---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't make deals, I make pictures."
description: "\"I don't make deals, I make pictures.\" — Carlo Ponti"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/142/carlo-ponti-73250_deals_i-don-t-make-deals-i-make-pictures-17469_1746950.jpg"
---

#  I don't make deals, I make pictures.

![“I don't make deals, I make pictures.” quote by Carlo Ponti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/142/carlo-ponti-73250_deals_i-don-t-make-deals-i-make-pictures-17469_1746950.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/142/carlo-ponti-73250_deals_i-don-t-make-deals-i-make-pictures-17469_1746950.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/142/carlo-ponti-73250_deals_i-don-t-make-deals-i-make-pictures-17469_1746950.jpg)

> “I don't make deals, I make pictures.”

[Carlo Ponti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-ponti/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Visual storytelling is the essence of filmmaking, beyond contractual deals.

**In simple terms:** I make pictures, not deals.

Key Takeaway

Focus on creative vision.

Themes

cinema visual art creativity

Mood

passionate reflective

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- directing
- storyboarding
- set design

Key Concepts

production artistic expression

Questions to Reflect On

- How can creators protect artistic integrity?
- What compromises are acceptable?

A Different Perspective

Business constraints may limit art.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Deals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deals/) [Deals Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deals-make-1570588/) [Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make/) [Make Deals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-deals-638316/) [Make Pictures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-pictures/) [Negotiation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negotiation/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Pictures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pictures/)

## Related quotes

> [Make deals with people, not paper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/make-deals-with-people-not-paper/)

[Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/)

> [ “We all make our own deals. \[...\] No one knows what happens in a relationship except the two people who are in it.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-griffin/we-all-make-our-own-deals-no-one-knows-what-happens-in-a-relationship/)

[Kathy Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-griffin/)

> [Money talks. When you have the financing behind you, you can make deals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetrius-andrade/money-talks-when-you-have-the-financing-behind-you-you-can-make-deals/)

[Demetrius Andrade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetrius-andrade/)

> [In many cases, you're forced to make deals that are not the deal you'd make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-s-dickerson/in-many-cases-you-re-forced-to-make-deals-that-are-not-the-deal-you-d/)

[John S. Dickerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-s-dickerson/)

> [“You obviously don't have my soul or you wouldn't be trying to make deals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-nayeri/you-obviously-don-t-have-my-soul-or-you-wouldn-t-be-trying-to-make/)

[Daniel Nayeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-nayeri/)

> [“We're professionals. People make deals, they need to stick to them. That's the way it works, if it's going to work at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-sallis/we-re-professionals-people-make-deals-they-need-to-stick-to-them-that/)

[James Sallis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-sallis/)

> [Donald Trump has no idea what a deal is. I mean, he's a man who has filed for bankruptcy many times, so he doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-sarsour/donald-trump-has-no-idea-what-a-deal-is-i-mean-he-s-a-man-who-has/)

[Linda Sarsour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-sarsour/)

> [It is the spectators who make the pictures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/it-is-the-spectators-who-make-the-pictures/)

[Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/)

> [I like to make pictures about people who make a difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-bruckheimer/i-like-to-make-pictures-about-people-who-make-a-difference/)

[Jerry Bruckheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-bruckheimer/)

> [I am just trying to find a way to make pictures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/i-am-just-trying-to-find-a-way-to-make-pictures/)

[Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/)

> [I will only make pictures that I won't be ashamed to have my children see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-b-mayer/i-will-only-make-pictures-that-i-won-t-be-ashamed-to-have-my-children/)

[Louis B. Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-b-mayer/)

> [I try to make pictures I would want to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/i-try-to-make-pictures-i-would-want-to-see/)

[John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/)

> [Others like City Hall the old way, when they could make deals behind closed doors with your tax money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-miller/others-like-city-hall-the-old-way-when-they-could-make-deals-behind/)

[Laura Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-miller/)

> [Politicians are making deals for their benefit. Now we are going to make the deals for the American people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/politicians-are-making-deals-for-their-benefit-now-we-are-going-to/)

[Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/)

> [I really do not make deals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/i-really-do-not-make-deals/)

[Arlen Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlen-specter/)

## More by Carlo Ponti

> [There is no sense in making a film that no-one will go and see, just to create a perfect, but useless, work of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-ponti/there-is-no-sense-in-making-a-film-that-no-one-will-go-and-see-just/)

