“My biggest false steps have actually been when I tried to do very different projects. I found I was getting people saying, 'Why does Whit Stillman think he can do a film about blacks in early '60s Jamaica? Or the Chinese and the cultural revolution?' Those were the two biggest failures I had getting off the ground.”

American writer-director

Whit Stillman is an American writer-director known for his films from the late 20th and early 21st centuries. He was born John Whitney Stillman and became widely recognized for Metropolitan, released in 1990, which brought him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He also made Barcelona, The Last Days of Disco, Damsels in Distress, and Love & Friendship. His work is best known for its sharp dialogue and its attention to manners, class, and social life.