--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think I can do whatever I want with…" description: "\"I think I can do whatever I want with fiction, but the more documentary it is, the better it will be because that's what I'm good at. I'm good at obser..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3b/robert-greene-498_behavior_i-think-i-can-do-whatever-i-want-with-fi_2136185.png" --- # I think I can do whatever I want with fiction, but the… ![“I think I can do whatever I want with fiction, but the more documentary it is, the better it will be because that's what I'm good at. I'm good at observing people's behavior and putting these unspoken things into movie contexts in ways that other people can sometimes miss.” quote by Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3b/robert-greene-498_behavior_i-think-i-can-do-whatever-i-want-with-fi_2136185.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3b/robert-greene-498_behavior_i-think-i-can-do-whatever-i-want-with-fi_2136185.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3b/robert-greene-498_behavior_i-think-i-can-do-whatever-i-want-with-fi_2136185.png) > “I think I can do whatever I want with fiction, but the more documentary it is, the better it will be because that's what I'm good at. I'm good at observing people's behavior and putting these unspoken things into movie contexts in ways that other people can sometimes miss.” [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Documentary style suits the creator because it lets him translate observed human behavior into visual storytelling that others miss. **In simple terms:** He excels at turning real life into film. Key Takeaway Focus on authentic observation to enhance storytelling. Themes creativity observation storytelling Mood reflective inspirational Type artistic educational When to use this quote - film projects - writing workshops - creative brainstorming Key Concepts documentary filmmaking human behavior analysis Questions to Reflect On - How does observation shape narrative authenticity? - When is imagination more valuable than realism? A Different Perspective May limit exploration of purely imaginative narratives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Can do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-do/) [Documentaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentaries/) [Documentary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentary/) [Documentary Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentary-better-4426500/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction Documentary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-documentary-468594/) [Good Observing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-observing-695488/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Missing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/missing/) [Movie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movie/) [Observing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observing/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People's Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peoples-behavior/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Unspoken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unspoken/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-fiction-455590/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [When I think about the new film, I think I can do whatever I want with fiction, but the more documentary it is, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/when-i-think-about-the-new-film-i-think-i-can-do-whatever-i-want-with/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [I eat raw vegetables. But my 30 for 30 documentary better include sit-down interviews with Ronald McDonald, Colonel Sanders and Little Debbie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-whitlock/i-eat-raw-vegetables-but-my-30-for-30-documentary-better-include-sit/) [Jason Whitlock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-whitlock/) > [I'm good at observing people, physical stuff, which leant itself to acting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-walsh/i-m-good-at-observing-people-physical-stuff-which-leant-itself-to/) [Bradley Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-walsh/) > [I've always found that I personally love to observe things, and I'm good at observing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-johnson/i-ve-always-found-that-i-personally-love-to-observe-things-and-i-m/) [Jamie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-johnson/) > [It's difficult to make movies. For me it was easier, as a refugee in Switzerland, to make documentary films, because I didn't need a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mano-khalil/it-s-difficult-to-make-movies-for-me-it-was-easier-as-a-refugee-in/) [Mano Khalil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mano-khalil/) > [Films are always a fiction, not documentary. Even a documentary is a kind of fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-seymour-hoffman/films-are-always-a-fiction-not-documentary-even-a-documentary-is-a/) [Philip Seymour Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-seymour-hoffman/) > [There is a document in every novel in the world. Even in the most fantastic novel, even in science fiction, there is a documentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/there-is-a-document-in-every-novel-in-the-world-even-in-the-most-2/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Most people look at a feature film and say, "It's just a movie." For me there is no border or wall between fiction and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mano-khalil/most-people-look-at-a-feature-film-and-say-it-s-just-a-movie-for-me/) [Mano Khalil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mano-khalil/) > [I want to do some fiction writing, I've had some pretty good luck with short stories, I'd like to do a couple of larger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janis-ian/i-want-to-do-some-fiction-writing-i-ve-had-some-pretty-good-luck-with/) [Janis Ian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janis-ian/) > [I want my fiction to seem real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-kay-andrews/i-want-my-fiction-to-seem-real/) [Mary Kay Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-kay-andrews/) > [“I want art that makes the world seem more unreal. I want fiction that can crumble the world and build it back into something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-michel/i-want-art-that-makes-the-world-seem-more-unreal-i-want-fiction-that/) [Lincoln Michel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-michel/) > [I just want fiction to remain a vital force for entertainment and not just for contemplation. Both things can exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/i-just-want-fiction-to-remain-a-vital-force-for-entertainment-and-not/) [Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/) > [I don't know why people feel that I am only interested in films, but I very much want to do fiction. My only prerequisite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karishma-tanna/i-don-t-know-why-people-feel-that-i-am-only-interested-in-films-but-i/) [Karishma Tanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karishma-tanna/) > [I want my fiction to feel real most of the time, so it makes sense to pay attention to life and to how people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-earls/i-want-my-fiction-to-feel-real-most-of-the-time-so-it-makes-sense-to/) [Nick Earls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-earls/) > [You asked if I thought my fiction had changed anything in the culture and the answer is no. Sure, there's been some scandal, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/you-asked-if-i-thought-my-fiction-had-changed-anything-in-the-culture/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) ## More by Robert Greene > [The whole concept of stage fright is fascinating. Actors get stage fright, but they wouldn't be on the stage in the first place if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/the-whole-concept-of-stage-fright-is-fascinating-actors-get-stage/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [I'm afraid I'm just too intense to have soft ideas, you know, about what to read when you're trying to pass