Indie Film and the Perils of Creation
Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:
Sean Baker’s wisdom, Technicolor’s peril, and a keeper.
Let’s go!
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Sean Baker is an indie film lifer.
When he took the stage to accept the Indie Spirit Award for Best Director for Anora this weekend, he used his speech to champion the needs of indie filmmakers like him:
“Those who don't see indie films as calling cards, those who don't make these films to land a series or a studio film… subject matter that would never be greenlit by the big studios. We want complete artistic freedom.”
He continued:
“The system has to change because this is simply unsustainable. We are creating a product that creates jobs and revenue for the entire industry. We shouldn't be barely getting by. Creatives [should be] getting higher upfront fees… working with financiers, film sales companies and distributors to make indie films sustainable and keep indie film alive.”
What Baker zeroed in on is how impossible it is for filmmaking to be a viable long-term career path.
Compounding this struggle is the hard truth that in this hyper-competitive environment, financial sustainability isn’t just about securing fair pay—it’s also about visibility.
Artistic freedom often means little if no one sees the film.
Take, for instance, Jesse Eisenberg, who took home the Indie Spirit award for Best Screenplay for A Real Pain, celebrating Searchlight Pictures for treating his film like Gladiator II, even if the returns were not similar.
Keeping aside money to do marketing is a secret weapon for an indie filmmaker. That’s how you get in front of people and win awards.
The biggest mistake we see filmmakers make is assuming that after they get into festivals, even the top-tier ones like Sundance and Cannes, they will be discovered. But this is not the case, without industry awareness.
Just as Eisenberg implied, Searchlight put marketing dollars behind the film, propelling his small $3 M indie to stratospheric heights with two Oscar nominations. But without that marketing, the film, would not have been seen by the right people to win the awards in the first place.
We hear what Baker is saying, and we want to take it a step further. Not only does the filmmaking need to be kept pure, but it is imperative that filmmakers come into their film thinking about how it can be marketed so they can get paid properly.
Art and commerce is a fine edge to balance upon, but a skill much needed in the current indie climate.
For More:
Indie Spirit Awards full winners list.
SAG Awards. Conclave wins. Full winners list.
Conclave’s win is a little bit surprising, although not so much given they also took the top prize at the BAFTAs.
THE INDUSTRY TLDR
Technicolor Creative Studios and its subsidiaries, The Mill and MPC, are ceasing all US operations.
Michelle Williams and Daisy Edgar-Jones are set to headline A Place in Hell from director-writer Chloe Domont (Netflix’s Fair Play).
DC Studios has chosen James Watkins (dir: Speak No Evil) to direct the upcoming Clayface movie.
Theatrical marketing head Gerry Rich is leaving Amazon MGM Studios after six years.
George Armitage, director of Miami Blues died at 83.
Kumail Nanjiani signs on to teen comedy Drivers Ed to be a funny guy again.
Rob Corddry (Ballers) enters the world of Silicon Valley in a new series by Jonathan Glatzer (producer/writer: Succession).
Dreams (Sex Love) wins the Top Prize at the Berlin Film Festival.
Radu Jude’s Kontinental ’25 took Best Screenplay at Berlin.
Neon continues its collaboration with Osgood Perkins (The Monkey), bringing his newest film, Keeper, to theaters.
Psychosexual comedy Misericordia drops an eerie trailer from French filmmaker Alain Guiraudie.
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
Technicolor Creative Studios and its subsidiaries, The Mill and MPC, are ceasing all US operations.
This is tragic.
Thousands of talented VFX workers will lose their jobs. Their contribution to cinema is immeasurable, working on such movies as:
The Revenant (2015)
“MPC’s task was to take more than 100 in-camera shots and to seamlessly stitch these together, reducing the number down to 39 extended shots.”
Gravity (2013)
Won Oscar Best VFX
Harry Potter 1 & 2 (2001, 2002)
Built all the models
Gladiator (2000)
Won Oscar Best VFX
A memo to all employees that went out last week stated:
“Technicolor has been facing severe financial challenges. Despite exhaustive efforts—including restructuring initiatives, discussions with potential investors, and exploring acquisition opportunities—we have been unable to secure a viable path forward.”
The Industry understands that everything is shutting down today (Monday) as they’ve been unable to find a buyer and are entering foreclosure.
Five-time Oscar nominee Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine) and rising star Daisy Edgar-Jones (Twisters) are set to headline A Place in Hell, from director-writer Chloe Domont as her follow-up project to her 2023 Sundance breakout film and debut feature Fair Play, which was picked up by Netflix for a whopping $20 M.
A Place in Hell is described as a thriller following two women at a high profile criminal law firm.
Domont’s upcoming sophomore feature seems to be more of what the filmmaker does best: high-stakes settings, tested relationships, and, of course, betrayal. The bidding for A Place in Hell is set to start this week, and all eyes are on Netflix.
Rian Johnson’s T-Street, which also produced Fair Play, serves as the production company.
Clayface sounds kinda scary:
DC Studios has chosen James Watkins, known for his work on horror films like Speak No Evil, to direct the upcoming Clayface movie, with a script penned by horror maestro Mike Flanagan. This could turn out to be the scariest superhero film ever.
James Gunn, along with other DC Studios executives, gave Watkins the final nod following a meeting and presentation, and a deal is now in the works.
The film, budgeted at $40 million, will explore a Hollywood horror tale about a B-movie actor who transforms into a shape-shifting villain, drawing on the character’s rich legacy since his debut in 1940.
Produced by Batman director Matt Reeves and others, the movie is set to begin shooting later this year and is scheduled for a September 11, 2026, release.
