A plot can be broken and a film can still work. Deadpool & Wolverine is Exhibit A — we break down exactly why the character work and tonal execution carried a thinly-plotted story to $1.3B, and what that says about where creative effort actually needs to go. Then: Roadside Picnic and Tarkovsky's Stalker — a novel and a film that strip science fiction down to what it's really about. And in Story Break: we develop UNESCO's Agent, a thriller concept built around a secret operative whose only mission is to protect World Heritage Sites that no government will defend. Half James Bond, half Grey Man, with a character whose bitterness toward people makes him perfectly suited to protect what we've left behind. Topics discussed: Roadside Picnic & Tarkovsky's Stalker: Roadside Picnic (1972): the Strugatsky brothers' philosophical sci-fi novel about alien artifacts left on Earth and the humans who illegally scavenge them Stalker (1979): Tarkovsky's adaptation that strips the science fiction to its bones — three men, mud, and the question of what you truly want The room that grants your deepest desire — not what you say, not what you think, but what you actually want — and why that's terrifying Russian fiction's relationship with melancholy: why the journey matters more than resolution Sepia to color: how the film uses visual language to mark the boundary between the mundane and the zone Why Tarkovsky considered Solaris his least favorite film — too much science fiction survived the edit French cinema comparison: the cut-to-black ending tradition vs. Russian endings that feel complete even when they're ambiguous Deadpool & Wolverine: $1.3 billion on a film with almost no plot — what that says about where creative effort actually matters Character work and tonal execution as the load-bearing elements when story is thin The earlier draft that used "development hell" instead of the void — and why Gambit makes more sense in that version Reynolds and Jackman as a modern buddy comedy duo: could they carry non-Marvel original films? Planes, Trains and Automobiles references hidden throughout the film Three-Body Problem novels: Steve finished the trilogy — both hosts place it in their top five novels ever Why the Netflix adaptation can't go below the surface: the philosophical density is unfilmable Cixin Liu's understanding of the ramifications of human decisions across centuries The novel rewards big-picture thinkers and punishes anyone who lives purely in the moment Story Break: UNESCO's Agent: The pitch: a secret operative paid by the World Heritage Trust to protect sites no government will defend 1,223 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 727 biosphere reserves — and almost no actual protection Sample plot: terrorists hijack an oil tanker into the Norwegian fjords with dead man switches The agent's mission is the site, not the hostages — a fundamentally different motivation than any existing thriller protagonist Character backstory: half Chinese, half American, raised in India — trained as a doctor, hardened by Rwanda, Haiti, the Arab Spring He loves humanity's heritage because he's given up on humanity itself — the arc is reconnecting with living people Cold opens showing the geological or cultural formation of each site before the present-day threat Local fixers instead of a permanent team — endless variety, no recurring cast bloat The shadow committee: a scientist, a hedge fund billionaire, a former astronaut — different motivations, same goal Format flexibility: novels, streaming series, film franchise, or mini-series — the concept scales to any budget Timestamps: 0:00 — Introduction and Turkey travel 2:19 — Deadpool & Wolverine follow-up: $1.3B without a plot 10:35 — Reynolds and Jackman as a buddy comedy duo beyond Marvel 14:40 — Roadside Picnic and Tarkovsky's Stalker: Russian sci-fi stripped to philosophy 33:31 — Three-Body Problem: finishing the trilogy 43:09 — Story Break: UNESCO's Agent pitch 56:27 — Agent character backstory and development 1:03:20 — Expanding the concept: formats, cold opens, supporting characters Reach the show at DontEncourage@gmail.comStop by and discourage us on Instagram, X, TikTok, Discord, YouTube, and Threads https://linktr.ee/dontencourageus Listen to all the music we've discussed in every episode so far on our Encouraged Grooves playlist on YouTube and Spotify and find your next favorite song.
