Filmmakers Collaborative

06/25/2026

"...Peppa Pig is famed for her love of jumping in muddy puddles, but the company behind the hit children’s TV series has created a different kind of splash with its approach to AI.

Hasbro, the U.S. entertainment giant that acquired the Peppa Pig brand in 2019, is asking child actors on the animated series to sign over their voices to artificial intelligence under new contract terms, Deadline can reveal.

Industry sources said AI clauses are now frequently appearing in kids’ contracts on TV and film projects, but Hasbro’s embrace of the terms on Peppa Pig has become a lightning rod for concern."

'Peppa Pig' owner Hasbro has stoked anger by requiring child actors on the animated series to sign over their voices to artificial intelligence.

06/24/2026

"...There is a romanticized version of independent filmmaking that people often imagine — a passionate artist with a great script, a group of believers, and a dream that somehow finds its way to the screen.

Filmmaker D.J. Hale writes for IndieWire why that wasn't his story in making 'Rescued.'..."

There is a romanticized version of independent filmmaking. Filmmaker D.J. Hale writes for IndieWire why that wasn't his story in making “Rescued.”

06/23/2026

Every year, a city rises from the dust. This is the story behind it.

Directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Jehane Noujaim and Vikram Gandhi, "The Man Will Burn" is an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at Burning Man - one of the world's most ambitious cultural experiments.

The four-part docuseries premieres July 9 on ‪HBO Max‬.

Every year, a city rises from the dust. This is the story behind it...

06/23/2026

"...Independent theaters continue to be a vital asset to their communities, with a 9% increase in business in 2025, an encouraging sign for the sector, according to a recent survey.

Results of the Art House Convergence‘s first National Audience Survey were released Monday at the IND/EX conference for independent film distribution.

In another hopeful trend for the independent theater business, 25% of those surveyed said they first began going to their preferred art house theaters within the last three years.

These new art house moviegoers had an average age of 40, 11 years younger than the average age of all those surveyed, which is 51.

Of those recent attendees, 68% were younger than 45."

Independent theaters continue to be a vital asset to their communities, with a 9% increase in business in 2025, an encouraging sign for the sector.

06/22/2026

Steve Humble, the chief content officer for VPM —Virginia’s home for the public media, joins Michael Azevedo on the latest edition of Making Media Now.

Steve is also the executive producer of “Declarations: Black Americans and the Revolutionary War,” a new documentary that will premiere on PBS on June 29.

"Declarations" examines how black Americans fought for these tenets of democracy for themselves, their families, and their communities.

Check out the chat and the documentary!

Joining host Michael Azevedo on this episode is Steve Humble, the chief content officer for VPM—Virginia’s home for the public media. Steve is also the executive producer of “Declarations: Black Americans and the Revolutionary War,” a new documentary that will premiere on PBS on June 29. Whe...

06/22/2026

"...In an unusual move, ABC began airing direct appeals to the audience Monday during the show’s commercial breaks, asking viewers to support the program in a battle with the F.C.C. over political speech.

“‘The View’ has welcomed your favorite guests and covered the issues you care about for nearly 30 years,” a voice intones on a 20-second spot. 'Now, the F.C.C. wants to control who is allowed to appear on the show.'..."

The daytime TV talk show is at the center of a dispute with the Federal Communications Commission over political speech.

06/22/2026

"...With the United States’ 250th birthday, the documentary filmmakers of 'Declarations: Black Americans and the Revolutionary War' turned to modern technology to reclaim history.

Director Stacey Holman and her co-writer/fellow director Maya Tepler explained they why chose to use generative AI to 'give our historical subjects agency' and how they hope this documentary, premiering June 29 at 10pm ET on PBS, 'will serve as a blueprint” for how to responsibly use the technology.'..."
https://deadline.com/2026/06/declarations-using-genai-give-historical-subjects-agency-1236963359/?fbclid=IwY2xjawSmIzBleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFwQWYwSDVJbGNYM01IMW50c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHrHwE7xpo69iqWtgijTb7cuRGBJ7CLWBEA7OPuHjMs3m3FzGFUbRTWp9T4hB_aem_HG8UA9P5ktNtaC288sWx-w

06/21/2026

"....To some extent 'The Truman Show' foreshadows our constantly surveilled present. It also captures a Hollywood tendency to infuse dystopian visions with comforting sentimentality, to tell us that everything will be all right.

But in the version of the show we inhabit now, there seems to be no exit, no route back into life, no chance to confront or defy the powers that observe, control and distract us."

How the film writer David Thomson found himself in a lover’s quarrel with cinema — and America.

06/20/2026

Beloved by actors, he helped create “Cheers” and directed more than 1,000 episodes of hit shows like “Taxi,” “Friends” and “The Big Bang Theory.”

Beloved by actors, he helped create “Cheers” and directed more than 1,000 episodes of hit shows like “Taxi,” “Friends” and “The Big Bang Theory.”

06/19/2026

Amazon MGM is no longer releasing Luca Guadagnino's ‘ARTIFICIAL’, a biopic about OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

The studio says the film will be better served at a different studio.

Note: OpenAI inked a major partnership with Amazon recently. Pure coincidence, no doubt.

Amazon, which made headlines earlier this year by spending $75 million to make and market a fawning Melania Trump documentary, is now doing the opposite: Dumping a nearly finished film that paints a powerful tech figure and Trump ally in a negative light.