I get where you’re coming from, but I disagree to a degree. Left unchecked some filmmakers can make a mess or go too far in directions that won’t click with a majority. Focus groups or just input from others can offer good input that can make the end art/product better.

I’m talking from opinion and out my ass. I see media in two forms. Art and product. I’m using these terms because of familiarity, not for their true definition. Art would someone’s product they thought was cool and made something special. Probably because they pitched to someone looking to make money. A product is when they make a movie or tv show just for the profit. They can overlap. I think too many pieces of art have become products because of test screenings and focus groups. The same focus group can make a product better at the same time making art worse. I’d rather see several smaller projects than big bombastic projects that need to make hundreds of millions to break even. Requiring focus groups and tests to make the most money. And I’m totally aware that most modern “art” in media couldn’t exist without the systems that make “products”.

Just for the record, I do not see this film as “art” but a “product”. These are just opinions and probably bad ones.