--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,' which…" description: "\"'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,' which my father had tried to get made for six, seven years, and I for four, was turned down by every studio. Every s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/077/michael-douglas-2539_cuckoo_one-flew-over-the-cuckoo-s-nest-which-my_2701753.jpg" --- # 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,' which my father had… ![“'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,' which my father had tried to get made for six, seven years, and I for four, was turned down by every studio. Every studio in the world had passed on it.” quote by Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/077/michael-douglas-2539_cuckoo_one-flew-over-the-cuckoo-s-nest-which-my_2701753.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/077/michael-douglas-2539_cuckoo_one-flew-over-the-cuckoo-s-nest-which-my_2701753.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/077/michael-douglas-2539_cuckoo_one-flew-over-the-cuckoo-s-nest-which-my_2701753.jpg) > “'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,' which my father had tried to get made for six, seven years, and I for four, was turned down by every studio. Every studio in the world had passed on it.” [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Persistent rejection can be a catalyst for perseverance, highlighting the need to seek alternative paths when traditional avenues fail. **In simple terms:** Rejection can motivate new routes. Key Takeaway Keep pursuing despite setbacks. Themes perseverance creativity industry determination Mood determined realistic Type motivational cautionary When to use this quote - career planning - film production - entrepreneurship Key Concepts resilience alternative strategies visionary thinking Questions to Reflect On - What can you learn from repeated refusals? - How might you pivot your approach? A Different Perspective Not all rejections are final; timing matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“They're out there...One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/they-re-out-there-one-flew-over-the-cuckoo-s-nest/) [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) > [I loved the movie theater so I always saw a lot of movies. And then there was a play, I saw in the local…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-o-neill/i-loved-the-movie-theater-so-i-always-saw-a-lot-of-movies-and-then/) [Ed O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-o-neill/) > [“What we’ve got here is a lunatic genius ghost-in-the-computer monorail that likes riddles and goes faster than the speed of sound. Welcome to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/what-we-ve-got-here-is-a-lunatic-genius-ghost-in-the-computer/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“They're out there. First line of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/they-re-out-there-first-line-of-one-flew-over-the-cuckoo-s-nest/) [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) > [I turned down 'Cuckoo's Nest' four times before Jack got it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-caan/i-turned-down-cuckoo-s-nest-four-times-before-jack-got-it/) [James Caan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-caan/) > [If it weren't for 'Cuckoo's Nest,' it would be very difficult for me. It gave me a cushion to live at my artistic pace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milos-forman/if-it-weren-t-for-cuckoo-s-nest-it-would-be-very-difficult-for-me-it/) [Milos Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milos-forman/) > [One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' is a movie that I just find flawless. Jack Nicholson... I just saw 'The Shining' again the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-biehn/one-flew-over-the-cuckoo-s-nest-is-a-movie-that-i-just-find-flawless/) [Michael Biehn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-biehn/) > [I aspire to be Jack Nicholson. I love his every single mannerism. I used to try and be him in virtually everything I did,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pattinson/i-aspire-to-be-jack-nicholson-i-love-his-every-single-mannerism-i/) [Robert Pattinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pattinson/) > [What's the first image that comes to mind when you think of a mental hospital? Jack Nicholson in 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-norville/what-s-the-first-image-that-comes-to-mind-when-you-think-of-a-mental/) [Deborah Norville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-norville/) > [I love 30 Rock because Tina Fey allows me to fly over the cuckoo nest once a week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-morgan/i-love-30-rock-because-tina-fey-allows-me-to-fly-over-the-cuckoo-nest/) [Tracy Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-morgan/) > [“Yukiko steered the subject away from sex as fast as she could. She was still occasionally woken by nightmares about the day her father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-kristoff/yukiko-steered-the-subject-away-from-sex-as-fast-as-she-could-she-was/) [Jay Kristoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-kristoff/) > [“his dad “putting them on a table with me so I got to play with them.” He watched with fascination as his father tried…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/his-dad-putting-them-on-a-table-with-me-so-i-got-to-play-with-them-he/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“As he fell asleep, his mind tormented him with the image of one face; the man he had thought was his father. At first,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-craig/as-he-fell-asleep-his-mind-tormented-him-with-the-image-of-one-face/) Joe Craig > [“Amber’s father had once tried to sell her hand in marriage in order to settle his debts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-forrest/amber-s-father-had-once-tried-to-sell-her-hand-in-marriage-in-order/) [Bella Forrest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-forrest/) > [I love you dad. I wouldn't ask for anyone else to call my father. I have tried to model myself after you. Thank you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-love-you-dad-i-wouldn-t-ask-for-anyone-else-to-call-my-father-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Michael Douglas > [Directors have so much else to do besides tell actors what to do. There are so many issues and problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/directors-have-so-much-else-to-do-besides-tell-actors-what-to-do/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) > [I've gotten burnt the last few years on a couple of little independent films where you get paid nothing, you work your ass off,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/i-ve-gotten-burnt-the-last-few-years-on-a-couple-of-little/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) > [With little knowledge of what it meant to be a Jew, I found myself passionately defending the Jewish people. Now, half a century later,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/with-little-knowledge-of-what-it-meant-to-be-a-jew-i-found-myself/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) > [When you've accomplished a certain amount in your career, you're not so focused on your ambitions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/when-you-ve-accomplished-a-certain-amount-in-your-career-you-re-not/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) > [I don't look good in tights. I know that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/i-don-t-look-good-in-tights-i-know-that/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) > [My mother is Bermudan, so I had a lot of memories when I was a kid, used to go down to Bermuda a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/my-mother-is-bermudan-so-i-had-a-lot-of-memories-when-i-was-a-kid/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) > [I love kids, and I love having had this second chance to have a family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/i-love-kids-and-i-love-having-had-this-second-chance-to-have-a-family/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) > [I guess there are some women who like older men, but it's a smaller group.