I get what you’re saying, but this applies to pretty much all directors, showrunners, writers, etc.
i don’t think that’s necessarily true, But even if I agreed with that - why would the fact it applies to all directors/showrunners/writers (those three things are three very different things, btw) be any sort of rebuttal to the points I’m making? If it applies to them, it applies to him. So what’s wrong with the criticisms I’m making - which are aimed more at people who are willing to carry his water for the sake of minimizing his shortcomings than they are at him and his actual shortcomings as a storyteller?
I’m probably generalizing a bit here, I just personally think that auteur theory has inflated a lot if filmmakers who wouldn’t have been much or even anything without their crews. But, then again, the individual crew members wouldn’t have been able to make the specific movies and shows that we enjoy without the directors and showrunners organising it all either.
A big part of what I’m criticizing here is the inclination for people to essentially transform collaborative art into singular authorship for the sake of championing a “visionary” for negligible reasons. It was wrong when they did it for Lucas’ benefit, and it’s still wrong now. I’m not so much trying to downplay his contributions as I am fighting against the idea his contributions are as essential to Star Wars’ continued success as they are often claimed to be.
Generally speaking, I competely agree and I’m not calling Filoni a “visionary” but he’s clearly added something special (or at the very least “solid”) to all the SW shows that he’s worked on.
I also think, while I’m at it, that he benefits not JUST from the proximity to Lucas (pay attention to how often his praise is essentially backhanded, as if he’s a vessel for Lucas’ genius instead of a creative in his own right - even Freddie Prinze essentially framed him as such when he went viral on twitter sticking up for him) but also from the fact he’s got a bit of a handicap because he works in children’s animation. Because so many people honestly believe that’s a “lesser” medium, and that stories “don’t count” as much in that medium as they do in live action, his successes end up being appreciated to a somewhat unfair extent - they read it as his being so good he transcends the medium, when what’s happened is they’ve opened themselves up to what that medium can do in a way they don’t normally do for other practitioners of that medium. If they did, they’d likely discover there are a lot of people who are just as good, if not better in many ways, at what Filoni does as a showrunner.
Favreau is the showrunner on Mandalorian, anyway. Filoni supports that. I don’t think he’s an equal there. He’s a key element, but it’s Favreau’s show.
We clearly agree on pretty much all minus a few nuances here, so I’m not sure why we’re “arguing” about this.
When I said “Filoni-esque” I didn’t mean he should be handed the reins to all of SW, I didn’t even necessarily mean he had to be involved with everything, just that what he’s done for SW animated shows and contributed to Mando should be kept in mind by future showrunners. Though, as mentioned, I do think they should keep him around as a creative consultant like Favreau did. And I do think Filoni does have a “style”, albeit a flexible one.