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But it's not a shout-out either - it's just a background event that might completely fly over audiences as a reference to anything. I was thinking about Mythology Gag initially, but that one is even less fitting.
^ I've considered making a TLP for this exact thing before, since it doesn't neatly fit into any of the existing reference tropes. (Only issue was that I wasn't sure how broad the definition of "creator" should be.)
Pinball cleanup threadAs broad as possible, because the problem right now is that there is bunch of super-specific, super-niche tropes that define highly specific things, but "movie director references his previous work" suddenly draws a blank. Unless of course it's done as a specific type of a gag, then there is a trope for that.
Edited by TropiarzSometimes Company Cross-References can work.
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.Again, it's not a shout-out. It's just a background event that's going for few seconds and you would have to know the movie to even figure out what the hell they are screening. It's not referenced, brought up or anything like that. It's just there. Hence the question about Actor Allusion, because this is the sort of stuff I need, except it's only for actors.
I think a Creator Self-Reference thing is worth a go on TLP. Subtrope of Shout-Out, sister trope of Actor Allusion, super- or sister trope of Company Cross-References.
The trope you're looking for is Production Throwback.
A creator cannot Shout-Out themselves, so it would not be a Shout-Out.
I honestly don't think Production Throwback quite fits the broader definition I was thinking of, though it does come close. The description says it specifically refers to "the reuse of characters or items from a previous work in Easter Egg cameos in a newer one," and a hypothetical "Creator Self-Reference" trope could encompass other references that aren't characters or objects.
Pinball cleanup thread

SOLVED: Production Throwback
Can Actor Allusion be also applied to the director or is it strictly for actors?
In Conspiracy Theory, one of the scenes has the characters hide in a crowded cinema, where they are screening Ladyhawke. Both were directed by Richard Donner and he picked the screened movie himself as a joke.
Edited by Tropiarz