Below The Line

Every year, filmmakers fly to Cannes, AFM, or EFM with the same quiet hope: that being there is somehow the thing that makes the sale happen. That proximity alone, the badge, the meetings, the cocktails, the accidental elevator conversations, will magically convert into a licensing deal. It almost never works that way. Markets don’t sell films. Preparation sells films.  Markets simply expose whether you did the work early enough — or not at all. Cannes, AFM, and EFM are not i

Every time someone says Pay 1 is dead, I know exactly what they mean — and exactly why they’re wrong. These licensees have simply carved out specific lanes. The lane we're talking about here is black content. So where are these selling? What is  dead is the old fantasy version of Pay 1. The one where a single North American license quietly solved your financing problems, where “SVOD” meant one buyer with a big check and a vague marketing promise, and where prestige alone coul

The new economics of casting value in the independent marketplace Only three years ago, actor values in the independent film market behaved like a reliable rise-over-run slope. If you attached sought-after—and therefore expensive—name talent, you could expect commensurately higher sales values. This principle has always been the indie world’s answer to the studios’ structural advantage. Lacking the leverage of massive marketing budgets and the built-in pipelines that make stu

California’s Tax Credit Glow-Up Looks Good on Paper — But Indie Producers Aren’t Buying the Hype California lawmakers are celebrating the largest expansion of the state’s film tax credit in its history — a jump from $330M to $750M annually, plus the long-awaited addition of refundability starting in 2025. The governor’s office calls it a major victory for job creation, crew retention, and “restoring Hollywood’s competitiveness.” But what the hell does Gavin know about how our