[Carlo Ponti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-ponti/)

> [People talk about making art films - experimental films. I can make an art film every day of the week. Nothing to it. What's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-ponti/people-talk-about-making-art-films-experimental-films-i-can-make-an/)

[Carlo Ponti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-ponti/)

> [I don't like actors, I like women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-ponti/i-don-t-like-actors-i-like-women/)

[Carlo Ponti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-ponti/)

[Explore all 4 Carlo Ponti quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-ponti/)

## More Deals quotes

> [Right now we're concerned about budget. Right now we're concerned about the prospect of interest rate rise. We're concerned about government corruption, government handing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amity-shlaes/right-now-we-re-concerned-about-budget-right-now-we-re-concerned/)

[Amity Shlaes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amity-shlaes/)

> [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/)

[Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/)

> [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/)

[Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/)

> [Failure is a part of life and you have to learn to deal with it. Failure is something that is part of life's cycle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/failure-is-a-part-of-life-and-you-have-to-learn-to-deal-with-it/)

[Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/)

> [When you reach that competing point, when you reach that time when the gun is about to go off, everyone's level is pretty much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apolo-ohno/when-you-reach-that-competing-point-when-you-reach-that-time-when-the/)

[Apolo Ohno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apolo-ohno/)

> [I think the next 50 years are going to present the human race with challenges that so far exceed the limitations of geopolitical boundaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/i-think-the-next-50-years-are-going-to-present-the-human-race-with/)

[Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/)

> [Americans are very friendly and very suspicious, that is what Americans are and that is what always upsets the foreigner, who deals with them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/americans-are-very-friendly-and-very-suspicious-that-is-what/)

[Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/)

> [As a professional athlete and someone who has spent almost his entire life in boxing, not a day goes by when I don't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-de-la-hoya/as-a-professional-athlete-and-someone-who-has-spent-almost-his-entire/)

[Oscar De La Hoya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-de-la-hoya/)

> [Okay, so I'll admit I'm curious. Big deal. We both know what that leads to. Dead cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/okay-so-i-ll-admit-i-m-curious-big-deal-we-both-know-what-that-leads/)

[Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/)

> [I don't really resent being on the red carpet as much as I do having to deal with the paparazzi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/i-don-t-really-resent-being-on-the-red-carpet-as-much-as-i-do-having/)

[Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/)

> [I think kids growing up, if they were picked on and feeling inferior at 12, they're going to feel that way at 72. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/i-think-kids-growing-up-if-they-were-picked-on-and-feeling-inferior/)

[Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/)

> [You know, by the time you reach my age, you've made plenty of mistakes if you've lived your life properly. So you learn. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/you-know-by-the-time-you-reach-my-age-you-ve-made-plenty-of-mistakes/)

[Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/)

> [ By profession a biologist, \[Thomas Henry Huxley\] covered in fact the whole field of the exact sciences, and then bulged through its four fences.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/by-profession-a-biologist-thomas-henry-huxley-covered-in-fact-the/)

[H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/)

> [I deal with the obvious. I present, reiterate, and glorify the obvious - because the obvious is what people need to be told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/i-deal-with-the-obvious-i-present-reiterate-and-glorify-the-obvious/)

[Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/)

> [But when you have to deal with notes, and to be able to make a full definition of what a sound is - if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-brown/but-when-you-have-to-deal-with-notes-and-to-be-able-to-make-a-full/)

[Dennis Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-brown/)

[Browse all 7,121 Deals quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deals/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I don't make deals, I make pictures.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Carlo Ponti"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-ponti/i-don-t-make-deals-i-make-pictures/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Deals"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-ponti/i-don-t-make-deals-i-make-pictures/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/142/carlo-ponti-73250_deals_i-don-t-make-deals-i-make-pictures-17469_1746950.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/142/carlo-ponti-73250_deals_i-don-t-make-deals-i-make-pictures-17469_1746950.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/142/carlo-ponti-73250_deals_i-don-t-make-deals-i-make-pictures-17469_1746950.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I don't make deals, I make pictures.” — Carlo Ponti",
                "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": "Carlo Ponti",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-ponti/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I don't make deals, I make...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-ponti/i-don-t-make-deals-i-make-pictures/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-ponti/i-don-t-make-deals-i-make-pictures/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
