Movies Inc: The Business of Film

We chat to Charlotte Cheung, a development executive for Red Bull Studios about the difference between Red Bull 'the brand' and Red Bull 'the studio', what her average Tuesday looks like, balancing the need to uphold a brand's values with  journalistic integrity of documentaries, her project selection process and the current unscripted landscape.About the Guest: With over a decade’s experience in the film industry, Charlotte is currently a Development Executive with Red Bull Studios, the unbranded premium documentaries arm of Red Bull. Prior to this,  she worked across international sales, acquisitions, and financing, with independent studios such as STXinternational, Anton Corp, and eOne Features. 

We get into the weeds with Maria Blais O’Laughlin, a veteran film and television clearance coordinator. We chat to Maria about what a clearance process looks like from start to finish on a film, all the steps that go into clearing one item, examples of where things have gone wrong, and why clearances are so important (spoiler: so you can get insurance and deliver to your distributor!). Disclaimer: This episode should not be construed as legal, commercial or financial advice and should be used for informational purposes only. About the Guest: Maria Blais O'Laughlin couldn't decide between a law or art career, but luckily, life found a way to give her both. As a Clearance Coordinator for Film and Television, she liaises between production crews, studios, and legal counsel, ensuring that all third-party intellectual property (artwork, photos, books, etc.) is properly licensed for use onscreen. For this art history major who loves detail, negotiation, and the occasional argument, it's serendipitous!Maria has worked on independent films with shoestring budgets and studio-backed projects with deep pockets; her credits include HBO Max's Gossip Girl series reboot, the Todd Haynes directed May December for Netflix, and Rebecca Miller's She Came to Me, and several others you probably should have heard of, but likely won't.  Along the way, she's had to think outside the box to get filmmakers the items they want to create the fictional world they envision​ - sometimes WAY outside the box - while ensuring no copyright is infringed, and no production is sued.  No two workdays are the same, and it makes for great stories!

We chat to Christian Monti about using existing data as a risk mitigation tool in financing feature films, the pros and cons of Cinelytic software, the software's genesis, how it improves the film business for independent producers, and the use of predictive modeling in the financing, casting and distribution phase of a film's lifecycle.About the Guest: Christian is the COO at Cinelytic. Prior to joining Cinelytic, he was a studio executive for 17 years and developed a deep knowledge of Studio analysis and distribution.  His positions included managing the international television business development and distribution for Paramount Pictures, and VP of International Theatrical Distribution at Warner Brothers.  He was also SVP of Sales and Acquisitions for Relativity Media helping to establish their international business.  A former lawyer, Christian has an MBA from Wharton and an MA from The Lauder Institute.

We chat to Amy Stein Simonds about her work as an entertainment lawyer, what production legal actually entails, how to budget for it, and the importance of a signed agreement policy on set. About the Guest: Amy Stein Simonds is a partner in Pryor Cashman’s Media + Entertainment Group. Amy has provided production, finance, and distribution legal counsel for more than 100 studios, streaming platforms, and independently financed productions, mostly advising throughout the evolution of a project, from development all the way through exploitation.Amy has been recognized as a top attorney among her peers, including in Variety’s “Hollywood New Leaders” and “Dealmakers Impact Report,” Best Lawyers in America, and Super Lawyers. Before joining Pryor Cashman, Amy was an entertainment partner at another major New York City law firm. She started her career as an attorney at the boutique entertainment firm Gray Krauss Stratford Sandler Des Rochers LLP.

