“I don’t care, if the audience sees my movies..."

“I don’t care, if the audience sees my movies, given that my producer doesn’t lose money.”
-Jean-Luc Godard

Found that quote in a movie yearbook from ’66.
I love it, because it exactly mirrors my personal view regarding the (in Europe) ever popular discussion about artistic freedom versus business interest.
The quote becomes all the more interesting when reflected against several articles printed in the very same magazine where the authors essentially put forward that a successful movie can’t be an intellectual stimulating experience, i.e. it can’t be a good movie*, while at the same time constantly wailing that movie making is a dying art form.
They show the usual contempt of the intellectual masses towards the idea of making movies for commercial success, claiming that whoever puts his money down in hope of making some profit, diminishes the “artistic value” of the finalised work.

Like most itellectuals they couldn’t care less who has to pay for something, long as it isn’t them and long as he doesn’t do it to turn a buck.

It’s small wonder that the art film has gained a worse reputation among producers than cheap Italian giallos among conservatives.


*Actually later one author did make a concession to Arthur Penn’s Bonnie & Clyde when opening his review of the movie with “The movies success notwithstanding...”