the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/i-m-afraid-i-m-just-too-intense-to-have-soft-ideas-you-know-about/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [You are facing death and danger and competition, but at any moment, you can decide to have a fearless mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/you-are-facing-death-and-danger-and-competition-but-at-any-moment-you/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Let me spell it out: with the psychotic boss, nothing you do is ever quite right. They set traps, asking you to do things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/let-me-spell-it-out-with-the-psychotic-boss-nothing-you-do-is-ever/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Evil or manipulative people don't need a book, they just do it anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/evil-or-manipulative-people-don-t-need-a-book-they-just-do-it-anyway/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Everybody knows what they were kind of drawn towards or what they're gifted at and it's more of courage and looking at yourself and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/everybody-knows-what-they-were-kind-of-drawn-towards-or-what-they-re/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Remember: your bosses prefer to keep you in dependent positions. It is in their interest that you do not become self-reliant, and so they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/remember-your-bosses-prefer-to-keep-you-in-dependent-positions-it-is/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [I want to be able to write, that's my first love and I don't want to deviate from it even though I probably could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/i-want-to-be-able-to-write-that-s-my-first-love-and-i-don-t-want-to/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [It's sometimes hard to talk about politics and art. Obviously, I have my core beliefs, but I think art is best when it's troublesome…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/it-s-sometimes-hard-to-talk-about-politics-and-art-obviously-i-have/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [If you change and adapt your persona, you are seen as inauthentic; if you stay the angry young man, you fade from attention or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/if-you-change-and-adapt-your-persona-you-are-seen-as-inauthentic-if/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Your energy, your spirit are important considerations. Feeling petty and frustrated can have reverberating consequences for your ability to think strategically and reach your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/your-energy-your-spirit-are-important-considerations-feeling-petty/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Fear creates its own self-fulfilling dynamic- as people give into it, they lose energy and momentum. Their lack of confidence translates into inaction that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/fear-creates-its-own-self-fulfilling-dynamic-as-people-give-into-it/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [What I like about the internet, what I see there is that its much more democratic. I have much more control, and if what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/what-i-like-about-the-internet-what-i-see-there-is-that-its-much-more/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [“It is hard for us to imagine now, but our earliest human ancestors who ventured out onto the grasslands of East Africa some six…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/it-is-hard-for-us-to-imagine-now-but-our-earliest-human-ancestors-who/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [“Let us call this quality the Original Mind. This mind looked at the world more directly—not through words and received ideas. It was flexible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/let-us-call-this-quality-the-original-mind-this-mind-looked-at-the/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) [Explore all 511 Robert Greene quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) ## More Behavior quotes > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [As you begin changing your thinking, start immediately to change your behaviour. Begin to act the part of the person you would like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-you-begin-changing-your-thinking-start-immediately-to-change-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I now know that deep within the human concept is something dark, selfish, and completely willing to do whatever is necessary to support the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-west/i-now-know-that-deep-within-the-human-concept-is-something-dark/) [Melissa West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-west/) > [“We are endowed with genes which code out our reaction to beavers and otters, maybe our reaction to each other as well. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-endowed-with-genes-which-code-out-our-reaction-to-beavers-and/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [The number of poor, and poorly prepared, students who succeed in college and beyond undercuts the simplistic notion that economic or educational disadvantage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-merullo/the-number-of-poor-and-poorly-prepared-students-who-succeed-in/) [Roland Merullo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-merullo/) > [To behave creatively in art means behavior with skill; and skill comes from discipline, not derangement. The artist who knows the rules -and proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burne-hogarth/to-behave-creatively-in-art-means-behavior-with-skill-and-skill-comes/) [Burne Hogarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burne-hogarth/) > [You don't put milk in chamomile tea - that's disgusting behavior! That's not right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-fraser/you-don-t-put-milk-in-chamomile-tea-that-s-disgusting-behavior-that-s/) [Laura Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-fraser/) > [The laws of thermodynamics, as empirically determined, express the approximate and probable behavior of systems of a great number of particles, or, more precisely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-gibbs/the-laws-of-thermodynamics-as-empirically-determined-express-the/) [J. Willard Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-willard-gibbs/) > [I started with the belief that every person who came to the laboratory was free to accept or to reject the dictates of authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-milgram/i-started-with-the-belief-that-every-person-who-came-to-the/) [Stanley Milgram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-milgram/) > [The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/the-tipping-point-is-that-magic-moment-when-an-idea-trend-or-social/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [I think we've told a lot of lies about human behavior through film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-arquette/i-think-we-ve-told-a-lot-of-lies-about-human-behavior-through-film/) [Patricia Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-arquette/) > [The strongest rebellion may be expressed in quiet, undramatic behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-spock/the-strongest-rebellion-may-be-expressed-in-quiet-undramatic-behavior/) [Benjamin Spock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-spock/) > [The behavior of any bureaucratic organization can best be understood by assuming that it is controlled by a secret cabal of its enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-conquest/the-behavior-of-any-bureaucratic-organization-can-best-be-understood/) [Robert Conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-conquest/) > [If you want good behavior, don't pay on a commission basis. Our judges aren't paid so much a case. We keep them pretty well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/if-you-want-good-behavior-don-t-pay-on-a-commission-basis-our-judges/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Browse all 4,218 Behavior quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think I can do whatever I want with fiction, but the more documentary it is, the better it will be because that's what I'm good at. 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