I remember that one, it was brilliant. And it really highlights the thing that seems to be forgotten these days: Actors' jobs is: ACTING. If someone can't act a role, they shouldn't have it. Gender, sexuality, etc does not matter. If they visually and mentally are portraying whatever the writer had in mind, then that's all that matters.

Just like how I like that George Takei disagreed with them making Sulu gay just because George is gay.

It's all make believe and they ruin it by thinking it needs to reflect reality. It's like Mac said: "Ian mckellan plays a wizard, do you think he goes home at the end of the day and shoots lasers out of his fingers into his boyfriend's asshole?"

Imagine Niles Crane from the show "Frasier" not being played by David Hyde Pierce...

@@Elgsdyr Wait Niles isn't gay?

Excellent observation.

Yes rather than build up your own building to be a skyscraper you tear down any building taller than your own.

@@thorinhannahs4614 And you must destroy the very idea of skyscrapers because even the concept of such a thing being possible reflects poorly upon their efforts and abilities.

Its not post modernism, it's just progressivism taken to an extreme. Everything is racist, bigoted, fatphobic. Calling people fat is now bigoted. You take logic that used to be applied to real issues like race and you apply it to literally everything else, heightism, colorism, ageism, classism. It's hyper-progressivism.

Underrated comment

Fact!

great interview, you got a new suscriber here.

What a couple of real good bastards.

You mean susan?

@@felipecampos3045 oh yep, that's correct. my bad. haha

Agreed. Would also like them to make a drinker's after hours episode, where they talk about a movie they both love.

Yes, that is a big part of it. But I also think the not being well read is the bigger issue. A great writer can make something without having to experience it, living in someone elses skin so to speak. Research and knowing the proper techniques can make up for not being in a certain time/situation. But these people know neither.

@@christianbjorck816 I agree that being well read helps. And really skilled/insightful people can use that to help them write. But I do think that is far more rare than writers who have life experience to draw from. When I think of the great writers in history most of them went to or lived through wars, went on expeditions to new lands (not vacations), or lived long periods of their life in hardship. Also most of them had jobs before being writers that required them to interact on a daily basis with ordinary people. They were doctors, lawyers, mailmen, clerks, and so on. So when we talk about life experience, it also includes living the life of an ordinary person. There weren't a ton of writers back then that went to school to write and did nothing but that as a profession. I think even if you are well read it would be exceedingly hard to be a good writer while living in the bubble that modern writers do.

I was trying to help a young screenwriter improve his noir script. He cited TITANIC as the source for the romantic relationship and said Ross's mom was the antagonist. I recommend he study THE BIG SLEEP, and he said "Why should I look at a movie from the 40s." The thread ended when he claimed my comments, meant in good faith to help him be a better writer, were "disrespectful" and "offensive."

and they're all backed by publishers who solely care about how marketable something is, more so today than ever before. Quality is marketable, but not as easily achieved as simple-minded franchise spamming. Man I love Chris Nolan for so many things, perhaps more than most is the quote in his TDK movie saying "You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain". This phrase extends soooo deep into so many industries today. They are suffering from their own success. Marvel pioneered the whole mega-franchise approach. They did the impossible. They made a superhero universe massively popular - and thus profitable. But they didn't know when to stop. When to call it quits. When to realize the market is getting oversaturated. Instead, they choose to milk that franchise for every drop it's worth, and other branches of modern film making has taken this approach to heart and are now milking literally every established profitable franchise in existence. That's why we have continuations of Star Wars, of Fast and Furious, of Lord of the Rings, of Harry Potter. And they all have one thing in common: They're inspired by marketability, rather than originality. Original works have the major unknown factor that is: "We do not know if this will be a major success or not". With established IPs and franchises, this factor goes down drastically, and in turn promises consistent high revenue - EVEN IF the end product itself wouldn't be able to stand on its own legs. It is carried by the franchise it is a part of. Standalone, it would fail, or it would fade into irrelevance quickly - being at best a seasonal flick or some weekend tv worthy watch. If you look at things, everyone are trying to make "big blockbusters" now. That didn't use to be the case 15+ years ago, because back then a big blockbuster would come with major consequences such as "is the writing and acting good enough? Is the story intriguing and well written?". All these factors would determine the success of a big budget movie back then, because they didn't step on the shoulders of prior giants when making a name for themselves. Their quality equalled their profit. Today, quality no longer equals profit. Because no one does original work anymore, so quality doesn't have to exist to establish hype and interest. Quality, you might say, is in their eyes just wasted time and budget. It is not a necessity for success, it is at best just a happy byproduct in a few cases, but far from the norm.

Absolutely 🥃

She can't write songs and doesn't have much of a singing voice and that didn't stop a music career when her daddy pulled some strings.

