How To Stay Sane When The Entertainment Business Is Changing So Fast

How To Stay Sane When The Entertainment Business Is Changing So Fast

How To Stay Sane When The Entertainment Business Is Changing So Fast

I have had the honor of being a member of Stage 32 since 2013. To say “It’s rough out there” in 2025 is like saying “the weather is nice” during a tornado. It’s not just rough out there in the entertainment world right now. It’s brutal! It’s a climb out of the pit of Hell’s despair.

Imagine this:

You are living a happy-go-lucky life until your twenties, when all of a sudden, your brother or sister kills himself or herself. Five years later, your best friend also dies by suicide. And then five years later, after the tragic destruction of your family by mental illness, the mother or father of your child(ren) also kills himself or herself.

Now imagine you captured many shocking moments like these on video over thirteen years. Then you use that footage to create a demo reel of your idea for what might make an impactful documentary about catching mental illness “upstream” before things get dangerous. You start networking and become active in your local entertainment community of movers and shakers.

You meet a producer who is well-known for previous hit shows and films. Now you just need a quarter to a half-ish million dollars for the budget! That producer then brings in a 2X Oscar-winning director who wants to make YOUR film. That director brings a Grammy Award-winning composer on board for the film. Then, a well-known actor or actress with a desire to help people with their mental illness creates a deeply powerful narrative performance.

How To Stay Sane When The Entertainment Business Is Changing So Fast

So you hustle. And hustle. And hustle.

You sell handmade candles. You run a Kickstarter. You write letters. You slide into the DMs. Your team has reduced their fees like the champions they are. All for YOUR film’s cause. You do whatever it takes, and you finally get the funding to complete your film. And then it’s done! Your movie has been accepted to major film festivals. Out of over 6,500 films, you win second place and get written up in the LA Times and Variety! You even get some raving reviews from critics while audience members send you testimonial videos telling you how much YOUR film means to them:

“[SPYRAL] serves as an impactful tool for advocacy, highlighting the essential need for awareness and support for mental health issues. It encourages open discussions about mental health, fostering a sense of empathy and urging viewers to seek understanding and help. It is both enlightening and comforting, providing a source of support for viewers who may find their own experiences reflected in the film. I could connect to the movie after being in a relationship where I saw many struggles, the constant battle between being hurt and understanding that it’s not within the other person's control.” -Overly Honest Film Reviews

Then, as your momentum is gaining and you are coordinating a national fundraiser for America’s largest grassroots mental health network, heartbreak strikes as the main actor or actress in your film suddenly passes away. The entertainment world is shocked, and your little independent film is thrust into the spotlight with articles in People Magazine, US Weekly, TMZ, Yahoo, NY Post, MSN, and Internet chatter across the socials.

(Rest In Peace, Michelle Trachtenberg, you beautiful soul. We love you.)

You think to yourself, “This has not all been in vain. Finally, this movie will be seen by a big audience. And maybe we can recoup our expenses, or even… possibly come out ahead. That would be great, then we can make more impactful films.”

You begin to network with distributors to work a deal that will connect audiences with your buzzed-about film so you can finally experience people watching your art and you can make money back by selling it one way or another. Maybe you can even finally eat a proper meal again!

You get into meetings! Big executives! But even after all that, you still hear:

  • "Unsure there is an audience for this."
  • "Amazing film, but it’s not a fit for our network."
  • "Pass."

THAT’s what I mean when I joke by saying “It’s rough out there” in 2025 is like noting it is “nice weather outside” during a tornado. How the hell is any independent filmmaker expected to stay sane through all that hard work and no viable path to financial prosperity in a content-saturated world? And that goes for both organic human films and full AI-made films, going into the future. And SPYRAL is merely one example of an independent film slog. So many of you are fighting for your film’s life as well.

In my opinion, hoping that some network executive loves your film so much they simply hand you a “suitcase of cash” is a dead filmmaker’s dream, unless you already have talent attached with a bazillion social media followers. That’s real power in the attention economy.

