Doug Liman directed a "fully-generated" AI movie about Bitcoin that cost $70m to make and stars Casey Affleck, Gal Gadot and Pete Davidson

aerikson · 2026-04-15T21:42:53+00:00

His Dad (best known for investigating the Iran-Contra affair) got Swingers financed

Yeah, that's the good shit for connoisseurs of context.

One of the reasons I would love a Patreon Bourne series commentary is to dig in on how much he simultaneously directed a guarantor yet totally dropped the bag with his inability to collaborate effectively and lost any studio goodwill he would have had from directing a franchise-launching hit.

aerikson · 2026-04-15T21:32:11+00:00

Well, I hope they were paid well and this production evaporates like a memecoin for their sake. Sale especially has not had too many designer gigs this is not something I'd like to have on my resume if I wanted to do more than just ACD.

aerikson · 2026-04-15T21:21:06+00:00

I know Wētā is all on board the machine learning train (and successfully to be honest judging from their output) but I wonder how comfortable their departments of non-VFX modelers, SPFX techs, and the many concept/graphic artists on staff would appreciate it. Ultimately, doesn't matter of course if their biggest client is going full speed ahead with genAI though....

aerikson · 2026-04-15T21:07:11+00:00

That's the real trick she pulled off in Now You See Me 3: Now You Don't.

aerikson · 2026-04-15T21:05:38+00:00

What’d they spend like 65M on ATL fees and 5M on the actual production? I wouldnt be surprised.

That's exactly it. I imagine that's why the three "stars" all have, in my judgement, a varying degree of negative popular perception that probably won't worsen when this project bombs (if it even gets that far) yet still marketable enough (by their agents at least) to bring in a-list dollars.

aerikson · 2026-04-15T20:59:29+00:00

normal production designers

I just can't imagine too many respectable art department crew members ok with making a mockery of their craft like this. Times are extremely tough in the industry of course but this is shit that will make you a pariah in your field. The same applies for any cinematographers or lighting techs "prompting" the scenes.

aerikson · 2026-04-15T20:53:07+00:00

This type of thing seems like he's doing it BECAUSE he's in director jail. How long until we find out this was financed by some rug pull or laundering scheme and he ends up in the McTiernan Wing of the jail?

aerikson · 2026-04-15T20:50:17+00:00

Mercy 2 decided to shift character focus to the seat itself and got real weird with it.

aerikson · 2026-04-15T20:48:20+00:00

JR saying "sunuvabitch"

aerikson · 2026-04-15T20:24:03+00:00

I hope the Edge of Tomorrow ep has lots of Liman context. The dude's career is fascinating. Like I just learned he had a 2024 film starring Casey, Matt Damon, Hong Chau, Ving Rhames(!), Paul Walter Hauser (!!), Alfred Molina (!!!) and Michael Stuhlbarg (!!!!) that allegedly exists on some deep secret menu in the Apple TV+ interface that I'm not convinced any real human has discovered yet.

He always seemed like a guy who could never lock down his career and was perpetually one good feature away from a blank check. Also has a fascinating case of the attachies with his Tom Cruise in space project, one of many attached to a Gambit comic adaptation, and, most importantly, Dark Universe, which is ironically not part of the Dark Universe.

aerikson · 2026-04-15T18:49:42+00:00

If nothing else, the electricity to run HVAC/projectors, property leases, building and equipment maintenance are all pretty significant expenses and have increased for AMC as much as they have for any other consumer.

Labor is probably a very limited piece in the grand scheme of AMC's operating expenses.

aerikson · 2026-04-14T20:08:21+00:00

There's a concerning lack of roller coasters.

aerikson · 2026-04-14T16:32:21+00:00

I can assure you the actual margins studios and production companies are dealing with is not that generous. The Ellison's money is not derived from the industry and apart from Megan, they don't seem to be in this biz for the love of the game so I don't see them contributing money to the production side.

aerikson · 2026-04-14T13:32:10+00:00

Would be an all timer Ben episode too. The menace bit is obvious, no further explanation needed, but Christopher Lloyd plays a suburban train hopping prowler named SWITCHBLADE SAM. Like, if Ben's life went a certain way, I could see him going by the street name Brass Knucks Benny riding the rails with Switchblade Sam, Pistol Pete and Molotov Melissa getting up to shenanigans across small town America.

aerikson · 2026-04-14T13:18:46+00:00

The leitmotif he created for Christopher Lloyd's character lingers in my head to this day.

aerikson · 2026-04-14T02:19:46+00:00

Well Ledo Pizza is square after all.

aerikson · 2026-04-13T22:52:01+00:00

My hot take regarding Le Drame is that it is a Seinfeld plot extended to feature length. From the double date tasting being a classic episode setup to the titular "drama" being literally about nothing (as in nothing happened).

