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Hm. We may have a difference of outlook. I don't mind a fantasy blockbuster once in awhile, but to me the most interesting films involve interhuman drama that s

Hm. We may have a difference of outlook. I don't mind a fantasy blockbuster once in awhile, but to me the most interesting films involve interhuman drama that speaks to my own emotional experience, and often just consist of a lot of people talking with occasional plot twists and unexpected bursts of action. I went to film school for a couple years and dropped out, because as much as I enjoyed lighting and directing, I saw that everyone around me was obsessed with good effects and had no interest in good writing. [edit: That and it was insanely expensive and unjustifiable unless I wanted to be a commercial DP when I got out... and I wanted to be a writer.] Yeah, I guess it would be awesome to just have an AI build your dream movie, but if you have a good script and a couple thousand bucks you can go out and find some actors and make something real right now. If it's good enough, you can get a shot at directing something massive where you actually have control over how your vision is executed, rather than sending your ideas into a "black box". There's also the problem that visual fx are already pretty cheap, and no longer a reason to go see a movie. No one can even count the number of Viking shows or Lost Starship movies on streaming services, or tell them apart. It's not like when the original Jurassic Park came out and everyone was like I HAVE TO SEE THESE DINOSAURS. (My best friend recently described Avatar 2 as "that movie with the flying blue turds"). So my point is that the market is already oversaturated... just like mobile gaming. Chasing cool graphics, even if you get a monentary viral hit, you just end up lost in the flood of noise when everyone else has access to the same technology. The pyramid is a good thing, actually, because it forces you to be imaginitive. The people at the top are less imaginative because they think their vast resources can compensate for bad writing. See: George Lucas. Without a compelling story, a movie is worse than watching someone else play a video game. And with a compelling story, it doesn't matter if it's set on Mars or in your basement. I think it's also why the best games aren't the ones with the best rendering engines, but the ones with the best story and mechanics.

kian 3y ago
This sounds like the end-state is an increase in the relative value of extremely well-written films, as special effects and eye candy lose their luster as they become extremely common-place (see the Marvel universe of films, for an example of this happening already).
- noduerme 3y ago
  I can definitely see Netflix having four or five rows of AI movies above a ghetto section of "human-made" films. I already have to skip all the Marvel garbage. I mean, it's free to watch Twitch.
dotancohen 3y ago
> the most interesting films involve interhuman drama that speaks to my own emotional experience, and often just consist of a lot of people talking with occasional plot twists and unexpected bursts of action What was your opinion on Clerks? You pretty much described that movie to a tee. And, for that matter, the first few seasons of TNG.
- noduerme 3y ago
  Clerks was / is one of my favorite movies of all time. (Far as Trek goes, I liked the original series.)
  - aspenmayer 3y ago
    Did you see Star Trek Continues? If so what did you think of it? As someone who didn't see TOS in its original run but appreciated it in occasional reruns, and as a huge fan of the original cast movies, it was... weird. But good weird, mostly, weird in a way that somehow captured the zaniness weirdness of TOS, and which was somewhat glossed over in the original movies when they made the jump to Hollywood production values. I'd check it out if you haven't, just to see what's out there. For that matter, I quite enjoyed Lower Decks, as the Star Trek universe really needed that kind of dedicated comedic outlet, but from a clearly fannish perspecitve that isn't afraid of making very niche in-universe inside-jokes but always from a place of kindness and respect to both the original source material and to the viewer.

kian 3y ago

This sounds like the end-state is an increase in the relative value of extremely well-written films, as special effects and eye candy lose their luster as they become extremely common-place (see the Marvel universe of films, for an example of this happening already).

noduerme 3y ago
I can definitely see Netflix having four or five rows of AI movies above a ghetto section of "human-made" films. I already have to skip all the Marvel garbage. I mean, it's free to watch Twitch.

dotancohen 3y ago

> the most interesting films involve interhuman drama that speaks to my own emotional experience, and often just consist of a lot of people talking with occasional plot twists and unexpected bursts of action What was your opinion on Clerks? You pretty much described that movie to a tee. And, for that matter, the first few seasons of TNG.

noduerme 3y ago
Clerks was / is one of my favorite movies of all time. (Far as Trek goes, I liked the original series.)
- aspenmayer 3y ago
  Did you see Star Trek Continues? If so what did you think of it? As someone who didn't see TOS in its original run but appreciated it in occasional reruns, and as a huge fan of the original cast movies, it was... weird. But good weird, mostly, weird in a way that somehow captured the zaniness weirdness of TOS, and which was somewhat glossed over in the original movies when they made the jump to Hollywood production values. I'd check it out if you haven't, just to see what's out there. For that matter, I quite enjoyed Lower Decks, as the Star Trek universe really needed that kind of dedicated comedic outlet, but from a clearly fannish perspecitve that isn't afraid of making very niche in-universe inside-jokes but always from a place of kindness and respect to both the original source material and to the viewer.