--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If your first scene doesn't give you a…" description: "\"If your first scene doesn't give you a hard on, throw it out!\" — Samuel Fuller" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94c/samuel-fuller-21894_firsts_if-your-first-scene-doesn-t-give-you-a-h_2966870.png" --- # If your first scene doesn't give you a hard on, throw it… ![“If your first scene doesn't give you a hard on, throw it out!” quote by Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94c/samuel-fuller-21894_firsts_if-your-first-scene-doesn-t-give-you-a-h_2966870.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94c/samuel-fuller-21894_firsts_if-your-first-scene-doesn-t-give-you-a-h_2966870.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94c/samuel-fuller-21894_firsts_if-your-first-scene-doesn-t-give-you-a-h_2966870.png) > “If your first scene doesn't give you a hard on, throw it out!” [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If a scene doesn't excite, discard it. **In simple terms:** Remove unexciting scenes. Key Takeaway Prioritize compelling storytelling. Themes creativity editing impact Mood direct critical Type cinematic advisory When to use this quote - screenwriting - film production - directing Key Concepts narrative structure audience engagement Questions to Reflect On - What makes a scene essential? - How to balance excitement with depth? A Different Perspective Risk of losing subtlety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) ## Related quotes > [To me, a sex scene in a movie generally means a gratuitous scene that doesn't serve the story but gives a kind of excuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/to-me-a-sex-scene-in-a-movie-generally-means-a-gratuitous-scene-that/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) > [That's the most important part, not worrying about who you're facing or how hard they throw but knowing that, for me, if I'm on,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-semien/that-s-the-most-important-part-not-worrying-about-who-you-re-facing/) [Marcus Semien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-semien/) > [I'm very hard on myself. If it's a throw that I missed that I know I can make, that's something that I have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donovan-mcnabb/i-m-very-hard-on-myself-if-it-s-a-throw-that-i-missed-that-i-know-i/) [Donovan McNabb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donovan-mcnabb/) > [If a scene doesn't work on three levels - it's not advancing the story, the characters, and telling me something new - then put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-hardwicke/if-a-scene-doesn-t-work-on-three-levels-it-s-not-advancing-the-story/) [Catherine Hardwicke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-hardwicke/) > [It's hard to throw the football when you have some instability at quarterback or if you don't have the weapons around you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cowher/it-s-hard-to-throw-the-football-when-you-have-some-instability-at/) [Bill Cowher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cowher/) > [It's really fun when a scene doesn't work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-affleck/it-s-really-fun-when-a-scene-doesn-t-work/) [Casey Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-affleck/) > [If a story doesn't give you a hard-on in the first couple of scenes, throw it in the goddamned garbage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/if-a-story-doesn-t-give-you-a-hard-on-in-the-first-couple-of-scenes/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [I grew up in Harlem. My grandmother was one of the best cooks around, but the first thing she did on Sunday mornings when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-carmona/i-grew-up-in-harlem-my-grandmother-was-one-of-the-best-cooks-around/) [Richard Carmona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-carmona/) > [Sir: This point of observation commands an area nearly 50 miles in diameter. The city, with its girdle of encampments, presents a superb scene.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thaddeus-s-c-lowe/sir-this-point-of-observation-commands-an-area-nearly-50-miles-in/) Thaddeus S. C. Lowe > [Athens, much like Austin, is a difficult music scene. There are so many musicians there that it is hard to get gigs and hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-smith/athens-much-like-austin-is-a-difficult-music-scene-there-are-so-many/) [Corey Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-smith/) > [With improvisation, I just do it. It might be a total failure but then you just throw the dice again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-marclay/with-improvisation-i-just-do-it-it-might-be-a-total-failure-but-then/) [Christian Marclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-marclay/) > [My dad's idea of punishment was to dress me up in all green to disguise me as grass, and then throw me in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-callen/my-dad-s-idea-of-punishment-was-to-dress-me-up-in-all-green-to/) [Bryan Callen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-callen/) > [“Shut up, you fool...Really. I’m running out of things to throw at you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-m-parr/shut-up-you-fool-really-i-m-running-out-of-things-to-throw-at-you/) K.M. Parr > [My favourite designers always create a strong silhouette, like McQueen and Tom Ford and Alaia. I like structured things that you can throw on,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liberty-ross/my-favourite-designers-always-create-a-strong-silhouette-like-mcqueen/) [Liberty Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liberty-ross/) > [There are 4 things you can never recover: The STONE, after the throw. The WORD, after it's said. The OCCASION, after it's missed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerhia/there-are-4-things-you-can-never-recover-the-stone-after-the-throw/) [Jerhia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerhia/) ## More by Samuel Fuller > [If a story doesn't give you a hard-on in the first couple of scenes, throw it in the goddamned garbage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/if-a-story-doesn-t-give-you-a-hard-on-in-the-first-couple-of-scenes/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [Mark Twain didn't psychoanalyze Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer. Dickens didn't put Oliver Twist on the couch because he was hungry! Good copy comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/mark-twain-didn-t-psychoanalyze-huck-finn-or-tom-sawyer-dickens-didn/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [Live, you son of a bitch. You're gonna live if I have to blow your brains out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/live-you-son-of-a-bitch-you-re-gonna-live-if-i-have-to-blow-your/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [When you're in the battlefield, survival is all there is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/when-you-re-in-the-battlefield-survival-is-all-there-is/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [A woman is just a script, but a cigar is a motion picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/a-woman-is-just-a-script-but-a-cigar-is-a-motion-picture/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [We have too many intellectuals who are afraid to use the pistol of common sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/we-have-too-many-intellectuals-who-are-afraid-to-use-the-pistol-of/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [When you're at the end of your rope, all you have to do is make one foot move out in front of the other.