In the 1963 surrealist film “8 ½,” a famous Italian filmmaker seeks inspiration amid a creativity block — a plot that mirrored the real-life conundrum of the movie’s director, Federico Fellini. Many aspects of the award-winning work parallel Fellini’s experience as an artist, including the struggles inherent in creating authentic work under public scrutiny. This quote from a 1965 interview with “The Atlantic” reveals how the filmmaker mined the ups and downs of his own life in pursuit of meaningful art.