The real source of happiness, not just in the cinema but in any kind of human endeavor, is the fact of creating. Once a thing is done, well, it’s done. Of course it’s very nice to be applauded by audiences and very unpleasant to be booed: I’ll admit that’s important, but not that important. The real thing, the real intoxication if I may call it that, is in the act of creation: that’s what matters, whether one is creating an apple pie, a film, a child or a painting.

—Jean Renoir