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Failed Writer's Journey: First Draft Done and Against Directors [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-03-28

Well, not against director as a concept or people. I am sure some of them are nice, love their families, give to charity, and refrain from kicking puppies and babies. But this article about how the Russo brothers’ new film being a disaster should remind people of the importance of the comic writers and artists the Russo brothers made their name adapting. To me, it reminds me of the wider point: directors do not make the movie.

Now, before the directors’ guild sends Martin Scorsese to beat my ass (doesn’t he look like he could? Even now? Somewhere there is an alternate universe where Scorsese is the world’s most cultured mob enforcer), I am not saying that directors are unimportant. Obviously, a lot of directors have a unique style that informs and enhances their movies. And directors are ultimately the people responsible for making sure that the filming of the movie happens — the look, the acting, etc. are all done to the highest quality possible. It is a difficult job, one without which there are not movies. But movies are collaborations.

The cinematographers, set builders and CGI artists contribute significantly to the look of the film. The actors obviously matter, and the editors are often the people that turn a pile of good-looking spaghetti into a coherent film. And, of course, whatever Hollywood directors and executives think, you need a well written script to have a good movie. Even the tropieist of movies that ever troped still needs at least a writer who can execute those tropes competently. The new Russo movie proves that in spades.

The movie itself is bad, like give up on it after a few minutes bad. It is also, according to the reviews and summaries, not the most original of plots. That is fine. Most movies are not original in their plot, but range anywhere from good to extraordinary. Well executed cliches, well written genre expectations, can still form the scaffolding of a great movie. What the Russ bothers’ Electric State proves is that they are not story tellers. When they had material to adapt, no matter how trope filled it might have been, they produced some of the most successful and enjoyable of the Marvel superhero movies. Now, adapting something that is more a mood than a plot, they have proven that they are not storytellers, that they need to have good material for them to create good movies.

The Russo’s are not alone in this. There are directors who also write. Many of them are bad at it, but a few are good and create good foundations for the rest of the work to build upon. However, even those people still need a good crew and good actors and good editors in order to produce a good film. Hollywood and society still place too much emphasis on the role of the director. Yes, that role is important, but they are not the singular people who make or break a movie. The wild difference in quality between movies by the same directors is not evidence of a director having a bad day. It is evidence that movies are collaborative art. Something our fixation directors often overlooks. Netflix might not have wasted a reported 300 million dollars if they had spent as much time worrying about the writing as they did recruiting big name directors.

Weekly Word Count

The first draft of the techno-abortion thriller (talk about niche genres ….) is done. Came in at a bit more than 78 thousand words. All of them crap, probably, but that’s the hope of writing isn’t it? That somewhere in your crap is something worth sharing. Already have major character changes to come and a new starting point, which means a new first third of the book. But the first draft is done, so hopefully there is something to build off.

Have a great weekend everyone.

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