happycamper72

[happycamper72]

Mr. Flanagan, I’d like to ask a question and I deeply hope that it does not offend or upset you. I am strongly considering canceling my Netflix subscription due to their new password sharing policy. However, Midnight Mass is one of my favorite shows of all time and I know it isn’t available on DVD, and I’m also profoundly anticipating your take on my favorite Edgar Allen Poe story. So I wanted to ask your take on people accessing your work through, uh, other means. If it’s something that’s offensive to you or will harm you or the other people who work so hard on these shows, I’ll happily keep my Netflix just so that I can keep supporting your work. I respect you far too much as an artist to do otherwise.

Again, I really hope I’m not upsetting you by asking this question. Thank you for everything, and I hope you’re having a great day!

(NOTE 6/4/2024: I'm editing this entry because, well over a year since it was posted, some journalists dug this up and used it to create click-bait headlines that are misleading, out of context and artificially combative. While I was of course disappointed over the years that Netflix opted not to release my work on physical media, I never experienced any hostility or aggression in those discussions, and I sincerely regret the manner in which this post was used in the press this week.)

Hi there - no offense taken whatsoever, in fact I think this is a very interesting and important question.

So. If you asked me this a few years ago, I would have said "I hate piracy and it is hurting creators, especially in the independent space." I used to get in Facebook arguments with fans early in my career when people would post about seeing my work on torrent sites, especially when that work was readily available for rent and purchase on VOD.

Back in 2014, my movie Before I Wake was pirated and leaked prior to any domestic release, and that was devastating to the project. It actually made it harder to find distribution for the film. By the time we were able to get distribution in the US, the film had already been so exposed online that the best we could hope for was a Netflix release. Netflix stepped in and saved that movie, and for that I will always be grateful to them.

However...

Working in streaming for the past few years has made me reconsider my position on piracy.

In the years I worked at Netflix, I tried very hard to get them to release my work on blu-ray and DVD.

It became clear very fast that their priority was subscriptions, and that they were not particularly interested in physical media releases of their originals, with a few exceptions.

While companies like Netflix pride themselves on being disruptors, and have proven that they can affect great change in the industry, they sometimes fail to see the difference between disruption and damage. So much that they can find themselves, intentionally or not, doing harm to the concept of film preservation.

The danger comes when a title is only available on one platform, and then - for whatever reason - is removed.

We have already seen this happen. And it is only going to happen more and more. Titles exclusively available on streaming services have essentially been erased from the world. If those titles existed on the marketplace on physical media, like HBO's Westworld, the loss is somewhat mitigated (though only somewhat.) But when titles do not exist elsewhere, they are potentially gone forever.

The list of titles that have been removed from streaming services is growing.

I still believe that where we put our dollars matters. Renting or buying a piece of work that you like is essential. It is casting a vote, encouraging studios - who only speak the language of money - to invest more effort into similar work. If we show up to support distinct, unique, exciting work, it encourages them to make more of it. It's as simple as that. If we don't show up, or if they can't hear our voice because we are casing our vote "silently" through torrent sites or other means - it makes it unlikely that they will take a chance to create that kind of work again.

Which is why I typically suggest that if you like a movie you've seen through - uh - other means, throw a few dollars at that title on a legitimate platform. Rent it. Purchase it. Support it.

But if some studios offer no avenue for that kind of support, and can (and will) remove content from their platform forever... frankly, I think that changes the rules.

Netflix will likely never release the work I created for them on physical media, though I'll always hold out hope.

Some of you may say "wait, aren't The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor available on blu-ray and DVD?" Yes, they are, because they were co-produced with Paramount, and I'm grateful that Paramount was able to release and protect those titles. (I'm also grateful that those releases include extended cuts, deleted scenes, and commentary tracks. There are a number of fantastic benefits to physical media releases.)

But a lot of the other work I did there are Netflix originals, without any other studio involvement. Those titles - like Midnight Mass, The Midnight Club, and the upcoming Fall of the House of Usher - along with my Netflix exclusive and/or original movies Before I Wake and Gerald's Game - have no such protections. The physical media releases of those titles are entirely at Netflix's discretion, and don't appear to be priority for the studio at this time.

