--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My editor and I remain very disciplined…" description: "\"My editor and I remain very disciplined. It's just sometimes when you're making a film, you get into the cutting room and you see a scene that's slowin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c78/alexander-payne-5223_certain_my-editor-and-i-remain-very-disciplined_842682.jpg" --- # My editor and I remain very disciplined. It's just… ![“My editor and I remain very disciplined. It's just sometimes when you're making a film, you get into the cutting room and you see a scene that's slowing you down in a certain section, but if you remove that scene then, emotionally or story-wise, another scene a half-hour later won't have the same…” quote by Alexander Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c78/alexander-payne-5223_certain_my-editor-and-i-remain-very-disciplined_842682.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c78/alexander-payne-5223_certain_my-editor-and-i-remain-very-disciplined_842682.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c78/alexander-payne-5223_certain_my-editor-and-i-remain-very-disciplined_842682.jpg) > “My editor and I remain very disciplined. It's just sometimes when you're making a film, you get into the cutting room and you see a scene that's slowing you down in a certain section, but if you remove that scene then, emotionally or story-wise, another scene a half-hour later won't have the same impact. You just get stuck with it.” [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. Balancing discipline with emotional impact can trap editors, leading to difficult decisions about cutting scenes. **In simple terms:** Editing choices can hinder story flow but also preserve emotional weight. Key Takeaway Weigh emotional value against pacing. Themes editing discipline storytelling Mood reflective thoughtful Type analytical practical When to use this quote - film editing - creative decision-making - post-production - scene selection Key Concepts narrative pacing emotional resonance Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide when a scene is essential despite slowing pacing? - What strategies help maintain emotional continuity after cuts? A Different Perspective Removing scenes may weaken later emotional beats, requiring careful restructuring. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Impact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impact/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) ## Related quotes > [Giving a reader a sex scene that is only half right is like giving her half a kitten. It is not half as cute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-newman/giving-a-reader-a-sex-scene-that-is-only-half-right-is-like-giving-2/) [Sandra Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-newman/) > [“Giving a reader a sex scene that is only half right is like giving her half of a kitten. It is not half as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-mittelmark/giving-a-reader-a-sex-scene-that-is-only-half-right-is-like-giving/) [Howard Mittelmark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-mittelmark/) > [It's quite different writing for films and for myself. You have to help guide a scene along emotionally, and the wrong approach can just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-penn/it-s-quite-different-writing-for-films-and-for-myself-you-have-to/) [Michael Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-penn/) > [ I like the ending of the movie \[War Horse\], simply because it's such a demanding scene emotionally, and yet \[the look\] is all done… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janusz-kaminski/i-like-the-ending-of-the-movie-war-horse-simply-because-it-s-such-a/) [Janusz Kaminski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janusz-kaminski/) > [I find that kid actors are great reminders of the simplicity of acting. As you get older, you can sometimes complicate things a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-jackman/i-find-that-kid-actors-are-great-reminders-of-the-simplicity-of/) [Hugh Jackman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-jackman/) > [I was on dialysis three times a week for four and a half hours each time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grizz-chapman/i-was-on-dialysis-three-times-a-week-for-four-and-a-half-hours-each/) [Grizz Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grizz-chapman/) > [The beauty of a really good movie is that it's a whole world, complete in an hour and a half or two hours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-spotnitz/the-beauty-of-a-really-good-movie-is-that-it-s-a-whole-world-complete/) [Frank Spotnitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-spotnitz/) > [As they used to say on Stingray, ‘Anything can happen in the next half hour’. I’ve always tried to live with that thought in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cooper-clarke/as-they-used-to-say-on-stingray-anything-can-happen-in-the-next-half/) [John Cooper Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cooper-clarke/) > [I used to, like, hit for a half hour and then go eat Cheetos the rest of the day, come out and drill forehands.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-roddick/i-used-to-like-hit-for-a-half-hour-and-then-go-eat-cheetos-the-rest/) [Andy Roddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-roddick/) > [Give me a 6 pack, half-hour of rest and lets go play them again - We can beat them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lambert/give-me-a-6-pack-half-hour-of-rest-and-lets-go-play-them-again-we-can/) [Jack Lambert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lambert/) > [I am grateful for what I call well-spent moments: Making a tuna fish sandwich with the works. Taking at least a half hour to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ban-breathnach/i-am-grateful-for-what-i-call-well-spent-moments-making-a-tuna-fish/) [Sarah Ban Breathnach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ban-breathnach/) > [Getting started as a volunteer anywhere can be a challenge to a lot of people. The biggest hurdle is that people think they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-joyner-kersee/getting-started-as-a-volunteer-anywhere-can-be-a-challenge-to-a-lot/) [Jackie Joyner-Kersee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-joyner-kersee/) > [To try something longer, I entered a half-hour radio drama contest with the national public broadcaster, CBC. To my surprise, I won. And that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-walton/to-try-something-longer-i-entered-a-half-hour-radio-drama-contest/) [Karen Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-walton/) > [I