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I was amazed and astonished when I first saw 'The Big Sleep', early in my college career. I'd never seen a movie I had a hard time following before, and I was c

I was amazed and astonished when I first saw 'The Big Sleep', early in my college career. I'd never seen a movie I had a hard time following before, and I was captivated. There's an old Steve Yegge post where he described presenting for Jeff Bezos. I'm paraphrasing, but Yegge said something like after writing the presentation (no slides), delete every fifth paragraph to keep Bezos intrigued enough to pay attention. I feel like that's what happened to either the script or the filming of 'The Big Sleep.' EDIT: Every third paragraph, link to Yegge post: https://gist.github.com/kislayverma/6681d4cce736cd7041e6c8214469d2fd https://gist.github.com/kislayverma/6681d4cce736cd7041e6c821...

seph-reed 5y ago
This was a really nice read. I've made a habit lately of "checking out" on having any opinion about anything I can't truly analyze. And this is a great example of why. I'm surrounded in content telling me why Bezos is a monster, and they make a good argument. But for all that hatred, I've never once heard a single mention of him being smart, let alone intimidatingly smart, let alone "a first class genius" or "better regarded as hyper-intelligent aliens with a tangential interest in human affairs." This seems like an important character detail to have been left out.
- soneca 5y ago
  I remember reading about him being very smart multiple times. Just not on articles commenting Amazon workplace environment and such, as it should not be indeed. On articles about the beginnings of Amazon, the writing culture, or anything that is in part a biography on Bezos, I always see it mentioned how smart he is.
  - seph-reed 5y ago
    > Just not on articles commenting Amazon workplace environment and such, as it should not be indeed I think the distinction between "evil" and "evil genius" is actually kind of important for a world that often anchors its reality to Hollywood narratives. It sets up a more believable antagonist, and makes it clear that -- unlike the grinch -- their heart is not likely to change. It also sets up the challenge: be smarter. If he was just greedy, it might be a race to the bottom (greed always wins). But in this case it's a race to the top (intelligence seems to win). I also think the distinction between "greed wins" and "smart wins" extends with a similar lack of mention into other popular "villains" like Elon or THE ZUCK. At least for me, knowing that the richest person in the world is also considered extremely smart by the smartest people he could pay to work with him... it makes me feel that -- unlike politics -- business is not yet a complete race to the bottom.
- yumaikas 5y ago
  I wonder how much of "smart" is due to his power, and how much of it is due to his intellect. I say this not because I don't believe he doesn't have an impressive intellect, but because, well, what if someone had his intellect, but worked in an Amazon warehouse due to circumstances outside of their control?
  - yumaikas 5y ago
    Lots of people with power shut down people who are smarter than them for being annoying, I guess is what I'm getting at.
    - AussieWog93 5y ago
      I'd counter that by saying lots of people think they're being smart but in fact are just annoying pedants (like me!).
      - earleybird 5y ago
        upvote, just for driving the point home - with parenthesis
  - WalterBright 5y ago
    Being smart isn't good enough. One must also be motivated, be willing to put in the effort, and not be discouraged by repeated failure. I had a friend once who was very smart. He was always starting new projects to make money, and always quit at the first or second obstacle.
    - yumaikas 5y ago
      And have the spare resources on hand to be able to survive repeated failures, for that matter. And not be dealing with ADHD or other mental issues. In the back of my head I want to tease out how much of Beso's success is due to aptitude, how much is due to work, how much is due to privilege, and how much is due to luck, and how much is due to ruthlessness. This might be a futile exercise, all told, but I do think all of those factors have played into his success. And I wonder how his success and the other factors compound in the perception people have of him.
- 1123581321 5y ago
  You usually find that in anything talking about his DE Shaw background.
aidenn0 5y ago
Per TFA there was an early cut with Marlowe in voiceover explaining things. This was removed at some point, which does indeed support your theory.
lqet 5y ago
This is also exactly how I felt when I first watched "The Godfather: Part 2". There was just so much left out, and so much of extreme significance was only slightly hinted at (just take the scene where Michael realizes the betrayal!). If you only stop paying attention for a single scene, chances are that you will not get the plot. That not only makes you completely immersed in the movie, it also makes for very satisfying rewatches.
- jimbob45 5y ago
  When I watch things with other people and I see them looking down at their phone during scenes like the one where Michael realizes the betrayal, I then know they're not going to have enjoyed the movie because they'll have missed a critical visual cue. I don't want to rewind the scene because that seems passive-aggressive but I also don't want to waste another two hours on their part on a movie that they almost certainly can't enjoy anymore.
- zmp0989 5y ago
  Funny (to me) story about the first time I watched the first two Godfather films. I was in high school and home pretty ill. My dad rented both films for me. I was so out of it that I didn't know which family was the Corleones until midway through the 2nd movie.
blacksqr 5y ago
I remember I had to watch "The Long Goodbye" with Elliot Gould three times to figure out exactly what was going on [0]. A detective job in itself. A good movie nonetheless. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:The_Long_Goodbye_(film)#Analysis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:The_Long_Goodbye_(film)#A...
- candlemas 5y ago
  Leigh Brackett also wrote the screenplay for that movie.
YeBanKo 5y ago
The linked article reads like a pure idolization. It’s like Bible, except written not more than a thousand years ago but now, and by fishermen, but by sw engineers, the message is the same though.
Graffur 5y ago
That post is cringe inducing. Yegge had to put himself down " I don’t know why it’s not in there. It should be. I’m a dork." to keep Bezos happy? Let's face it: Bezos isn't some alien from another planet. He's privileged and lucky. He's lucky he had engineers come and help him build his company.
bmitc 5y ago
The advice to arbitrarily delete every third paragraph makes zero sense. That whole piece is just cult of personality. The advice is also an insult to real writers who know how to actually craft intriguing stories.