How To Stay Sane When The Entertainment Business Is Changing So Fast

So, for your film, I would say in 2025 and beyond, you might consider these three paths:

1) The “Traditional” Way.

Festival circuit = trying to get a distribution deal using the old frameworks that hardly ever recoup expenses for the film. Ask them for open accounting.

Be sure to fight for your P&A rights. In film distribution, "P&A" stands for Prints and Advertising, encompassing the costs incurred by distributors for creating and distributing physical or digital copies of the film (prints) and for promoting it to the public. This is what the distributors charge back to you, like record companies used to do to bands, leading to musicians who were in debt even though they sold a million records.

if you aren’t being offered a fair deal with any kind of minimum guarantee or fair P&A deal, you are better off “going it alone”, I’m afraid.

2) Sign up with Bitmax

They are a hybrid distribution service that you pay a fixed fee to distribute your film while you retain 100% rights and ownership. Worth looking into!

3) Self-Distribute:

Your movie can still be seen on Smart TVs, even if you aren’t on the Netflix roster. If you have hype, people will find a way to see it online. Use modern technology to put your film in touch with audiences across multiple screens (TV, Computer, Phone). This is easy with password-protected video streaming services backed by a promotional campaign and direct access for an online audience to buy or rent the film. And don’t forget local theatres, all while keeping your sanity! (Get some exercise and fresh air too).

So then comes the question: How do you self-fund the release and distribution of a film where you can’t make money selling tickets to protect any future distribution deal you might actually negotiate a bit down the road when you have enough buzz to get their interest? If you “self-release” before then, that will kill your chance for a distributor to get your film past the ‘gatekeepers’ and leverage their relationships with streaming platforms and theatres. It’s a fine line.

In the case of SPYRAL, we teamed up with America’s lowest-priced certified therapy network, which offers individuals unlimited 24/7/365 mental healthcare support for under seventy bucks. Compared to paying per-session fees for professional therapy, that service aligns with SPYRAL’s mission to help people solve their own or their family’s mental health crisis while the film earns a small commission from new enrollees in the program that use the SPYRAL affiliate link to sign up.

This in turn, over time, creates funds as audiences who see the film in private screenings then sign up for mental first-aid assistance and urgent care via telehealth, face-to-face, and phone communications. Audiences can also access psychologists and psychiatrists from a network of over 2,000 licensed clinicians.

So be creative in aligning products, services, and partnerships. Perhaps your film sells amazing new t-shirts, and you design and put up a store on your film’s website. Or you offer exclusive behind-the-scenes extras to influencers and a signed poster of the film. Or you donate a portion of donations to a relevant charity of choice and have them promote your film to their own audience. You get the idea.

How To Stay Sane When The Entertainment Business Is Changing So Fast

The point is you need to be both creative AND resilient to get your film made, and distributed, profitably.

I am in this battle with you, and as a producer who is now reviewing film festival submissions, I also see the amazing quality and quantity of films trying to break through. It’s a lot.

That’s why I am focusing on my own mental health as I continue each day to bring value to audiences with a story meant to help others with their own struggles. If I can help you keep your own sanity in the journey of getting your project made and distributed, I offer this advice:

1) Face-to-Face Networking

Showing up to real-world networking events and meeting people face to face will always dominate any electronic format of communication.

2) Be Genuine

I might be a quirky creative. But you get the real me every time. So when attending any event, I love meeting people and asking them about themselves because I’m so bored with myself. I genuinely love networking but believe it or not I’m shy, so I just overcome that and strike up a conversation anywhere with anyone. People are awesome one-on-one.

3) Remember Names With Faces

It kills me when I forget someone’s name in my mind, especially right after meeting them. I will say their name multiple times in my head when greeting, and if you repeat it back out loud to verify you are saying it right, that’s a memorization technique. Confidently knowing someone’s name is key.

4) Build A Professional Team

I owe my many milestones achieved so far to Jennifer Hutchins. Jen is a powerhouse of a Producer, and instead of asking about what she could do for me, I just got involved with All Entertainment Business (AEB), and started volunteering as an audio/video assistant since I like to geek out on sound boards.