work out 3 and half hours a day. I get some of my best ideas while I'm working out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zayed-khan/i-work-out-3-and-half-hours-a-day-i-get-some-of-my-best-ideas-while-i/) [Zayed Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zayed-khan/) > [I spend a lot of time loathing the sentences that I put down on the page. Once I'm past that phase, it doesn't really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/i-spend-a-lot-of-time-loathing-the-sentences-that-i-put-down-on-the/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) ## 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. Even though they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/in-a-general-sense-to-convert-any-short-story-novel-play-or-opera/) [Alexander Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-payne/) > [If you have your movies so that everyone understands everything, I think that's probably not a very good movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/if-you-have-your-movies-so-that-everyone-understands-everything-i/) [Alexander Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-payne/) > [I like actors who, when you see them on screen, you sense a person, not just an actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/i-like-actors-who-when-you-see-them-on-screen-you-sense-a-person-not/) [Alexander Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-payne/) > [If you're trying to recreate life, the life that you best know is the one you grew up with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/if-you-re-trying-to-recreate-life-the-life-that-you-best-know-is-the/) [Alexander Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-payne/) > [I think about what movie I would like to see. 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 Certain quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [One can put some trust in the gratitude of a sovereign, and also in that of his family; under certain conditions, one can even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/one-can-put-some-trust-in-the-gratitude-of-a-sovereign-and-also-in/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [People don't always realize that a record is forever. It'll always be there under your name. You've got to be certain that it's right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-iero/people-don-t-always-realize-that-a-record-is-forever-it-ll-always-be/) [Frank Iero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-iero/) > [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/) Riffat Hassan > [I started out dancing on a reality TV show, but always with the intention of making my way over to film. I transitioned into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-hough/i-started-out-dancing-on-a-reality-tv-show-but-always-with-the/) [Julianne Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-hough/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I mean those people who are interested in good government will certainly contribute in order to make certain there's some counter-balance to those whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-breyer/i-mean-those-people-who-are-interested-in-good-government-will/) [Stephen Breyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-breyer/) > [Why do we love certain homes, and why do they seem to love us? It is the warmth of our individual hearts reflected in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-h-robsjohn-gibbings/why-do-we-love-certain-homes-and-why-do-they-seem-to-love-us-it-is/) T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings > [Human life consists of doing certain things ... to take part in the life of the community; to be able to talk about subjects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/human-life-consists-of-doing-certain-things-to-take-part-in-the-life/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [We've all seen talented young players who get to a certain level but there comes a point where that talent will only take you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-gatland/we-ve-all-seen-talented-young-players-who-get-to-a-certain-level-but/) [Warren Gatland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-gatland/) > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [I think that at a certain age, say fifteen or sixteen, poetry is like masturbation. But later in life good poets burn their early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/i-think-that-at-a-certain-age-say-fifteen-or-sixteen-poetry-is-like/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [If a person does not listen to the demands of their own spiritual and heart life and insists on a certain program, you're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/if-a-person-does-not-listen-to-the-demands-of-their-own-spiritual-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) Browse all 13,673 Certain quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My editor and I remain very disciplined. It's just sometimes when you're making a film, you get into the cutting room and you see a scene that's slowing you down in a certain section, but if you remove that scene then, emotionally or story-wise, another scene a half-hour later won't have the same impact. You just get stuck with it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexander Payne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/my-editor-and-i-remain-very-disciplined-it-s-just-sometimes-when-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Certain" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/my-editor-and-i-remain-very-disciplined-it-s-just-sometimes-when-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c78/alexander-payne-5223_certain_my-editor-and-i-remain-very-disciplined_842682.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c78/alexander-payne-5223_certain_my-editor-and-i-remain-very-disciplined_842682.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c78/alexander-payne-5223_certain_my-editor-and-i-remain-very-disciplined_842682.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My editor and I remain very disciplined. It's just sometimes when you're making a film, you get into the…” — 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": "My editor and I remain very...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/my-editor-and-i-remain-very-disciplined-it-s-just-sometimes-when-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/my-editor-and-i-remain-very-disciplined-it-s-just-sometimes-when-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 } } ] } ```