@@docsavage8640 filtered

@@docsavage8640 Her songs all sound like novelty songs. And not good ones like Weird Al's either

@@docsavage8640 isn't her dad a stock broker? Just how does a stock broker from Pennsylvania pull strings in the Music Industry?

You have no idea what you're talking about. She was worth a bazillion dollars when she went woke after being beaten down by the constant "Taylor's silence on [woke agenda item du jour] is deafening!" hit pieces. The irony is that when she sold out to woketardedness, she claimed that previously she was doing what she was told, but now she's her own person. Right. She became what was demanded of her and now she's authentic. I figured that her flipping woke and flipping off her country base would wreck her, but nope. The old fans stuck by Tay Tay and the new fans for her pop dreck (other than 1989; that album is a banger) have combined to make her the top-selling live tour ever, selling out football stadiums for multiple nights and grossing nearly $600M. But sure, she wants to get some Hollywood money. /rolleyes

Yeah, I didn't realize it at first, but Kylo losing to Rey was the critical moment that meant the trilogy wasn't going to work. That managed to ruin both the hero *and* the villain in one scene, and for no reason. If they're going to escape due to a convenient crevasse, Kylo could have been about to win the fight, which would have made him more threatening and given Rey something to work towards in the next movie. But no, Rey just had to be perfect from the beginning. (That would be fine if she was supposed to be the Paragon -- the Gandalf or Dumbledore -- but that's clearly not her role.)

Yeah it's just god aweful writing. It's about maturity. Thinking "it's cool" when the hero does everything perfectly is how a 5 year old would try to write a story. Aren't these adults?

@@paulpena5040 I don't think it's impossible to write a good movie that way. Like a Bond movie, or certain kinds of comedies, it could work. But it's definitely a bad idea for a *trilogy* -- and particularly for a Star Wars trilogy.

@@pfeilspitze True there is a place for "fluff" entertainment. Bond is like action porn. But even in that franchise he makes mistakes and has to adjust - Look at Casino Royale where he lost more than 1 hand of poker to Leschiffe and gets visibly agitated. Yet even in that universe the secret agent had tons of training which at least makes it somewhat believable. But REY, she is just perfect from day one. And even her motivations are not compelling or clear.

The most obvious example for me would be the live action Mulan. The animated Mulan was exactly the perfect hero's journey. It triggers wish fulfilment, you want to emulate Mulan dedication to overcoming her flaws for her family and then country. The new live action version, she's BORN special. It was always her destiny to succeed.

at 44:00 when talking about Luke with the mind trick compared to Rey; Luke also immediately tried using it against Jabba and it failed; so even at max power Luke was not allowed to 'win' all situations the way Rey was. TFA was already annoying the crap out of me by that time but that also was a big "f*** this film" moment for me.

100% agreed. He had been put in the naughty corner by the academies and media for several decades. His level of intellectual curiosity and calm rationality was, and still is, a threat to the mainstream narrative. The fact he's black meant he couldn't be attacked the same way anyone else with his views is.

@@timeweston Well, "they're" giving up on the pretense now. Just look at all the despicable things they've come out and said regarding Justice Thomas and Eric July: when the light is shown on them they always revert back to their old tricks.

it's because since Jan 2021 Thomas SowellTV channel has been publishing clips of interviews going back well over a decade. The titles of the clips are related to social, political, and economic issues that are relevant today. That is why the YT algorithm has produced more links to Sowell's work than ever before. The ABOUT tab on the channel says: "Enjoy the best of Dr. Thomas Sowell. We use the work of Dr. Sowell to debunk cultural narratives."

keynesian economics created the largest , broadest economy the world has ever seen .the austrian economists like hayek freidman and sowell shrink the middle class and blow up poverty. but instead of having a conversation about class its a fight between the woke and the anti-woke.

de Maistre in a YT comment section -- fantastic!

@@Ahabite Thanks!

Yum y B guy G g B

Wow

Too bad your story is false.

both actors were too old. ... or does Dustin Hoffman just look older than he should.

@@nuckygulliver9607 I feel like people used to look way older in general. Our lives are twice as long now but feature less than half the growth/experience of previous generations.

@@docsavage8640 Proof?

I hope you find a place that allow you to add value to their organization as opposed to punish you for asking questions.

and you hit the nail on the head with the stories now. these screenwriters are mostly all coddled from birth and were raised in a culture where you just ghost people if the situation becomes uncomfortable. Nobody has to engage when conflict happens they just avoid it ... so they're not learning or growling and their stories are lacking in any real drama or villains worth watching. Evil is just evil works for some simple stories but growing up avoiding legitimate conflicts has given these people nothing to pull from so their writing is inauthentic and forced and the characters don't really seem to behave like real people in their situations should or would. It all feels insanely shallow and sad.

