--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are many directors in the middle…" description: "\"There are many directors in the middle range who've made mostly successful pictures, and then there are a few great directors who've had some successes..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f7/jack-nicholson-1283_categories_there-are-many-directors-in-the-middle-r_1493183.jpg" --- # There are many directors in the middle range who've made… ![“There are many directors in the middle range who've made mostly successful pictures, and then there are a few great directors who've had some successes and some failures. I suppose my life would be smoother if I wasn't almost totally enamored of the latter category.” quote by Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f7/jack-nicholson-1283_categories_there-are-many-directors-in-the-middle-r_1493183.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f7/jack-nicholson-1283_categories_there-are-many-directors-in-the-middle-r_1493183.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f7/jack-nicholson-1283_categories_there-are-many-directors-in-the-middle-r_1493183.jpg) > “There are many directors in the middle range who've made mostly successful pictures, and then there are a few great directors who've had some successes and some failures. I suppose my life would be smoother if I wasn't almost totally enamored of the latter category.” [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Great directors balance successes and failures, while lesser ones stay safe; risk drives excellence. **In simple terms:** Risk leads to greatness. Key Takeaway Embrace calculated risks. Themes risk excellence creativity Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - film production - entrepreneurship Key Concepts leadership artistic vision Questions to Reflect On - What risks could elevate your work? - How do you measure acceptable failure? A Different Perspective Constant risk can cause burnout or financial loss. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Categories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/categories/) [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Directors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/directors/) [Directors Middle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/directors-middle-5458884/) [Directors Ve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/directors-ve-1276732/) [Enamored](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enamored/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Great Directors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-directors/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Latter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/latter/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Middle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle/) [Range](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/range/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) [Successful Pictures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful-pictures-5458885/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [I want to work with great directors. I've picked films based on the script or the character and seen them collapse because the directors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-taylor-johnson/i-want-to-work-with-great-directors-i-ve-picked-films-based-on-the/) [Aaron Taylor-Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-taylor-johnson/) > [Most of the great directors I've worked with - De Palma, Spike Lee - like rehearsals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-leguizamo/most-of-the-great-directors-i-ve-worked-with-de-palma-spike-lee-like/) [John Leguizamo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-leguizamo/) > [All of these great directors I've worked with, they've all come to me. I never go after it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/udo-kier/all-of-these-great-directors-i-ve-worked-with-they-ve-all-come-to-me/) [Udo Kier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/udo-kier/) > [I like special directors, and I've collected a few.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/udo-kier/i-like-special-directors-and-i-ve-collected-a-few/) [Udo Kier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/udo-kier/) > [Directors don't get to see other directors at work - they're the only one on the set. I've met directors who've asked me what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/directors-don-t-get-to-see-other-directors-at-work-they-re-the-only/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) > [I've learned so many things from directors in my acting career. There are even some things I've learned that I didn't want to do.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valeria-golino/i-ve-learned-so-many-things-from-directors-in-my-acting-career-there/) [Valeria Golino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valeria-golino/) > [All of the directors I've worked with I've gotten along with very well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-rabin/all-of-the-directors-i-ve-worked-with-i-ve-gotten-along-with-very-well/) [Trevor Rabin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-rabin/) > [I've been on a lot of sets, and I've been around a lot of directors, and I've been working for many years now, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-eggold/i-ve-been-on-a-lot-of-sets-and-i-ve-been-around-a-lot-of-directors/) [Ryan Eggold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-eggold/) > [I've liked all the directors I've worked with a lot. And the ones I like best are the ones that have really good taste…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-burstyn/i-ve-liked-all-the-directors-i-ve-worked-with-a-lot-and-the-ones-i/) [Ellen Burstyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-burstyn/) > [I've learnt on set with different directors I've worked with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohit-saraf/i-ve-learnt-on-set-with-different-directors-i-ve-worked-with/) [Rohit Saraf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohit-saraf/) > [ \[Bong Joon-ho'\] is quite different but technically, he is as clever as \[Alfred\] Hitchcock. That's saying something. In humanitarian terms, I think he is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hurt/bong-joon-ho-is-quite-different-but-technically-he-is-as-clever-as/) [John Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hurt/) > [In my experience, the best directors I've worked with hired people for a purpose. They hire them with trust. There's not many notes. There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hedlund/in-my-experience-the-best-directors-i-ve-worked-with-hired-people-for/) [Garrett Hedlund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hedlund/) > [I think all of the directors I've worked with are mostly curious about the time I had on 'Eyes Wide Shut.' They really just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinessa-shaw/i-think-all-of-the-directors-i-ve-worked-with-are-mostly-curious/) [Vinessa Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinessa-shaw/) > [I've worked with very few directors who've asked of me what I asked of myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asia-argento/i-ve-worked-with-very-few-directors-who-ve-asked-of-me-what-i-asked/) [Asia Argento](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asia-argento/) > [I've been very lucky. Directors I've worked with have been very amenable to changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/i-ve-been-very-lucky-directors-i-ve-worked-with-have-been-very/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) ## More by Jack Nicholson > [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [Women are sort of like motorcycle gangs with me. They get really shy and polite. I don't know why.