[neom]

As the mantra went in film school, a zillion years ago, before we had clicks to fake things for: The most creative people do the best job of hiding the source of their creativity.

Like it or not, stuff like this has been the norm in the art world since forever.

[stkdump]

I think this story is not about the result. The story is about the journey how he got there. When he realized that his original plan wasn't working he did it differently, but told it as if he sticked with the plan, which was the reason he got all the attention.

This doesn't feel like hiding anything, it is about openly lying.

[pcthrowaway]

Picasso is known for having said "Good artists copy, great artists steal"

It sounds like your film school mantra is just a less punchy version of this

[neom]

I think that the joke of the mantra, it's stolen from that phrase.