We chat to Amanda Freedman about producing the acclaimed ‘The Luckiest Man in America’, the “produced by” credit and what it means to be the only producer on a film, the role of film critics in the context of sales, the changing market and whether the film industry is still a boys' club (spoiler: it is). About the Guest: Amanda Freedman is an LA-based, Toronto born independent producer. She graduated with an MA in media theory from the New School, and went on to do her MFA in AFI's producing program. Amanda produced the multi Indie Spirit Award nominated Argentine film, CHRONICLES OF A WANDERING SAINT. She most recently produced THE LUCKIEST MAN IN AMERICA, starring Paul Walter Hauser along with an ensemble cast that includes Walton Goggins, Maisie Williams, David Strathairn, Haley Bennett & Johnny Knoxville.  The Luckiest Man in America had its premiere at TIFF and was released by IFC in April 2025.Watch The Luckiest Man in America

Self distributing HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS broke the Hollywood system, and Kurt takes us behind closed doors. He walks us through the catalyst for the filmmaking team in deciding to take fate into their owns and distribute their own film, the marketing strategies and tools implemented, what lead to their success, and what they learned along the way.   About the Guest: Kurt Ravenwood, a producer and marketer from Wisconsin's Northwoods, is a founding partner and Executive Strategy Director at Milwaukee-based SRH. Under his leadership, SRH has collaborated with brands like the Green Bay Packers and Harley-Davidson.SRH produced the independent film "Hundreds of Beavers," a black-and-white, dialogue-free comedy that became a cult hit. Faced with limited distribution offers, he and the SRH team implemented an innovative marketing strategy, including live events and engaging promotions, leading to widespread acclaim and coverage in major publications. Kurt's work exemplifies a blend of creativity and strategic insight, pushing the boundaries of traditional marketing and production.Check out HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS and find a screening near you here.

We chat to Brian Newman, founder of Sub-Genre, about the relevance of film festivals in the current market, the rise of branded content and the importance of values alignment between brand, filmmaker, and the film being made, and why every filmmaker needs to budget for self distribution. About the Guest: Brian Newman, founder of Sub-Genre, consults on film and media content strategy, distribution and marketing for some of the top brands in the world. His company guides companies through the process of leveraging entertainment to showcase their values, have greater impact, and to stand out from the crowd. Current and former clients include: The Climate Pledge (Amazon), Hilton, Indeed, John Deere, Lowe’s, Oatly, Patagonia, Purina, REI, SmugMug, Stripe, Sundance, WeTransfer, and Yeti Coolers. Brian has served as CEO of the Tribeca Film Institute, produces independent films, and writes a popular weekly newsletter on film.Subscribe to Brian’s weekly newsletter here.

We chat to NY based producer Rachael Fung about the high’s and low’s of independent producing, being picked as Variety’s top producers to watch, the practical realities of different budget levels, balancing competing business and creative interests and we talk a lot about the business behind making FREMONT, Babak Jalali’s fourth feature film, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

The second half of season 2 is back! We kick off with Patrick Walters, Executive Producer of Heartstopper from See Saw Films! Pat chats to us about what it means to be an Executive Producer in Television, working with broadcasters and streamers, creating unique stories for global audiences, and the importance of building the right team. Pat’s cats also make a brief appearance. 

We all know documentaries can take certain liberties that scripted film and tv shows can’t and those of us operating in the unscripted world are thankful for it! Meet the culprit - U.S. fair use laws. We were joined by Katy Alimohammadi Crown current business and legal affairs at A24 and former partner of Donaldson Callif Perez, a firm renowned for specializing in unscripted and documentaries. Katy carved out some time to run us through the pros and cons of fair use, how it plays out in scripted vs. unscripted productions, using music in music documentaries, and the main topic that made us reach out to her - do people appearing in a documentary need to sign releases or is implied consent enough? Safe to say - the answer was not a simple one. Note: We reference this very helpful website in this episode! https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/fair-index.html

There are 2 things we can’t escape - death and taxes. When it comes to making movies, distributing them and collecting gross receipts, having a good tax accountant on board from beginning to end is key. They’ll do more than just file your annual tax returns for you! We were joined by industry veterans Paul Finegan and Andrew Chow from Lutz & Carr to talk us through their average Tuesday, film tax credits, collection accounts, foreign investments in films and the tax implications, as well as much more! 

