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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
Undertone (Kino Studios / A24)
Obsession (Curry Barker)
Iron Lung
Backrooms (Kane Parsons / A24)
The Matrix
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Gladiator
Dumb and Dumber
The Mask
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Malcolm & Marie
High School Musical
Sinners
Oppenheimer
Hamnet
The Deer Hunter
Nuremberg (Russell Crowe)
Wedding Crashers
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (Episodes I–III)
Creed III
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
How to Train Your Dragon (2025)
Black Phone 2
Regretting You
Avengers: Endgame
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Project Hail Mary
The Terminator
Weapons (Zach Cregger)
The Drama (Zendaya / Robert Pattinson)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Meet Joe Black
People — Industry & Public Figures
Daril Fannin (Kino CEO)
Ian Tuason (director of Undertone) (see note)
Nina Kiri (lead, Undertone)
Rick Rubin
Rainer Maria Rilke
Jordan Peele
Markiplier
Curry Barker (Obsession)
Kane Parsons (Backrooms)
Sally Choi (art director, Obsession)
Kevin Goetz
Jim Carrey
Mason Thames
Zendaya
Robert Pattinson
Hayden Christensen
Russell Crowe
Harrison Ford
Brad Pitt
Tom Cruise
Jonathan Majors
Forest Whitaker
Tyler Perry
Ben Stiller
Will Ferrell
Adam Sandler
Steve Martin
Siskel and Ebert
Peter Travers
Lon Harris
Cinema Joe
Christopher Nolan
Elon Musk
Mark Zuckerberg
Dick Gregory
Kevin Hart
Show Team (internal — no public links)
Joey "Bags" von Haeger
Books
The Creative Act: A Way of Being (Rick Rubin)
Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
Nineteen Eighty-Four (George Orwell)
The Crossroads of Should and Must (Elle Luna)
Companies & Organizations
Kino Studios
A24
Neon
Blumhouse
Village Roadshow
Orion Pictures
Artists Equity (see note)
Anthropic
DGA
SAG-AFTRA
IATSE
Rolling Stone
Fantasia International Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
SXSW
Alamo Drafthouse
Cannes Film Festival
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