Future of Film Podcast with Alex Stolz

About Future of Film Podcast with Alex Stolz

Film is changing. Audience behaviour, technology and business models are reshaping how stories are told, distributed and experienced. The Future of Film Podcast explores these shifts through conversations with the people building what comes next. Hosted by Alex Stolz, the podcast features founders, filmmakers and industry leaders working across storytelling, media and technology. Together, these conversations examine how audiences are evolving, how value is created and captured, and what it means to build sustainable careers in a rapidly changing screen landscape. About Alex Stolz Alex Stolz is Founder of Future of Film and Head of Audience at usheru, working at the intersection of storytelling, audience and ownership. His background spans leading audience strategy at the BFI and developing data-driven approaches to audience growth across film and media. More at www.futureoffilm.live

Publisher

Alex Stolz

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

24 Feb 2017

Latest episode

23 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

103 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   23 Jul 2026

   102. Jeffrey Kohn: Why Filmmakers Need to ‘Own’ Their Audience

   An audience is more than a follower count. For filmmakers and creators, building a direct relationship with the people who care about their work can be the foundation of a sustainable creative career. In this episode, Alex Stolz speaks with Jeffrey Kohn, founder and CEO of TopFan, about what filmmakers can learn from the creator economy—and why building an audience and “owning” that relationship are two very different things. Jeffrey explains why creators cannot afford to depend entirely on social platforms and algorithms for access to their fans. Instead, he argues for using those platforms as a point of discovery, while creating direct channels through which audiences can become part of a deeper and more enduring community. The conversation explores the power of superfans; why relatively small but highly engaged audiences can be more valuable than large follower counts; and how creators can turn moments of attention into long-term relationships. Alex and Jeffrey also discuss crowdfunding, audience participation and the ways a committed community can help creators finance projects, generate revenue and carry momentum from one story to the next. A practical conversation about moving beyond rented platforms, creating genuine connection and building an audience that can sustain your creative work over the long term. About Jeffrey Kohn Jeff Kohn is the founder and CEO of TopFan. Prior to TopFan, Jeff was a distinguished enterprise architect for Oracle, led global e-business operations for for Sun Microsystems, and space radiation analysis for NASAs Mission Control. At TopFan, Jeff focuses on solving the platform dependency problem in the creator economy. TopFan technology provides creators with a customized, white-labeled website and mobile app platform that unifies content, community and commerce into one place, and full ownership of their fan data. In turn, creators own their platform, and achieve long-term financial stability and equity in their business.

2. 

   17 Jun 2026

   101. Marc Iserlis: From Fans to Investors - Rethinking Film Finance

   For decades, film finance has relied on a familiar model: studios, distributors and a relatively small pool of investors deciding which stories get made. But what happens when audiences themselves become part of the equation? In this episode, Alex sits down with producer and Republic Film founder Marc Iserlis to explore a new approach to financing screen stories, one that allows fans to invest in film and entertainment projects and participate in their potential success. The conversation explores how film finance is changing, why creator communities may be becoming as valuable as traditional industry gatekeepers, and what recent successes such as Backrooms, Obsession and Markiplier's Iron Lung reveal about the future of audience-driven storytelling. Along the way, Marc shares lessons from his journey as a producer, discusses the rise of creator-led IP, and explains why he believes the next generation of breakthrough stories may emerge from communities rather than traditional development pipelines. It's a conversation about ownership, participation and what happens when fans become stakeholders in the stories they want to see in the world. Topics include: • Why film finance needs new models • The difference between crowdfunding and crowd investing • Creator-led IP and the rise of audience-first storytelling • What Backrooms, Obsession and Markiplier tell us about the future • Why creators may be becoming the new celebrities • How communities can help de-risk creative projects • The future of film finance, ownership and audience participation About Marc Iserlis Marc Iserlis leads Republic Film--an SEC-regulated investment platform enabling global accredited and unaccredited investors to invest directly in film projects and share in their financial success. Officially launched in late 2024, Republic Film has raised more than $32 million from over 40,000 everyday film fans into premium projects from Eli Roth, Robert Rodriguez, Skybound Entertainment, Pressman Film, and Ron Perlman. Marc is also a film and television producer whose credits include Hotel Mumbai (2019), Gone in the Night (2022), Dalíland (2023), and The Testament of Ann Lee (2026).