Over time, Jen discovered the story I was working on, and she saw the potential social impacts of such a raw look at each emotional angle when it comes to mental illness over time.

From there, we added Lee Rothenflue, who joined with video editing skills to create a trailer, which, with the trio’s effort,s attracted double 2X Oscar award-winning and three-time Emmy winner Bill Guttentag as Director. But making a film costs money.

How To Stay Sane When The Entertainment Business Is Changing So Fast

5) Bootstrapping

There it is. No trust fund. No money. Just talking about our vision while selling handmade candles, starting from zero.

I’m lucky to have a loving family and friends who kept me from falling deeper into the pits of Hell when my life fell apart in Oregon.

But this project was for me to fund. Via networking, I was able to befriend some early investors with a few thousand dollars, enough to secure some professional upfront needs to build even more of a team.

Producer, editor, director, sound, research, legal, acting talent… now it was real. Then the film finally resonated with an infusion by Executive Producer Jason French, allowing us to begin production.

Of course, Hell is running out of money. Which we did.

We needed to raise an additional $25k or so for finishing costs, so we ran a successful Kickstarter, which is another article itself. Again, find your helpers on your climb. Give them a positive reason to be supportive.

Finally, when actress Michelle Trachtenberg voiced Michelle’s diary and social media posts with a wrap on production, we knew we had made something special and unique.

6) Launch Your Thing

Here is the secret to this article.

You will fail time and time again.

We launched, and frankly, the subject was too controversial, the market timing wasn’t right, the film is amazing, but “just not a fit for us”.

When you have put your entire existence on the line, and you are told “not good enough”… what do you do?

7) Pivot

When your plan goes wrong, that’s you tumbling back down the mountain into the pits of Hell.

Retool. Re-approach. Re-ignite your passion. And again, practice self-care. There are plenty of resources about how to best keep doing that.

And even if it’s not your dream job, apply yourself fully to whatever work you have to pay the bills while you work on climbing out of the pit of despair. Make all work part of your joyous climb upward, and change as needed if something or someone is not helping you climb anymore.

8) Repeat

You will stumble. You will fall. You will fail.

And then you will win. Because you had the fortitude to believe in yourself to keep going while Hollywood and technology is rapidly morphing. Keep climbing, and eventually pump your fists in victory, knowing you completed the mission you needed to before you push yourself further once again in the future.

You’ve got this!

Let's hear your thoughts in the comments below!

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About the Author

Randall Scott White

Randall Scott White

Cinematographer, Director, Screenwriter, Producer, Musician, Marketing Professional

Randall Scott White is most known for the film SPYRAL, the award-winning and "almost too-gnarly-for-audiences" true footage documentary featuring Michelle Trachtenberg. Directed by 2X Oscar-winning director Bill Guttentag, scored by Grammy award-winning composer David Kahne, and produced by Holly...

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13 Comments on Randall Scott's Article

