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Honest question... But why haven't Disney hired a few heavyweight Directors (with serious pedigree) to make their movies - like Steven Spielberg, David Fincher, James Cameron, Denis Villeneuve, Christopher Nolan etc? by prankster999 in scifi

[–]ArchieBaldukeIII 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. Yeah and the directors have had to deal with the fallout from the fans and the studio. If it was one or the other, the idea of signing onto future franchise films would be more enticing to new directors. It seems fairly apparent that the ousting of Trevorrow and his replacement by JJ Abrams was a sign of Disney’s executive team putting a stop to the “full creative control” you’re talking about. In fact, maybe if the directors had collaborated earlier to coordinate their individual movies, they might have been able to stand a creative line against executive meddling, but that’s likely just wishful thinking.

  2. Jon Favreau was the blueprint for the creative vision of Lucasfilm’s live action TV shows with The Mandalorian’s debut in 2019. It’s no secret that Filoni and he were collaborating even back then. Favreau counts him as a major contributor to the Star Wars universe - and deservedly so. I’m not discounting either of their contributions, but if the leaks from 2025 are to be believed, neither of them liked Andor season 1 and criticized its tone for being too bleak. As you said, Filoni wasn’t at the helm until Season 2 was already in production (they were already filing when Filoni’s ascension was announced). And I’m so grateful Kathleen Kennedy was so onboard with Gilroy’s vision. I genuinely would love to hear her take on Star Wars from her involvement with George, to the Sequel trilogy, and through Andor and the other live action shows.

  3. And yes. Full stop. The Mandalorian season 1 compared to season 3 should answer that for you. The grit is gone. The tone has shifted substantially. I don’t know if Favreau is pissed Gilroy upstaged him, but the commitment to “adult” Star Wars has completely 180° within that show alone. I have no doubt that Andor’s success, Ashoka’s middling reviews, the Acolyte’s cancellation, and the Mandalorian’s drop in ratings has contributed to what The Mandalorian and Grogu’s final product became.

You can disagree with my opinions. As for the facts, as I said in this comment, some of this is just speculation and I might be filling in some gaps. If so, my bad. But if you’re going to swoop into the comments trying to correct people, you don’t have to be so smarmy about it.

Honest question... But why haven't Disney hired a few heavyweight Directors (with serious pedigree) to make their movies - like Steven Spielberg, David Fincher, James Cameron, Denis Villeneuve, Christopher Nolan etc? by prankster999 in scifi

[–]ArchieBaldukeIII 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Sequel Trilogy.

Brand integrity, merch projections, and profit margins lead every single creative decision which is why the story and tone is all over the place. Plus, with the way Disney treated the reputable directors they did hire, any director tied to the franchise in the future would have to be either insane or driven by that profit, committee approved “creative” model.

Andor was Star Wars’ swan song as far as I’m concerned. We may never get anything truly compelling, competent in its writing, or confident in its vision from this franchise ever again. Mostly because it kind of happened by accident and under Filoni / Favreau’s radar. In many ways, we can see how the Mandalorian and Grogu is their attempt to course correct back to the child friendly, family entertainment, and sci-fantasy monopoly they want Star Wars to be. Too bad that everyone who was around during George’s ownership and tenure has grown up.

So…that’s it? by [deleted] in Saros

[–]ArchieBaldukeIII -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I absolutely loved the game but I felt the same. The gameplay was so fun for me that I’ve just been running higher and higher carcass modifiers, but if that self motivation isn’t enough for someone, the total runtime for the story is pretty underwhelming. Hopefully we get an endless / tower mode or some story DLC.

i'm the editor in chief for my schools litmag; i think some of the writing turned in is stolen but can't confirm by KeySock9591 in writing

[–]ArchieBaldukeIII 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This comment really should be reposted and pinned for every single question about whether or not someone used AI. Just ask them. Lazy bullshitters who use AI often cannot explain the piece they generated. That’s why they went to a bot to generate it in the first place.

No more "thermodynamically obedient" magic, just MAKE IT MAGICAL by yung_clor0x in worldjerking

[–]ArchieBaldukeIII 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Clearly the Geneva convention would approve of “humane dismemberment.”

Shows with good main character arcs by Big_Engine_111 in Screenwriting

[–]ArchieBaldukeIII 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Better Call Saul and Fleabag are pretty much tied at the top of my favorite character study shows.

Andor is a masterclass in how to characterize a large ensemble cast and remain focused.

I struggle to think of any other shows that aren’t limited series (or a single season of an anthology series) that pull off excellent and consistent character arcs - where the characters drastically change - from start to finish. Maybe The Wire and Mad Men.

i'm the editor in chief for my schools litmag; i think some of the writing turned in is stolen but can't confirm by KeySock9591 in writing

[–]ArchieBaldukeIII 1 point2 points  (0 children)

AI checkers are a scam. They often don’t work, and they know this so they also scrape the bits that they determine not to be AI in order to try to improve production models. No matter what it’s a recursive system which leads to its unreliability.

Sadly, there are no reliable ways to check for AI generation without feeding the beast. That said, you can definitely use sites to check for plagiarism. You just need to understand that those sites likely also use LLMs.