Read up on Clifton! Incredible singer (Broadway musicals) that left the industry on top of his game. He is fantastic!

I've been skipping new releases for a while. At best you get a good story for the first forty odd minutes then BAM!!!! The train wreck occurs. It's best to wait for the reviews to decide if you're going to watch something.

I watched them just to be objective when giving praise or criticism. Lately, there has been a lot of criticism.

Totally agree. I caught myself watching something the other day (can't remember what it was) and as soon as a black actress came on screen I had an automatic 'oh here we go' reaction. And it completely caught me off guard. Prior to all this woke nonsense, it wouldn't mean a thing to me- I would be eager to see the talent of the actor, how their character fit into the story etc. And now it's just 'theres the diversity hire'. And I was upset with myself that I have started to be subconsciously influenced like this. I think in one way it's why I like revisiting older works, because if there's a non-white person in it, they're just there because they're talented and important to the story. I absolutely agree this reflexive rejection is going on right now.

@@katthunter6561: It's a serious disservice to women and/or minority characters. In the past they were characters who had flaws, failed, made mistakes and became awesome as a result of struggling as much as the white men. Now they're perfect from word go and totally boring. Identity aside characters need flaws and struggle to be good.

@@katthunter6561 Absolutely. I never gave a second thought to anyone that appeared on screen. A good example for me is the Walking Dead. I was deep into that show and mixed cast meant nothing to me. Now the show is woke, I don’t watch it now but it’s obvious many characters have been added for diversity points and not telling the story.

same

Yep. Subscribing.

His books are action-packed. Well Worth a read.

He links his books on his videos

I was surprised to find that out too, because I knew him first as The Critical Drinker. Then I remembered his video on how to improve the ending of Game of Thrones and it all made sense. The depth and level of understanding he had on character development, pacing and plot progression, and ultimately conflict resolution would've been too knowledgeable for anyone who wasn't already an experienced writer.

stop hanging around children, weirdo

Duncan can forget about acting. No serious company would hire this guy if he talks to white supremacist nazi like drinker.

@@CliftonADuncan You know my honest opinion. Black men aren't doing enough for their own industry so you have 2 different bases clashing with each other. Can you image where we would be if black men were creating fantasy and horror and arthouse films and video games simultaneously. for their audiences just as Asians were doing the same keeping up with America? You completely neglected to foster a market that could've been there by 2022. You would have a gaming studio or animation by now. Tyler Perry has his own studio. Instead you have black men being complaining of these forced groups when it falls on YOUR shoulders to make sure that an industry is there for black women in entertainment.

@@CliftonADuncan I can't take you seriously if Madea is the biggest thing for African Americans. You wasted all those years post Blaxploitation doing nothing but begging for seats at tables that were made for a handful like Denzel, Will Smith, and Eddie Murphy. The legacy for black Hollywood isn't there.

@@williampearson6299 Blah blah, he is not the savior of black men, wtf is these comments? Yaull are so damn dull and off of the point. Why does it have to be " All black everything", just shut up and do your part, if you happen to be black then bonus points but no one gives a damn. Now go sing some R Kelly, believe you can fly or somethin ffs.

...ok...cool.

Amazing film 👌

Very true!

A white male character can be portrayed positively, as long as he's on program with "the message," he's "one of the good ones." He must accept transgenderism as legitimate and support brave women standing against "the patriarchy." Sometimes, the bad guy is Elon or Bill Gates. There must be a girl boss character. Girl bosses take no Ls and always win no matter what, be it in a social situation with coworkers, or a hand to hand combat against professional fighters. They really need to push the idea that women are fit to lead in every aspect of life, not because of qualifications or their righteousness of character, but by dint of gender. Wait, didn't I just describe sexism?

Yes. There's so many checkboxes to tick now compared to movies 10-30 years ago. I mean the og star wars films seems to only have one checkbox - "Fun". Compared to what you have now. I don't have issues if they want to represent diversity and other woke messages but make it quality or don't overshadow the fun. Also don't keep using established well loved franchises to keep on doing it e.g Dr Who, Star Wars, the 2022 predator etc.

@@zogwort1522 interesting. Could you name some examples?

Good luck. It shouldn't be too hard to top the terrible scripts of most movies today. With luck, and the right attitude, you could certainly become a success. If the industry of (at best) mediocre identitarian hacks lets you...

Awesome

@Ali Chaudhry It's not that I'm being lazy, it's just that those indie films are far off from Hollywoood. I'm sure there are good indie films, but you have to go through certain hoops to find them.

