screenwriter on why modern blockbusters suck

[Malcolm]

Check that. Forced to suck.

[thibodeaux]

“I would say that the plantation that John Henry was a slave on was owned by the father of the guy who built the machine. ’Cause we need backstory, right?” begins Lindelof. “This white kid and this black slave were friends, but it was a secret friendship. But this white kid was always kind of looking to Europe, the seeds of the industrial revolution. He becomes an inventor. And he comes to John Henry and says, look at this wonderful thing I’ve invented. But John Henry, who has seen the evil of man firsthand, and now sees the Chinese being exploited on the railroad, says, ‘These machines—in the hands of the people I’ve witnessed? This is a very, very bad thing. I can beat your machine.’

O. M. G.

You know somewhere this exact script is on somebody's desk.