In 1976, the major labels owned everything. They owned the studios, the pressing plants, the distribution, the radio airplay, and the narrative about what music was allowed to be. Getting a record deal meant getting permission from people who had never picked up an instrument in their lives. The gatekeepers didn’t care about your sound or what you wanted to say. They cared about their margin. So a bunch of kids in London and New York stopped asking. The Ramones played two-minute songs so fast...

In 1976, the major labels owned everything. They owned the studios, the pressing plants, the distribution, the radio airplay, and the narrative about what music was allowed to be. Getting a record deal meant getting permission from people who had never picked up an instrument in their lives. The gatekeepers didn’t care about your sound or what you wanted to say. They cared about their margin. So a bunch of kids in London and New York stopped asking. The Ramones played two-minute songs so fast...

I shared a post about a creator who trained a custom AI model at home and generated a short film in minutes. One person. One machine. Idea to video in hours, not months. The response was overwhelming to say the least. And none of it was from anyone in my network. We're talking +2s and +3s — strangers algorithmically delivered to my comment section, armed with sweeping statements, moral certainty, and very little apparent firsthand experience with the technology they were condemning. I'm not t...

I shared a post about a creator who trained a custom AI model at home and generated a short film in minutes. One person. One machine. Idea to video in hours, not months. The response was overwhelming to say the least. And none of it was from anyone in my network. We're talking +2s and +3s — strangers algorithmically delivered to my comment section, armed with sweeping statements, moral certainty, and very little apparent firsthand experience with the technology they were condemning. I'm not t...

People have been asking me what film3 is for years. At festivals, in DMs, after panels, at events with filmmakers who sense something shifting. What is film3? How does it work? How do I get involved? I've answered the question more times than I can count — in conversations, in twitter spaces, on stages, over coffee, over beer, in articles, the list goes on. Every time, I gave the best answer I had. But a passing conversation was never going to be enough. So I wrote the book. This is my story....

People have been asking me what film3 is for years. At festivals, in DMs, after panels, at events with filmmakers who sense something shifting. What is film3? How does it work? How do I get involved? I've answered the question more times than I can count — in conversations, in twitter spaces, on stages, over coffee, over beer, in articles, the list goes on. Every time, I gave the best answer I had. But a passing conversation was never going to be enough. So I wrote the book. This is my story....

IndieWire published a piece recently that stopped me mid-scroll. The headline was "Don't Call It a Comeback: How Independent Film Will Be Rewired in 2026." It's a sharp analysis of where indie film actually stands right now — not the hopeful spin, not the doom spiral, just a clear-eyed look at the new operating reality. And one line in particular landed like it was written directly at me:"Producers are asked to think like founders. Directors are expected to articulate not just vision but valu...

IndieWire published a piece recently that stopped me mid-scroll. The headline was "Don't Call It a Comeback: How Independent Film Will Be Rewired in 2026." It's a sharp analysis of where indie film actually stands right now — not the hopeful spin, not the doom spiral, just a clear-eyed look at the new operating reality. And one line in particular landed like it was written directly at me:"Producers are asked to think like founders. Directors are expected to articulate not just vision but valu...

Here's a sentence I never thought I'd write: our AI agent is raising funds from other AI agents to produce a human-made stop motion animated film (and even trolling us a little for being so analog). Auctobot's pitch deck has no pictures. No emotion. No sizzle reel. Just code — a machine-readable investment memo delivered agent-to-agent, onchain, returning a yes or a no. And when it's a no, collecting data on why, so the pitch gets sharper with every pass. This is the first agent-to-agent prod...

Here's a sentence I never thought I'd write: our AI agent is raising funds from other AI agents to produce a human-made stop motion animated film (and even trolling us a little for being so analog). Auctobot's pitch deck has no pictures. No emotion. No sizzle reel. Just code — a machine-readable investment memo delivered agent-to-agent, onchain, returning a yes or a no. And when it's a no, collecting data on why, so the pitch gets sharper with every pass. This is the first agent-to-agent prod...

