I know, right?    I dunno if that's how it happened, but I can imagine one of the Coens happening to see that album and getting an idea...

Yeah, I don't get the hoopla about that song either.  Haven't seen the movie but I saw that clip that everyone was going gaga over.  Song was okay, but what threw me was that the character animation was kinda sub-par.

Again, haven't seen the whole movie, so maybe that scene works better in context.

Jean Shepherd, who wrote the book the movie is based on.   In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash

I have not seen SERIOUS MAN, actually.     And to be fair the "non-ending" of NO COUNTRY still made a kind of sense to me, since it sorta fit with what the movie seemed to be saying overall.    I was more bothered by the non-ending of THERE WILL BE BLOOD that same year, to be honest.

Sure.  Peter Jackson, Cuaron, and del Toro are three that come immediately to mind.   They didn't bust out of the gate with a game-changing smash, they showed promise early on and then worked their way up to the really good stuff.

I did say first film they really wanted to make...    The Coens and Anderson (and Lucas etc for that matter) also made movies before their big breakouts, my point is just that they hit it big very early in their careers.   Again, as opposed to some other folks who put out movies for a decade or more before hitting their golden era.

Shaun is still my fave Wright film too, by a country mile.    And Boogie Nights is my favorite PT Anderson, and Raising Arizona my fave Coen movie...    All of which - hmm, this might be important - were their early breakout hey-who-is-THIS-guy(s)? movies.

In all cases, for me their movies since then have been more "I see what you did there" than "I am entertained by what you did there".    Sometimes there's just something special about the energy when the new guy (or gal) gets their first shot at making the movie they really want to make.

Often they go on to make lots of money and even win Oscars, but still there's some spark that's not quiiiite there anymore.

*See also Spielberg, Lucas, Scorcese, Spike Lee, Shyamalan...

It's bona fide.

I'm with Doc Sub on this one - I liked Three Kings, and Silver Linings Playbook whenever Jennifer was onscreen, and that's about it for me and David O. Russell as well.

American Hustle wasn't bad, it just seemed like a Goodfellas fanfilm.  I also don't get the appeal of Bradley Cooper, so that may be part of the problem.

I just want to be in the room when that gets pitched to a studio. 

They'd be eating that up and then... "Wait - then what happens?  I see.  Well, thanks for coming in."

And there's the irony - the reason Saving Mr. Banks sorta works is that we know how it turned out.  So every time she tries to stop Walt from changing her work she's trying to stop a beloved movie classic from being made omg oh noes.     She doesn't want it to be a musical????   Well, what does she know?    No animation??    What a bitch!

And meanwhile, PJ is a monster because an author's every word is sacred harrumph harrumph! 

See also: Producing tv shows...

Frank Darabont sues AMC claiming loss of profits

Everybody involved has already made more money than all of our lifetime salaries combined.   They either want even more, or want to give away less.

There's an old Hollywood joke that goes:  What's the difference between the producer of a hit movie and the producer of a flop?
The producer of a flop makes a lot of money.
The producer of a hit makes a LOT of money.

That's why these deals get made.  Everybody gets rich, then they can afford to quibble over who gets richer.