--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't want to sound arrogant and say…" description: "\"I don't want to sound arrogant and say that I know everything about directing and I've got it cracked, but it was just all in all a joyous experience. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f6/dan-mazer-31559_arrogant_i-don-t-want-to-sound-arrogant-and-say-t_250063.jpg" --- # I don't want to sound arrogant and say that I know… ![“I don't want to sound arrogant and say that I know everything about directing and I've got it cracked, but it was just all in all a joyous experience. To me, the key to directing, to be honest, is just surround yourself with brilliant people and let them do their thing” quote by Dan Mazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f6/dan-mazer-31559_arrogant_i-don-t-want-to-sound-arrogant-and-say-t_250063.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f6/dan-mazer-31559_arrogant_i-don-t-want-to-sound-arrogant-and-say-t_250063.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f6/dan-mazer-31559_arrogant_i-don-t-want-to-sound-arrogant-and-say-t_250063.jpg) > “I don't want to sound arrogant and say that I know everything about directing and I've got it cracked, but it was just all in all a joyous experience. To me, the key to directing, to be honest, is just surround yourself with brilliant people and let them do their thing” [Dan Mazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mazer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Directing succeeds when you trust talented collaborators and enjoy the process rather than claiming total control. **In simple terms:** Great directing needs trust and joy. Key Takeaway Focus on building a brilliant team. Themes collaboration leadership creativity Mood enthusiastic reflective Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - film set - theatre production - advertising campaign - video game development - music video shoot Key Concepts trust team dynamics creative process Questions to Reflect On - How do you identify brilliant collaborators? - What practices keep the environment joyful? A Different Perspective If the team lacks talent, trust alone cannot compensate. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arrogant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogant/) [Being honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-honest/) [Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brilliant/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Joyous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joyous/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) ## Related quotes > [Going to the theater is such a joyous experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-roberts/going-to-the-theater-is-such-a-joyous-experience/) [Julia Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-roberts/) > [Going to the theater is such a joyous experience. My dad would take my sister and me to plays when we were very young,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-roberts/going-to-the-theater-is-such-a-joyous-experience-my-dad-would-take-my/) [Julia Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-roberts/) > [The music and lyrics of Rodgers & Hammerstein connect seamlessly. Singing those beautiful songs was a joyous experience for me, and one that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-andrews/the-music-and-lyrics-of-rodgers-hammerstein-connect-seamlessly/) [Julie Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-andrews/) > [Shooting 'West Side' really was a joyous experience, and to use the term that Tony Kushner has said in interviews that I've read of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-faist/shooting-west-side-really-was-a-joyous-experience-and-to-use-the-term/) [Mike Faist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-faist/) > [If there's anything I know about directing, it's how to make actors comfortable. It's where I started and it's what I know, and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cameron-mitchell/if-there-s-anything-i-know-about-directing-it-s-how-to-make-actors/) [John Cameron Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cameron-mitchell/) > [I still don't know much about directing a movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-alexander/i-still-don-t-know-much-about-directing-a-movie/) [Jason Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-alexander/) > [The fact is, you don't know what directing is until the sun is setting and you've got to get five shots and you're only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fincher/the-fact-is-you-don-t-know-what-directing-is-until-the-sun-is-setting/) [David Fincher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fincher/) > [I like acting better than anything else, but, you know, directing's good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-wiseau/i-like-acting-better-than-anything-else-but-you-know-directing-s-good/) [Tommy Wiseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-wiseau/) > [I don't know why directing is not something I'm interested in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-don-t-know-why-directing-is-not-something-i-m-interested-in/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [I don't know anything about directing, but if you love actors, know your story and hire a great company, then anyone can direct a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hedges/i-don-t-know-anything-about-directing-but-if-you-love-actors-know/) [Peter Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hedges/) > [I