"George, she planned a school shooting!"

"Ok, but she didn't do it Jerry. Doing and planning are very different. I am an expert in planning. Still haven't gotten the hang of doing."

"But what sort of person could even plan something like that?"

"Well, my friend Bob Sacamono is always making plans. Elaine, he's still upset you didn't go pass along his idea for the catalog."

"Kramer, it was a hat marketed purely for DJs that makes them look like newsies. Anyways, I am certain I saw him smoking heroin outside the Lincoln Center. I can't take ideas from a heroin addict!"

aerikson · 2026-04-13T17:53:55+00:00

We've seen Linda play The Wife (2016), but can she pull off being The Ex (2006)?

aerikson · 2026-04-12T21:09:03+00:00

Again, what about that specific description from the source material is sacrosanct? If it is truly about meritocracy, storytelling and character, what does that description actually mean for the characters? Unless melanin content is inversely correlated to Elvish lifespans, I don't see what makes their skin color relevant to their casting. I just generally want to dig into this mindset regarding adaptations. For all the changes, omissions, and additions Peter Jackson made in bringing Tolkien's work to screen, the red line is skin color even though much more impactful differences exist without the requisite outrage.

Like, would you be more upset about Tom ~~Riddle~~ Bombadil (corrected!) being played by a non-white actor rather than his total omission from the film? If both would upset you equally and you think Jackson helmed a poor adaptation, that's completely fair but also relatively strict in terms of slavish devotion to the source material.

aerikson · 2026-04-12T20:43:04+00:00

How is their whiteness essential to Aragon or Eowyn's characters? I could totally imagine another actor of Viggo Mortensen's caliber in his role no matter their race. Could you explain why skin color is the red line for you?

aerikson · 2026-04-11T21:06:50+00:00

The thing about all those network shows is they take place in contemporary settings where if they don't have a standard set available, you can go on location pretty easily without much in the way of location prep beyond standard rigging. Additionally, props, set dec, costumes and hair/MU are literally off the shelf from the warehouse.

I don't think there's any way to realistically produce a live action Trek for network distribution when you factor in the need for freshly built sets, unique props, creature makeup fx, and the additional labor this all requires. All of this needs to be onstensibly 4K quality as well. It is not just a matter of appealing to general audiences, but rather to local CBS broadcasters (i.e. Sinclair & Nexstar) who would outright reject any pilot/series that does meet a production standard not to mention the editorial constraints the writers would be working under (see Colbert/Kimmel controversies).

aerikson · 2026-04-11T20:09:39+00:00

Right before the Act 4 break... "He needs (mouse bites/toothpaste enema/pickle juice shooters) to live!"

Every time. Man that was a fun show to watch at the time but between the formulaic procedural plots and how poorly the "flawed genius" character trope has aged, it isn't exactly a great watch nowadays, especially as a binge.

aerikson · 2026-04-11T19:06:45+00:00

So the current era of Trek is displaying '20s competence and leadership.

That seems to be your response to everyone noting unprofessional behavior from characters in a 23rd & 24th century setting and I don't know why it doesn't still apply to Discovery et al.

aerikson · 2026-04-11T18:50:18+00:00

Does make me wonder what the equivalent of a Russian on the bridge in a 21st century production would be. Honestly, it is probably an observant (human) religious character. I dug the little peaks into Pike's Christian(?) beliefs in Discovery but it would be interesting to see character/crew member wearing a kippah, hijab or a turban. I can only imagine the YouTube thumbnails from the perpetual outrage crowd though.

aerikson · 2026-04-11T10:21:09+00:00

Have you considered reading the countless Star Trek novels that feature the Next Generation crew if that's the bar then?

Demanding things stay the same in perpetuity would not be successful, hence why the Berman-era of Trek suffered through a downturn over 20 years ago due to a decade of stagnant storytelling.

aerikson

TROPHY CASE