At the moment, Netflix seems content to leave Before I Wake, Gerald's Game, Midnight Mass, and The Midnight Club on the service, where they still draw audiences. I don't think there is a plan to remove any of them anytime soon. But plans change, the industry changes.

The point is things change, and each of those titles - should they be removed from the service for any reason - are not available anywhere else. If that day comes - if Netflix's servers are destroyed, if a meteor hits the building, if they are bought out by a competitor and their library is liquidated - I don't know what the circumstances might be, I just know that if that day comes, some of the work that means the most to me in the world would be entirely erased.

Or, what if we aren't so catastrophic in our thinking? What if it the change isn't so total? What if Netflix simply bumps into an issue with the license they paid for music (like the Neil Diamond songs that play such a crucial role in Midnight Mass), and decide to leave the show up but replace the songs?

This has happened before as well - fans of Northern Exposure can get the show on DVD and blu-ray, but the music they heard when the series aired has been replaced due to the licensing issues. And the replacements - chosen for their low cost, not for creative reasons - are not improvements. What if the shows are just changed, and not by creatives, but by business affairs executives?

All to say that physical media is critically important. Having redundancy in the marketplace is critically important. The more platforms a piece of work is available on, the more likely it is to survive and grow its audience.

As for Netflix, I hope sincerely that their thinking on this issue evolves, and that they value the content they spend so much money creating enough to protect it for posterity. That's up to them, it's their studio, it's their rules. But I like to think they may see that light eventually, and realize that exclusivity in a certain window is very cool... but exclusivity in perpetuity could potentially limit the audience and endanger the work itself.

[happycamper72]

I feel like Danielle is really hitting her stride with Sam this season. Like, it must be difficult to feel the same level of comfort as Aabria, Lou, Erika, and Brennan because those 4 play together all the time. But it seems like she's really letting herself/Sam be vulnerable (b/c let's be real, in an actual play it's both yours & your character's) and saying some of the most beautiful things.

I've always loved Sam & Danielle and it's really wonderful seeing them both shine this season.

*also shoutout for the Black women in wigs rep 🫶🏾 You love to see it!

[happycamper72]

seeing dimension 20’s worlds calendar pointedly saying “FUCK TERFS” in both the description and art for the month of june was such a heartwarming surprise today

edit: in a reblog I shared the full June month art and the remaining hidden FUCK TERFs but the rb got lost in the notes so see the rest below :)

also credit to the amazing artist here: @sydsketch !!! go tell them how amazing they are!

[happycamper72]

Dimension 20: Misfits And Magic 2x04 "A Change of Plan"

[happycamper72]

With the way Evan killed Boudicca, it really stands out to me that there was no brutality.

She didn't suffer. By the time she could have processed him breaking his wand, she was already dead. And this after she violently attacked K in a way that would leave K in pain for weeks or months if she can't get healing, and could have even killed K.

There was even some kindness in how he described it. A janitor turning off the lights in a building, that's just someone doing a caretaking job. That's something that Evan, as a janitor in Gowpenny, probably did often and with genuine affection. He also described it as someone turning off the lights in their home for the night, and there's even more affection in that, especially for a man who was homeless for a lot of his childhood.

Not that Evan had any affection for Boudicca, but when he started his description I imagined someone throwing the breakers in a building, cutting off power with one quick gesture. That's something you'd do in an emergency, or if you had to do repairs, or even if you were a criminal. He could have imagined it like a power surge overwhelming everything. He could have even gone smaller, and imagined attacking the part of her brain that controls her breathing or heartbeat and made her actually experience her death. Evan is smart, he would know exactly where that's located.

But he didn't. He killed her instantaneously, so there was no suffering, and he conjured an image of gentleness while he did it. He'll have to reckon with the fact that he killed someone, but I hope his friends recognize that he didn't do it for vengeance even though he has plenty to be vengeful about.

[happycamper72]

Danielle Radford is one of the most compelling side quest players. In the 3 seasons in which she’s appeared she has been a goddamn delight.