pretty much know that directing means that you have to answer about a thousand questions every day and you have to answer them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-hanks/i-pretty-much-know-that-directing-means-that-you-have-to-answer-about/) [Colin Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-hanks/) > [But I didn't know much about directing a movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-alexander/but-i-didn-t-know-much-about-directing-a-movie/) [Jason Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-alexander/) > [To write, you have to know how to act and know about directing. To act, you also need to know how to write and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tate-taylor/to-write-you-have-to-know-how-to-act-and-know-about-directing-to-act/) [Tate Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tate-taylor/) > [For many years I thought, "Well, I need to know a lot more to direct." But I looked around and watched all the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-foner-gyllenhaal/for-many-years-i-thought-well-i-need-to-know-a-lot-more-to-direct-but/) [Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-foner-gyllenhaal/) > [Directing ain't about drawing a neat little picture and showing it to the cameraman. I didn't want to go to film school. I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fincher/directing-ain-t-about-drawing-a-neat-little-picture-and-showing-it-to/) [David Fincher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fincher/) ## More by Dan Mazer > [I like to foster an atmosphere on set of collaboration and openness and risk taking. The beauty is when you have such brilliantly talented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mazer/i-like-to-foster-an-atmosphere-on-set-of-collaboration-and-openness/) [Dan Mazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mazer/) > [I've been on lots of film sets. I've produced films and written films and been around, so it wasn't my first rodeo in terms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mazer/i-ve-been-on-lots-of-film-sets-i-ve-produced-films-and-written-films/) [Dan Mazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mazer/) > [It's incredibly easy as a director to be egotistical. Of course, it is because you have 200 people on set every day listening to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mazer/it-s-incredibly-easy-as-a-director-to-be-egotistical-of-course-it-is/) [Dan Mazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mazer/) > [My casting process was slightly different and slightly interesting insofar as I knew everybody could act. That's something you've seen. You know people can.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mazer/my-casting-process-was-slightly-different-and-slightly-interesting/) [Dan Mazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mazer/) > [So, as opposed to getting people in to read the script and read scenes with me, what I wanted to do was sit down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mazer/so-as-opposed-to-getting-people-in-to-read-the-script-and-read-scenes/) [Dan Mazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mazer/) > [I think improvisation is really crucial in terms of making things feel real and authentic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mazer/i-think-improvisation-is-really-crucial-in-terms-of-making-things/) [Dan Mazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mazer/) > [I think actors like to be directed. Actors like to know where they're headed and what they want, so I'm very encouraging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mazer/i-think-actors-like-to-be-directed-actors-like-to-know-where-they-re/) [Dan Mazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mazer/) > [And then, movie-wise, I'm writing a couple of things. They're all comedies. It's the only way I know. I'm also being sent scripts, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mazer/and-then-movie-wise-i-m-writing-a-couple-of-things-they-re-all/) [Dan Mazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mazer/) > [It's tough to make funny films. And the truth is, with this process, especially if you write your own movie, then you're giving three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mazer/it-s-tough-to-make-funny-films-and-the-truth-is-with-this-process/) [Dan Mazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mazer/) > [In terms of magnifying it and making it plausible, I'm a great believer in truth in comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mazer/in-terms-of-magnifying-it-and-making-it-plausible-i-m-a-great/) [Dan Mazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mazer/) > [To me, there was an interesting movie to be made about two people who had been on that whirlwind romance and what happens after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mazer/to-me-there-was-an-interesting-movie-to-be-made-about-two-people-who/) [Dan Mazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mazer/) > [I know what I want. I try and convey that at the beginning and set that out, but within those parameters, I'm very happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mazer/i-know-what-i-want-i-try-and-convey-that-at-the-beginning-and-set/) [Dan Mazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mazer/) > [With directing, your day is done. When you hit seven o'clock, it's "Cut." That's what it is. For better or worse, that's what you've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mazer/with-directing-your-day-is-done-when-you-hit-seven-o-clock-it-s-cut/) [Dan Mazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mazer/) > [You sit down in the morning on your own to write something. You get to the end of the day and it's not like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mazer/you-sit-down-in-the-morning-on-your-own-to-write-something-you-get-to/) [Dan Mazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mazer/) > [I learned that I enjoy directing a lot more than I enjoy writing, which is interesting, because writing is lonely and infamous basically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mazer/i-learned-that-i-enjoy-directing-a-lot-more-than-i-enjoy-writing/) [Dan Mazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mazer/) [Explore all 16 Dan Mazer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mazer/) ## More Arrogant quotes > [How arrogant - how very far from humility - would be the self-satisfied, smug assurance that God, a tidy-up-after-us God will come and clean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/how-arrogant-how-very-far-from-humility-would-be-the-self-satisfied/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [ \[T\]he tax code has been piling up, year after year, a symbol of everything gone wrong in America, of arrogant rulers and lost freedom,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-armey/t-he-tax-code-has-been-piling-up-year-after-year-a-symbol-of/) [Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-armey/) > [What I would say to filmmakers, if I may be so bold or so arrogant, is to draw inspiration from other filmmakers, but go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/what-i-would-say-to-filmmakers-if-i-may-be-so-bold-or-so-arrogant-is/) [Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/) > [In politics we face the choice between warmongering, nation-state loving, big-business agents on one hand; and risk-blind, top-down, epistemic arrogant big servants of large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/in-politics-we-face-the-choice-between-warmongering-nation-state/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [I absolutely hate arrogant people, irks me to no end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-absolutely-hate-arrogant-people-irks-me-to-no-end/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Splutter, splutter. Yes - we're off - we're rising. But why start off with an engine like that? But it smooths out now, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/splutter-splutter-yes-we-re-off-we-re-rising-but-why-start-off-with/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [Mourinho is a bit arrogant, but you've got to like him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-nicol/mourinho-is-a-bit-arrogant-but-you-ve-got-to-like-him/) [Steve Nicol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-nicol/) > [Some say work smarter, not harder, but the wisest are both. Whether you're more of a hard worker or a smart worker, if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colby-tatem/some-say-work-smarter-not-harder-but-the-wisest-are-both-whether-you/) [Colby Tatem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colby-tatem/) > [I was spoiled and I was arrogant. I was very demanding, had an overblown image of who I was and got a reputation for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judge-reinhold/i-was-spoiled-and-i-was-arrogant-i-was-very-demanding-had-an/) [Judge Reinhold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judge-reinhold/) > [We are not being arrogant or complacent when we are said that our country, as a united nation, has never in its entire history,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/we-are-not-being-arrogant-or-complacent-when-we-are-said-that-our/) [Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/) > [“So you intend to go through life never loving anyone? Just … things?” “No. I’m looking for something more.” “More than love?” “Yes.” “Is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-ahdieh/so-you-intend-to-go-through-life-never-loving-anyone-just-things-no-i/) [Renee Ahdieh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renee-ahdieh/) > [People are tired of wasteful government programs and welfare chiselers, and they are angry about the constant spiral of taxes and government regulations, arrogant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/people-are-tired-of-wasteful-government-programs-and-welfare/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [“He was a man. Handsome as sin, arrogant as fuck, and in need of at least one woman to prove he wasn’t God’s gift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-blue/he-was-a-man-handsome-as-sin-arrogant-as-fuck-and-in-need-of-at-least/) [Melissa Blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-blue/) > [Being nice to people gets you nowhere. Being arrogant gets you nowhere. Blackmail, now that's a thing that will get you everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-nice-to-people-gets-you-nowhere-being-arrogant-gets-you-nowhere/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's amusing how arrogant people can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-amusing-how-arrogant-people-can-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 1,146 Arrogant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogant/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't want to sound arrogant and say that I know everything about directing and I've got it cracked, but it was just all in all a joyous experience. 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