Regardless of how good a film production may be, I can't really show much respect to the makers if they're absolute jerks behind the scenes. Some famous examples of these include John Ford and Stanley Kubrick. Even though their films are highly successful and famous, I just don't

hold them as heroes for all the deplorable aspects of their personalities that they put up front. The Shining may be one of the most famous horror movies out there but I feel more pity for Shelley Duvall than appreciation for Kubrik. It was obvious that he didn't care for the...

character Wendy, absolutely no heart for her, he deliberately told every person on set to not treat Duvall with any sympathy, he constantly abused her, and as a result, both performer and character sufffered greatly, Duvall's health suffered, and Wendy's character suffered...

largely considered one of the weakest aspects of the movie. And what was Kubrick aiming for with that? What was his mindset for belittling her? I literally can see no reason for him being completely cold-hearted in that regard, whatsoever. In John Ford's case, it's said that he

had to put up a front of being harsh, aggressive, and abusive because of the working environments he was in. In one case, when a person was relaying that their wife was suffering he snapped at that person before giving him a paycheck to help. I personally don't believe that he

he should have yelled at his speaker, especially since the latter was already suffering enough without recieving emotional abuse, and I certainly don't think that you have to alter your persona to portray a callous person if it isn't true to your being. The point I'm making is...

that, you can have your thoughts on a film project but they should be seperate from the maker, because while the film may be exceptional, the maker might not be as great as you assume. Also, as I've pointed out earlier, if there is at least any hint of the filmmaker not caring...

for any aspect of the movie, that part of the film is obviously going to suffer. Actually, let me rephrase that: if there's any hint of anyone involved in the film production that doesn't care, that aspect of the film is going to suffer because it has occurred with other people.

Case in point: Thomas and the Magic Railroad. When you really look at the deleted content that was cut from the film, it's obvious that Britt really wanted to put heart and soul into her story. She wanted to make a film about the worlds she cared about and to show the values of

family, virtue, and magic. But the film suffers because of the distributors: they didn't care about the story, they saw the film as a children's film instead of a family film, they wanted the scenes with humans cut down considerably and as such it lost the heart and soul that...

she was aiming for. Say what you want about the film by itself, but if you're going to talk about the development aspects of it, at least do so AFTER doing your research and viewing the deleted content yourself, because I won't take anyone seriously if they're going to publicly

present obviously fraudlent and biased assumptions as if they were truth. They're not. A lot of people who worked and met with Britt has said that she is a wonderful person who understands and cares for her work deeply. Alec Baldwin, Peter Fonda, Didi Conn, Mara Wilson, George

Carlin, all these performers have given praise to Britt in these regards, and these are all firsthand accouts, people who have actually met her in person. If anyone makes any claim about Britt and yet have never interacted with her in anyway, where are you getting your resources

from? People have said that TATMR was a failure from the start and that she completely fabricated every aspect of it. Well how do you know that? The fact is, more likely, that TATMR wasn't a failed inception, it's just a film that very few people have a true understanding about.

For instance, did you know that the Magic Railroad is actually supposed to be a representation of the leylines? That's diving into the more metaphysical and spiritual aspects of life, and that's not something Britt imagined, it has existed for centuries. And how do I know this?

I have a bona fide Destination Films press release folder with information and acutal slides from the film. I have evidence to support my case, and that's how I always present my cases: with evidence. I do my research, I gather up my resources, I have the facts proven. Therefore

it can be expected that my word is taken seriously, if not, then it's because the person who doesn't is merely resisting the facts and being stubborn and foolish. If anyone makes any statement about the film's development and also claims that they haven't looked into the history

of the production, they're not being smart: they're fabricating lies. If they are informed of evidence that contradicts their word and yet they flat-out refuse to do any research on the matter, they're just cynnical idiots. If they do their research and still hold little sympathy

they're just being cynnical who doesn't understand for or care for the subject in question. See, it all comes down to understanding the material you're talking about and really caring for it. And Britt and TATMR aren't the first victims that have suffered from misunderstandings:

the Rev. Awdry has been accused of being a grouchy man who hates children, the franchise has been accused of being dystopian and all of these coming from people who don't know and don't care, and all said arguments are dumb and poorly conceived. Going back to Stanley Kubrick: he

didn't fully understand Stephen King's book, and while The Shining is highly praised, it still has aspects that suffers. Even the more faithful adaptation suffers because there was little regard for actual storytelling. Somewhere in between there's a perfect version, one that is

a faithful adaptation but is still executed exceptionally. It all comes down to understanding and caring about the material you work with. I know if I were forced to make anything along the lines of say, Shed 17, Human Centipede, or W.P. Blatty's magnum opus, I would probably

churn out something that not a lot of people will enjoy because I just don't care about horror. I care about Magic Railroad, and I care about my own series based on it, I just need the materials and the space to bring it to life. The advantage of waiting is that I'm learning new

things as new information is being revealed, and thus I gain a better understanding of the lore and magic, which will result in a series that'll be unlike any other. So while I understand many of you are waiting, let me assure you that I'm still keen on my projects and that it

be all worth the wait. I'll even remake & improve TATMR if there's a demand for it. So the main takeaway from this thread is to: keep an open mind, have a heart, work with content you know, love, & enjoy best, and be mindful about the filmmakers you praise and what they're like.