Alexandra Stevens
Actor, Acting Teacher
Hi Randall. Thanks for giving so much of yourself in this article: so much of your personal and professional story and of your heart and soul. I really get a sense of your care for those in the industry trying to make a film and get it distributed. i appreciate your honest tell it as it is voice. I'm sorry to hear about all the traumatic events experienced and glad you were able to turn it into gold (although not literal gold yet) via the film. Mental health is an important topic and anything which makes it less taboo and more mainstream is significant. I agree with you that there is inequality in who can access mental health services. The ideas you give for getting funds are genius, particularly how you linked the film to a mental health tele-health organisation where you get commission for sign-ups. Big applause to you from the sidelines.
12 days ago
Randall Scott White
Cinematographer, Director, Screenwriter, Producer, Musician, Marketing Professional
Hi Alexandra! Thank you for your kind and thoughtful comments. I do care. I know a LOT of entertainment people who are currently still holding onto jobs and just not trying to get their heads cut off in the next round of layoffs at (Insert any major studio or production company). So as independents we need to contend with the fact that a majority of our films will not make it through the "Taste Makers" and the "Gatekeepers" that sit on the thrones of Streaming Acquisition Budgets. That's where alliances and ancillary products / services have to come in for each film trying to make any money, much like musicians and bands had to get creative when CDs and DVDs stopped being a physical purchase. My next life move is to start making documentaries for NFL players that are mobilizing this season to "Tackle" mental health while vulnerability and transparency are now "in". This will also help shine a bigger light on the issue while introducing NEWQ audiences on their own social channels to the mental health services.... my own family gets unlimited Telehealth care a month for $99. I dare anyone in America to touch that... so really I believe SPYRAL is technically disrupting the entire mental healthcare model with this move. (to learn about that: bit.ly/FoundationCare) So all filmmakers need to think how to elevate up with something that can make money besides selling the film itself. Now you have me all fired up again ;)
11 days ago
Geoff Hall
Screenwriter, Director, Producer
Thank you so much for writing this Randall. Thank you too, for your fortitude and resilience through unthinkable sadness and trauma. Business. When you mentioned “ask for open accounting” is that what you got for SPYRAL? Did you have a CAMA - Collection Account Management Agreement? Fighting for your P&A. We know that distribution companies are (in)famous for their lack of transparency of costs, so what was the dialogue like with the distribution companies? Were they wary about ‘open accounting’? And how are you doing now? You’ve been through so much, I just wondered about your own wellbeing in all of this.
14 days ago
Randall Scott White
Cinematographer, Director, Screenwriter, Producer, Musician, Marketing Professional
You* meaning the platform or distributor which becomes the final home for the documentary
13 days ago
Randall Scott White
Cinematographer, Director, Screenwriter, Producer, Musician, Marketing Professional
Hi Geoff, thank you for writing and asking some great questions. Open accounting to me means ensuring all costs are transparent and marketing by the distributors is not them eating lobster while just chatting up your film. Fuck that. My soul is in this movie and you had better be ready to sleep on a dashboard at 6am to land that deal like a guerilla marketer of an agency. And we act as partners in the endeavor.
13 days ago
Sandra Isabel Correia
Screenwriter, Executive
I love it! Congratulations on your journey Randall and keep going. The sky is the limit!
13 days ago
Sandra Isabel Correia
Screenwriter, Executive
Love it!
13 days ago
Carol M. Salter
Author, Editor, Host/Presenter, Advisor, Publisher
Thank you for this Randell. Although I'm a writer I can fully relate to most of this. I'm also thankful that publishing my next novel doesn't costs £25,000. I tried and tried to get traditional publishers interested and after 180 applications, it scarred my soul. I run my own publishing business now. Yes, it might be called a vanity press, but I need funds to publish my work. I started this when I finally recognized there are so many brilliant writers out there, I'm never going to get the chance to shine with them. I shine alone, a distant star in a hidden galaxy.
16 days ago
Carol M. Salter
Author, Editor, Host/Presenter, Advisor, Publisher
I'll take it said three times over any day. Thank you Pamela.
15 days ago
Pamela Jaye Smith
Author, Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Acting Teacher, Script Consultant, Story Analyst
Good for you, Carol. Having your own publishing business seems such a smart move these days. May you have much success with it and continue to put your creative works out there.
15 days ago
Suzanne Bronson
Actor, Crafty, Production Assistant, Stage Manager, Voice Artist, Host/Presenter
So many thoughts. Your story is very inspiring. I commend you for tackling mental health. For so long, Mental illness has been viewed as just straight Fatal Attraction crazy, when in fact we know it's so much more nuanced and affects everyone. I admire your tenacity for having a vision and sticking with it. Your story is a good example of how our focus is to be on the end result, not the journey. It's also proof that thoughts become things. What a tremendous accomplishment!