Two weeks ago, a YouTuber did something Hollywood said was impossible. Mark Fischbach — better known as Markiplier to his 38 million subscribers — self-financed a science fiction horror film called Iron Lung for $3 million. He wrote it. He directed it. He starred in it. And when he shopped it to studios and distributors looking for a theatrical release partner, he was turned down across the board. One executive openly mocked the idea that the film would find an audience. So he distributed it ...

Two weeks ago, a YouTuber did something Hollywood said was impossible. Mark Fischbach — better known as Markiplier to his 38 million subscribers — self-financed a science fiction horror film called Iron Lung for $3 million. He wrote it. He directed it. He starred in it. And when he shopped it to studios and distributors looking for a theatrical release partner, he was turned down across the board. One executive openly mocked the idea that the film would find an audience. So he distributed it ...

The Sundance Film Festival opened this week in Park City for its final year in the Utah mountain town that became synonymous with independent cinema. Over 16,200 submissions poured in from 164 countries, all chasing the dream that's sustained indie filmmakers for decades: make something great, get discovered, secure distribution, build a career. But here's the uncomfortable truth the industry whispers about in hotel lobbies and after-parties: that dream is statistically dead for most filmmake...

The Sundance Film Festival opened this week in Park City for its final year in the Utah mountain town that became synonymous with independent cinema. Over 16,200 submissions poured in from 164 countries, all chasing the dream that's sustained indie filmmakers for decades: make something great, get discovered, secure distribution, build a career. But here's the uncomfortable truth the industry whispers about in hotel lobbies and after-parties: that dream is statistically dead for most filmmake...

Last Wednesday, I found myself in a packed Tomorrow Theater for MIXED*, a hybrid film showcase curated by my friend Garett Stenson. The concept was simple but ambitious — 211 films submitted from 44 countries, distilled into a single evening in Portland, Oregon. But MIXED* clearly had bigger ambitions than a typical screening — less curated showcase, more catalyst for the kind of conversations independent filmmakers actually need to be having about AI. The night opened with a musical performa...

Last Wednesday, I found myself in a packed Tomorrow Theater for MIXED*, a hybrid film showcase curated by my friend Garett Stenson. The concept was simple but ambitious — 211 films submitted from 44 countries, distilled into a single evening in Portland, Oregon. But MIXED* clearly had bigger ambitions than a typical screening — less curated showcase, more catalyst for the kind of conversations independent filmmakers actually need to be having about AI. The night opened with a musical performa...

Last week I had one of those phone calls that reminded me there are genuine people out in the world building film3 tools that actually want to put power into the hands of the makers. Meet Cyon. The women behind the company, CTO Tracie Mitchell and CEO Lotta Stenroos, understand that the film industry has long been defined by gatekeepers — from studio executives and festival programmers to the invisible hand of streaming algorithms. For independent filmmakers, that system often means limited c...

Last week I had one of those phone calls that reminded me there are genuine people out in the world building film3 tools that actually want to put power into the hands of the makers. Meet Cyon. The women behind the company, CTO Tracie Mitchell and CEO Lotta Stenroos, understand that the film industry has long been defined by gatekeepers — from studio executives and festival programmers to the invisible hand of streaming algorithms. For independent filmmakers, that system often means limited c...

Last week, I wrote about how Markiplier's Iron Lung — a $3 million community/self-financed horror film — debuted at number two domestically, expanded from 60 theaters to over 4,161 through a grassroots fan campaign, and has now crossed $48 million worldwide without a studio, a distributor, or a single institutional gatekeeper saying yes. That story was about proof of concept: A creator who owned his work, activated his community, and kept the economics. It's the film3 playbook less the blockc...

Last week, I wrote about how Markiplier's Iron Lung — a $3 million community/self-financed horror film — debuted at number two domestically, expanded from 60 theaters to over 4,161 through a grassroots fan campaign, and has now crossed $48 million worldwide without a studio, a distributor, or a single institutional gatekeeper saying yes. That story was about proof of concept: A creator who owned his work, activated his community, and kept the economics. It's the film3 playbook less the blockc...