I think the observation about hiatuses is especially good. I’ve often thought that what really broke up the Beatles is that they basically came first; sure, there were other rock acts before then, and Sinatra and Elvis had been similar cultural phenomena, but the Beatles had the misfortune of being the first group to…

The Monkees had a murderers’ row of songwriters writing stuff for them, including Harry Nilsson, Goffin & King, Boyce & Hart, and Neil Diamond, among others. Not to disparage them in any way just because they didn’t write all their own material (the idea that there’s something illegitimate about artists if they don’t…

“Darth Vader was played by one guy and voiced by another in the OT, three other actors played Anakin Skywalker with his mask off, at least two guys have played Boba Fett, two guys have played Obi-Wan, and let’s not even get into all the CGI-face stuff we’ve done with Cushing, Fisher, and Hamill, plus all that was…

The Albini essay. Jesus, it’s nearly 30 years old. I’m so freaking old:

I get that talking about the commercial side of creativity is a bad look, especially in the context of rock (which is somehow supposed to be about attitude and sticking it to The Man or something), but an artist’s gotta eat. I’ve gotten to where I respect an artist’s candor about the business side of things; it’s not…

Yeah, no. The bugs were patched, the final game was amazing, and it was basically an adaptation of WEG's d20 Star Wars TTRPG. I can't speak to its kinship with Dragon Age, but there's a fair amount of similarity to Bioware's Neverwinter Nights--kind of a pseudo-turn-based mechanic that plays out in real time, with…

I’ll counter that point a little by observing that the difference between a pan and scan version of 2001 (which is how I first saw it as a kid) and a proper widescreen version is boggling. What was boring and confusing on a little screen becomes breathtaking.

I was thinking about NOTLD, though using it as an example is complicated by the fact that the public domain issue led to a massive theatrical distribution of pirate copies at drive-ins and low-rent independent theaters. So it wound up having a massive theatrical release, too, that helped cement its status.

Are we saying Wonder Woman ‘84 would be better regarded had it been initially released in 70mm in only three movie theaters prior to an expanded 35mm release?

I had the exact opposite reaction at the end of WW84: “That wasn’t great but I’m okay I watched it; but wow, I would’ve been pissed if I’d shelled out $40 plus concessions for my wife and I to see it in a theater.”

Yeah. This seems to be the part no one gets. The tweets that tend to get people into trouble on Twitter tend to be the same kind of statements that would keep you from being invited back to somebody’s house if you said them at a party. You might not get called out the same way because people tend to avoid direct…

This. She negotiated the deal and did the work, she deserves the earnings as much as any other laborer down the chain from star to P.A. Maybe she doesn’t need it. Maybe she’d be awesome if she gave it all away. But you deserve the pay you negotiated for the work you did whether it’s $10 mowing a lawn or $100,000,000…

He did! Longworth seems to have put her Marcia Lucas project on hold because Johnson was doing Star Wars films and I would’ve loved to read that book! I mean, I’m also tickled that one of my favorite podcasters and film historians is married to one of my favorite directors, but release the Longworth cut! Marcia Lucas…

They defeated the Empire with rocks and sharp sticks.

Can’t believe no one’s mentioned (unless I missed it) the Polybius arcade machine in Kid Thor’s bowling alley lair.

Let me join the chorus of the sad: Wiki Wormhole was amazing, this feature will be missed, and its loss is one more reason not to bother with the AV Club.

I get that you’re trolling and it’s not really worth responding, but I did get a laugh out of—

“We need a slow-mo scene scored to Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’. In every episode.”

“Oh, and by the way, which one’s Pink?” seems an apt reference to drop in the thread at this point.

“I have on many occasions seen an odd light that suddenly moves in a direction that it doesn’t seem would be possible. Usually it’s because I’m looking at one of the many aircraft heading in to the various airports in my region and was seeing one head on (which makes them look stationary) or seeing a second, stronger…