[Discussion] We always regret how most of entertainment is now profit-driven, but what are films or shows that you enjoyed where the directive team had almost complete creative freedom?

I always love the story of how The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou was made. Wes Anderson was given a blank cheque and total creative freedom by the studio. He used those resources to create a movie which was both incredibly expensive to make and also incredibly Wes-Anderson-y. The result was a film which is fantastically beautiful and memorable, but which came nowhere close to breaking even at the box office.

David Lynch's Rabbits is the first to spring to mind.

More mainstream, I understand that Michael Schur was given a lot of freedom with The Good Place.

Thanks. I have to check what he has been up to, seems promising.

Everything by Quentin Tarantino.

He makes movies that are 3 hours long and mostly consist of people sitting in a room talking, a few scenes where a hot chick plays with her feet, and a massacre at the end.
And it somehow works.

It was just a pinky.
- That sequence- flick the lighter, chop, swipe, saunter away… was brilliant. There are multiple levels of storytelling in just those few seconds. It’s definitely worth watching that (very good) film just to see it.
You just sold it to me.

I'm going to start with Dungeons & Dragons: Honor among Thieves.

Very solid fantasy adventure movie. Good acting, believable world, coherent tone during the whole thing, good cinematography.

It's a shame it was kind of a failure box office wise, it was really refreshing.

Great movie, just badly promoted (ironic since it was totally for marketing purposes). I so want to have a sequel, I just think it may have been a one-time wonder and trying to capture it again won't feel genuine. I hope to be proven wrong. Even how to best do a sequel is a hot debate topic.
- Definitely agree, the promotion was so bad, such a missed opportunity.
  Yes, I would like a sequel too, but maybe it was lightning in a bottle and they wouldn't be able to recreate such a cool movie.

Another one is Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Interesting approach to the multiverse theme, solid acting (especially from actors having to play different characters), and interesting scenario that went beyond the multiverse idea to address other subjects.

Nothing But Trouble!

So. Damn. Good.