3. 

   21 May 2026

   100. Jeff Gomez, HaZ Dulull and Brian Newman: Building Stories that Last

   In this special Future of Film conversation, Alex Stolz is joined by three leading voices exploring how storytellers can build work that sustains in a rapidly changing creative landscape: Jeff Gomez, pioneer in worldbuilding and transmedia storytelling HaZ Dulull, filmmaker and creator working across film, games and emerging technologies Brian Newman, strategist and producer focused on audience, creator sustainability and new creative models Together, they explore: • Why filmmakers can no longer think only in terms of single projects • The shift from “audience after” to “audience throughout” • How creators can build worlds that expand across formats and platforms • Ownership, IP and sustainable creative careers • AI, games and emerging storytelling tools • Why emotional resonance matters more than ever From Kickstarter and creator-funded IP to transmedia storytelling, audience feedback loops and the future of story worlds, this conversation explores how screen storytellers can adapt and thrive in an era of fragmented attention and rapidly evolving technology. A must-listen for filmmakers, writers, producers, worldbuilders and creators thinking about the future of storytelling. And if this resomates for where you are heading in your creative work, then you may want to consider applying to Story Founders. the new accelerator by Future of Film. Story Founder is designed to help storytellers build projects - and creative practices - that can endure. Applications are now open: 👉 futureoffilm.live/storyfounders/ About the Speakers Jeff Gomez Jeff Gomez is an architect of large-scale narrative systems, internationally recognized for designing the storyworld architectures and canon governance behind some of the most enduring global franchises of the modern era. For more than 25 years, Jeff has pioneered long-horizon narrative frameworks that enable intellectual properties to expand across platforms, cultures, and decades while maintaining coherent identity. His work has shaped global franchises including Pirates of the Caribbean, Avatar, Halo, Transformers, Spider-Man, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, contributing to billions in franchise value across media, licensing, and global markets. Brian Newman Brian Newman, founder of Sub-Genre, consults on content strategy, development, distribution and marketing for some of the top brands in the world. Current and former clients include: The Climate Pledge (Amazon), IBM, Keen, Merck KGaA, New York Times, Oatly, Patagonia, REI, Shopify Studios, Sonos, Stripe, Sundance, Unilever, Vulcan Productions, Yeti Coolers, and Zero Point Zero. Brian is also an independent film producer and has served as CEO of the Tribeca Film Institute, president of Renew Media (known for the Rockefeller Fellowships) and executive director of IMAGE Film & Video (producers of the Atlanta Film Festival & Out on Film). HaZ Dulull HaZ Dulull started his career in video games on titles such as Colin Mcrae Rally (Codemasters) and Battlion Wars (Nintendo) before moving to a VFX career on films like The Dark Knight before becoming a director / Producer known for merging cinematic storytelling with real-time technology. He made his debut with the live action indie sci-fi feature films The Beyond, and 2036 Origin Unknown (both licensed on Netflix), followed by Disney’s Fast Layne (where he served as Director + Exec Producer), Universal’s prequel animated short - 47 Ronin: The Samurai Spirit, and Disney’s Under the Sea: A Descendants Story. In 2024, he directed / Produced MAX BEYOND, an animated feature made entirely in Unreal Engine (with co-financing by Epic Games Mega Grant) before hired to be the cinematic’s director for Chapter 1 of the in-game cinematics for triple A game - Dune Awakening (Funcom / Tencent).

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

5,122

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.1 / 5

7 ratings

Spotify

4.7 / 5

6 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 49 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

56

Social presence

0

YouTube

74

Engagement

31

Contact Future of Film Podcast with Alex Stolz

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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