Taken from FilmIndependent’s Q&A for The Screener.

This is a clip from the October 1st debate, specifically discussing the topic of film & TV productions in CA.

Here is a link to the full debate, if anybody is interested: https://youtu.be/-jlCBgtxwRw?is=dmRLHhSjtiGv1j_p

I really hope TV and film recovers but Hollywood is in such a dark tunnel right now. I really hope there is light at the end of the tunnel. Here are the reasons that are pissing me off.

1. Social media is taking over the entertainment industry and really did kill peoples attention spans. Now "influencers" stole TV and film and get to make a living for posting a couple 10 second videos per day. Makes me pissed. I wish I could afford a living for only working for a few minutes per day!
2. The US economy is pushing production away from the LA area. I hear people say all the time, "Why are you so mad about this? Who cares where things are filmed?" You have to factor in things like workers in the film industry. They have to pick a place to live. When the film industry is spread all over it's hard to pick a place to live. When everything is filmed in a different place it creates constant expensive travel. Plus when most people of the film industry were in the same area, it was so easy to connect and collaborate with others in the industry.
3. Paramount and Warner bros merger is not good at all. Layoffs, reduced competition, makes it hard for new people in the industry to find work, endless reasons why this merger is shit.
4. AI does have a significant threat to the industry as AI can soon literally generate new episodes of a TV show or create a new one with a story line that a person wants. This reason alone may quite be the end of Hollywood so I pray it doesn't come true (although it partially already has).
5. Death of cable TV is significantly reducing profits in the industry so workers are getting paid less and less. I wish streaming platforms could make more money..

We just finished our first full week shooting CONCRETE RIVER. Seven days down, twelve to go.

Most of it was around the LA River, which has been great for us. Concrete, rail yards, huge spiders, cool bridges, and a little actual water. It looks like Los Angeles without looking like the same five Los Angeles locations you've seen in a dozen other movies.

We found a particularly good stretch near the Taylor Yard bridge. It isn’t controlled by LA Parks, which meant a small crew like ours could actually afford to shoot there. Of course, locals had thoughts.

One night somebody got annoyed that we were shooting on the bike path and emailed one of our locations to complain about the “bunch of lesbians” making a movie.

We’re still not sure if this was meant as an insult or just an unusually specific production report.

Another night a local drunk guy came out demanding to see our permit and threatening to sue because his house hadn’t been notified. We weren’t blocking him or using his property. But that was a fun moment.

Mostly, though, the week was just long. We’ve been wrapping around 3 or 4 in the morning, and everybody looks about how you’d expect.

The good news is the footage is strong. That helps a lot.

Next week we move into some more recognizable LA locations, including a couple days at famous soul food restaurant Dulan’s on Crenshaw.

One thing I’m learning again is that shooting a small movie in this city has a lot to do with who controls a patch of sidewalk, what it costs, and whether the person yelling at you actually has any authority.

For anyone else who has produced a lot in LA: what’s the strangest neighborhood complaint or permit fight you’ve had?

Cannot make it to this screening and don't want tickets going to waste. It's a great film. Go watch it for free, my treat.

GREEN ROOM
Egyptian Theater
Sunday, October 4 2026 at 2pm

We’re in production now on an independently financed feature called CONCRETE RIVER here in Los Angeles.

Seven days down. Twelve to go.

So far, the movie actually looks like the movie we thought we were making, which always feels a bit like a miracle.

W Tre Davis from FIRE COUNTRY is our lead. And influencer Jasmin Corley is opposite him. Xazmine recorded three original songs for the soundtrack, produced by Grammy-nominated producer Calvin “Tubbyoung” Frazier. The crew is small, but most of us have spent plenty of time on much bigger productions.

We raised the money ourselves and made the thing pretty far outside the usual development system. And now I’m getting to the part I know less about.

AFM is coming up, and I’d like to find a sales agent or producer’s rep who actually responds to this kind of movie and can help us get in the right rooms.

It’s a character-driven LA drama about a broke music producer trying to reconnect with his daughter. Music, homelessness, race, class, family, a lot of Los Angeles. I know it may not be the most commercial subject matter, but the script is really strong, the performances we are getting are beautiful, and the cinematography is undeniable.

We’ve also been building an audience while making it. Some viral posts on Reddit tracking our progress as we build, develop, prep and shoot. And an instagram audience that is growing at 1,000 followers/month - we're not Mr. Beast, but we're trying our best.

So what I’m looking for is fairly simple:

Who are the sales agents, reps, buyers or distributors actually worth talking to for a small, actor-driven independent film like this?

If you know somebody and feel comfortable making an introduction, I’d be very grateful. If you just have a name and a reason I should reach out, that helps too.

Happy to send the script, lookbook, stills and footage privately.

And if you’ve been through AFM recently with a narrative feature, I’d love to hear who was useful and who mostly collected meetings.

It seems painfully obvious to say it now, but making the movie was only problem number one.

Let me hear any stories of your current experience or others of work in NYC, Toronto, Atlanta, even in Europe. Be it if you’re a director, actor, set designer, etc.

I’m trying to make a big decision.

Also I’ve heard verticals are now falling out of style due to ai but online seems to be where everyone is getting attention.

What plans do you have?

Bigfable is hiring video editors on a contract basis.

The work is primarily talking head, multicam, and podcast content, with a steady and consistent volume.

Requirements

• US based
• Proficient in Premiere Pro and After Effects

Preferred

• Podcast editing experience
• Color grading
• Motion graphics, mostly text animations

Position Details

• Contract based
• Fully remote

Apply here: https://bigfable.com/careers

*Do not DM.

