Episode Details

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Hello, Hello! 

In this episode, we welcome back Daril Fannin, founder and CEO of Kino Studios, to celebrate the major milestone of his horror film Undertone being acquired by A24 and its theatrical run, which generated over $9 million in opening weekend box office on a $500,000 budget. Daril shares the journey of bringing Undertone from the Fantasia International Film Festival to Sundance and ultimately to wide release, while discussing A24's unique and authentic marketing approach that helped the film connect with audiences in a meaningful way. The conversation also dives deep into the independent film ecosystem, the economics of filmmaking, the role of social media and AI tools in modern content creation, and what it truly means to "make it" in Hollywood.

We also talk about:

• The debate around Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic and how much critical scores actually influence moviegoers' choices, including an audience poll revealing that 56% of viewers say critics don't influence their decisions at all
• The viral social media post by an art director on the film Obsession, who expressed frustration about her low pay despite the film's massive financial success, and what that reveals about systemic economic inequity in the independent film industry
• The rise of Neuralink and the broader philosophical conversation about AI integration into human life, including comparisons to Brave New World, social media data harvesting, and the future of human creativity and autonomy
• Why horror is the new comedy in 2026, and how films like Undertone, Obsession, Iron Lung, and Backrooms are proving that audience-first, word-of-mouth driven indie horror is the most viable path for independent filmmakers today
• The power of resilience in the creative journey, with Daril sharing personal reflections on bouncing back from failure, surrounding yourself with the right people, and the importance of not sharing your biggest ambitions with those who can't understand the artist's path

People, Places, Products, and Websites Mentioned:

Platforms, Tools & Services

Claude / Claude Pro (Anthropic)

Cowork (Claude's agentic desktop app)

Rotten Tomatoes

Metacritic

IMDb

Letterboxd

Neuralink

Gemini

Collection Account Management Agreement (CAMA) 

FilmChain 

Films