Some of you might’ve seen my guest post on Ted Hope’s Hope For Film Substack last week — it was, uh, not short. So I’ve decided to break it up into sections.
It recently hit me: 2025 marks 15 years since I published Think Outside the Box Office. I wrote that book in response to what felt like the first major collapse of the indie film ecosystem — around 2007, when the old models were starting to break and we all had to get scrappy. I wrote TOTBO as a practical guide for filmmakers to take control over how their films reach audiences — to stop waiting for permission and start building sustainable paths for their work.
Since then, I’ve kept making films, podcasting, teaching, and working with hundred (actually I think thousands by now) of filmmakers trying to decode the shifting landscape of distribution and marketing. When I finally launched this Substack last fall (after much nudging from Ted), I realized: this is the platform to start the living edition of Think Outside the Box Office that I always wanted to create.
I’m using this space to rewrite and reimagine that book for today — for a world where the distribution toolkit has expanded dramatically, but the learning curve has too. Where the platforms are more plentiful but more opaque. Where filmmakers have more power, but less clarity on how to wield it.
Some of you might’ve seen my guest post on Ted Hope’s Hope For Film Substack last week — it was, uh, not short. So I’ve decided to break it up into sections.
It recently hit me: 2025 marks 15 years since I published Think Outside the Box Office. I wrote that book in response to what felt like the first major collapse of the indie film ecosystem — around 2007, when the old models were starting to break and we all had to get scrappy. I wrote TOTBO as a practical guide for filmmakers to take control over how their films reach audiences — to stop waiting for permission and start building sustainable paths for their work.
Since then, I’ve kept making films, podcasting, teaching, and working with hundred (actually I think thousands by now) of filmmakers trying to decode the shifting landscape of distribution and marketing. When I finally launched this Substack last fall (after much nudging from Ted), I realized: this is the platform to start the living edition of Think Outside the Box Office that I always wanted to create.
I’m using this space to rewrite and reimagine that book for today — for a world where the distribution toolkit has expanded dramatically, but the learning curve has too. Where the platforms are more plentiful but more opaque. Where filmmakers have more power, but less clarity on how to wield it.
Back in 2010, I was re-categorized film rights (next week’s post) and one of the categories I created a category was what I termed “event/theatrical” — screening a film in front of a live audience – any time – any place – any medium. In fact, in our current moment — where tech companies profit from our isolation, and algorithmic platforms filter the world into bite-sized dopamine snacks — coming together in community to watch films is more urgent than ever.
We’re hungry to be in a room together again. To feel something together. And many of the filmmakers I work with make their work with that in mind — not to be watched solo, passively, on a phone, but to be shared, discussed, debated.
Since TOTBO, a wave of platforms has emerged to support these kinds of experiences. But I’ve found that many filmmakers are still unsure which tools are right for them — or how to piece together a distribution plan that feels right.
Algorithms, Culture & the Fight for Curation
This brings me to Kyle Chayka’s excellent new book, Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture, which I’ve been thinking about a lot lately (and a longer post about it coming soon). In it, he explores how algorithms have taken over our cultural discovery processes — shaping what we watch, read, and engage with online.
One of the core arguments of Filterworld is the need to return to the lived in person – human experience:
“This book is an attempt to reclaim our experiences from recommendation systems—to revisit the things we like and experience together. . . . Real learning happens off the platform—when we finally take time to put things together ourselves.”https://jonreiss.substack.com/p/15-years-later-im-still-thinking