Keep going dude. I started on the same task when I was your age. I'm 42 and still have yet to complete one of my, oh....16 projects or so. I don't think I'll ever be done but I've learned what not to do. . I'm not gonna claim to have the best advice and take it ot leave it if you want, but one thing I have learned about any creative endeavor is that the most important thing is just GET SOMETHING DOWN. Even if it sucks, just get it out. You can always go back and edit. You will never, never get perfection right out of the gate. So, fuck it! Let your imagination run wild and just crank those wild visions out. Best wishes and I hope to see your name in the credits of something mind blowing. Dream big, motherfucker!

Thank you, Bad Connection, for restoring my faith in the younger generation. I showed The Last Starfighter to some Gen Z's in my family. They didn't get it at all. I was heartbroken. You've given me hope for the future.

It was the architect in the 2nd movie. I too always think about that scene.

Those older movies were just written in ways that were above the heads of the average movie watcher. Written by professional crafters of stories. Today the average movie goer can sit there in the theatre and pick out major plot holes and think of a million ways the writers could have gone to make more sense than what was released. Insults to our intelligence were more rare of an occurrence back then.

That's really weird, it was one of the 1st movies that popped into my head when I was thinking about how great movies used to be.

Trading places is an underrated comedy. It's serious at times but knows how to remain mostly funny.

@@Lonovavir absolutely. Watching Winthorpe decay in his poverty comes to mind. Amazing acting.

It's because the characters feel real. They are individual, unique, and imperfect. Another good example I often come back to is the original "Ghostbusters". Every character and actor delivers an original and unique performance that is full of life and joy. Most movies fail to have such real humanity today. In part, because of the world that has created shallow actors, but also because a script and movie are so scrutinized and homogenized by the system to never cause offense, that the chance for anything real, new, or original is also drained away.

I rewatched Nikita recently and felt the same. But then I rewatched The Fifth Element and I was like, uhh well this one still sucks. Oh well, Nikita and Leon were good!

Top Gun Maverick IS political, as the first one was.

Sort of gone the other way too: more actors I won’t watch because I’m tired of being lectured by them

Back in the old days of video stores I'd rent movies I'd never heard of just because they had Al Pacino or someone good like that in them. Nowadays I just avoid movies BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO SUPPORT AN ACTOR'S CAREER, usually due to his history of political lectures.

@@CliftonADuncan I should still get a notification when you release a video I thought. Sorry I don’t trust KZfaq to not interfere with you

Lovecraft was writing during the Jim Crow era, when lynchings were a regular occurrence, north and south. These idiots need to watch some movies filmed in the 20s and 30s and see how the black characters were treated in film contemporary to Lovecraft; they'd find out what real racism looks like.

If they'd read his stories they'd have a hard time finding more than a few racist remarks, nine of which affect the story.

THANK YOU

Where is your evidence that people don’t have to suffer to produce good writing? Think of every objectively good work of art ancient, modern, and everything in between. All of their creators have had some form of conflict and human suffering before making it. Where is this amazing art from people with cushy problem free lives? You can claim that point A doesn’t have to be true but you also have to prove it.

It would be more accurate to say that you have to have lived.

I came here for his whisky-smooth voice and stayed for the intelligent convos.

Dude voice is exceptional and so is his intellect

🤣🤣🤣 lol that silly analogy..but yeah, it got uber.babyfied still like it tho

@@CliftonADuncan It's a great idea... you're an extremely well read and erudite cat... links to some of these books being brought up by you and your guests would be great reference material. Keep up the fantastic work!

Same here, I started looking up best hit lists from prior decades. The "new" films are either reboots of them anyway or too safe.

I like Beato's content as well, and he can speak confidently on not only the art but the artist.

Fantastic idea. Would be a great conversation!

Just discovered it! +1

It's all in the game.

The Wire? Hell, my wife and I have been rewatching old episodes of Scrubs for the last few weeks. You couldn't make THAT show and THOSE jokes today. It's a shame, because they're genuinely funny, and the only people who would actually have a problem would be sad, childless White women getting offended on everyone else's behalf.

Why wouldn’t The Wire get made? Today ‘’The wouldn’t made crowd’’ today is bad as SJWs😂

@@illumantix3008 Because it paints a very unflattering picture of inner city blacks that doesn't fly in today's media environment. Not just the gang violence, but more than anything else the depraved and low intelligence nature of those who engage in it. Characters like Bubbles and a lot of the Barksdale minions would be a no go in today's climate.

@@illumantix3008 Have you watched the Wire? Do you think, in today's politically correct entertainment you could get an honest look at the horrors of the predominantly Black, intercity?

@@CliftonADuncan Haha yes that's the one. Honestly it's aged very well.