101. Marc Iserlis: From Fans to Investors - Rethinking Film Finance

For decades, film finance has relied on a familiar model: studios, distributors and a relatively small pool of investors deciding which stories get made.

But what happens when audiences themselves become part of the equation?

In this episode, Alex sits down with producer and Republic Film founder Marc Iserlis to explore a new approach to financing screen stories, one that allows fans to invest in film and entertainment projects and participate in their potential success.

The conversation explores how film finance is changing, why creator communities may be becoming as valuable as traditional industry gatekeepers, and what recent successes such as Backrooms, Obsession and Markiplier's Iron Lung reveal about the future of audience-driven storytelling.

Along the way, Marc shares lessons from his journey as a producer, discusses the rise of creator-led IP, and explains why he believes the next generation of breakthrough stories may emerge from communities rather than traditional development pipelines.

It's a conversation about ownership, participation and what happens when fans become stakeholders in the stories they want to see in the world.

Topics include:

• Why film finance needs new models

• The difference between crowdfunding and crowd investing

• Creator-led IP and the rise of audience-first storytelling

• What Backrooms, Obsession and Markiplier tell us about the future

• Why creators may be becoming the new celebrities