know when you're living in a golden age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/you-just-never-know-when-you-re-living-in-a-golden-age/) [Alexander Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-payne/) > [I don't feel despair because I am able to make the films I want to make, and that gives me hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/i-don-t-feel-despair-because-i-am-able-to-make-the-films-i-want-to/) [Alexander Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-payne/) > [Jesuits encourage an intellectual rigor in a way that I like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/jesuits-encourage-an-intellectual-rigor-in-a-way-that-i-like/) [Alexander Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-payne/) > [Forgiving yourself may be for many people, at least for myself, extremely difficult. And then in a larger context, I will say that I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/forgiving-yourself-may-be-for-many-people-at-least-for-myself/) [Alexander Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-payne/) > [In a general sense, to convert any short story, novel, play, or opera into a movie, you have to re-rig it. 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I don't think of them as a correction or palliative. I certainly am irritated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/i-think-about-what-movie-i-would-like-to-see-i-don-t-think-of-them-as/) [Alexander Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-payne/) > [If you were falling in love and you could go back in time and relive a day and see the banal things you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/if-you-were-falling-in-love-and-you-could-go-back-in-time-and-relive/) [Alexander Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-payne/) > [Omaha, like Rome, is built on seven hills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/omaha-like-rome-is-built-on-seven-hills/) [Alexander Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-payne/) > [Hollywood films have become a cesspool of formula and it's up to us to try to change it... I feel like a preacher! But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/hollywood-films-have-become-a-cesspool-of-formula-and-it-s-up-to-us/) [Alexander Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-payne/) > [I don't want all of American cinema to be big cartoons that are just made to be digested by the entire world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/i-don-t-want-all-of-american-cinema-to-be-big-cartoons-that-are-just/) [Alexander Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-payne/) [Explore all 102 Alexander Payne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-payne/) ## More Cinema quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. 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Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [In the future, I would like to do more films with contemporary themes. Perhaps comedy, which is something I have done in theater but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/in-the-future-i-would-like-to-do-more-films-with-contemporary-themes/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? 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It is very tense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-silvers/rear-window-isn-t-really-a-horror-film-but-it-is-a-psychological/) [Diana Silvers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-silvers/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) Jessica Yu > [I am not interested in churning out a certain number of films every year. For me, it's about the quality of work. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepika-padukone/i-am-not-interested-in-churning-out-a-certain-number-of-films-every/) [Deepika Padukone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepika-padukone/) [Browse all 23,940 Cinema quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you're not making epic, archetypal films on some level, I think you're wasting a great potential of cinema.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexander Payne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/if-you-re-not-making-epic-archetypal-films-on-some-level-i-think-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cinema" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/if-you-re-not-making-epic-archetypal-films-on-some-level-i-think-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbb/alexander-payne-5223_cinema_if-you-re-not-making-epic-archetypal-fil_1023070.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbb/alexander-payne-5223_cinema_if-you-re-not-making-epic-archetypal-fil_1023070.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbb/alexander-payne-5223_cinema_if-you-re-not-making-epic-archetypal-fil_1023070.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you're not making epic, archetypal films on some level, I think you're wasting a great potential of cinema.” — Alexander Payne", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alexander Payne", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-payne/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you're not making epic, archetypal...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/if-you-re-not-making-epic-archetypal-films-on-some-level-i-think-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/if-you-re-not-making-epic-archetypal-films-on-some-level-i-think-you/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```