Flashback Pictures

The Indie Playbook

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How indie film production actually works. How do films get developed and financed? Why is vertical filmmaking exploding? Are studios everywhere secretly using AI? The Indie Playbook is a monthly podcast a hosted by Emmy-winning producer Grace Porras featuring Flashback Pictures founder and CEO Daniel Cotroneo ( Mad Men , This Is Us ) and creative executive Dominic Russo (co-creator of Workaholics ). With more than 60 combined years in the business, they're building an independent film studio during one of the industry's biggest disruptions, and they're pulling back the curtain on how. Their co...

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Flashback Pictures

Episodes

Ep 3: Spielberg was a YouTuber too 10.07.2026 38:46

Everybody's talking about Hollywood's future—but history shows we've been here before. In episode 3 of The Indie Playbook , Daniel Cotroneo, Grace Porras, and Dominic Russo explore how filmmakers like George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, and Martin Scorsese built new paths outside the traditional studio system—and what independent filmmakers can learn from them today. They discuss...

Ep 2: Is the next big director a YouTuber? 04.07.2026 38:37

Hollywood is looking for its next great filmmaker—and increasingly, they're finding them on YouTube. In Episode 2 of The Indie Playbook , Daniel Cotroneo, Grace Porras, and Dominic Russo explore the surprising rise of YouTube creators becoming Hollywood's newest directors. The conversation dives into why studios are scouting creators instead of film school graduates, the skills YouTube teaches tha...

Ep 1: Why we're betting on indie filmmaking NOW 20.06.2026 48:00

Hollywood is changing fast. Traditional production models are shrinking, jobs are disappearing, and creators everywhere are asking the same question: What comes next? In this premiere episode of The Indie Playbook , Daniel Cotroneo, Grace Porras and Dominic Russo from Flashback Pictures pull back the curtain on how they're building an independent film studio in the middle of one of the film indust...