A team of “neurocinematic” researchers examines (via fMRI) the relationship between the direction/aesthetic of a film and the level of viewer engagement, and arrives at an obvious conclusion: Alfred Hitchcock has no equal.  “The fact that Hitchcock was able to orchestrate the responses of so many different brain regions, turning them on and off at the same time across all viewers, may provide neuroscientific evidence for his notoriously famous ability to master and manipulate viewers’ minds.”

Will tomorrow’s auteur be required to deliver not just high scores in the “top two boxes” and an appropriate MPAA rating, but also quantifiable engagement?