"It's too expensive. That's the thing nobody wants to talk about. It is too expensive to make movies. That's not true. It is too expensive to market movies. Making movies is not"
About this Quote
The intent is practical and political. Practical, because Smith comes from the scrappy end of filmmaking, where ingenuity substitutes for cash and a movie can be made with favors, constraints, and a strong point of view. Political, because he’s indicting the economics that decide what gets seen. If marketing is the true cost center, then studios aren’t financing stories; they’re financing certainty. The system rewards projects that can justify a massive ad spend and deliver predictable opening-weekend returns, which conveniently nudges cinema toward IP, sequels, and easily summarized premises.
The subtext is a quiet rebuke to gatekeepers: don’t tell emerging filmmakers the dream is unaffordable when the real barrier is distribution power. Smith’s correction also lands as a diagnosis of our attention economy. Marketing isn’t just billboards; it’s the price of occupying a culture that’s crowded, algorithmically filtered, and trained to treat visibility as proof of value.
Contextually, the quote reads like a post-streaming-era reality check: the tools to make a movie keep getting cheaper, but the cost of being noticed keeps climbing.
Quote Details
| Topic | Movie |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Smith, Kevin. (2026, February 16). It's too expensive. That's the thing nobody wants to talk about. It is too expensive to make movies. That's not true. It is too expensive to market movies. Making movies is not. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/its-too-expensive-thats-the-thing-nobody-wants-to-157424/
Chicago Style
Smith, Kevin. "It's too expensive. That's the thing nobody wants to talk about. It is too expensive to make movies. That's not true. It is too expensive to market movies. Making movies is not." FixQuotes. February 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/its-too-expensive-thats-the-thing-nobody-wants-to-157424/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"It's too expensive. That's the thing nobody wants to talk about. It is too expensive to make movies. That's not true. It is too expensive to market movies. Making movies is not." FixQuotes, 16 Feb. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/its-too-expensive-thats-the-thing-nobody-wants-to-157424/. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.