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/women-are-sort-of-like-motorcycle-gangs-with-me-they-get-really-shy/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [I love writing, but I stopped because I felt I was more effective approaching filmmaking from a different vantage point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/i-love-writing-but-i-stopped-because-i-felt-i-was-more-effective/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [I've been too many places. I'm like the bad penny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/i-ve-been-too-many-places-i-m-like-the-bad-penny/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [I was invited to join the MGM cartoon department. But if I'd started work in animation I'd have had to take a cut in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/i-was-invited-to-join-the-mgm-cartoon-department-but-if-i-d-started/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [I don't play golf competitively. I tell everybody that I cheat so they won't gamble with me. That's why you can't watch football. Everybody's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/i-don-t-play-golf-competitively-i-tell-everybody-that-i-cheat-so-they/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [I'm such a perfectionist. I always feel overpraised or whatever. In the abstract, I know I'm a good person, a good professional. But it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/i-m-such-a-perfectionist-i-always-feel-overpraised-or-whatever-in-the/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [Men dominate because of physicality, and thus they have mercy where women do not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/men-dominate-because-of-physicality-and-thus-they-have-mercy-where/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [I think it's good if a man gives a woman some time to herself because I think we all need that and we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/i-think-it-s-good-if-a-man-gives-a-woman-some-time-to-herself-because/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [The most difficult thing about being well known? Getting out of a hotel room at 4am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/the-most-difficult-thing-about-being-well-known-getting-out-of-a/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [ He \[Castro\] is a genius. We spoke about everything. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/he-castro-is-a-genius-we-spoke-about-everything/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [I've always had an urge to feed my need to have fun and feel free. I don't see any interesting alternatives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/i-ve-always-had-an-urge-to-feed-my-need-to-have-fun-and-feel-free-i/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [Take caution in your tone, commander. I'm a fair man, but this -- heat is making me absolutely crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/take-caution-in-your-tone-commander-i-m-a-fair-man-but-this-heat-is/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [The stage has a certain discipline. But the ultimate standard is more exacting in film, because you have to see yourself and you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/the-stage-has-a-certain-discipline-but-the-ultimate-standard-is-more/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [Comedy is much harder, it's a lot more exacting. You can't just be real and you can't just use the same kind of techniques…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/comedy-is-much-harder-it-s-a-lot-more-exacting-you-can-t-just-be-real/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) [Explore all 261 Jack Nicholson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) ## More Categories quotes > [...the number of saintly men has not yet risen to the level where the census makes them a separate statistical category.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-stigler/the-number-of-saintly-men-has-not-yet-risen-to-the-level-where-the/) [George Stigler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-stigler/) > [As a politician - particularly as a politician in a coalition - you quickly realise that compromise is a part of the game. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-davey/as-a-politician-particularly-as-a-politician-in-a-coalition-you/) [Edward Davey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-davey/) > [I've worked with jazz artists, country artists, classical artists, pop artists. I never wanted there to be categories, because when I was a kid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-mcknight/i-ve-worked-with-jazz-artists-country-artists-classical-artists-pop/) [Brian McKnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-mcknight/) > [ I don't think in national categories. For me it \[policy\] is about concepts and substance. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-claude-juncker/i-don-t-think-in-national-categories-for-me-it-policy-is-about/) [Jean-Claude Juncker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-claude-juncker/) > [Virtually every major technological advance in the history of the human species- back to the invention of stone tools and the domestication of fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/virtually-every-major-technological-advance-in-the-history-of-the/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [We don't need to complicate all the "reasons" behind our emotions. It's much simpler than that. Two categories .. good feelings, bad feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-byrne/we-don-t-need-to-complicate-all-the-reasons-behind-our-emotions-it-s/) [Rhonda Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-byrne/) > [I put the truth out there, I put the historical facts into Hip Hop to show us how much history repeats itself and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immortal-technique/i-put-the-truth-out-there-i-put-the-historical-facts-into-hip-hop-to/) [Immortal Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immortal-technique/) > [I am devoting my lecture in this seminar to a discussion of the possibility that we are now entering a Jewish century, a time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-a-siegel/i-am-devoting-my-lecture-in-this-seminar-to-a-discussion-of-the/) [Martin A. Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-a-siegel/) > [A top World War II ace once said that fighter pilots fall into two broad categories: those who go out to kill and those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-top-world-war-ii-ace-once-said-that-fighter-pilots-fall-into-two/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No, I don't like legend. I mean, I don't like the category. And to begin with, to me, a legend is something that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-bacall/no-i-don-t-like-legend-i-mean-i-don-t-like-the-category-and-to-begin/) [Lauren Bacall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-bacall/) > [ I read so ravenously that I would read through whole categories. I was crazy about reading biographies. \[...\] I think biographies are very urgent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-read-so-ravenously-that-i-would-read-through-whole-categories-i-was/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [... the notions category and functor were not formulated or put in print until the idea of a natural transformation was also at hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saunders-mac-lane/the-notions-category-and-functor-were-not-formulated-or-put-in-print/) [Saunders Mac Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saunders-mac-lane/) > [Last guy I was interested in turned out to be an incestuous necrophiliac," she said. "So no, not currently dating, and definitely not doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/last-guy-i-was-interested-in-turned-out-to-be-an-incestuous/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Culture exists and evolves to relegate to habit categories of interactions the constant conscious reference to which would make human interaction impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/culture-exists-and-evolves-to-relegate-to-habit-categories-of/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [I am disappointed by this controversy surrounding A Million Little Pieces because I rely on the publishers to define the category that a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/i-am-disappointed-by-this-controversy-surrounding-a-million-little/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) [Browse all 927 Categories quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/categories/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There are many directors in the middle range who've made mostly successful pictures, and then there are a few great directors who've had some successes and some failures. 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