"Usually, the stuff that's your best idea or work is going to be attacked the most"
About this Quote
Coming from Coppola, the subtext carries the scars of making movies that weren’t supposed to work. The Godfather was dogged by studio anxiety; Apocalypse Now was treated like a public meltdown before it became a monument; even his experiments were received as indulgences. His career sits at the hinge between New Hollywood’s auteur swagger and the corporate consolidation that followed. In that world, “best idea” isn’t merely “most polished” - it’s the one that refuses the safe version of the story, the one that won’t behave like a product.
The intent is both warning and calibration tool. If your boldest work is getting the most heat, it may be because it’s exposing someone else’s insecurity: executives fearing sunk costs, critics guarding a canon, audiences resisting discomfort. Coppola reframes backlash as a diagnostic signal, not a verdict. The gamble is implied: attention and hostility are often the same beam of light, and originality walks into it first.
Quote Details
| Topic | Perseverance |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Coppola, Francis Ford. (2026, January 17). Usually, the stuff that's your best idea or work is going to be attacked the most. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/usually-the-stuff-thats-your-best-idea-or-work-is-35543/
Chicago Style
Coppola, Francis Ford. "Usually, the stuff that's your best idea or work is going to be attacked the most." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/usually-the-stuff-thats-your-best-idea-or-work-is-35543/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Usually, the stuff that's your best idea or work is going to be attacked the most." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/usually-the-stuff-thats-your-best-idea-or-work-is-35543/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.






