So, it becomes an exercise in futility if you write something that does not express the film as the director wishes. It's still their ball game. It's their show. I think any successful composer learns how to dance around the director's impulses.
Special effects are characters. Special effects are essential elements. Just because you can't see them doesn't mean they aren't there.
Cancer affects everyone, and it's up to all of us to support the important research that can one day make a much sought-after cure a reality.