🖐🏼 on Friday - The Top five Film Industry Stories of the Week 5/30/2025
We'RE BACKKKK!!
It’s been a LONGG MINUTE since I felt like the industry was really buzzing with news that wasn’t just complete doom x gloom … although most of the stories below feel like doom and gloom tho! SORRY GUYS, good news just doesn’t sell!!
Excited to hear everyone’s thoughts on this weeks five on Friday!
A week in the life of a baby writer
As always thanks to
for the inspiration for this little tidbit section!Meeting & Project Updates:
Nothing here sadly!
Job!!
#1 priority is now my showrunner assistant gig. Which has been AMAZING thus far. Finally getting to be in a room is SOO much crazier than I even imagined! Here’s the deadline about the show, KINGMAKER!
Writing:
90 day feature - working on a really fun feature, only about 30 pages (when I should be 32-34) but I did a bit of rewriting to really nail the first act.
Book - I need to get back to this LOL
The Hollywood Hang Pod:
We had two amazing interns join our team and I’m really excited to take the marketing and outreach efforts to the next level!
Nic and I are also working on recording some Q&A episodes but schedules have just been jampacked!
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Five on Friday
1. Neon and Mubi Supremacy?!
The News
My takeaways:
“Of the 22 films in competition, 11 are distributed by one or both of them (Mubi x Neon).”
A24 who?? Kidding but not kidding 100p. Neon just won their sixth Palme d'Or in a ROWW with Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident. And while people are having the very valid conversation about who should really get the credit in all those headlines? Like maybe the filmmaker, the producers?? Because Neon did not produce the movie (they bought it at Cannes) I still think they are quickly coming out on top as not ONLY an arbitrator of taste that audiences are hungry for. But also as a go-to for filmmakers who want their specific visions embraced and supported ++ the “indie” filmmaking scene at large.
I’ve long been a fan of Neon’s out-of-the-box marketing efforts and distribution planning. I’m hopeful as their brand recognition grows, that it means they can follow in the A24 path of film lovers taking a risk on a maybe more obscure film because they trust Neon’s taste. Will they full on follow the A24 route and start dipping their toes more into production? I’m not SO SURE but time will tell!
When Mubi dropped $24M on Lynne Ramsay’s Die My Love, it was clear they meant business and that they were ready to put their new cash flow to work. And while Substance was a SMASHHHHHHHH BANGER HIT, I’m curious to see if they can step and repeat that pattern for a few of their upcoming films.
Lurker by Alex Russell is coming out in August and I feel like I haven’t seen much teasing promo yet about it. The film lends itself to some very fun potential marketing opps and I’m curious to see if they’ll activate on them or what they’ve got in store!
2. AI is coming for us all .. FT the VEO 3 release
The News:
Honestly… I don’t see a lot of the entertainment outlets talking about VEO3 which is concerning to me lol
AXIOS - Google's new AI video tool floods internet with real-looking clips
But do not fret!! Netflix Reed Hastings Joins Board of AI Company Anthropic, a Rival to OpenAI
And we’re all still struggle-bussing - CNN - What’s happening to Hollywood? The mass exodus of a shrinking industry
My takeaways:
Whether you think VEO3 is SLOP or you’re flat-out refusing to acknowledge it’s alarmingly quick-paced learning abilities and growth. It’s here and so are it’s duplicating then tripling by the days, siblings and cousins. And CEO’s are going to be clamoring to use these tools to save themselves MAJOR cash (more for their year end bonuses and shareholders yahoo!) And who’s going to stop them because there is no REAL legislation or protections for workers.
DOUBLE WHAMMY?? Trump’s pending “big beautiful bill” including a provision that would make it ILLEGAL for states to regulate AI at large.
"The AI provision in the bill states that “no state or political subdivision may enforce any law or regulation regulating artificial intelligence models, artificial intelligence systems, or automated decision systems.”
I am terrified. Are we going to be left behind by refusing to use it? Is it just a tool and a norm we’re going to have to get used to, TO NOT be left behind?
And these AI videos and deepfakes are already tricking your everyday audience… so a few more revisions to VEO 3 and these other tools and the “weirdness” aspect is going to fade away.
3. You might just have to be the multi-hyphenate everything
The News:
Variety - Creators Are Building Their Own Supersized Studio System As Hollywood Cuts Back
My takeaways:
This is something I’ve been thinking about a LOT with the industry wide constriction and just feels like a general consensus with a lot of our Hollywood Hang guests. On one hand - It’s a really hard thing to ask of people too. To tell someone they need to be the writer, director, DP, and talent and THENNN marketer?? There are people that specialize in each of those skillsets because they aren’t easy skills to master and asking one person to be a jack-of-all-trades is kind of insane…
but…. on the other hand… there’s people doing and really well. I always think of Monique.
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She really does DO IT ALL and it’s gonna be really cool to see as her budgets keep growing and she becomes the “Competition” in a sense to fight through the noise of the internet and the attention economy. I haven’t cracked my version of creating storytelling content online and I don’t want to SHOVE myself (a circle) into a square hole but as the overall idea marinates, maybe I’ll slowly be reshaped!
4. LA Production still on the struggle bus
The News:
“The paper from the nonpartisan think tank targets L.A.’s permitting system as requiring particular reform, saying it is the most expensive in its peer group. L.A.’s permit application fee, for instance, is $3,724 while New York City’s is $1,000, London’s is $540 for large crews and Atlanta’s is $400. L.A. has a greater number of additional fees, such as for the use of monitors and for drones, helicopters and lane closures, in comparison with London and Sydney, which the authors claim also have complicated permitting processes.”
My takeaways:
I feel like between the pandemic, the strikes, the constriction and the fires. The California government just needs to get their new incentive offers released ASAPPPPP!! And FilmLA it seems also needs to have a bit of a potential reckoning? What do you guys think?
And what can we do?? Stay up to date with the STAY IN LA initiative.
5. Odds and Ends
Only two more Fridays until MATERIALISTS!!! I am in desperate need of a sweetie pie rom-com. Yearning to yearn over here.
New Harry Potter cast was announced. I hate that we live in a world where I hoped the comments would be turned off on all posts because far too many adults are online bullies.
Variety dropped the 100 Most-Watched TV Series of 2024-25 Across Streaming, Broadcast and Cable: ‘Squid Game’ Leads This Season’s Rankers. The 40s seem to be my sweet spot, I was EXTREMELY excited to see Agatha All Along at #48, Abbott Elementary at #46 and Paradise at #49!
The Take It Down Act… seems like it SHOULD be promising but feels flawed considering Meta or Elon could just give Trump $2MIL and he’d not enforce said laws lol.
This was a very interesting read!! I need to think more about the anxiety generation because I 10000% believe that’s why were all watching shows with 5+ seasons on repeat (Vamp Diaries, Parks and Rec, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, The Office, The OC, Greys, etc)
Sinners has officially taken home $270M!!!!!
What has you sitting up in your industry seat this week? Let me know in the comments and as always, stay delulu…. with a plan!