Your analogy is wrong. If you were to translate what the author of this article said onto your author/director comparison, the author would keep writing books b

Your analogy is wrong. If you were to translate what the author of this article said onto your author/director comparison, the author would keep writing books because others have written more/better books than him and so would the director keep making films in order to elevate their relative status. The reason for always wanting more money isn't for the self-satisfaction that creative types feel when they produce a work, but to elevate your status above that of those around you.