What in heaven’s name is an NFT and how are filmmakers using it to finance their films? We had absolutely no idea so we went to the leading NFT attorney in the country - Jeremy S. Goldman at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz. He talks us through the different ways NFTs are being used to finance film and what we should be thinking about in doing so, how effective entertainment law is in keeping up with the changing tech landscape, and his views on the Quentin Tarantino/Miramax lawsuit.

It's Oscars week and we chat to Hollywood publicist Sylvia Desrochers about her 20 year career in Tinseltown. From what publicists actually do, to how valuable For Your Consideration campaigns are, and why you need to invest in a production photographer, Sylvia gives us the lowdown on creating buzz in a crowded distribution market.

After 2 years of us pestering Jess Kwan to join us for an episode, she finally agreed! We kick off Season 2 with the current VP of the Concordia Fellowship and chat to her about the evolution of her career from supporting executives, to being the executive, differences in the biz between narrative feature films and docs, what business development in the film industry actually means and the importance of building a network and genuine relationships. 

We chat to Sasha H. Levites and Marcie Cleary who are partners at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, one of the leading firms in the U.S. We pick their brains about keeping up with emerging technologies and new formats (NFTs! Podcasts!), the benefits to talent having an all inclusive team of manager + agent + lawyer, the importance of those long winded indemnification and insurance clauses, and 2 fundamental rules - get it in writing and don't sign anything without having a lawyer look it over and give it the OK.

We chat to Academy Award nominated Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford of Aquarius Films about first starting out, lessons learned early on, the benefits of having the right producing partner, the realities of foreign productions vs. domestic productions and the importance of always listening to that gut instinct.

We chat to Stephen Fitzgibbon about starting his own production company and building a slate, how he transitioned from acquisitions to producing everything from music videos to feature films. We find out how he picks his co-producing partners, the learning curve of navigating rights and transparency as the fundamental value when doing business in this industry.

We chat to Matt Vitins, COO of Matchbox Pictures, about going from corporate law to running an NBC backed global production company. He takes us behind the scenes of what his day-to-day is like, his perspective on different negotiation tactics, producing Australian productions for a global audience, and muses on whether lawyers are keeping up with emerging technologies. 

We chat to Sharon Menzies, Managing Director of Fulcrum Media Finance, about going from a small start up to one of Australia and New Zealand's largest specialist film financing companies, the benefits of tax incentives and gap finance, film financing strategies in the age of COVID, the key differences between investment and debt finance, where problems arise before and during production, and the stuff global debt financiers really care about.

We chat to Emile Sherman of Academy Award, BAFTA and Emmy winning See-Saw Films about his 20 years’ worth of experience going  from a boots on the ground producer to leading an international film and television production company and the lessons he’s learned along the way. We pick his brain about co-productions, indie film financing, being one of the first companies to transition to cinematic television and the importance of trust in the film business.

We chat to Andrew Mackie, Co-Founder of Transmission Films about the risks of distribution, the rise of SVODs and the changes to theatrical windows, acquiring films where the director has final cut, the importance of filmmakers knowing their audience and how to train yourself to predict box office numbers!

We chat to Virginia Whitwell and Nick Batzias from Good Thing Productions about starting up their very own production company. We pick their brains on how to pick your co-producing partners, the important conversations to have with those partners and your creatives early on, the human element to the film business, the importance of building your team around you and the commercial differences between documentaries and narrative productions.

We chat to our mate, Monica Zanetti about writing, financing, making and selling her first two feature films - the challenges she faced, from early conversations with distributors, to navigating the Australian tax incentives, contracts, production accounting and finding the right co-producing partners. She shares the things she wishes she knew before coming into the industry, the things she’s still learning, her go to’s to have her questions answers and much, much more.

We chat to Alexis Galfas about her average Tuesday at the very unique, Cinetic Media, current industry trends and the impact of COVID-19, what to do if someone else is making the same movie you’re making,  and the importance of understanding the fundamentals of the business of film. She gives some seriously good advice and we are 100% on board. 

Movies Inc: The Business of Film is coming soon! Launching February 16, 2022 wherever you get your podcasts!