Below The Line

The Quiet Signal Behind the Noise Every few years, the film industry sends a signal — sometimes loud, sometimes quiet — that the ground is shifting. This year, the signal wasn’t a market crash or a blockbuster failure. It wasn’t even the oddly thin buyer turnout at AFM, though that was certainly part of it. The real signal was quieter, more structural, and far more consequential: a noticeable spike in mergers and acquisitions at every level of the business. And if you know wh

For decades, comedy wasn’t just another genre — it was one of the core engines of theatrical moviegoing. There was a time when jokes alone minted billion-dollar global stars. Eddie Murphy could open a movie on sheer charisma. Bill Murray could turn dry sarcasm into hundreds of millions in ticket sales. Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell — these weren’t just comedians, they were economic forces. No IP required. No cinematic universe necessary. You put the funny person on t

Two of the biggest subscription services on Earth are beginning to cross into each other’s lanes — but what looks like a simple distribution deal might actually be the early stages of a much bigger shift in entertainment. Part 1 — What’s Actually Happening Between Netflix & Spotify Right Now Here’s what we know for sure : ✅ Netflix is adding Spotify content Netflix is now licensing video podcast shows produced by Spotify Studios and The Ringer . Titles include The Bill Simmon

When you’ve got a killer script and a hungry team, the biggest question is always the same: how do we pay for this thing? Two of the most talked-about funding routes for indie filmmakers — crowdfunding and private equity  — couldn’t be more different. One relies on fans. The other on financiers. And both can make (or break) your production depending on your goals. Let’s break down the pros, cons, and real-world strategies  for each. 💰 Crowdfunding: Building a Community Befo

The Consolidation Era Is Already Here Consolidation isn’t theoretical anymore — it’s the world you’re now operating in. Funds managed by Oaktree have merged FilmRise, Shout! Studios, and Gravitas Ventures into one mega-entity: Radial Entertainment , now overseeing more than 70,000 film and TV assets and dozens of platforms and outputs under one roof. Meanwhile, Lionsgate’s $375M acquisition of eOne  absorbed thousands more titles, including Yellowjackets , The Rookie , and fi

A Full PDF Roadmap - Inside the North American Buyer Reset; What to Expect This Year. The 2025 American Film Market isn’t shaping up to be a return to form—it’s a reality check. Buyers are still spending, but they’re spending surgically. The “spray and pray” days of content acquisition are over. If you want to move a film right now, you need to understand one thing: almost every serious North American buyer has gone 4-Quad (old, young, male, female – nothing controversial) o

In this edition of Crafty Table , we’re rolling up our sleeves and walking through a sample budget for a $1 million indie feature — because knowing your numbers is one of the strongest tools you bring to the table when negotiating with buyers, sales agents or investors. This model is tuned for the kinds of deals you’re seeing at festivals and marketplaces now: sub-$1 m, cast-feasible, genre or high-concept, delivery in 12-18 months. Here’s a breakdown of where that $1 m goes

There’s a “new” buyer in town called Radial Entertainment, and in this article I will indeed be covering what they’re buying, in what quantity, and MG ranges. But this new buyer isn’t exactly new – it’s the result of a handful of mergers and acquisitions.

Everyone’s talking about AI like it’s the new apocalypse for Hollywood. You’ve got panelists preaching doom at festivals, writers tweeting like they’re next in line for extinction, and studio execs pretending they understand what a transformer model even is. But here’s the truth: AI is  going to cut into some corners of the entertainment industry — just not the ones everyone’s panicking about. ⚙️ The Jobs That Actually Are at Risk Visual effects, previs, and some development

A lot of filmmakers think attaching sales or distribution to their film means they’ve “made it.” But let’s be clear: a distributor or sales agent is not  a stamp of success — it’s a step toward it. That said, if you approach the process smartly, with strategy instead of desperation, you can use early attachments to build credibility, raise capital, and position your project for a real release instead of a digital graveyard. 🧩 Step 1: Know What You Actually Need There’s a big

Theaters Are Bouncing Back for [Some] Indies, But Teaching Lessons to the Studios. Not sure how many of you are paying attention, but the brief is this. Some studios have wins while others are still flopping at the box office, other distributors (*cough* A24) are climbing into new budgets and getting a spanking (I mean "learning lessons"), and yet and still, moviegoers are coming back to theaters and some indies are making money that's important for them [it just wouldn't get

Raising film money is a rite of passage—and a grind. Whether you’re on your first feature or your fiftieth, pitching equity investors never gets easy, it just gets different. Senior lenders is a whole different ball-game, but don't go there until you have your first 30%+ raised in equity. If you don't know the difference between the two, Google it [or yell at me to write an article].

The American Film Market (AFM) is one of the most important annual gatherings for the independent film industry – the others being Cannes and Berlinale [with TIFF, Sundance, and Tribeca falling behind in that order]. This year, it will be moving back to California (thank goodness!) in Century City, CA, and thousands of producers, distributors, sales agents, and financiers will be on the ground looking for projects, partnerships, and acquisitions. For filmmakers, it’s not just

Searchlight Pictures has never been a volume player, but in 2025 their scope is narrower than ever. With a current reported mandate of just six to ten theatrical features per year, each slot has to feel like an event: a director-forward project with the DNA to command attention on the festival circuit. Their identity has long been tied to Cannes, Venice, Telluride, and Sundance, and that hasn’t changed—theatrical prestige remains the currency. If you’re eyeing them, understan

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

When filmmakers start shopping their movie, one of the first questions they hit is whether to bring on a sales agent. For some, it feels...

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

For independent producers, attaching recognizable talent can feel like the difference between a greenlight and a project stuck in...

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