As the year comes to a close, it’s normal to experience a certain amount of sadness, regret, and plain old exhaustion. As a film student, you may have fallen short of more than a few personal expectations that have left you feeling a little glum. Did you not finish your script in time? Mess up a crucial shot while filming? Project your film when it could’ve been more meticulously edited?
Chin up. No matter how much talent, creativity, and discipline you possess, you’re still human. Maybe 2016 was not all you hoped it would be, but there are all kinds of reasons why you may not have accomplished all that you hoped you would. And, honestly, at least a couple were beyond your control. And one year? Well, that’s kind of an arbitrary deadline. Life doesn’t fit neatly into calendars, even though Hollywood happy endings may sometimes trick us into buying the “just in time” trope…especially in those darn Christmas blockbusters and made-for-TV specials.
Here are inspirational quotes from filmmakers and actors to infuse you with the positivity you need. May they give you some of the strength you need to succeed in your filmmaking endeavors in 2017!
1. “Pick up a camera. Shoot something. No matter how small, no matter how cheesy, no matter whether your friends and your sister star in it. Put your name on it as director. Now you’re a director. Everything after that you’re just negotiating your budget and your fee.” -James Cameron
2. “If you want to be a writer, then write.” –I. Marlene King
3. “Goals on the road to achievement cannot be achieved without discipline and consistency.” –Denzel Washington
4. “When I was a kid, there was no collaboration; it’s you with a camera bossing your friends around. But as an adult, filmmaking is all about appreciating the talents of the people you surround yourself with and knowing you could never have made any of these films by yourself.” –Steven Spielberg
5. “To make a film is easy; to make a good film is war. To make a very good film is a miracle.” -Alejandro González Iñárritu
6. “If you can see yourself doing anything else and being happy, by all means, go and do it. But if you cannot, if you cannot see yourself doing anything else, then you should go for it and not let anybody tell you no.” –Kristin Chenoweth
7. “If there’s specific resistance to women making movies, I just choose to ignore that as an obstacle for two reasons: I can’t change my gender, and I refuse to stop making movies.” –Kathryn Bigelow
8. “It’s cool to be a nerd. There’s a general understanding that smartphones didn’t come from jocks. The digital age was foreseen by a group of short-sleeved, button-downed, white-shirted guys and their female equivalents designing the very stuff that’s now ubiquitous.” –J.J. Abrams
9. “The biggest thing I have realized was that you have to choose your collaborators very carefully, and that not everybody can like you. The process of filmmaking is so difficult, there’s no point in doing it unless you can do it the way you want.” –Peter Capaldi
10. “Filmmaking a chance to live many lifetimes.” –Robert Altman
11. “’May the Force by with you’ is charming, but it’s not important. What’s important is that you become the Force—for yourself and perhaps for other people.” –Harrison Ford
12. “Filmmakers are going to make films, just like painters are going to paint.” –Richard Linklater
13. “I’ve always approached things with hunger and just enough fear. Plenty of confidence, you know, but just enough fear to work extra hard. Paralyzing fear does nothing, but the kind of fear that makes you nervous enough to really be aware and focused? I like that kind of fear.” –Queen Latifah
What are your favorite inspiring quotes for the New Year? Let us know in the comments below!