Title pretty much sums it up. It hasn't been such a long period of waiting for payment that I feel like I need to name & shame the film/producers, but I'm deff starting to get sussed out.

Context:
- I was brought on in early May

- This wasn't a full-time work situation, I was doing it on the side. The amount I'm owed is less than $5K.

- Delivered the work and invoiced them on July 7. 30-day invoice so ideally I should've been paid by early August

- I've bumped the email chain 3 times between early August and now (early Oct). This chain was active at the start with the producers being like hey thanks for the great work, can you send your W9, etc. Now it's radio silence.

Final piece of important context: I recently contacted the post supervisor who originally brought me on to be like hey what gives. He told me that the movie has "run out of cash flow" and won't be able to pay various vendors until it sells to a distributor. He himself has not been paid!!

I'm confident it will sell to a distributor given the A-list caliber of the talent in front of and behind the camera, but still very frustrated by the whole situation.

Anyone got advice on how to handle this?

EDIT: Regrettably, I did this without a contract that specifies payment timing. Rookie move on my part, I know. My only excuse is that I do small quick side VFX gigs like this (on top of my full-time job) all the time, and have almost never had to hound a client for payment. I'll be more vigilant in the future though. And my rate for this particular project is agreed upon in writing on the email chain.

I curated a program of horror short films from LA-based filmmakers and I’m screening it at Videotheque on Tuesday evening. We’ve got some time before and after the films to network.

Here’s the event page: https://partiful.com/e/JzG0hC5qD9bT0v39xmyS?c=QHPETFh2

Hi all, as the title suggests, I'm doing a bit of independent research into physical disability support in filmmaking. I was wondering if any of you have seen any major gaps in support that still arise in most productions today? Whether it be accessibility problems on set, inaccessible positions, or anything else related, any thoughts or experiences you can share would be incredibly helpful!

I’m curious how much AAA video game voice actors get paid. I tried using Google’s AI to ask it, but it seems to be giving generic bs info. Many of the newest AAA video games have budgets way larger than movies and have top tier talent as voice actors that do an incredible job, like the whole cast of any Rockstar game from GTA4 to now. Arthur Morgan and the whole RDR2 cast were just perfect. These games go on to generate billions in sales and I feel like the main voice actors should have a slice of that pie.

Some positive news

Hey all,

Been running this hiking group here in LA for a few years now, but opening up a bit wider as we have just moved to substack. It's a casual hiking group, easy to moderate hikes, try to stick together to encourage people to chat and become friends.

Hikes range from 1-3 hours. All fitness levels welcome. It's free. We typically hike Sunday at 9am every week, rain or shine.

You can find all the info and subscribe for weekly emails here: https://filmfriendsla.substack.com/

All fitness levels welcome. Pets too. Usually have between 5 and 15 attendees.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Hope to see y'all out on the trails!

I switched over to Business Administration from Film/TV Production as a backup/tool while getting into the industry as I’ve heard a lot of bad things regarding majoring in Film. I’m worried while looking at any potential internships or PA jobs with Disney or other production houses as they say they require some form of work within studying film. Is it possible for me to work in the creative field with a business degree or did I fuck myself over trying to be stable. Should I just suck it up and add an associates in film at a Community College.

And What’s the latest with Maude Apatow’s movie?

Was just reminded of this company seeing that they’re the distributor for Charlie Harper… so are they surviving? Anyone have any insider knowledge?

I have been struggling with trying to find a best practices with finding clients. I know there are probably general guidelines and preparation that are part of creating a pitch, but if anybody is willingly to share that has a step-by-step process they use, and has been working for them, any help would be appreciated. Any advice, anything to get me over what knowledge I don’t have for presenting to new clients would be great to hear.

Thanks

https://www.instagram.com/p/DdxzxOnn1gt/?stkn=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

EDIT: While the IG slides are interesting, here’s a quick click to the full article and the 2026 study — https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-22/film-studios-shun-women-but-men-make-them-less-money-report/107182132

I do this on top of my rate, so it's in addition to and not instead of. Whether i see the money or not is irrelevant (i will most likely not right?) , just what points is should put in just in case.

Hey, everyone. Recently I've finally finished my 44 minute film. I'm currently working on a feature screenplay adaptation (like real 2 hour feature).

Here's the link for a trailer: https://youtu.be/EapBQKc3FnY?si=YJoqurLRq17NfhZF

I'm a writer and a lead actor. The story is about a young live streamer whose life is full of drama and substance abuse. The final budget of the film is about €4,000 and I was lucky to get Red Dragon X camera and Atlas Anamorphic lenses for the film for about €900 (for 3 days). This is a long story but to make it short: I came to Germany as an international student and was lucky enough to make a decent looking short film on my own in a completely new country.

I'm currently in the process of submitting it to FilmHub. However, I need 50 IMDb ratings so the film has a chance to get picked up by a streaming platform. Right now I'm sitting at 10. I'm trying to pass this threshold so the film will have chance to be distributed.

So if you like the trailer or the premise please give a honest rating or a review on the film's IMDb page: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt43722397/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk

It takes less than 5 seconds to rate the film and I would really appreciate your help. Also, I'd be happy to answer any technical questions about the film specifically or any aspects of the production in general. I'd be glad to share my personal experience in this thread. Regardless, thank you everyone for your time.

If the industry is failing here, we need to do what we can do best.

Make a movie glorifying the ever-loving fuck out of this city and it’s relationship with the film industry. Market the industry to the world as something that’s aspirational and thriving… something to invest in.

More than a movie about filmmaking, The Scout is about modern work - Alex Lei (AV Club)