I remember some stories.

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Directors flying over a cliff in a helicopter and saying "That's where I want to shoot!" A huge explosion and subpar crash that completely destroyed the set. After it was filmed, the Director of Photography said "I could see the conductor was a dummy. We'll have to do it again." An Exectuive Producer who was also the Director telling me "Don't tell me what it takes. Make it happen." Directors deciding the order of locations by throwing cards at a top hat in the middle of the floor.

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These are old stories because they don't happen much anymore. I worked on a show not long ago where the Star/Executive Producer wanted to keep his costumes. It had to go to the top of the studio for approval. In days past, they just wore it home if they wanted to keep it. The difference is we no longer work for studios, but for major corporations. Corporate bureaucracy has taken over the film industry. Or the industry is maturing, depending on your point of view.

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The problem is the growth of distribution. When I started a good film would be released to theaters for a few months. Now everybody has their preferred steaming channel for the majority of the viewing pleasure. More channels and content needed, but for an increasingly smaller part of the audience. The product does not have the profit margin of the past, but it has a bigger overhead to support. When I started, a project would have a producer and a UPM. Look at the credits of features today and there are more producers than costumers.

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But there is always the need for the talented professionals who actually create the product. It is through the dedication of those professionals that the craft will survive.