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/i-guess-there-are-some-women-who-like-older-men-but-it-s-a-smaller/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) > [People are goofy about the movie business, so you end up counting on friends you knew before you were successful. It is harder to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/people-are-goofy-about-the-movie-business-so-you-end-up-counting-on/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) > [I don't know about Brad Pitt leaving that beautiful woman to go hold orphans for Angelina. I mean how long is that going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/i-don-t-know-about-brad-pitt-leaving-that-beautiful-woman-to-go-hold/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) > [I enjoy provocative things that are questionable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/i-enjoy-provocative-things-that-are-questionable/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) > [I don't wish ill will on anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/i-don-t-wish-ill-will-on-anybody/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) > [When you are a celebrity, nothing remains secret for very long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/when-you-are-a-celebrity-nothing-remains-secret-for-very-long/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) > [When I go on a holiday to a tropical place, I'll spray tan before I go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/when-i-go-on-a-holiday-to-a-tropical-place-i-ll-spray-tan-before-i-go/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) > [I come from a tough stock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/i-come-from-a-tough-stock/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) [Explore all 162 Michael Douglas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) ## More Cuckoo quotes > [One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' is a movie that I just find flawless. Jack Nicholson... I just saw 'The Shining' again the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-biehn/one-flew-over-the-cuckoo-s-nest-is-a-movie-that-i-just-find-flawless/) [Michael Biehn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-biehn/) > [The beauty of a cuckoo is in its notes, that of a woman in her unalloyed devotion to her husband, that of an ugly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanakya/the-beauty-of-a-cuckoo-is-in-its-notes-that-of-a-woman-in-her/) [Chanakya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanakya/) > [We were surprised how closely the cuckoo imitated the clock-and yet, of course, it could never have heard a clock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/we-were-surprised-how-closely-the-cuckoo-imitated-the-clock-and-yet/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The first cuckoo's melancholy cry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/the-first-cuckoo-s-melancholy-cry/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > ['Cuckoo' really is one of the best shows I've ever been in. I'm genuinely excited and proud to be a part of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-baxendale/cuckoo-really-is-one-of-the-best-shows-i-ve-ever-been-in-i-m/) [Helen Baxendale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-baxendale/) > [I loved the movie theater so I always saw a lot of movies. And then there was a play, I saw in the local…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-o-neill/i-loved-the-movie-theater-so-i-always-saw-a-lot-of-movies-and-then/) [Ed O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-o-neill/) > [You know how people say awards don't mean anything? Hello! I think the energy around them makes everyone cuckoo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-dunst/you-know-how-people-say-awards-don-t-mean-anything-hello-i-think-the/) [Kirsten Dunst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsten-dunst/) > [The cuckoo who is on to himself is halfway out of the clock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilson-mizner/the-cuckoo-who-is-on-to-himself-is-halfway-out-of-the-clock/) [Wilson Mizner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilson-mizner/) > [“They're out there...One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/they-re-out-there-one-flew-over-the-cuckoo-s-nest/) [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) > [I don't drink coffee: it makes me cuckoo!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shenaz-treasury/i-don-t-drink-coffee-it-makes-me-cuckoo/) [Shenaz Treasury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shenaz-treasury/) > [Have I got a mother-in-law. She's so neat she puts paper under the cuckoo clock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henny-youngman/have-i-got-a-mother-in-law-she-s-so-neat-she-puts-paper-under-the/) [Henny Youngman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henny-youngman/) > [“What we’ve got here is a lunatic genius ghost-in-the-computer monorail that likes riddles and goes faster than the speed of sound. Welcome to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/what-we-ve-got-here-is-a-lunatic-genius-ghost-in-the-computer/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“They set off through the soft lingering light. One cuckoo in the depths of Layer Wood and one in the dense shrubbery of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norah-lofts/they-set-off-through-the-soft-lingering-light-one-cuckoo-in-the/) [Norah Lofts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norah-lofts/) > [“Do you know about the cuckoo bird, Jonathon Morgenstern?" Jace wonderwd if perhaps being the Inquisitor—it couldn't be a pleasant job—had left Imogen Herondale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/do-you-know-about-the-cuckoo-bird-jonathon-morgenstern-jace-wonderwd/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“East just twirls his hand in a circle by his head. Cuckoo. His sentiments on the matter are clear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cece-rose/east-just-twirls-his-hand-in-a-circle-by-his-head-cuckoo-his/) [Cece Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cece-rose/) Browse all 56 Cuckoo quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,' which my father had tried to get made for six, seven years, and I for four, was turned down by every studio. Every studio in the world had passed on it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Douglas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/one-flew-over-the-cuckoo-s-nest-which-my-father-had-tried-to-get-made/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cuckoo" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/one-flew-over-the-cuckoo-s-nest-which-my-father-had-tried-to-get-made/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/077/michael-douglas-2539_cuckoo_one-flew-over-the-cuckoo-s-nest-which-my_2701753.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/077/michael-douglas-2539_cuckoo_one-flew-over-the-cuckoo-s-nest-which-my_2701753.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/077/michael-douglas-2539_cuckoo_one-flew-over-the-cuckoo-s-nest-which-my_2701753.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,' which my father had tried to get made for six, seven years, and I for…” — Michael Douglas", "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": "Michael Douglas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,'...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/one-flew-over-the-cuckoo-s-nest-which-my-father-had-tried-to-get-made/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/one-flew-over-the-cuckoo-s-nest-which-my-father-had-tried-to-get-made/#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 } } ] } ```