--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've done really well so far in my career…" description: "\"I've done really well so far in my career by trusting the audience to be as dissatisfied with convention as I am, as a film-goer. You want to go see a ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bd/christopher-nolan-2670_audience_i-ve-done-really-well-so-far-in-my-caree_642717.jpg" --- # I've done really well so far in my career by trusting the… ![“I've done really well so far in my career by trusting the audience to be as dissatisfied with convention as I am, as a film-goer. You want to go see a film that surprises you in some way.” quote by Christopher Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bd/christopher-nolan-2670_audience_i-ve-done-really-well-so-far-in-my-caree_642717.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bd/christopher-nolan-2670_audience_i-ve-done-really-well-so-far-in-my-caree_642717.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3bd/christopher-nolan-2670_audience_i-ve-done-really-well-so-far-in-my-caree_642717.jpg) > “I've done really well so far in my career by trusting the audience to be as dissatisfied with convention as I am, as a film-goer. You want to go see a film that surprises you in some way.” [Christopher Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nolan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He trusts audiences to share his disdain for conventional cinema, seeking surprise and novelty. **In simple terms:** He wants audiences to crave unconventional films. Key Takeaway Create work that challenges expectations. Themes cinema innovation audience expectations Mood analytical provocative Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - movie premieres - indie festivals - screenwriting Key Concepts film criticism creative risk Questions to Reflect On - What risks arise when defying conventions? - How do you gauge audience readiness? A Different Perspective May overlook mainstream appeal; niche focus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Originality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/originality/) [Surprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprise/) ## Related quotes > [For me, as a film goer, I like nothing more than to sit in the cinema, have the lights go down and not know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nolan/for-me-as-a-film-goer-i-like-nothing-more-than-to-sit-in-the-cinema/) [Christopher Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nolan/) > [Usually, when making a film, the surprises are negative surprises. You don't get what you wanted or what you hoped for. The only nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-haneke/usually-when-making-a-film-the-surprises-are-negative-surprises-you/) [Michael Haneke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-haneke/) > [A lot of things I have turned down ended up being a big embarrassment. Like that script, 'The Beaver.' I thought that was one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-zwigoff/a-lot-of-things-i-have-turned-down-ended-up-being-a-big-embarrassment/) [Terry Zwigoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-zwigoff/) > [I'm not a great film-goer, and I never have been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-knight/i-m-not-a-great-film-goer-and-i-never-have-been/) [Steven Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-knight/) > [Many of the factors that we think will cause motivation, such as fair pay and a good manager, won't make you love your job.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/many-of-the-factors-that-we-think-will-cause-motivation-such-as-fair/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [Research is an organized method of trying to find out what you are going to do after you cannot do what you are doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/research-is-an-organized-method-of-trying-to-find-out-what-you-are/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [Marriages are always moving from one season to another. Sometimes we find ourselves in winter--discouraged, detached, and dissatisfied; other times we experience springtime, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-chapman/marriages-are-always-moving-from-one-season-to-another-sometimes-we/) [Gary Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-chapman/) > [If you're dissatisfied anywhere, New York is the place to be. If you're unhappy at college in Topeka, I don't know what there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-mckay/if-you-re-dissatisfied-anywhere-new-york-is-the-place-to-be-if-you-re/) [Nellie McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-mckay/) > [Jacob wrote that the true poet 'is like a man who is happy anywhere, in endless measure, if he is allowed to look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/jacob-wrote-that-the-true-poet-is-like-a-man-who-is-happy-anywhere-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As a reformer the liberal is dissatisfied with things as they are because they violate his exceptionally tender conscience… Liberalism does not advocate change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-barton-perry/as-a-reformer-the-liberal-is-dissatisfied-with-things-as-they-are/) [Ralph Barton Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-barton-perry/) > [I feel like I'm moving from a world where I was creating fantasies that weren't real inside - and very often feeling really dissatisfied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-rice/i-feel-like-i-m-moving-from-a-world-where-i-was-creating-fantasies/) [Damien Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-rice/) > [It is no easy task to walk this earth and find peace. Inside of us, it would seem, something is at odds with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-rolheiser/it-is-no-easy-task-to-walk-this-earth-and-find-peace-inside-of-us-it/) [Ronald Rolheiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-rolheiser/) > [The inspiration to write? Perhaps it's not so much inspiration, as a NEED to write. I get itchy and guilty and dissatisfied when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-brown/the-inspiration-to-write-perhaps-it-s-not-so-much-inspiration-as-a/) [Eric Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-brown/) > [God will cleanse your sins if you yourself are dissatisfied with yourself and will keep on changing until you are perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/god-will-cleanse-your-sins-if-you-yourself-are-dissatisfied-with/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [It is a sweet thing that we serve a dissatisfied God who has destinations in mind for us that we would never choose for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-david-tripp/it-is-a-sweet-thing-that-we-serve-a-dissatisfied-god-who-has/) [Paul David Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-david-tripp/) ## More by Christopher Nolan > [In Hollywood there's a great openness, almost a voracious appetite for new people. In England there's a great suspicion of the new. In cultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nolan/in-hollywood-there-s-a-great-openness-almost-a-voracious-appetite-for/) [Christopher Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nolan/) > [“COBB: You're waiting for a train. A train that will take you far away. You know where you hope this train will take you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nolan/cobb-you-re-waiting-for-a-train-a-train-that-will-take-you-far-away/) [Christopher Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nolan/) > [When you play a videogame, you could be a completely different person than you are in the real world, certain aspects of the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nolan/when-you-play-a-videogame-you-could-be-a-completely-different-person/) [Christopher Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nolan/) > [The structural notions to me always have to be worked out very carefully in the script stage. Whatever a particular structure is. Whether it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nolan/the-structural-notions-to-me-always-have-to-be-worked-out-very/) [Christopher Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nolan/) > [I made 'Batman' the way I made every other film, and I've done it to my own satisfaction - because the film, truly, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nolan/i-made-batman-the-way-i-made-every-other-film-and-i-ve-done-it-to-my/) [Christopher Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nolan/) > [The quality of racing continues to excel with starters increasing to 1496,.