FilmsNotMade Podcast

Every screenplay sitting in a discard pile is a potential hit. About 125 movies are released every year. There are tens of thousands of screenplays floating around the entertainment industry. Some screenplay concepts — zombies on e-bikes, flowers that cause autism, and murderous dating apps — never see the light of day, but others…

That’s why I admire FilmsNotMade so much. It’s not another movie review podcasts. We have thousands. Some like Verbal Diorama are superb, while others like The Rewatchables is a bro-fest.

Here’s the podcast creators: “We recently launched Films Not Made, a video-first podcast hosted by veteran filmmakers Avi Zev Weider and Amy Hobby. Each episode spotlights a filmmaker, writer, director, or producer — telling the story of the movie they were dying to make… and the very real reasons it didn’t happen.”

The YouTube podcast traces the spark (why this story, who it was for) and the plan (how they were going to pull it off), then walk the actual gauntlet: lookbooks and pitch rooms, almost-casts, budget math on napkins, notes that helped, notes that aged like milk, wins that felt huge, rejections that stung — and why the project is still sitting in a drawer.

Then, using cutting-edge AI of their own-designed workflow, the show creators generate a new pitch deck, posters, and trailer to give these projects their first and only screening.

Each episode spotlights one filmmaker — writer, director, or producer — telling the story of the movie they were dying to make… and the very real reasons it didn’t happen.

It’s earnest without being precious, funny without being flippant, and built for the “wait, they almost cast who?” moments.

In a Deadline article by Jake Kanter, the author writes: “ For many, artificial intelligence is a harbinger of doom — and with good reason. It’s pretty clear now that the technology will result in the death of jobs and certain creative processes. But what if AI’s power could also be harnessed to revive dead ideas? Amy Hobby, producer of Oscar-nominated documentary What Happened, Miss Simone?, and Welcome to the Machine director Avi Zev Weider are going in search of an answer…”

The show launched on March 3, with guests including Shrek 2 director Conrad Vernon, Sideways writer Rex Pickett, and Dear White People producer Effie Brown. They were invited to revisit the ones that got away, the projects that painfully eluded their grasp. Weider, a sound specialist who has worked on Netflix’s Surviving Jeffrey Epstein and Hulu’s I Am Greta, will run their pitch materials, scripts, and supporting documents (think email conversations with studio executives) through Sora 2 and other AI models, with the results being picked apart during the podcast.

In another early episode, Weider and Hobby ponder Poodle Power, the true story of a man who raced poodles in Alaska’s Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The project went through several iterations over the course of a decade, including a live-action rescue helicopter drama, but ultimately failed to cross the finish line. Films Not Made’s AI workflow reimagines Poodle Power as a “prototype” neo-2D animation. The podcast conversation culminates in a “Netflix” trailer that’s “so bad,” they all fall about laughing.

Has the show’s embrace of AI given any guests the ick? “We’ve had guests who are not into AI, and that’s part of the conversation,” Weider replies. “We’re not AI boosters … but I’ve always been interested in the intersection of technology and creativity.” Weider thinks artificial intelligence’s influence on the business is now just a daily reality, and he suspects most studios quietly feed pitches into AI tools to help inform decision-making.

FilmsNotMade is also unafraid to confront live conversations around personal image rights and copyright protections. When reviving projects, Weider will prompt with named actors to reflect desired casting picks. One resurrected pitch results in an AI trailer featuring A House of Dynamite star Jared Harris. Hobby says she has a connection to Harris, so she feels comfortable evoking his likeness in Films Not Made materials. Weider thinks actors are fair game, partly because the podcast means no harm.

Check out FilmsNotMade and decide for yourself.