James C. Oliver
@olivercommajames.bsky.social
Living in LA. Writing for the screen with my wife @sharlaoliver.bsky.social (you may have seen our work on Marvel's #AgentsofSHIELD). Raising a nerdy daughter. He/Him
Everyone who has worked in publishing or read screenplay submissions for a production company can tell you about the piles of dreck they've had to sift through to find good writing -- well before AI was ever a thing. AI just makes the pile bigger, without copyright protection.
Oh she’s a scam artist, got it! Every single time you hear about a person offering coaching in one of these pieces they’re just a scammer and the media falls for it
February 8, 2026 at 5:27 PM
Everyone who has worked in publishing or read screenplay submissions for a production company can tell you about the piles of dreck they've had to sift through to find good writing -- well before AI was ever a thing. AI just makes the pile bigger, without copyright protection.
They boast that AI can "write a novel in a day" as if that fixes a problem. But there have always been plenty of books on the shelves. The thing is, readers want quality, not sheer quantity.
And yes, this also applies to sci-fi, romance, YA, and whatever other genres you don't personally respect.
And yes, this also applies to sci-fi, romance, YA, and whatever other genres you don't personally respect.
February 8, 2026 at 5:11 PM
They boast that AI can "write a novel in a day" as if that fixes a problem. But there have always been plenty of books on the shelves. The thing is, readers want quality, not sheer quantity.
And yes, this also applies to sci-fi, romance, YA, and whatever other genres you don't personally respect.
And yes, this also applies to sci-fi, romance, YA, and whatever other genres you don't personally respect.
An infuriating aspect of the "Just use AI for everything" era is that when you need to call a company and speak to a human, they don't actually employ people anymore. Even if you do find a number it just rings three times and hangs up. How is anyone expected to do business this way?
February 4, 2026 at 6:07 PM
An infuriating aspect of the "Just use AI for everything" era is that when you need to call a company and speak to a human, they don't actually employ people anymore. Even if you do find a number it just rings three times and hangs up. How is anyone expected to do business this way?
Reposted by James C. Oliver
Córy Doctorow with another verbal bullseye: pluralistic.net/2026/01/13/n...
January 18, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Córy Doctorow with another verbal bullseye: pluralistic.net/2026/01/13/n...
Imagine how many problems could be addressed in higher education if university presidents didn't need to spend most of their time asking rich people for donations.
Epstein’s economic power among academics was made possible by a capitalist system that makes higher education dependent on the charity economy rather than a public good supported by taxing the rich
February 1, 2026 at 4:11 PM
Imagine how many problems could be addressed in higher education if university presidents didn't need to spend most of their time asking rich people for donations.
Is there a word for the strange satisfaction that comes from feeling like someone is very likely a huge piece of shit and then having that suspicion confirmed over and over by said piece of shit's public statements and actions for over twenty years?
January 29, 2026 at 9:40 PM
Is there a word for the strange satisfaction that comes from feeling like someone is very likely a huge piece of shit and then having that suspicion confirmed over and over by said piece of shit's public statements and actions for over twenty years?
I for one would be more far excited to see anything with spaceships or wizards rather than "alcoholic widower solves the murder of a sex worker in a perpetually cloudy/rainy city" yet again.
The assumption that all romance is trash for dumb people who like formulas -- that's still a thing in TV & film. A big thing. Also, like, I'm sorry, but a middle or upper class man is an asshole and is doing crimes or solving crimes? That's not a genre? MORE formulaic than a romance? HILARIOUS
January 28, 2026 at 10:58 PM
I for one would be more far excited to see anything with spaceships or wizards rather than "alcoholic widower solves the murder of a sex worker in a perpetually cloudy/rainy city" yet again.
Reposted by James C. Oliver
Here comes the video analysis:
- Pretti was shot 10 times after they took his gun
- He never "brandished" the gun, assaulted an agent
- They repeatedly pepper sprayed him at point blank range and beat him when he was down
- He was attempting to help a woman who an agent threw to the ground (battery)
- Pretti was shot 10 times after they took his gun
- He never "brandished" the gun, assaulted an agent
- They repeatedly pepper sprayed him at point blank range and beat him when he was down
- He was attempting to help a woman who an agent threw to the ground (battery)
Here is a gift link to the New York Times’ take: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/u...
