--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Well, I think if you're telling a story…" description: "\"Well, I think if you're telling a story, a three act structure will just naturally emerge out of it. But I also love it when a film doesn't feel like i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b68/panos-cosmatos-10908_cinema_well-i-think-if-you-re-telling-a-story-a_1207172.jpg" --- # Well, I think if you're telling a story, a three act… ![“Well, I think if you're telling a story, a three act structure will just naturally emerge out of it. But I also love it when a film doesn't feel like it's anchored too rigidly to that structure and you feel like anything could happen.” quote by Panos Cosmatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b68/panos-cosmatos-10908_cinema_well-i-think-if-you-re-telling-a-story-a_1207172.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b68/panos-cosmatos-10908_cinema_well-i-think-if-you-re-telling-a-story-a_1207172.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b68/panos-cosmatos-10908_cinema_well-i-think-if-you-re-telling-a-story-a_1207172.jpg) > “Well, I think if you're telling a story, a three act structure will just naturally emerge out of it. But I also love it when a film doesn't feel like it's anchored too rigidly to that structure and you feel like anything could happen.” [Panos Cosmatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/panos-cosmatos/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A three‑act narrative often forms itself, yet flexibility allows unexpected possibilities in storytelling. **In simple terms:** Stories tend to follow three acts, but can be fluid. Key Takeaway Embrace structure but stay open to surprise. Themes storytelling structure creativity flexibility Mood curious inspired Type analytical creative When to use this quote - scriptwriting - directing - improvisational scenes - experimental cinema Key Concepts narrative arcs organic development genre blending Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance structure with spontaneity? - When does flexibility risk losing coherence? A Different Perspective Rigid adherence can stifle originality and limit emotional impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [I think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-think/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Story Act](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-act-3643829/) [Structure Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structure-feel-3643828/) [Telling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling/) [Telling A Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-a-story/) [Telling Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-story/) [Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/will/) ## Related quotes > [“Telling a story is like reaching into a granary full of wheat and drawing out a handful. There is always more to tell than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/telling-a-story-is-like-reaching-into-a-granary-full-of-wheat-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The most important thing to realise is that everyone is capable of telling a story. It doesn't matter where we were born or how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maeve-binchy/the-most-important-thing-to-realise-is-that-everyone-is-capable-of/) [Maeve Binchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maeve-binchy/) > [“A sub-division’s predictable patterns, rigid lines, and ordered structure might feel calming. Normally, they feel segregating and stifling, but for once, I’m scared of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blair-mastbaum/a-sub-division-s-predictable-patterns-rigid-lines-and-ordered/) [Blair Mastbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blair-mastbaum/) > [Listening to someone telling a story & thinking: Lie, lie, lie, lie, lie, and lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/listening-to-someone-telling-a-story-thinking-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am not interested only in telling a story, but I want to tell it my way. I don't want my accent, my temperament,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haile-gerima/i-am-not-interested-only-in-telling-a-story-but-i-want-to-tell-it-my/) [Haile Gerima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haile-gerima/) > [I always want to make sure I'm telling a story about people that I care about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/i-always-want-to-make-sure-i-m-telling-a-story-about-people-that-i/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) > [If you're a fan of anything I do, I'm always telling a story. I'm into that - I like it when you don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-east/if-you-re-a-fan-of-anything-i-do-i-m-always-telling-a-story-i-m-into/) [Dave East](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-east/) > [I have to go with what I do, and what I do has more to do with what people say to each other than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-have-to-go-with-what-i-do-and-what-i-do-has-more-to-do-with-what/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [“Funny though… and many of you know this… given a bit of slack, I’ll wander all over the place when telling a story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hocking/funny-though-and-many-of-you-know-this-given-a-bit-of-slack-i-ll/) [Bob Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hocking/) > [That sad moment when you're telling a story but you realize nobody's listening to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-sad-moment-when-you-re-telling-a-story-but-you-realize-nobody-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Telling a story of illness, one pulls a thread through a narrow opening flanked on one side by shame and the other by trivia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-griffin/telling-a-story-of-illness-one-pulls-a-thread-through-a-narrow/) [Susan Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-griffin/) > [“Telling a story is like playing a fiddle. No one want's to hear it when it's done badly”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/telling-a-story-is-like-playing-a-fiddle-no-one-want-s-to-hear-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [This is what I thought: for the most banal even to become an adventure, you must (and this is enough) begin to recount it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/this-is-what-i-thought-for-the-most-banal-even-to-become-an-adventure/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [Being an actor is an extension of telling a story and I loved story telling as a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-burton/being-an-actor-is-an-extension-of-telling-a-story-and-i-loved-story/) [Amanda Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-burton/) > [Story is about pulling the reader in and a plot is a more externalized mechanism of revelation. A plot is more antic, more performative,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-enright/story-is-about-pulling-the-reader-in-and-a-plot-is-a-more/) [Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/) ## More by Panos Cosmatos > [I've had a VHS collection for many, many years. But I would prefer to watch a movie in the best format possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/panos-cosmatos/i-ve-had-a-vhs-collection-for-many-many-years-but-i-would-prefer-to/) [Panos Cosmatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/panos-cosmatos/) > [My goal from the very beginning was to make very