I really enjoy how much we’re getting to see Sam’s personality. One thing that really stuck out to me is her empathy and kindness—she takes K aside to try to break through to them regarding their feelings about Evan and what happened. But the moment that really revealed her heart was with Coggle when she asks him not to tell anyone that Evan killed Boudicca because she doesn’t want them to be afraid of him. What a brilliant choice. It speaks so much to who Sam is and how much she loves Evan.

Danielle is so impressive and I love when she’s in the dome. Her task is especially hard this season because everyone else at the table have played so much together. The fact she’s integral to the group and so capable of matching their energy is a testament to her talent. Sam may have the fictional magical power to charm people, but Danielle has shown she has it in real life as she continues to be a source of ceaseless charisma and overwhelming heart.

[happycamper72]

Regardless of how angry Evan is at K, however much unresolved conflict they have from their relationship, whatever he’s contending with internally in response to what they said about him, Evan loves K.

He didn’t hesitate. Boudicca attacked K and before they hit the ground, Evan breaks his wand and turns off all the lights in Boudicca’s brain. Hesitation gets you killed. Half measures get you killed. He’s lived his life in survival mode. He knows that if you don’t act decisively and severely you get hurt because it gives your attacker an opportunity. Take no chances. Your life depends on you fighting and winning. So you fight in a way that assures your opponent can’t fight back or get back up and try to hurt you again. It’s not a schoolyard brawl or a sparring session or an organized bout. There’s no such thing as honour or rules. There’s only life and death. Only survival. Anything else but ruthless efficiency is a waste you cannot afford.

Boudicca should’ve known that about Evan. As a teen he fought a full adult in a gas station parking lot. He already sees her as a threat but is willing to show restraint because there are bigger issues. But the second she shows him what she truly is and cannot help but be, it activates the keen animal instinct of survival. He loves K. Attacking what he loves is an attack on him. And all of life has taught him to meet any mortal danger with equally deadly force. She should’ve known. Her arrogance got her killed.

[happycamper72]

"the traditionalists are burning up finite resources at a rapid pace to source their lifestyle in the extreme short term" the villain is capitalism once again

[happycamper72]

I... I don't know what to do. I... I don't know how to fix him.

HEARTSTOPPER (2022 - ) I 3.02 - Home

[happycamper72]

don't ever leave me. i wasn't planning on it.

[happycamper72]

Something I really appreciate about Brennan in this season's adventuring parties is him making sure Alex isn't missing out by being a more passive player.

In an earlier adventuring party Alex mentioned not having enough tokens to buy an ability and Brennan immediately stepped in and said "You've been giving so many of your tokens away, I think the table can buy that ability for you if you want it."

And then in the most recent one he checked again to make sure they were able to take any abilities they wanted while everyone else was taking a bunch.

As someone who was a painfully shy kid and still gets talked over/accidentally ignored as an adult it heals my heart a little bit every time there's someone in a group to make sure everyone has their input.

[happycamper72]

Beardsley continuing to be a senior, knowledgeable ttrpg player at the table like, "oh I just get out of there," "do you have another token to blow up?" it's like I've followed them from a high school jv team to the world series

[happycamper72]

I mean, it's not an Ame and Eursulon exit if they don't burn some bridges before they leave

[happycamper72]

"I remember Toni Morrison said something like 'the serious work of racism is distraction.' And something similar is happening with transphobia and the conversations of TERFs. The fight they want to have is a distraction. It is shallow. If I even acknowledge the terms they set, I walk into a distraction. Trans women are out here making really incredible art—I know so many trans artists doing mind-blowing things, making profound statements about what it means to be alive—and you’ve got this crew going 'BATHROOM! TRANS! WHERE U GO POOPOOPEEPEE?' Or whatever they say. That is a distraction. Even as a fight, it is frankly a boring and undignified fight. I’ve got better things to do."

-Torrey Peters

[happycamper72]

ragh posting bc he deserves it. from "A Primer For The Small Weird Loves" by Richard Siken

[happycamper72]

THE BEAR \\ Hanif Abdurraqib

[happycamper72]

“why do i believe this” and “who benefits from me believing it” are the first steps to decolonization and we should all be doing this more