The Film3 Feed - Page 2

The Film3 Feed

Feb 23
Creator-Owned Cinema Is Here
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...
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Feb 16
The $44 Million Proof of Concept for Film3
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 ...
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Feb 9
MIXED: 211 Films, 44 Countries, One Night in Portland*
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...
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Feb 1
How Film3 Is the Answer to Independent Cinema's Existential Crisis
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...
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Jan 25
Cyon Media and the Future of Film3 Distribution
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...
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Jan 11
The Work That Matters
Let's talk about the thing you make without a deadline, client, or a guaranteed audience. The thing that feels almost too small to justify your time. Let's talk about personal projects; that work matters more than we tend to admit. Personal work is where momentum begins: When you remove the pressure to impress, optimize, or monetize, you move faster. You experiment. You finish things. Even small progress compounds, and before you realize it, you’ve made a real leap-- because you're practicing...
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Jan 4
Marty Supreme and the Pressure of Belief
By this point, I hope you've seen Marty Supreme. If you haven't, please stop everything and go see it. In theaters. Where it counts. Because this movie will change you. The film operates less like a traditional sports film and more like a character study of ambition under stress. At its core is a figure (Timothée Chalamet) driven by relentless self-belief—someone who understands that talent alone is never enough. Throughout the film, we ride sidecar to Marty, surviving through hustle, perform...
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Dec 23
Hollywood’s Scale Addiction: The Business of Control
The Netflix–Warner Bros. Discovery talks aren’t interesting because they may or may not result in a deal. They’re interesting because they expose the direction the entertainment industry has already chosen: consolidation over competition, control over creative independence. Whether this merger ultimately closes, stalls, or is blocked by regulators almost doesn’t matter. The logic behind it is already shaping Hollywood in real time. Fewer companies control more distribution, more IP, and more ...
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Dec 6
Women in Film and the Rise of Film3
For over a century, cinema has reflected the imaginations, anxieties, and aspirations of the world—but rarely through the full lens of those who live in it. Women’s stories have been systemically underfunded, under-distributed, and undervalued. Even today, the global entertainment industry struggles with representation not only in front of the camera, but especially behind it: in ownership, in authorship, and in control over the economics of storytelling. Yet the landscape is shifting via fil...
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Nov 28
The Onchain Studio System
We’ve been deep in the work of building our first real-world film3 studio — a physical space where animation, storytelling, and blockchain share the same roof, nestled in the heart of Downtown Portland, Oregon. nnbop Flannel Donut @Flannel_Donut Stoked for 2026 First of its mfing kind. Built on Base. IRL. Innovation for freedom. Creativity in public. Our combined life's work, everything we've built, everything we are-colliding to create the next frontier. LFG for real. 4 11:04 AM • Nov 27, 20...
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