Tidbits:
Theatrical marketing head Gerry Rich is leaving Amazon MGM Studios after six years overseeing major releases like No Time to Die (2021), Challengers (2024), and most recently, Nickel Boys (2024). Rich also ran the professional football division on all theatrical motion picture campaigns for MGM releases. With a past at Miramax and Paramount Pictures there is no word yet where Rich will go next when he leaves the studio at the end of next month.
Cancellations:
Prime’s The Sticky
Release date pushed:
Sony’s Spider-Man 4
July 24, 2026 → July 31, 2026
Mini Tidbit:
Keanu Reeves confirms Constantine 2 is progressing, with a story pitched to DC Studios. Director Francis Lawrence and Reeves are developing the script, it sounds like it's going to be a follow up to the original film and not a reboot.
Netflix may be close to picking up Sundance doc Selena Y Los Dinos (2025) for $6M - $7M. We’ll let you know if this closes.
George Armitage (Dir: Miami Blues), Peter Jason (actor: 48 Hrs), and Olga James (actress: Carmen Jones) have passed away. Read more about their legacy here:
https://theindustry.co/p/armitage-jason-james
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
Kumail Nanjiani is just going to be funny again: After a few years of stretching his legs, being a superhero, a fake Jedi in the Star Wars universe, and getting absolutely ripped, Kumail signs on to teen comedy Drivers Ed to just be a funny guy.
Drivers Ed will be directed by Bob Farley (1 half of the Farley Brothers duo), responsible for Dumb and Dumber, Shallow Hal, and Black Sheep, which is kind of a return for him since the brothers decided to go their separate ways.
Kumail joins the ensemble including SNL Alum Molly Shannon. The film follows a group of teens who steal their school’s driver’s ed car for a road trip.
Nanjiani, recently seen in Only Murders in the Building and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, has several upcoming projects, but this by far seems like the one with the highest comedy potential.
Drivers Ed begins production in North Carolina in March.
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Rob Corddry enters the world of Silicon Valley. Corddry has been cast as a series regular on the upcoming AMC series set in present-day Silicon Valley, created by Jonathan Glatzer (producer/writer: Better Call Saul, Succession.)
The not-yet-titled show will explore the fallout between a tech CEO and his performance psychologist, sparking a scandal over personal data exploitation.
No word on who Corddry will play but he was an excellent foil to Dwayne Johnson in HBO’s Ballers who had a gloriously watchable anger issue (clip).
Tidbits:
The White Ribbon. The Zone of Interest. White Lotus. Christian Friedel, who was brilliant in the Palme d’Or winning The White Ribbon as a school teacher, who was ice-cold boring in Zone of Interest as a Nazi commander, is now a ditzy, high-strung hotel manager in White Lotus Season 3. This guy has quite a range (side by side still).
FESTIVALS
Berlin Film Festival has concluded. Here are the winners:
Gold Bear (Top Prize)
Drømmer (Dreams (Sex Love))
Dir: Dag Johan Haugerud
Synopsis:
Johanne documents her intense crush on her french teacher. Her mother, grandmother end up reading these intimate writings. They're both horrified by the contents but taken by the powerful writing and story. Johanne navigates romantic ideals vs reality, exploring emotions of self-discovery, love, sexuality.
Haugerud, who won Berlin over with his previous film Sex, completes his Sex, Love, Dreams trilogy. Trailer.
For the rest of the winners, click here:
https://theindustry.co/p/berlin-2025-winners
Sadly, the top films at Berlin rarely break out into the US. Since 2010, there has only been one film that has gained critical acclaim stateside: A Separation, winning the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film and even getting an Academy Best Screenplay nomination.
Tidbits:
What Marielle Knows (Berlin In Competition) has sold to across multiple territories in Europe, including Paname Distribution (Passages) for France.
The Good Sister (Berlin Panorama) has sold to four territories, including Memento Distribution for France.
INDIE FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT / INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Osgood Perkins, he's a Keeper: Neon continues its collaboration with Osgood Perkins, distributing his last three films, including most recently The Monkey. Now Neon has committed even further to this relationship, committing to bringing his newest film, Keeper, to theaters.
Keeper, starring Tatiana Maslany and Rossif Sutherland, follows a couple encountering a terrifying evil in a secluded cabin.
The turnaround for this one was fast, with a script written during the WGA strike and shot in just three weeks on a budget under $8M. Now that The Monkey garnered Neon’s second-highest opening ever with $14 M this weekend. It looks like Neon found it's a golden boy.
Keeper will be out on October 3, 2025.
Psychosexual comedy Misericordia, from French filmmaker Alain Guiraudie (Stranger by the Lake), known for his daring and explicit queer exploration, seems to fall right in line with his past work. Dealing with themes of murder, deception, and longing desire, the trailer is as eerie and odd as it is intriguing in a weirdly humorous way. After a successful premiere at this year’s Cannes Festival, Misericordia is opening in select theaters next month from Sideshow and Janus Films.
ON THIS DAY
1955 12th Golden Globes: Marlon Brando wins for On The Waterfront.
See you tomorrow!
Written by Gabriel Miller, Spencer Carter, and Madelyn Menapace.
Editor: Gabriel Miller.
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This is a small point, but one that sticks in my craw. Clayface is not a "superhero." He is a supervillain from the pantheon of Batman's villains. I applaud the fact that Reeves and Co. are making this into a horror movie, and I hope they are successful as it will widen the audience for movies adapted from comic book characters, just like what was accomplished with Penguin.
I’m gonna keep saying this until it catches on: Baker is right, you guys are right about marketing, but none of this matters if your movie can’t get screens at Regal or AMC because of the practicing monopoly studios have over theaters. The only solution is to break up the MPA!