Josh Daws

VP of Technology at @theblaze | AI Filmmaker | Ex-Disney

[Josh Daws @JoshDaws]

Episode 4: Mary Sue Thinks the Villain Is Misunderstood

Produced by @capcutapp using Seedance 2.5

[Josh Daws @JoshDaws]

Episode 3: Mary Sue Doesn't Want Kids

[Josh Daws @JoshDaws]

@seanward @FlyoverBase @nick36c Worth a purchase.

[Josh Daws @JoshDaws]

This is the most encouraging Disney news in ages. RETVRN

[ToonHive @ToonHive]

‘Mickey’s Christmas Carol’ will air on ABC for the first time since 2003 on November 25th.

[Josh Daws @JoshDaws]

Let’s see what all the fuss is about.

[Josh Daws @JoshDaws]

Made the switch from herdr to T3 Code. I like it.

[Josh Daws @JoshDaws]

Reid has been spitting fire lately. Give him a follow.

[Reid Hannaford @reidhannaford]

There's too much attention on people putting in as little time and effort as possible, enabled by AI.

Instead, we should be putting in just as much effort, assisted by this tech, to create bigger and better and weirder and more creative things than were possible before.

[Josh Daws @JoshDaws]

@bberney Same. Apart from Chani, I loved the first two.

[Josh Daws @JoshDaws]

It's been a while since I read the book so I revisited the story to refresh my memory, and I think the whole “Paul Atreides is Space Hitler” interpretation really misses the tragedy of his character.

Paul is a fundamentally good man placed in an almost impossible situation. He can see possible futures, but that doesn't mean he has complete knowledge of them or the power to prevent them. He sees the terrible consequences of the jihad, tries to avoid them, and ultimately finds himself caught in events that have taken on a life of their own.

People love to point out that Paul compares himself to Hitler in Dune Messiah, but the context matters enormously. He's not boasting about his body count. He's horrified by it. He's surrounded by religious fanatics who celebrate his conquests, while he recognizes the unimaginable human cost.

That's not the characterization of a bloodthirsty tyrant. It's a tragic leader wrestling with the consequences of decisions no ordinary human could comprehend.

And there's an important distinction between Paul and Leto II. Leto sees the Golden Path and deliberately accepts becoming a monster to ensure humanity's survival. Paul never embraces that path. He recoils from it.

I think Herbert's warning about charismatic leaders is much more interesting than simply saying that the hero was actually the villain all along. What happens when a genuinely good man, with genuine virtues and good intentions, acquires almost godlike knowledge but remains fundamentally human?

Paul isn't beyond criticism. He bears responsibility for the horrors committed in his name. But reducing him to “Space Hitler” flattens one of the great tragic characters in science fiction into a caricature.

There's a difference between a man who commits atrocities because he loves power and a man who is horrified by the consequences of choices he believed might avert something worse. That doesn't automatically justify those choices, but it absolutely matters when judging the man.

That's what I hope Villeneuve doesn't lose in the third movie.

[Josh Daws @JoshDaws]

This looks great but I suspect it’s going to kill Paul in some emasculating way because Hollywood hates strong male authority figures.

[Reid Hannaford @reidhannaford]

If you use AI to make an image, you aren’t a painter, but you can still be an artist.

A film director doesn’t build the sets or hold the camera and nobody questions whether they’re an artist.

We need to separate the craft from the art.

[Josh Daws @JoshDaws]

@BibChr C. In everything
D. All of the above.

D. My answer is D.

[Reid Hannaford @reidhannaford]

"Slop" is work that is low effort and low intent. I'm pro-AI, and anti-slop.

By low intent I mean the ratio of creative decisions being made by you vs by the AI. If the scale tips too far towards the AI, it's not your vision anymore.

But there is so much nuance to using these tools in 2026. You can get very involved, give detailed notes and feedback, make minor changes, and iterate just like you would giving feedback to a human collaborator.

This makes you a director, and an artist.

[Michael F Kane @MichaelFKane]

That's funny. I thought the villain of Dune was the family of murderous, incestuous, rapist, pedophiles and that Paul's actions were the only way to keep one of them from being crowned Padishah Emperor, which would have lead to the extinction of humanty.

But hey! What do I know? 🤷‍♂️

[Josh Daws @JoshDaws]

https://t.co/RFBLpf5kIR

[Josh Daws @JoshDaws]

It's been a while since I read the book so I revisited the story to refresh my memory, and I think the whole “Paul Atreides is Space Hitler” interpretation really misses the tragedy of his character.

Paul is a fundamentally good man placed in an almost impossible situation. He can see possible futures, but that doesn't mean he has complete knowledge of them or the power to prevent them. He sees the terrible consequences of the jihad, tries to avoid them, and ultimately finds himself caught in events that have taken on a life of their own.

People love to point out that Paul compares himself to Hitler in Dune Messiah, but the context matters enormously. He's not boasting about his body count. He's horrified by it. He's surrounded by religious fanatics who celebrate his conquests, while he recognizes the unimaginable human cost.

