[Discussion] We always regret how most of entertainment is now profit-driven, but what are films or shows that you enjoyed where the directive team had almost complete creative freedom?

I always love the story of how The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou was made. Wes Anderson was given a blank cheque and total creative freedom by the studio. He used those resources to create a movie which was both incredibly expensive to make and also incredibly Wes-Anderson-y. The result was a film which is fantastically beautiful and memorable, but which came nowhere close to breaking even at the box office.

David Lynch's Rabbits is the first to spring to mind.

More mainstream, I understand that Michael Schur was given a lot of freedom with The Good Place.

Swiss Army Man. A lot of the projects Daniel Radcliffe chooses fit that category.

Everything by Quentin Tarantino.

He makes movies that are 3 hours long and mostly consist of people sitting in a room talking, a few scenes where a hot chick plays with her feet, and a massacre at the end.
And it somehow works.

Another one is Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Interesting approach to the multiverse theme, solid acting (especially from actors having to play different characters), and interesting scenario that went beyond the multiverse idea to address other subjects.

I'm going to start with Dungeons & Dragons: Honor among Thieves.

Very solid fantasy adventure movie. Good acting, believable world, coherent tone during the whole thing, good cinematography.

It's a shame it was kind of a failure box office wise, it was really refreshing.

Nothing But Trouble!