Below The Line

The center of gravity has shifted. Netflix is prioritizing titles that travel cleanly across regions and feel like events the moment they hit the service. You see it in how quickly certain films move from festival conversation to global availability and in how the rows are programmed: bold, instantly legible choices that signal confidence to subscribers. For filmmakers, that means thinking beyond a domestic play; the mandate is momentum that translates in Seoul, São Paulo, an

Disney just walked into a buzzsaw. What started as a late-night decision around Jimmy Kimmel has snowballed into a broader perception problem, and perception—right now—is currency. In an industry where churn, pricing, and portfolio positioning are all moving at once, a PR bruise in one division can tighten appetites in another. That matters for indie distributors and filmmakers chasing licensing deals. The timing here isn’t ideal. Disney is pushing through another round of su

Let me start by saying this wasn’t some buttoned-up industry panel. Tony Piantedosi — SVP of Acquisitions at Vertical Entertainment and a longtime friend of mine — and I cracked open drinks, hit record, and went [almost] straight into the raw questions filmmakers ask me every damn day. You want to know what gets your pitch deleted before it’s even read? Or why some films land a Pay 1 deal while others sink without a trace? Tony lays it out, unfiltered. And if you’ve ever thou

Hulu is quietly stepping up its game in acquiring content from independent creators — and not just in genres where it already has strength. Word is, recent deals reach deeper into films that cover specific topics and genres that can qualify for an acquisition outside the normal star‑driven content mandate. Hulu is said to be holding a small but strategic slush fund dedicated to these creators, allowing flexibility in making acquisitions beyond the typical risk thresholds. Wha

29 August 2025 - NBCUniversal’s Pesacock has just inked a deal to join Amazon’s Prime Video Channels, making its ad-free Premium Plus...

15 August 2025 - Roku, a household name in the U.S. streaming hardware space, is making a notable content play with the launch of Howdy...