seph-reed 5y ago

This was a really nice read. I've made a habit lately of "checking out" on having any opinion about anything I can't truly analyze. And this is a great example of why. I'm surrounded in content telling me why Bezos is a monster, and they make a good argument. But for all that hatred, I've never once heard a single mention of him being smart, let alone intimidatingly smart, let alone "a first class genius" or "better regarded as hyper-intelligent aliens with a tangential interest in human affairs." This seems like an important character detail to have been left out.

soneca 5y ago
I remember reading about him being very smart multiple times. Just not on articles commenting Amazon workplace environment and such, as it should not be indeed. On articles about the beginnings of Amazon, the writing culture, or anything that is in part a biography on Bezos, I always see it mentioned how smart he is.
- seph-reed 5y ago
  > Just not on articles commenting Amazon workplace environment and such, as it should not be indeed I think the distinction between "evil" and "evil genius" is actually kind of important for a world that often anchors its reality to Hollywood narratives. It sets up a more believable antagonist, and makes it clear that -- unlike the grinch -- their heart is not likely to change. It also sets up the challenge: be smarter. If he was just greedy, it might be a race to the bottom (greed always wins). But in this case it's a race to the top (intelligence seems to win). I also think the distinction between "greed wins" and "smart wins" extends with a similar lack of mention into other popular "villains" like Elon or THE ZUCK. At least for me, knowing that the richest person in the world is also considered extremely smart by the smartest people he could pay to work with him... it makes me feel that -- unlike politics -- business is not yet a complete race to the bottom.
yumaikas 5y ago
I wonder how much of "smart" is due to his power, and how much of it is due to his intellect. I say this not because I don't believe he doesn't have an impressive intellect, but because, well, what if someone had his intellect, but worked in an Amazon warehouse due to circumstances outside of their control?
- yumaikas 5y ago
  Lots of people with power shut down people who are smarter than them for being annoying, I guess is what I'm getting at.
  - AussieWog93 5y ago
    I'd counter that by saying lots of people think they're being smart but in fact are just annoying pedants (like me!).
    - earleybird 5y ago
      upvote, just for driving the point home - with parenthesis
- WalterBright 5y ago
  Being smart isn't good enough. One must also be motivated, be willing to put in the effort, and not be discouraged by repeated failure. I had a friend once who was very smart. He was always starting new projects to make money, and always quit at the first or second obstacle.
  - yumaikas 5y ago
    And have the spare resources on hand to be able to survive repeated failures, for that matter. And not be dealing with ADHD or other mental issues. In the back of my head I want to tease out how much of Beso's success is due to aptitude, how much is due to work, how much is due to privilege, and how much is due to luck, and how much is due to ruthlessness. This might be a futile exercise, all told, but I do think all of those factors have played into his success. And I wonder how his success and the other factors compound in the perception people have of him.
1123581321 5y ago
You usually find that in anything talking about his DE Shaw background.

aidenn0 5y ago

Per TFA there was an early cut with Marlowe in voiceover explaining things. This was removed at some point, which does indeed support your theory.

lqet 5y ago

This is also exactly how I felt when I first watched "The Godfather: Part 2". There was just so much left out, and so much of extreme significance was only slightly hinted at (just take the scene where Michael realizes the betrayal!). If you only stop paying attention for a single scene, chances are that you will not get the plot. That not only makes you completely immersed in the movie, it also makes for very satisfying rewatches.

jimbob45 5y ago
When I watch things with other people and I see them looking down at their phone during scenes like the one where Michael realizes the betrayal, I then know they're not going to have enjoyed the movie because they'll have missed a critical visual cue. I don't want to rewind the scene because that seems passive-aggressive but I also don't want to waste another two hours on their part on a movie that they almost certainly can't enjoy anymore.
zmp0989 5y ago
Funny (to me) story about the first time I watched the first two Godfather films. I was in high school and home pretty ill. My dad rented both films for me. I was so out of it that I didn't know which family was the Corleones until midway through the 2nd movie.

blacksqr 5y ago

I remember I had to watch "The Long Goodbye" with Elliot Gould three times to figure out exactly what was going on [0]. A detective job in itself. A good movie nonetheless. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:The_Long_Goodbye_(film)#Analysis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:The_Long_Goodbye_(film)#A...

candlemas 5y ago
Leigh Brackett also wrote the screenplay for that movie.

YeBanKo 5y ago

The linked article reads like a pure idolization. It’s like Bible, except written not more than a thousand years ago but now, and by fishermen, but by sw engineers, the message is the same though.

Graffur 5y ago

That post is cringe inducing. Yegge had to put himself down " I don’t know why it’s not in there. It should be. I’m a dork." to keep Bezos happy? Let's face it: Bezos isn't some alien from another planet. He's privileged and lucky. He's lucky he had engineers come and help him build his company.

bmitc 5y ago

The advice to arbitrarily delete every third paragraph makes zero sense. That whole piece is just cult of personality. The advice is also an insult to real writers who know how to actually craft intriguing stories.