That's not the characterization of a bloodthirsty tyrant. It's a tragic leader wrestling with the consequences of decisions no ordinary human could comprehend.

And there's an important distinction between Paul and Leto II. Leto sees the Golden Path and deliberately accepts becoming a monster to ensure humanity's survival. Paul never embraces that path. He recoils from it.

I think Herbert's warning about charismatic leaders is much more interesting than simply saying that the hero was actually the villain all along. What happens when a genuinely good man, with genuine virtues and good intentions, acquires almost godlike knowledge but remains fundamentally human?

Paul isn't beyond criticism. He bears responsibility for the horrors committed in his name. But reducing him to “Space Hitler” flattens one of the great tragic characters in science fiction into a caricature.

There's a difference between a man who commits atrocities because he loves power and a man who is horrified by the consequences of choices he believed might avert something worse. That doesn't automatically justify those choices, but it absolutely matters when judging the man.

That's what I hope Villeneuve doesn't lose in the third movie.

[Josh Daws @JoshDaws]

This looks great but I suspect it’s going to kill Paul in some emasculating way because Hollywood hates strong male authority figures.

[DiscussingFilm @DiscussingFilm]

The final trailer for ‘DUNE: PART 3’ has been released.

In theaters on December 18.

[Josh Daws @JoshDaws]

Nice job! I love the style.

[100&Wonder @100andWonder]

This is a short film I created solo from script and concept through editing and post production in about 3 weeks, made possible using Genspark's new Media Studio and its agentic workflows and skills. Check out the new Genspark Media Studio here: https://t.co/guI1ZdxUGC

I was granted an advanced preview of Genspark's new suite of film and video production tools. Genspark Media "Studio" is aptly named, because it functioned as an extension of my studio pipeline, substantially streamlining it. I was able to increase my production speed by around 54%.

Media Studio’s agentic workflows and skill templates helped me research and brainstorm the script and then do a complete script breakdown into the visual elements, characters, and props I needed for every scene. Each of those elements are then approvable by the studio head/coordinator (me).

Throughout the production process, Media Studio was also able to continually refer back to story and character bibles it previously built, which further ensured consistency across scenes and shots.

As many filmmakers using AI tools have experienced, location consistency is incredibly hard. But Genspark Media Studio had a solution for that with a game-changing tool called “Director View.” Genspark Director View, within Media Studio, can build a stand-in 3D environment from a single concept art image of a location, allowing you to reposition objects and re-frame the camera into the kind of shot you want. Then, export the frame into a Media Studio canvas and use it as a reference to generate a new camera angle in your set style. This enabled me to build consistent environments and new angles for background plates—all while maintaining the same style!

In addition to media production, Genspark has nearly everything I need to effectively run a professional animation studio from AI assisted email to AI generated pitch decks to agentic studio management and production workflows.

I’m so excited that this powerful tool is now released for everyone to use! Check it out here: https://t.co/guI1ZdxUGC

[Josh Daws @JoshDaws]

@jordandchesney Thank you for bringing our merry band of troublemakers together. It's a fantastic group of artists.

[Josh Daws @JoshDaws]

I’m so glad people are finally discovering this gem. It’s magical.

[Doug TenNapel @DougTenNapel]

It is the best modern fairy tale, perhaps the only modern fairy tale. Intoxicating. I got to work for McHale on the pre-season of Adventure Time. That was after I lectured his class at Cal Arts with Pen Ward and Rebecca Sugar, who are all profound talents.

Patrick gave me notes and I couldn't believe he let me get away with writing the most insane stuff in my professional animation career. Of course it wasn't going to be approved by the network. I got whacked but a little big of my work made it into season 4 of Adventure Time in the Sons of Mars episode.

I still wish more of my work made it, but it really was insane. McHale was just boiling with talent ready to explode when they finally gave him his shot with Over the Garden Wall. I'd never seen anything like it. It's magic.

[Josh Daws @JoshDaws]

This is so true. America would not exist without the great commission. It’s baked into our nation’s DNA.

[Department of State @StateDept]

America, more than any other nation in world history, was shaped by the Christian tradition of spreading the gospel unto all nations.

Join us in celebrating International Religious Freedom Day.

[Josh Daws @JoshDaws]

I love classic Disney shorts, but Looney Tunes is the GOAT.

[Doug TenNapel @DougTenNapel]

Looney Tunes are peak. 1940s for all animation. Then like all peaks it deconstructs. But there is a humanity in the Looney Tunes sense of humor that wasn't even touched by Disney. Disney peak was somewhere around Pinocchio and Peter Pan.

[Josh Daws @JoshDaws]

Love it. Chivalry is not dead.

The great thing about this new technology is that these stories don’t have to go through endless rounds of studio notes that suck the life out of it. “Does she really need a man to hold an umbrella for her?” “I feel like this might be perpetuating toxic masculinity.”

[antrofrog @antrofrog_]

No Ordinary Love

[Josh Daws @JoshDaws]

Think twice before you take that Big Brother tax.

[Josh Daws @JoshDaws]

@0xInk_ @inkaistudio @henriwaldhari Congrats!