15 days ago
Pamela Jaye Smith
Author, Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Acting Teacher, Script Consultant, Story Analyst
What an amazing journey of twists and turns, progress and set-backs, wins and fails. Thank you so much for telling us about the various aspects of your story's journey. Indeed we never know what's going to work and what is not, what pitfalls await, and just...well...life. Your encouraging words and practical advice will I'm sure help many other creatives to not give up when things get rough. Wishing you and all your team much success, satisfaction, recognition and rewards for all your vision, courage, and convictions!
15 days ago
Pamela Jaye Smith
Author, Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Acting Teacher, Script Consultant, Story Analyst
What an amazing journey of twists and turns, progress and set-backs, wins and fails. Thank you so much for telling us about the various aspects of your story's journey. Indeed we never know what's going to work and what is not, what pitfalls await, and just...well...life. Your encouraging words and practical advice will I'm sure help many other creatives to not give up when things get rough. Wishing you and all your team much success, satisfaction, recognition and rewards for all your vision, courage, and convictions!
15 days ago
Doug Kayne
Actor, Comedian, Director, Screenwriter, Studio Teacher
Thank you for this insight into the struggles bringing SPYRAL to this point. Definitely a testament to your strength and resilience. So many would have thrown in the towel at any number of roadblocks thrown their way. Kudos to you and your team on your success.
16 days ago
Maurice Vaughan
Screenwriter
My condolences to you, your family, your best friend’s family, and Michelle Trachtenberg’s family, Randall. Harriet the Spy was one of the reasons I started writing short stories. SPYRAL deals with a crucial topic. I haven’t written about mental health issues a lot, but your blog inspired me to write about it more. Thanks for writing this blog and sharing the advice and insight. Congratulations on the success with SPYRAL!
16 days ago
Maurice Vaughan
Screenwriter
Thanks, Randall. I'll check out the mini documentary. Looking forward to seeing it and SPYRAL!
16 days ago
Randall Scott White
Cinematographer, Director, Screenwriter, Producer, Musician, Marketing Professional
Maurice - years before SPYRAL was even a thought I even made a mini documentary about Danger Dave shortly before he took his own life. Sure miss that amazing guy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPhHplBVomk
16 days ago
Curtis Kessinger
Comedian, Director, Screenwriter
Thank you Randall and so sorry all that you have endured for such an important film and subject. Most of us have been close to someone dealing with mental health issues and I grew up seeing it on a daily basis. It made me who I am today! And sad to see what has become of the entertainment business with film, TV, etc. The days of movie theaters is close to being a memory. I keep track of the production days and see that the whole LA area has become the place not to shoot. It has become cheaper to shoot outside of the US and whole crews are being sent out of the US to shoot films. Few films are shot here. Even TV production has almost vanished. Warner Bros and Sony are joining forces to build a studio complex in Las Vegas simply because Nevada is business friendly and CA is not. I have many scripts for films I realize will most likely never be produced unless I shoot them myself. I have also gone back to my standup comedy roots simply because I can shoot my own specials and if need be put them up on a youtube channel. I did the same self-publishing my two books and the next one I am writing. Take action and make it happen because no one else is going to do it for you!
16 days ago
Randall Scott White
Cinematographer, Director, Screenwriter, Producer, Musician, Marketing Professional
Thank you Curtis - I kind of stumbled into producing via wanting to share a story, and the people I have met not only in Austin but in Hollywood, NY, and elsewhere have shown me there is no real playbook to Hollywood or the entertainment business. Not anymore. But the basics of decency, perseverance, and mental wellness are timeless no matter how technology or business models change.
16 days ago
Ashley Smith 23
Creative Executive, Script Consultant, Producer
Randall, thank you for sharing your journey with such unflinching honesty and insight. The path you’ve walked with SPYRAL is nothing short of extraordinary, and your words are a testament to the raw grit, ingenuity, and soul it takes to see a truly independent film through. Your advice on building a creative strategy beyond traditional routes, forging meaningful partnerships, and staying sane amid chaos is exactly the kind of leadership our community needs right now. I hope more people read this and realize that perseverance, paired with purpose and community, can move mountains. If you haven’t already, I’d love to see you share more about your journey and insights in the Producing Lounge: https://www.stage32.com/lounge/producing!
16 days ago
Randall Scott White
Cinematographer, Director, Screenwriter, Producer, Musician, Marketing Professional
You bet Ashley!
16 days ago
Thank you, Randall Scott
16 days ago
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