Grug Greyskin wrote in Random Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread:It's driven by money more than anything. Reliably popular existing IP is a safer bet for these expensive films.

This is dead right. If you get a recognisable name/franchise that gets people talking and put a big enough budget it is hard to lose money. All those comic book movies are prime examples. Whereas getting a new plot recognised is more of a risk .. and they are betting a *lot* of money.

Personally I thought the trailer looked really cool, and the director's last two films (Arrival and Blade Runner 2) also looked cool. I also thought they were v weak on plot and didn't bear a second viewing (I loved Arrival the first time I saw it, but when I watched it again recently it left me cold).

I might watch it  (shrugs) but I tell you what I will definitely recommend - Selling Sunset on Netflix        

sauromatian wrote in Random Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread:
Bladerunner is not the sort of story that should have a sequel. It revolves around ambiguity - are the replicants machines that have been made to resemble humans & to believe they are human, or humans altered & brainwashed to believe they are machines?

Also applies to Selling Sunset, but I am holding out for Season 4  

We aren't the only collectors...

Could your vintage Lego set pay the college fees? | Financial Times

Well, tropical storm Sally was interesting.  I live in Macon, Georgia, about an hour south of Atlanta.  It went right over us in the middle of the night.  Branches down here and there, lots of rain, and no electricity after about 3:00 AM.  It's been raining off and on all day.  Electricity restored about 11 AM.  

I assume you mean "Graphic Novel" instead of book...

Thunderdave wrote in Random Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread:Do rpg artists earn a decent wage?  Like would a good freelancer earn a decent wage counting productive time (eg drawing) and non-productive time(eg marketing).

I’d think authors probably earn a dreadful $/hour.

It was my understanding that they're mostly paid in experience points.

Like most things, if you're a 1%er you can make a living, you get a pat on the head if you come in second, and the also-rans are just there. No-one's ever heard of them, no-one cares, and the odd struggling author or publisher is happy to take the offer of work in exchange for a name in a book and a small bag of peanuts, because that's all they are worth. At that level you're better off just colouring in graph paper with magic markers like Pacesetter Games. Scrap Princess seems to do reasonably well with her style of art. Its cropping up everywhere in OSR. Dyson Logos seems to run a successful business doing what many of us did in school BitD. Most 'publishers' just crop and recycle 'public domain' art.

Agent Cooper wrote in Random Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread:I have no idea, but I can guess this breaks down much like any other "creative" profession.  

For the vast majority it's a hobby that's not viable as an income source unless you don't mind starving. For the rest, with a bit of talent,  a thick skin and a propensity to work hard it's a day job and they can grind out a modest work-a-day living doing something they love.   For a VERY select few that are uniquely gifted - and for whom a bit of luck and the right circumstances have come together - it's a lucrative and fulfilling career.

Pretty much this. I make a living mostly working as a graphic designer—the technical as well as creative work, and other media work. It helps to have a collaborator (in my case, it's my wife). Occasionally we snag naturalist illustration work, which is very satisfying. Regardless, any corporate work—or any work—we do flows from a contract with terms we all agree on. We've rarely walked away from a bad client as a result (though we did sometimes cease negotiating a contract because the demands were unreasonable and the client couldn't be convinced otherwise).

For the rest of it, the art, some pieces do better than others. We used to do shows offering large and expensive canvases with small, affordable prints, selling them in person, and we did rather well. We tended to avoid the fine arts scene otherwise—our work doesn't really fit.

Thing of it is, our artwork often gets us into the door for unrelated work, and has proven pretty handy for that alone.

mbassoc2003 wrote in Random Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread:Watching way too many discussions on YouTube re. campaigns right now, and it's occurred to me that I've never had a TPK, either as a player or as a DM.
Am I doing something wrong?  :lol:

Tim Kask puts the TK in TPK.  Come to the North Texas RPG Con, play in one of his games, and I can guarantee you'll experience a TPK!  And it'll be sorta fun too!  Make it a bucket list item!