Let's not let FilmStack become yet another boring place, please!
What's YOUR beat? I know mine. And I have a plea for you too...
I chose boredom as my enemy at a very early age.
I avoid boredom, perhaps over anything else. I will quit or leave when it enters the room; I flee when I suspect it even dares to linger longer than necessary. To be clear, it is why I no longer call them… if you know what I mean.
When do you first smell boredom? And do we have a reason to be concerned here? On the ‘stack? In Filmland? You’d let me know if you think I am beating that dead horse too much, or perhaps we all are, altogether and in unison, right?
How do we start to check ourselves at the door? Are we treading upon well worn territory today? Yet again? Please say it ain’t so, Joe!
Perhaps we should count the ways. Perhaps we could get Stephen Follows, Entertainment Strategy Guy, or Daniel Parris to measure it for us. Are we singing some songs too oftern? What are our over-worn topics? Or maybe we can do a quick brainstorming of it now.
And to be honest, there are multiple film communities on the ‘stack. It ain’t just FilmStack after all. In fact, the most popular film newsletters on this platform aren’t the ones that are filmmakers talking about making films. The most popular film-related Substacks deal more with film from a pop culture standpoint. All hail Hunter Harris and Shea Serrano! And then there’s Sean Fennessey too, who is really in a class unto himself. He does examine the industry as well as celebrate creation.
But for today, we are examining Filmstack, and you who are part of it, know who you are. So….
What are the most well worn subjects on FilmStack?
Before we begin, it should be made clear though that this is not a plea to ban these as subjects for further exploration. Just like with cinema in general, the popularity of the subject (at least from the authors’ point of view) raises the bar for the rest of us. The fact that everyone makes horror films doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make horror films; it only should make you well aware that everyone does, which might mean you need to try even harder. It’s that sort of thing.
Call this a form of self-criticism. Or the encouragement for all of us to do a little of it for ourselves. How do we keep moving forward? Making it better together? When do we know we have read enough on a particular subject — or most others have?
Ready? Set... Go!
“Theatrical Is Dead / Theatrical Is Back”
So how do people want to watch movies now?
Hollywood Is Dead! Indie Is Dead! / Long Live Hollywood? Long Live Indie?
Streaming Economics Don’t Work
AI and Filmmaking / How Filmmakers Must Adapt to AI
Perhaps this is now the dominant topic. Should it be?
The Crisis of Independent Film
This is certainly where I got started… even before Substack.
Inspiration & How To Find Your Voice
Maybe I am guilty here. I did start the FilmStack Daily Inspo Challenge. What can I say? The question of where to find it is one of my personal faves.
Festival Relevance
Are acquisitions dead? Are festivals the only distribution left for SC-Indie film?
Creator Economy vs Hollywood
The Collapse of Film Journalism
Film journalists writing about the collapse of film journalism. It’s like filmmakers writing about the collapse of filmmaking, instead of making films when it is in many ways cheaper and better than ever before.
Why Audiences Aren’t Showing Up
The State of Cinema
Own your audience. Build an audience.
There are few things I believe more than email lists. I guess that can get a bit boring, eh?
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Representation
What is cinema? What is better cinema?
The good vs. great debate… the problem with the status quo… content! Mid. Meh. Long live ambiguity. And again I love this one. Guilty as charged.
The Death of the Middle Budget Movie
Distribution Is Broken
Labor and Sustainability
Film Education and Career Advice
Nostalgia for when everything seemed better….
What did I miss? Leave out? And what comes next?
Is it time to pick some new subjects perhaps? What about here, on Hope For Film? Do you feel I go to the same source too often? I know there are some topics I keep returning to… Is that a problem for you, mate?
I think my main topic is how to build something better together. I think I will use a new tag line that summons that. What am I really trying to do here anyways? I like to examine the conditions that make good movies—and good creative lives—possible — particularly the cinema ecosystem and its communities. Yeah, that’s my beat. What’s yours?
In the end, I think if I had a plea, it would be…
FilmStack, please stay weird, be weird, grow weird.
I hope that is okay with you.
Today's is a short-ish post. I don’t normally do short. Maybe I should do more of it?
In a way we are all selling something here: an idea, our movie, a brand, an identity. And we’ve been taught that to sell something we must repeat what it is to an audience over and over so it sticks with them. And if you are lucky enough to hit upon something that sticks with that audience it is doubly hard to then stop repeating that sticky thing to try something else. But aspire we all shall!
Agree! And to defeat boredom….here is what I did today:
- woke up by my own decision at 4:15am - I’m NOT an early morning person. This was a tough one.
- went to shoot some broll of our magnificent US Capitol, only to discover that:
- the city is at its BEST at sunrise
- the quiet, clean (!) lawn, the birds chirping, the absolute calm before the storm, the colors. You’re at peace and inspired.
- rewarded myself with a latte and pastry.🥐
It’s 8:21 am now. This is the time I usually wake up.
I feel energized. Loving everything. Including my afternoon nap.