visually lush, juicy films that you can really sink your teeth into. That's always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/panos-cosmatos/my-goal-from-the-very-beginning-was-to-make-very-visually-lush-juicy/) [Panos Cosmatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/panos-cosmatos/) > [I try to look at the films as I make them from a distance, in a way. I think of them as kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/panos-cosmatos/i-try-to-look-at-the-films-as-i-make-them-from-a-distance-in-a-way-i/) [Panos Cosmatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/panos-cosmatos/) > [In the night there's sometimes a sort of cursed quality to the Pacific Northwest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/panos-cosmatos/in-the-night-there-s-sometimes-a-sort-of-cursed-quality-to-the/) [Panos Cosmatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/panos-cosmatos/) > [Well, when I was really young and we lived in Sweden, the only films that were around at that point were... We had this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/panos-cosmatos/well-when-i-was-really-young-and-we-lived-in-sweden-the-only-films/) [Panos Cosmatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/panos-cosmatos/) > [I think what I was unconsciously expressing in 'Black Rainbow' was a very abstract and metaphorical grief, in the way I had suppressed my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/panos-cosmatos/i-think-what-i-was-unconsciously-expressing-in-black-rainbow-was-a/) [Panos Cosmatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/panos-cosmatos/) > [I think most religious belief structures are essentially like mind viruses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/panos-cosmatos/i-think-most-religious-belief-structures-are-essentially-like-mind/) [Panos Cosmatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/panos-cosmatos/) > [I don't know anybody who goes horseback riding at sunset, but everybody watches TV and eats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/panos-cosmatos/i-don-t-know-anybody-who-goes-horseback-riding-at-sunset-but/) [Panos Cosmatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/panos-cosmatos/) > [Certain things just rub me the wrong way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/panos-cosmatos/certain-things-just-rub-me-the-wrong-way/) [Panos Cosmatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/panos-cosmatos/) > [We moved around a lot when I was younger. I never really felt at home until we moved to Canada, but even then, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/panos-cosmatos/we-moved-around-a-lot-when-i-was-younger-i-never-really-felt-at-home/) [Panos Cosmatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/panos-cosmatos/) > [I just find there's nothing funnier and more scary than a delusional man who thinks they're the center of the universe, and in fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/panos-cosmatos/i-just-find-there-s-nothing-funnier-and-more-scary-than-a-delusional/) [Panos Cosmatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/panos-cosmatos/) > [My mother died in 1997 and I spiralled into this self-destructive vortex of trying to annihilate my consciousness. I was afraid to face the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/panos-cosmatos/my-mother-died-in-1997-and-i-spiralled-into-this-self-destructive/) [Panos Cosmatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/panos-cosmatos/) > [A lot of films mistake convolutedness for complexity. To me, a simple story can be a powerful spine to build around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/panos-cosmatos/a-lot-of-films-mistake-convolutedness-for-complexity-to-me-a-simple/) [Panos Cosmatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/panos-cosmatos/) > [The thing I do miss about the way some sequels were in the past was that each film felt like its own unique, complete…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/panos-cosmatos/the-thing-i-do-miss-about-the-way-some-sequels-were-in-the-past-was/) [Panos Cosmatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/panos-cosmatos/) > [I was, like, 'I really wanna see an Eric Rohmer movie take place in a Bert I. Gordon universe.' Where there's a story going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/panos-cosmatos/i-was-like-i-really-wanna-see-an-eric-rohmer-movie-take-place-in-a/) [Panos Cosmatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/panos-cosmatos/) [Explore all 62 Panos Cosmatos quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/panos-cosmatos/) ## More Cinema quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [You have to have a great director to make a great movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thelma-schoonmaker/you-have-to-have-a-great-director-to-make-a-great-movie/) [Thelma Schoonmaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thelma-schoonmaker/) > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [There was a time in the 1980s when I worked in 22 films a year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radha-ravi/there-was-a-time-in-the-1980s-when-i-worked-in-22-films-a-year/) [Radha Ravi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radha-ravi/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [In the future, I would like to do more films with contemporary themes. Perhaps comedy, which is something I have done in theater but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/in-the-future-i-would-like-to-do-more-films-with-contemporary-themes/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [I love film people and actors and I am in the right world because I am one of those people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewan-mcgregor/i-love-film-people-and-actors-and-i-am-in-the-right-world-because-i/) [Ewan McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ewan-mcgregor/) > [Personally, I prefer contemporary films, but the market calls for more period choices, especially since China opened up a cinema market in Hong Kong.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-yen/personally-i-prefer-contemporary-films-but-the-market-calls-for-more/) [Donnie Yen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-yen/) > [I'd love to work in the States; I'd love to work anywhere where you get a good script and a good part to play.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-carmichael/i-d-love-to-work-in-the-states-i-d-love-to-work-anywhere-where-you/) [Laura Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-carmichael/) > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > ['Rear Window' isn't really a horror film, but it is a psychological drama, which I love. It is very tense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-silvers/rear-window-isn-t-really-a-horror-film-but-it-is-a-psychological/) [Diana Silvers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-silvers/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) [Jessica Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-yu/) > [I am not interested in churning out a certain number of films every year. For me, it's about the quality of work. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepika-padukone/i-am-not-interested-in-churning-out-a-certain-number-of-films-every/) [Deepika Padukone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepika-padukone/) [Browse all 23,940 Cinema quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Well, I think if you're telling a story, a three act structure will just naturally emerge out of it. 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