Videos Show Moments in Which Agents Killed a Man in Minneapolis
www.nytimes.com
January 24, 2026 at 11:14 PM
Here comes the video analysis:
- Pretti was shot 10 times after they took his gun
- He never "brandished" the gun, assaulted an agent
- They repeatedly pepper sprayed him at point blank range and beat him when he was down
- He was attempting to help a woman who an agent threw to the ground (battery)
- Pretti was shot 10 times after they took his gun
- He never "brandished" the gun, assaulted an agent
- They repeatedly pepper sprayed him at point blank range and beat him when he was down
- He was attempting to help a woman who an agent threw to the ground (battery)
Reposted by James C. Oliver
We shouldn't be governed by people who get off on the idea that they're free to kill people anywhere on the planet so long as the senators and representatives of their party refuse to use their impeachment power.
January 8, 2026 at 5:26 PM
We shouldn't be governed by people who get off on the idea that they're free to kill people anywhere on the planet so long as the senators and representatives of their party refuse to use their impeachment power.
Reposted by James C. Oliver
What did you just do is exactly the right question to ask. Answer: Murder.
NEW VIDEO: this appears to be the footage from the woman in the pink coat.
January 24, 2026 at 7:09 PM
What did you just do is exactly the right question to ask. Answer: Murder.
They view people recording with their phones as a threat because for many it is the most effective way to act as a check on a government that has thusfar faced little to no accountability.
January 24, 2026 at 6:45 PM
They view people recording with their phones as a threat because for many it is the most effective way to act as a check on a government that has thusfar faced little to no accountability.
Reposted by James C. Oliver
Abolish ICE. Fire them all. Prosecute *every single abuse*.
January 24, 2026 at 3:54 PM
Abolish ICE. Fire them all. Prosecute *every single abuse*.
The Democratic Presidential Primary election will be decided by which candidates show enough backbone to present themselves as true opposition. The time to do that is NOW, before it seems like they're just performing for the cameras. Added benefit is that it's the right thing to do.
January 22, 2026 at 2:50 AM
The Democratic Presidential Primary election will be decided by which candidates show enough backbone to present themselves as true opposition. The time to do that is NOW, before it seems like they're just performing for the cameras. Added benefit is that it's the right thing to do.
I berated Simone Biles into giving me one of her many Olympic Medals so you must now all refer to me as a talented gymnast. That's how medals work, right?
January 16, 2026 at 2:04 AM
I berated Simone Biles into giving me one of her many Olympic Medals so you must now all refer to me as a talented gymnast. That's how medals work, right?
Sometimes I think it would be comforting to believe in hell, especially when some of the very same people who most belligerently proclaim their belief in an eternal lake of fire act in a manner that would guarantee them a place there.
January 10, 2026 at 1:14 AM
Sometimes I think it would be comforting to believe in hell, especially when some of the very same people who most belligerently proclaim their belief in an eternal lake of fire act in a manner that would guarantee them a place there.
Reposted by James C. Oliver
That was my takeaway too. She's clearly turning the wheel to her right.
I've slowed the video down here.
I've slowed the video down here.
January 9, 2026 at 7:35 PM
That was my takeaway too. She's clearly turning the wheel to her right.
I've slowed the video down here.
I've slowed the video down here.
Reposted by James C. Oliver
In the video that the shooter took, which I believe was leaked to be exculpatory, he appears to yell “fucking bitch” after he shoots Renee Good.
January 9, 2026 at 6:48 PM
In the video that the shooter took, which I believe was leaked to be exculpatory, he appears to yell “fucking bitch” after he shoots Renee Good.
We shouldn't be governed by people who get off on the idea that they're free to kill people anywhere on the planet so long as the senators and representatives of their party refuse to use their impeachment power.
January 8, 2026 at 5:26 PM
We shouldn't be governed by people who get off on the idea that they're free to kill people anywhere on the planet so long as the senators and representatives of their party refuse to use their impeachment power.
They want their own version of the famous Bin Laden raid photo so bad. Impeach, but also call out the pathetic photo op posing whenever it happens.