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nolan/the-quality-of-racing-continues-to-excel-with-starters-increasing-to/) [Christopher Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nolan/) > [I remember the initial genesis quite clearly. My interest in dreams comes from this notion of realizing that when you dream you create the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nolan/i-remember-the-initial-genesis-quite-clearly-my-interest-in-dreams/) [Christopher Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nolan/) > [If I could steal someone's dream myself, I'd have to go for one of Orson Welles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nolan/if-i-could-steal-someone-s-dream-myself-i-d-have-to-go-for-one-of/) [Christopher Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nolan/) > [To me, any kind of filmmaking that's reactive is not going to be as good as something more inventive and original.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nolan/to-me-any-kind-of-filmmaking-that-s-reactive-is-not-going-to-be-as/) [Christopher Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nolan/) > [Why do we Fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves back up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nolan/why-do-we-fall-so-we-can-learn-to-pick-ourselves-back-up/) [Christopher Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nolan/) > [Every great story deserves a great ending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nolan/every-great-story-deserves-a-great-ending/) [Christopher Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nolan/) > [“(On "Following") We've got a pretty serious claim on being the cheapest film ever made.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nolan/on-following-we-ve-got-a-pretty-serious-claim-on-being-the-cheapest/) [Christopher Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nolan/) > [Particularly, the actors, to have analyzed the script in great detail from the point of view of their specific character. So that they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nolan/particularly-the-actors-to-have-analyzed-the-script-in-great-detail/) [Christopher Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nolan/) > [I've never read Joseph Campbell, and I don't know all that much about story archetypes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nolan/i-ve-never-read-joseph-campbell-and-i-don-t-know-all-that-much-about/) [Christopher Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nolan/) > [I'm taking a bit of a wait-and-see attitude towards 3D.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-nolan/i-m-taking-a-bit-of-a-wait-and-see-attitude-towards-3d/) [Christopher Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nolan/) [Explore all 155 Christopher Nolan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-nolan/) ## More Audience quotes > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It's those moments, those odd moments that you look for and sometimes by creating this kind of loose atmosphere you find those little moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-levinson/it-s-those-moments-those-odd-moments-that-you-look-for-and-sometimes/) [Barry Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-levinson/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [It's the adrenaline rush you only get from being in front of an audience. It's addictive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-saadiq/it-s-the-adrenaline-rush-you-only-get-from-being-in-front-of-an/) [Raphael Saadiq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-saadiq/) > [If I had to speak in front of a Korean audience, I would be hard pressed to sound other than a little girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/an-na/if-i-had-to-speak-in-front-of-a-korean-audience-i-would-be-hard/) [An Na](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/an-na/) > [The liveness of theater, and the excitement of experiencing it alongside an audience, is something you can't get at home. That makes the theater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-blaemire/the-liveness-of-theater-and-the-excitement-of-experiencing-it/) [Nick Blaemire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-blaemire/) > [One of the things that touches me most when I play for an audience is that although we may be unable to communicate in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/one-of-the-things-that-touches-me-most-when-i-play-for-an-audience-is/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) > [I have to feel the audience. I enjoy that feeling of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-have-to-feel-the-audience-i-enjoy-that-feeling-of-community/) [Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/) > [When you lived it for years and years and years and seen different characters just get pummeled and squashed because 'I said so,' it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-you-lived-it-for-years-and-years-and-years-and-seen-different/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [“During the first few minutes of your presentation, your job is to assure the audience members that you are not going to waste their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/during-the-first-few-minutes-of-your-presentation-your-job-is-to/) [Dale Ludwig and Greg Owen-Boger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. I've been trying to say for I don't know how many months now that the traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-is-a-different-ball-of-wax-i-ve-been-trying-to-say-for-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I don't think about who the audience is for my books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/i-don-t-think-about-who-the-audience-is-for-my-books/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [I feel I have been playing all primary characters. And if your character forms a connect with the audience, it doesn't matter if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angad-bedi/i-feel-i-have-been-playing-all-primary-characters-and-if-your/) [Angad Bedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angad-bedi/) > [When I was playing piano, it was like, 'I'm going to write a song using all the white keys.' My music director, who knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tesh/when-i-was-playing-piano-it-was-like-i-m-going-to-write-a-song-using/) [John Tesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tesh/) [Browse all 9,118 Audience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I've done really well so far in my career by trusting the audience to be as dissatisfied with convention as I am, as a film-goer. 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