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I think it's better to be overly ambitious and fail than to be underambitious and succeed in a mundane way. I have been very fortunate. I failed upward in my life!

Francis Ford Coppola

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Francis Ford Coppola
Age: 85
Born: 1939
Born: April 7
Actor
Composer
Executive Producer
Film Director
Film Editor
Film Producer
Screenwriter
Winegrower
Writer
Detroit
Michigan
Better
Upward
Way
Mundane
Think
Ambitious
Thinking
Failed
Life
Fortunate
Fail
Succeed
Failing
Overly

More quotes by Francis Ford Coppola

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In kindergarten that used to be my job, to tell them fairytales. I liked Hans Christian Andersen, and the Grimm fairy tales, all the classic fairy tales.
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I probably have genius. But no talent.
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Work on nothing less than epic scale
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I've been offered lots of movies. There's always some actor who's doing a project and would like to have me do it.
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Today's winemakers still worry about quality.
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I have more of a vivid imagination than I have talent. I cook up ideas. It's just a characteristic.
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I wrote the script of Patton. I had this very bizarre opening where he stands up in front of an American flag and gives this speech. Ultimately, I was fired. When the script was done, they hired another writer and that script was forgotten.
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I live near San Francisco in the most beautiful spot on earth and enjoy myself in many ways. Yes, I love to work, which for now is to think and read and write, so it's all a dream come true.
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I gladly, I voluntarily gave up the kind of commercial film career I had going as soon as I had enough money to finance my own films. I didn't make that money necessarily from the film business, but I eventually made a lot of money and that's what I do. Of course, I consider myself unbelievably fortunate, and I'm pretty content with my life.
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I became quite successful very young, and it was mainly because I was so enthusiastic and I just worked so hard at it.
Francis Ford Coppola
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When you make a film it is like asking yourself a question. When it is finished, you know the answer. Ultimately with all of cinema, we are just trying to learn about ourselves. I have always used the opportunity to make a film to learn more about myself, which I am still doing.
Francis Ford Coppola
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It is a little disappointing to see that your legs are not as strong. But I like the idea of growing old, and the thought of approaching death is not particularly daunting to me.
Francis Ford Coppola
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I never went to a psychologist or psychiatrist in my life. Never. You know, Italians are a little prejudiced against that kind of thing.
Francis Ford Coppola
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When I was 13, I worked for Western Union. When the telegrams came in, I would glue them on the paper and deliver them on my bicycle.
Francis Ford Coppola
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Listen, if there's one sure-fire rule that I have learned in this business, it's that I don't know anything about human nature.
Francis Ford Coppola
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The photographer and the director are where reality and fantasy meet.
Francis Ford Coppola
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I thought I wanted to be a playwright because I was interested in stories and telling stories.
Francis Ford Coppola
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You have to really be courageous about your instincts and your ideas. Otherwise you'll just knuckle under, and things that might have been memorable will be lost.
Francis Ford Coppola
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I was excited to discover, in this tale by Eliade, the key themes that I most hope to understand better - time, consciousness and the dream-like basis of reality.
Francis Ford Coppola
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I had been a kid that moved so much, I didn’t have a lot of friends. Theater really represented that kind of camaraderie.
Francis Ford Coppola