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/when-you-re-at-the-end-of-your-rope-all-you-have-to-do-is-make-one/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [Film is a battleground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/film-is-a-battleground/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [Surviving is the only glory in war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/surviving-is-the-only-glory-in-war/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [I don't care if it's a mystery story, a Western, or the story of Julius Caesar. To me it's the emotion, the lies, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/i-don-t-care-if-it-s-a-mystery-story-a-western-or-the-story-of-julius/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [Ninety-five per cent of films are born of frustration, of self despair, of ambition for survival, for money, for fattening bank accounts. Five per…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/ninety-five-per-cent-of-films-are-born-of-frustration-of-self-despair/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [Heroes? Don't believe in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/heroes-don-t-believe-in-them/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [When you're in the battlefield, survival is all there is. Death is the only great emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/when-you-re-in-the-battlefield-survival-is-all-there-is-death-is-the/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [There's a difference between a Nazi and a German.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/there-s-a-difference-between-a-nazi-and-a-german/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) > [You know how you smoke out a sniper? You send a guy out in the open, and you see if he gets shot. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/you-know-how-you-smoke-out-a-sniper-you-send-a-guy-out-in-the-open/) [Samuel Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) [Explore all 28 Samuel Fuller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/) ## More Firsts quotes > [I always say there are two things to be successful. The first is decide exactly what you want - set your goals - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/i-always-say-there-are-two-things-to-be-successful-the-first-is/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [My first ever job after college was as a flight attendant. I wanted to travel and could not afford it, so I decided to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-winspear/my-first-ever-job-after-college-was-as-a-flight-attendant-i-wanted-to/) [Jacqueline Winspear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-winspear/) > [Since I worked with Danny Boyle before on Slumdog Millionaire, we have great success and everything. So, when I first got the script and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-rahman/since-i-worked-with-danny-boyle-before-on-slumdog-millionaire-we-have/) [A. R. Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-rahman/) > [You sort of can't talk about the post production unless you talk about what comes first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-greengrass/you-sort-of-can-t-talk-about-the-post-production-unless-you-talk/) [Paul Greengrass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-greengrass/) > [I'm a business first and foremost so whatever my business is, it's separate from my personal. It's like whatever I do business wise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-m-a-business-first-and-foremost-so-whatever-my-business-is-it-s/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [I did not know that the planning for biological and chemical warfare was so widespread in England, and even in France before France fell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-did-not-know-that-the-planning-for-biological-and-chemical-warfare/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [When I first started, my message was about joy, but I didn't really have the vocabulary and life experience to fully deliver it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/when-i-first-started-my-message-was-about-joy-but-i-didn-t-really/) [Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/) > [I'm very used to working with first time actors - you can just look back at 'E.T.' with Drew Barrymore, and Christian Bale from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-m-very-used-to-working-with-first-time-actors-you-can-just-look/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [The U.S.-Mexican border es un herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/the-u-s-mexican-border-es-un-herida-abierta-where-the-third-world/) [Gloria E. Anzaldúa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-e-anzald-a/) > [Meanwhile someone is shining my head to get it dry to attach my top-hat to my head with toupee tape. I get into microphone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tituss-burgess/meanwhile-someone-is-shining-my-head-to-get-it-dry-to-attach-my-top/) [Tituss Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tituss-burgess/) > [Peace is the first thing the angels sang. Peace is the mark of the children of God. Peace is the nurse of love. Peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/peace-is-the-first-thing-the-angels-sang-peace-is-the-mark-of-the/) [Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/) Browse all 32,432 Firsts quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If your first scene doesn't give you a hard on, throw it out!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Fuller" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/if-your-first-scene-doesn-t-give-you-a-hard-on-throw-it-out/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Firsts" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/if-your-first-scene-doesn-t-give-you-a-hard-on-throw-it-out/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94c/samuel-fuller-21894_firsts_if-your-first-scene-doesn-t-give-you-a-h_2966870.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94c/samuel-fuller-21894_firsts_if-your-first-scene-doesn-t-give-you-a-h_2966870.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/94c/samuel-fuller-21894_firsts_if-your-first-scene-doesn-t-give-you-a-h_2966870.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If your first scene doesn't give you a hard on, throw it out!” — Samuel Fuller", "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": "Samuel Fuller", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-fuller/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If your first scene doesn't give...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/if-your-first-scene-doesn-t-give-you-a-hard-on-throw-it-out/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-fuller/if-your-first-scene-doesn-t-give-you-a-hard-on-throw-it-out/#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 } } ] } ```