--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Let me put it this way: I would like to…" description: "\"Let me put it this way: I would like to direct a successful film. An unsuccessful film I would not like to direct. Films are very difficult.\" — Twyla T..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb2/twyla-tharp-1069_cinema_let-me-put-it-this-way-i-would-like-to-d_1088778.png" --- # Let me put it this way: I would like to direct a… ![“Let me put it this way: I would like to direct a successful film. An unsuccessful film I would not like to direct. Films are very difficult.” quote by Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb2/twyla-tharp-1069_cinema_let-me-put-it-this-way-i-would-like-to-d_1088778.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb2/twyla-tharp-1069_cinema_let-me-put-it-this-way-i-would-like-to-d_1088778.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb2/twyla-tharp-1069_cinema_let-me-put-it-this-way-i-would-like-to-d_1088778.png) > “Let me put it this way: I would like to direct a successful film. An unsuccessful film I would not like to direct. Films are very difficult.” [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Directing a film requires confidence in success; failure feels unacceptable, highlighting the difficulty of the medium. **In simple terms:** Success feels essential; failure feels unacceptable. Key Takeaway Aim for realistic goals and accept risk. Themes creativity risk film-making Mood determined reflective Type advice motivational When to use this quote - career planning - project pitching - budgeting - team leadership Key Concepts confidence acceptance challenge Questions to Reflect On - What defines a successful film for you? - How can you mitigate fear of failure? A Different Perspective Even successful films can face unforeseen obstacles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult/) [Direct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/direct/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Film Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film-like/) [Film Unsuccessful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film-unsuccessful-2803022/) [Films](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/films/) [Films Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/films-difficult-630994/) [Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like/) [Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me/) [Put](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/put/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) [Successful Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful-film-322799/) [Unsuccessful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unsuccessful/) [Unsuccessful Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unsuccessful-film-2803023/) [Very](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/very/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Would](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would/) ## Related quotes > [For films, I'm very difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikis-theodorakis/for-films-i-m-very-difficult/) [Mikis Theodorakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikis-theodorakis/) > [I got busy with films and found it difficult to devote time to theatre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asrani/i-got-busy-with-films-and-found-it-difficult-to-devote-time-to-theatre/) [Asrani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asrani/) > [To tell you the truth, I'm not unhappy about it. I'm not even sure that I like the idea of adapting novels into films.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/to-tell-you-the-truth-i-m-not-unhappy-about-it-i-m-not-even-sure-that/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [A lot of times passion projects or films are difficult to make because they don't have proven directors attached to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-duchovny/a-lot-of-times-passion-projects-or-films-are-difficult-to-make/) [David Duchovny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-duchovny/) > [In documentary films, the most difficult thing to achieve is to make something complex appear simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-cockburn/in-documentary-films-the-most-difficult-thing-to-achieve-is-to-make/) [Leslie Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-cockburn/) > [You will not find outsiders getting main, important roles in big films. The difficult part is to meet the right people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirti-kulhari/you-will-not-find-outsiders-getting-main-important-roles-in-big-films/) [Kirti Kulhari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirti-kulhari/) > [Making films is much more difficult than people imagine, and so the experience of actually directing them is not one I've ever relished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-pollack/making-films-is-much-more-difficult-than-people-imagine-and-so-the/) [Sydney Pollack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-pollack/) > [I find that on most films it's very difficult to have a backlit movie in an exterior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-richardson/i-find-that-on-most-films-it-s-very-difficult-to-have-a-backlit-movie/) [Robert Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-richardson/) > [I generally try to avoid talking about my old films - I find it difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-roeg/i-generally-try-to-avoid-talking-about-my-old-films-i-find-it/) [Nicolas Roeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-roeg/) > [There are films that are difficult. There are films that would actually affect your personal life because of the length of the production, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janusz-kaminski/there-are-films-that-are-difficult-there-are-films-that-would/) [Janusz Kaminski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janusz-kaminski/) > [Bigger films are more difficult because the number of people is so huge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keira-knightley/bigger-films-are-more-difficult-because-the-number-of-people-is-so/) [Keira Knightley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keira-knightley/) > [People have said that my films are very difficult to watch, that they're experiences you are put through rather than ones you enjoy, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cassavetes/people-have-said-that-my-films-are-very-difficult-to-watch-that-they/) [John Cassavetes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cassavetes/) > [The trouble is that in south cinema, after you become successful at the box office, market realities dictate your choice of films, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram/the-trouble-is-that-in-south-cinema-after-you-become-successful-at/) [Vikram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram/) > [After 'The Gamekeeper' I made one other film called 'Looks and Smiles,' but making British films was very difficult. There wasn't a tradition of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-loach/after-the-gamekeeper-i-made-one-other-film-called-looks-and-smiles/) [Ken Loach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-loach/) > [I think the executives at the studios today realize that it's easier and safer to go the - to some known territory which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-d-zanuck/i-think-the-executives-at-the-studios-today-realize-that-it-s-easier/) [Richard D. Zanuck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-d-zanuck/) ## More by Twyla Tharp > [“A lot of habitually creative people have preparation rituals linked to the setting in which they choose to start their day. By putting themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/a-lot-of-habitually-creative-people-have-preparation-rituals-linked/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I have learned over the years that you should never save for two meetings what you can accomplish in one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-have-learned-over-the-years-that-you-should-never-save-for-two/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I always find that the best collaborations are when you work with people that know what they're doing, and you leave them alone to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-always-find-that-the-best-collaborations-are-when-you-work-with/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I don't mean this, but I'm going to say it anyway. I don't really think of pop art and serious art as being that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-don-t-mean-this-but-i-m-going-to-say-it-anyway-i-don-t-really-think/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [The art of these Fifties movies was in sustaining forever the moment before sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/the-art-of-these-fifties-movies-was-in-sustaining-forever-the-moment/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [This is not a pleasant route for many young people to consider. You have to be either hopelessly passionate, or very stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/this-is-not-a-pleasant-route-for-many-young-people-to-consider-you/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I often say that in making dances I can make a world where I think things are done morally, done democratically, done honestly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-often-say-that-in-making-dances-i-can-make-a-world-where-i-think/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I had received my first establishment grants in response to applications filed the year before. To the pages of baffling forms I had simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-had-received-my-first-establishment-grants-in-response-to/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I find the aesthetics of the 20th century hopelessly barren.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-find-the-aesthetics-of-the-20th-century-hopelessly-barren/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I don't think that scheduling is uncreative. I think that structure is required for creativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-don-t-think-that-scheduling-is-uncreative-i-think-that-structure-is/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [I have always felt one of the things dance should do - its business being so clearly physical - is challenge the culture's gender…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/i-have-always-felt-one-of-the-things-dance-should-do-its-business/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [There really is nothing I ever had access to that I didn't appreciate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/there-really-is-nothing-i-ever-had-access-to-that-i-didn-t-appreciate/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [Destiny, quite often, is a determined parent. Mozart was hardly some naive prodigy who sat down at the keyboard and, with God whispering in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/destiny-quite-often-is-a-determined-parent-mozart-was-hardly-some/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [When it all comes together, a creative life has the nourishing power we normally associate with food, love and faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/when-it-all-comes-together-a-creative-life-has-the-nourishing-power/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) > [Things change all the time, so why do people make such a philosophical to-do that things are constantly in transition?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/things-change-all-the-time-so-why-do-people-make-such-a-philosophical/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) [Explore all 298 Twyla Tharp quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) ## 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": "Let me put it this way: I would like to direct a successful film. An unsuccessful film I would not like to direct. 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