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When you make a decision, you think it's a correct decision.

And sometimes, it's slow motion realizing that it isn't.

Sometimes, it's fast.

But you think it's the correct thing.

All along the way, every single day, every single moment,

we're making decisions.

And you just do the best you can.

If things turn out to be a failure like what happened

to me on '"Dune," I say that's a blessing in a way.

There's nowhere to go down further.

You can only go up.

So there's a sense of freedom that comes out of a failure.

If you have a success, there's kind

of like a extended drum roll.

This best-- next thing better be as good as that.

It better be good.

Or you're going to take the fall.

So you could start second guessing yourself.

And so there's danger in a success.

I just keep going back to "Dune" as being

a major failure for my self.

And making "Blue Velvet" came out of that.

So it was euphoria--

nowhere to go but up and a sense of freedom and euphoria

making "Blue Velvet."

You don't have to suffer to show suffering.

You don't have to be filled with turmoil

to show turmoil, have it in the story.

I don't know what goes on in artists heads, you know.

But I think all the great artists loved, you know,

working.

And a lot of people say, well, you know, suffering

is good for art.

Look at van Gogh, they say.

And I say, let's take a look at van Gogh.

Van Gogh didn't go out painting because he hated it or he was--

the only time he was happy probably

was when he was painting.

He painted because he loved to paint.

And the rest of his life was pretty miserable.

He didn't sell anything.

He was broke.

A lot of times, he probably really hungry.

But it's just common sense.

Suffering reduces and it's the enemy.

Negativity is the enemy of creativity.

It's common sense.

If someone is depressed, they say

they don't even feel like getting out

of bed, let alone working.

If you're sad or if you're filled with bitter anger,

that occupies the mind.

Maybe you do angry paintings.

So what?

You could do angry paintings but be happy in the doing.

This romantic idea-- it's a French idea, I say--

this guy is starving in the garret.

It's so romantic.

He's cold.

He's starving.

And it's romantic.

It's romantic really for everyone but him.

If he was honest, he'd say, I don't want

to be cold and freezing here.

I don't want to live this charade that, you know,

this is cool.

I don't want to be starving.

I want to feel good and paint.

If they're really honest, it would be a lot better

to do the work and not suffer and especially

if they knew that more ideas would flow and the work could,

you know, blossom, you know, who knows where.

The feature film is the thing that's in trouble right now.

Except for the so-called summer blockbusters,

people don't go to the theater.

They watch cable television is the new art house

and where you're going to see something

that is not in the summer blockbuster category.

And there will be directors that will come out

of that, filmmakers that will come out of that.

It will shine.

And it's just going to happen in that world for a while.

Those things, 2000 people in a big giant beautiful Palace

Theater with a giant screen and great sound

all watching the same film, that thing, I don't see.

The old way, filling up theaters night after night,

I think is gone.

We're losing quite a lot.

Because the thing I've found out is

when you have a theater filled with people,

the film runs slower.

And in a feature film, there's no commercial breaks.

There's no breaks at all.

And you have to pull the audience for 2 plus or three

hours and hold them.

And with that many people, it seems

to be a kind of an intelligence that rises up in the group.

They can think ahead of you.

And they can drop out.

And they can-- you have to be able to hold them.

And that's a tricky business.

With cable television, it's just one or two or three or four

people in the room, it's a different thing.

They're more forgiving, one or two people.

One person is incredibly forgiving.

They'll-- they won't be like 2000 people in a room.

And it's-- they'll forgive many things.

And it's just the way it is.

In television, I say it gives an opportunity for a continuing

story.

And this to me is beautiful--

a story that goes, and it gets a world going

and characters going.

And it can go and go and go.

And it can, you know, branch out.

And you can go here and there.

And great things can happen as you go deeper into it.

If you build a film for the audience,

because it takes a year or more to make a film,

the audience is going to be a year different

when the thing is done.

And you could, you know, have missed that time.

If you stay true to the idea and make

it as good as you can, and you love it,

maybe others will love it too.

But you don't know.

If you think about the audience and build it for them,

it might-- you've got just as good a chance,

they might hate it, you know.

But you didn't build it for yourself.

And it's like, to me, the wrong way to go.

Build it and make it true to the ideas.

And you are the final say and have control.

And then when you release it, you've lost your control.

You just take what you get.

It can be a great, big, beautiful world.

We're all, like I said, different on the surface.

So find your own way.

Find your own voice.

And, you know, compromise is not an option.

Well, thank you all very much for listening and watching.

I hope this MasterClass has been beneficial to you.

And I want to wish all of you all the very best of luck.

Take care.

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