--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Producer Ed Pressman had a book about…" description: "\"Producer Ed Pressman had a book about Diane Arbus - it's the only biography that exists - and there had been many Diane Arbus scripts. Many. I don't ev..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e79/tamara-jenkins-33031_book_producer-ed-pressman-had-a-book-about-di_270792.jpg" --- # Producer Ed Pressman had a book about Diane Arbus - it's… ![“Producer Ed Pressman had a book about Diane Arbus - it's the only biography that exists - and there had been many Diane Arbus scripts. Many. I don't even know how many over the years. And it's sort of a cursed project, for lots of reasons. There's probably some pile somewhere of all these weird…” quote by Tamara Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e79/tamara-jenkins-33031_book_producer-ed-pressman-had-a-book-about-di_270792.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e79/tamara-jenkins-33031_book_producer-ed-pressman-had-a-book-about-di_270792.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e79/tamara-jenkins-33031_book_producer-ed-pressman-had-a-book-about-di_270792.jpg) > “Producer Ed Pressman had a book about Diane Arbus - it's the only biography that exists - and there had been many Diane Arbus scripts. Many. I don't even know how many over the years. And it's sort of a cursed project, for lots of reasons. There's probably some pile somewhere of all these weird attempts, all these portraitures that can't get made.” [Tamara Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamara-jenkins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A project can become a burden when it is surrounded by endless attempts and unfulfilled visions, turning creative work into a curse. **In simple terms:** Creative projects can feel cursed by many failed attempts. Key Takeaway Recognize and release unproductive attachments. Themes creativity burden unrealized potential Mood frustrated hopeful Type cautionary reflective When to use this quote - film production - archival research - creative planning - documentary work Key Concepts artistic vision project fatigue legacy Questions to Reflect On - What constraints are keeping this project from moving forward? - How can you transform a cursed feeling into productive momentum? A Different Perspective Even with many attempts, success may remain elusive without clear direction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) ## Related quotes > [Our Bible reveals to us the character of our god with minute and remorseless exactness... It is perhaps the most damnatory biography that exists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/our-bible-reveals-to-us-the-character-of-our-god-with-minute-and/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I spent a lot of time on Diane Arbus film, not only writing it, but running around talking through various production issues. All this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamara-jenkins/i-spent-a-lot-of-time-on-diane-arbus-film-not-only-writing-it-but/) [Tamara Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamara-jenkins/) > [In an era when museum curators were busy introducing the public to photographs of daily life taken by Robert Frank, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Diane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burton-silverman/in-an-era-when-museum-curators-were-busy-introducing-the-public-to/) [Burton Silverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burton-silverman/) > [In some ways Lawler is a conceptual Diane Arbus. She's a stalker who takes advantage of situations. She pulls back curtains, causing normal things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/in-some-ways-lawler-is-a-conceptual-diane-arbus-she-s-a-stalker-who/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [Giving a camera to Diane Arbus is like putting a live grenade in the hands of a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/giving-a-camera-to-diane-arbus-is-like-putting-a-live-grenade-in-the/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I'm fascinated by the way Diane Arbus saw things. She came from this fashion background and then twisted it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raf-simons/i-m-fascinated-by-the-way-diane-arbus-saw-things-she-came-from-this/) [Raf Simons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raf-simons/) > [A lot of my friends were mostly working in black-and-white - people like Lee Friedlander, Diane Arbus, Garry Winogrand, and others. We would exchange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eggleston/a-lot-of-my-friends-were-mostly-working-in-black-and-white-people-2/) [William Eggleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eggleston/) > [Whenever I give a talk about my work I am invariably asked who my influences are. Not what my influences are, but who.. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gober/whenever-i-give-a-talk-about-my-work-i-am-invariably-asked-who-my/) [Robert Gober](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gober/) > [The great photographers of life - like Diane Arbus and Walker Evans and Robert Frank - all must have had some special quality: a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-deschanel/the-great-photographers-of-life-like-diane-arbus-and-walker-evans-and/) [Caleb Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-deschanel/) > [There are days when everyone in the world looks like a Diane Arbus to me. She's a genius but her work is completely different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nan-goldin/there-are-days-when-everyone-in-the-world-looks-like-a-diane-arbus-to/) [Nan Goldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nan-goldin/) > [I don't need to own one but I like to look at Diane Arbus's pictures and anything by Jackson Pollock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-ramsay/i-don-t-need-to-own-one-but-i-like-to-look-at-diane-arbus-s-pictures/) [Lynne Ramsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-ramsay/) > [For me it is essential to understand that everyone is alone. Not in the sense of loneliness, but rather in the sense that no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rineke-dijkstra/for-me-it-is-essential-to-understand-that-everyone-is-alone-not-in/) [Rineke Dijkstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rineke-dijkstra/) > [I still do all my developing and printing in my darkroom. Being in New York, you get tremendous exposure to great arts. In my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sung-jin-park/i-still-do-all-my-developing-and-printing-in-my-darkroom-being-in-new/) [Sung Jin Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sung-jin-park/) > [A lot of my friends were mostly working in black-and-white-people like Lee Friedlander, Diane Arbus, Garry Winogrand, and others. We would exchange prints with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eggleston/a-lot-of-my-friends-were-mostly-working-in-black-and-white-people/) [William Eggleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-eggleston/) > [Diane Arbus is one of the most mysterious, enigmatic, and frighteningly daring artists of the 20th century. Her work emerged from a deeply private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-shainberg/diane-arbus-is-one-of-the-most-mysterious-enigmatic-and-frighteningly/) [Steven Shainberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-shainberg/) ## More by Tamara Jenkins > [I remember in film school, when we made shorts, you'd sit there and screen them with your peers, which has its own flavor, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamara-jenkins/i-remember-in-film-school-when-we-made-shorts-you-d-sit-there-and/) [Tamara Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamara-jenkins/) > [Starting writing is stressful and scary and hard, but also, it's just like going to the gym. You're just stiff and weird, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamara-jenkins/starting-writing-is-stressful-and-scary-and-hard-but-also-it-s-just/) [Tamara Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamara-jenkins/) > [Little projects - not feature - film projects - you know, theater things, writing things, and jobs like doing rewriting for money, stuff like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamara-jenkins/little-projects-not-feature-film-projects-you-know-theater-things/) [Tamara Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamara-jenkins/) > [I spent a lot of time on Diane Arbus film, not only writing it, but running around talking through various production issues. All this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamara-jenkins/i-spent-a-lot-of-time-on-diane-arbus-film-not-only-writing-it-but/) [Tamara Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamara-jenkins/) > [Focus group was helpful in the way it always is when you make movies, especially with anything funny. You can find the right edit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamara-jenkins/focus-group-was-helpful-in-the-way-it-always-is-when-you-make-movies/) [Tamara Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamara-jenkins/) > [After the editing room, I go and take a nap. I'm not in the practice of writing, and I feel like I'm flabby, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamara-jenkins/after-the-editing-room-i-go-and-take-a-nap-i-m-not-in-the-practice-of/) [Tamara Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamara-jenkins/) > [In terms of my peer group, nobody's parents were dying of old age. There was no dialogue to have among friends. I had that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamara-jenkins/in-terms-of-my-peer-group-nobody-s-parents-were-dying-of-old-age/) [Tamara Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamara-jenkins/) > [I did watching my films with an audience at the beginning when we went to Sundance and we screened The Savages there. 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I don't know, it's such a practice, and I feel very unpracticed in it, because I'm not doing it every day.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamara-jenkins/writing-is-so-i-don-t-know-it-s-such-a-practice-and-i-feel-very/) [Tamara Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamara-jenkins/) > [Obviously, once you're finished, you're like, "Okay, I have to make this a movie now, and I need people - bodies to play these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamara-jenkins/obviously-once-you-re-finished-you-re-like-okay-i-have-to-make-this-a/) [Tamara Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamara-jenkins/) [Explore all 15 Tamara Jenkins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamara-jenkins/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Producer Ed Pressman had a book about Diane Arbus - it's the only biography that exists - and there had been many Diane Arbus scripts. 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