I'll make a point to watch that one in my downtime, then. I wasn't even aware of a Thing remake until you mentioned it, but even knowing it exists I'm going into it already slightly irritated. Practical effects are hefty!

All this to say, even though my original point was kind of badly put (tone doesn't carry well in text, I'm basically on the same page as everyone else), what you do with a tool like CGI can't just be cheaper or easier for a studio exec to meddle with, it has to be equally or more interesting than doing the work by hand or it just sucks.

Like, I know studios aren't purely motivated by artistic integrity and never were, but the more we put new tools for cheapening the output into their hands, the worse our art gets. I think the same holds true for when small independent artists get those same tools. Some people will use them in unique ways that add to the conversation and bring culture forward, but most will just use it to make cheaper stuff. My fingerpaint/jumping out the window analogy didn't really make that clear, that's on me. I just think that doing things by hand is always going to (generally) work better than any tool that makes doing the work 'easier'...

At least until we have removed the cost of doing art from the equation of what gets made. Once we're in a post-scarcity mode I'll be all for more powerful tools that make production easier.