January 3, 2026 at 9:00 PM
They want their own version of the famous Bin Laden raid photo so bad. Impeach, but also call out the pathetic photo op posing whenever it happens.
Reposted by James C. Oliver
The correlation between companies named after the Tolkien legendarium and their CEO/Founder being a chittering skinwalker fingering his own taint at the idea of draining the planet of all its resources and then fucking off to a sealed dome in New Zealand while everyone else suffers is extremely high
December 31, 2025 at 2:18 AM
The correlation between companies named after the Tolkien legendarium and their CEO/Founder being a chittering skinwalker fingering his own taint at the idea of draining the planet of all its resources and then fucking off to a sealed dome in New Zealand while everyone else suffers is extremely high
Reposted by James C. Oliver
And just like that, SFWA capitulates. Keep fighting. It works.
December 19, 2025 at 9:45 PM
And just like that, SFWA capitulates. Keep fighting. It works.
My first thought upon seeing the news that the #Oscars will move to Youtube rather than ABC was that hopefully they won't need to rush through the telecast and cut everyone's speeches short once they're no longer locked into a specific time slot.
December 18, 2025 at 12:21 AM
My first thought upon seeing the news that the #Oscars will move to Youtube rather than ABC was that hopefully they won't need to rush through the telecast and cut everyone's speeches short once they're no longer locked into a specific time slot.
In today's Hollywood, if you were fortunate enough to make even one movie like any of Reiner's first seven, you would be pigeon-holed into only making that one genre again and again.
Maybe the lesson should be to empower good storytellers to follow their interests rather than a spreadsheet.
Maybe the lesson should be to empower good storytellers to follow their interests rather than a spreadsheet.
Rob Reiner's first seven films: 1. Spinal Tap. 2. The Sure Thing. 3. Stand By Me. 4. THE PRINCESS BRIDE. 5. WHEN HARRY MET SALLY. 6. Misery 7. A Few Good Men. Good lord. Even Spielberg included 1941 in his first seven.
And that was after playing Michael Stivic. I hope this news isn't true. But...
And that was after playing Michael Stivic. I hope this news isn't true. But...
December 15, 2025 at 2:42 PM
In today's Hollywood, if you were fortunate enough to make even one movie like any of Reiner's first seven, you would be pigeon-holed into only making that one genre again and again.
Maybe the lesson should be to empower good storytellers to follow their interests rather than a spreadsheet.
Maybe the lesson should be to empower good storytellers to follow their interests rather than a spreadsheet.
Reposted by James C. Oliver
Wrote about how the late, great Rob Reiner had the most impossible 7-movie beginning to any director's career, and yet that's not even what he was most famous for:
December 15, 2025 at 5:23 AM
Wrote about how the late, great Rob Reiner had the most impossible 7-movie beginning to any director's career, and yet that's not even what he was most famous for:
It makes zero sense to me that people are replacing traditional search engines with a technology that is so confidently wrong on a regular basis.
If you can't trust it, it's not useful.
If it's not useful, we shouldn't bet the entire economy on it.
If you can't trust it, it's not useful.
If it's not useful, we shouldn't bet the entire economy on it.
Today in "Don't Trust AI to Tell You Facts": How several different "AI" programs messed up the simple fact of to whom I dedicated a book, and what that means for how much you should trust "AI" to tell you the truth about things (spoiler: not much at all):
whatever.scalzi.com/2025/12/13/a...
whatever.scalzi.com/2025/12/13/a...
“AI”: A Dedicated Fact-Failing Machine, or, Yet Another Reason Not to Trust It For Anything
I search my name on a regular basis, not only because I am an ego monster (although I try not to pretend that I’m not) but because it’s a good way for me to find reviews, end-of-the-yea…
whatever.scalzi.com
December 13, 2025 at 6:42 PM
It makes zero sense to me that people are replacing traditional search engines with a technology that is so confidently wrong on a regular basis.
If you can't trust it, it's not useful.
If it's not useful, we shouldn't bet the entire economy on it.
If you can't trust it, it's not useful.
If it's not useful, we shouldn't bet the entire economy on it.