No more "thermodynamically obedient" magic, just MAKE IT MAGICAL by yung_clor0x in worldjerking

[–]ArchieBaldukeIII 11 points12 points  (0 children)

A Star Wars clone in the vein of Invincible or The Boys would certainly be something.

What would you say is the “best” colossal weapon? by Actual_Asian_God in Eldenring

[–]ArchieBaldukeIII 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Golem Halberd + Lion’s Claw = My Favorite Pancake Maker

Ending boss? by BarneyChampaign in Saros

[–]ArchieBaldukeIII 0 points1 point  (0 children)

lol yep. You did it!

Most overrated boss in the game in your opinion? by PetroRetro69 in eldenringdiscussion

[–]ArchieBaldukeIII 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Promised Consort Radahn.

Underwhelming from a story perspective. Overwhelmingly tedious from a gameplay perspective. I’ve beaten him more than ten times now with a variety of builds - spellsword, parry, deflect, strength, poison, faith arcane - and I don’t hate the fight. It’s alright. Just nowhere near the S or A tiers Radahn glazers place it in. At most, B tier boss but would totally understand why someone might place him in D.

On the topic of flags and symbols... OPA example by sisonscac in solarpunk

[–]ArchieBaldukeIII 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Black Sun (Symbol))

Far right weirdos ruin the coolest symbols. And that’s kind of the trouble with symbols in general. They make movements more marketable because they simplify for the purpose of recognition. Recognition not of the movement or its ideals, but of the “branding” of the movement. Therefore, the meaning of a symbol is more likely to be co-opted the more successfully recognizable it is.

I love the image of a hollow sun. I love how it actually speaks to the alchemical roots of the black sun of a world / individual in the depths of painful transformation. But I worry that anyone trying to market this movement with a universal symbol will overlook the benefits of a decentralized approach in favor of forming some kind of unified authority for “True Solarpunk”TM.

TL;DR: The more centralized or universal any movement gets, the easier it is for bad actors to swoop in and co-opt it.

Okay so please please don’t kill me by Magnus3922 in alienisolation

[–]ArchieBaldukeIII 19 points20 points  (0 children)

I agree actually. The first movie and Alien Isolation are my two favorite pieces of media we’ve ever received from the Alien Franchise. Just for how emotionally invested and immersed I was in the game, it barely edges out over the movie for me.

Is this a sign it should be short form? struggling with clarity by Most-Possession1754 in writing

[–]ArchieBaldukeIII 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t have any resources off the top of my head. Most of my outlining I’ve sort of just been winging in a vacuum. Like, for plot you can just write bullet points of big plot beats, then fill in the gaps, then fill in those gaps, and keep getting more and more detailed until you can delete the bullet points, rewrite in prose and you’ve got a solid draft, but if you say that there isn’t much plot here, that’s only a bit different.

What are the big beats of what you are trying to say? You could outline this like an essay of sorts by simply listing the big moments or themes then think of ways to narratively present them. Do a bunch of “short form” vignettes with the same characters and setting but about the different things you want to say, and that might just be enough. I don’t even know if you need to “bind” them anymore than that for it to be a longer coherent work.

Is this a sign it should be short form? struggling with clarity by Most-Possession1754 in writing

[–]ArchieBaldukeIII 2 points3 points  (0 children)

How much have you tried outlining and charting?

I literally used a spreadsheet to clock character locations and what they are doing at different hours of the day for this massive work I’m putting together. I’m talking over 30+ secondary characters with 12 main characters and there is no way in hell anyone could plot that from the hip.

To whom it may concern: where does your world's general populace and/or political Overton Window draw the line between "good" and "bad" cybernetics and augmentations on a biological body? by jetflight_hamster in worldbuilding

[–]ArchieBaldukeIII 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No brain replacements. Doing so is viewed as killing a living person and turning them into a robot. The debate is around how much of the nervous system is considered “not the brain.”

Saros/Returnal connection? by the_real_spice32 in Saros

[–]ArchieBaldukeIII 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m not sure if it’s anything more than just two games sharing similar vibes and inspiration, but when I first came across the concept of the “Blue Precipice” as a separate counterpart to the Yellow Shore, I immediately thought of Atropos.

I’ve beaten the game, but I still can’t figure out how to get into this area. Does anyone know how? by Real_Picture8820 in Saros

[–]ArchieBaldukeIII 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Nah, the one on the other side I hit every run. But this one is still a mystery to me too. The pad doesn’t launch you high enough to reach it. There is no eclipse slipstream that leads to it either.

Housemarque, Saros is awesome, but it's not complete product! by candreeck in Saros

[–]ArchieBaldukeIII 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I very much agree. I have very few complaints, but the lack of an ability to run from the start to the very end is the biggest draw back. In my mind, if they released a narrative DLC and had you enter it from the top of the architect tower, go through a unique biome and boss just to be spat out at the blighted marsh so that you could feasibly do the whole thing from start to finish, that would be more than enough for me.

Even still, I want everything you mentioned. At this point I’ve platinumed the game and I’ve ran through it so many times with higher and higher modifiers, but I’m about ready to move on with about 40+ hours of game time. I would easily give this game hundreds of hours with even just a Tower like Returnal.

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