Earlier quoted context omitted.
Interesting comparison. With a film, you normally don't start production without a script. You also appoint a director that (hopefully) is fully responsible for the vision of the project. In comparison, with software, we often don't know what we want to build except in vague terms. It's a bit like one of those failed movie projects where they know they want to make a Superman film, but they don't actually have a scri…
What? A script is exactly like a vague description at the start of a software project. It doesn’t detail what sets are built, costumes, who will star, how much it will all cost, who will be hired, where the lights go, the music, and a 1000 other things. Your comparison is silly.
I was suggesting that the script is a bit like what we used to do when we wrote requirements documents. I doubt many people do it any more, but a long time ago we used to describe all of the workflows for an application before we did any design even. It was a description of exactly what would happen in every scenario. Sometimes it would have UX descriptions, but often not -- those would come later. This almost always fails because usually people's initial ideas are poor and it takes iteration to come up with a product that actually works well.
I don't think it's too far of a stretch to compare a script to a requirements document. Of course apples aren't oranges even though they are both fruit. You can find commonalities in anything and also differences. My main thought was that the OP suggested that filming a movie required complete control over the process, even though it was a lucrative endeavour. I thought, what's the difference between a movie and a software project, then? Are we missing opportunities because we don't apply enough control?
I don't think so. I think a movie project has a lot more information about what they are building before they start than a software project. That's the reason that control works better for them. However, I do think that software projects often lack vision because often nobody is responsible for that vision. Interestingly, as I said, movies appoint someone to be in charge of the vision of the project. Would the same thing work on a software project? I think it would.
If you think that my comparison is silly, then how do you rationalise the OP's claim that control is necessary for making a movie, while it appears that control is something we want to avoid for software projects? Or do you believe that software projects do require control in the same way that film making does?