Stop whispering! The 13 new evolutions the FKATheFilmBiz needs to be SHOUTING about right now...
We need to talk about this, okay?
I think you know I like to try to capture the good and the bad of our cinema industries. We have to know where we stand after all.
But what about just the where and the how of change? What’s happening now? How does it effect us? Can we pick up any clues that may help us see around the corner and to know what is coming down the pike a little sooner than too damn late?
I used to make it a habit that when I went to film festivals or just hung out with other film biz pals to try to get them to speak about where they thought we were at. I just saw one the other night, and she reminded me when we first met and she came to my office at 9AM I led with “what’s wrong with the film business and how should we fix it? Where is it going?”. That is where my morning meditation first starts, until I can quiet my mind that is.
The results of such questioning, be it in my office or at festivals, admittedly is a bit…. limited. People often seem reluctant to forecast, let alone spitball. Me? I don’t have that gene of such reluctance. That’s the scene I strive to live in. Lucky for me this FilmStack thing came around when it did. Thanks, friends.
Today I am trying to pick up a few new scents and slam a few softballs. Perhaps you will join me.
These things we see, are they real? Are they obvious? And what are we going to do about it?
I mean, I am trying to leave out the obvious obvious from this list of what we need to talk about. Those conversations that EVERYONE is having start to bore me to bits. Yeah, AI is going to eat us alive and DEI is out of fashion, even if both may be good business practices. Trump is creating chaos and yeah, the tarrifs are a bad idea — but America desperately needs a coordinated national film policy. Docs don’t sell and nothing sells like they used to. We have new distro platforms and they all work… sort of! Audiences are showing up at the theater, and they are young! Letterboxd, FilmTok. Yes, but… So many signs of hope! Or is it despair, but in a new set of clothes? I am sorry, but I need a nap.
What was up will come down, and down will go up again too. DEI has gone underground again but that just means when the suppressed rises with the changing tides, it will be even stronger and again conquer all, including the box office. Yeah the division between the haves and the have-nots is growing stronger. Yeah the leaders are only getting theirs. Yeah, we still don’t have leadership in the field capable of envisioning a better world — but know what? We can do it on own by working together to build something better. Better processes yield better products.
I may not be right about everything on this list. Some of these may sound obviousobvious to a few readers. What they all have in common is we are not talking enough about them, good or bad. Discussion is the fuel for invention. Conversation is the tool for solutions. The old back and forth is what is needed if we want to innovate or find the escape plan. Let’s not whisper any more about any of these things.
And yeah, sorry if I wrote about some of these previously. I did that so we’d discuss it more. If you find me (or anyone else) in Cannes (or any other film gathering these next few months), consider each a good conversation starter.
The 13 Signs Of Possible Change Within The Cinema Industries, circa May, 2025
1
Indie film failed. What’s next?
I think it is best we put Indie to bed, or even better… proclaim it’s death. Great films, great artists, and some good change came of this experiment. That said, we failed to seize the opportunity it offered. We failed to define what it stood for, and where we wanted it to lead. It became nothing but a farm league that the majors pilfered. It became a mechanism that furthered our transactional obsessions. It dumbed down the populace. It made sustainability of the ecosystem even more difficult. The only way for ambitiously authored cinema of the boldest strain to survive is to admit that we lost Round One, gather up the participants, and brainstorm a new strategy. Confess. Admit it. We failed.
2
Let’s commit to the mindful use of our attention
It is time to feel guilty and embarrassed, even shame, when we mindlessly click on the shit they offer us. Our attention is an exercise. We must be self-directed about what we engage with. This — the Attention Sweepstakes —is now the fifth round of the battle between the TechBroCos and the Agency Overlords + Old Guard StudioHeads. The TechBroCos won Rounds 1-4.
3
Could ART be gaining on MONEY as a motivating factor for talent?
Okay, maybe this one is wishful thinking. But it once was, and it could be again. One of the things that Peak Content seemed to kill off was that age-old practice of agents trying to find ways to elevate their clients career via a path of quality and integrity. To me it has felt like the last decade has all about getting as much cash as one can. The exceptions I can count on one hand.
4
While I am on the positive bounce…
What if we all started demanding more movies about the world we are living in?
The signs are there that that is that thing that we want. Just listen to Anthony.
5
Private equity was once one of the strengths of the American cinema industries; now we’ve killed it.
We had a model that worked. Because we had a working model, we could aspire to something greater. Business leaders did aspire to something more than having their name on any old picture. They wanted to reach higher and make something good — something that could last for the ages.
We must now admit that those days are dead. We allowed the Global Streaming Platforms to takeover and their model has no real room for private equity. Sure you make something for cheap and sell it to them for more, but that’s it after that. Game over. No sharing in the spoils. If you can only earn at best a small percentage return, why bother. There are other sandboxes to play in, and they’ve already found them.
Without the wonderfully mad ones who wanted to reach higher, the go to quality in a project is a simply a likely return. That’s not art. That’s not boldness. That is not ambition. That is not the things I — and so many — entered the field for.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Hope For Film to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.