The Sisyphus of Niagara: A Dark Comedy's Eternal Struggle

The Sisyphus of Niagara: A Dark Comedy's Eternal Struggle

Filmmaker Joe Maggio joins Amy Hobby and Avi Zev Weider to resurrect The Fall, a dark comedy about a moral Niagara Falls attorney whose life spirals out of control after he commits a terrible sin and is unexpectedly rewarded with everything he ever wanted. The project, originally conceived as an existential drama inspired by Kafka and Joe's vicious, domineering grandmother, almost became Joe’s breakout film during the early 2000s Indie Boom. We are also joined by Tom Hall, Artistic Director of Montclair Film, who lends his expertise as a film festival programmer and "walking encyclopedia of film" to assess the project's concept and casting. Joe shares the incredible saga of The Fall’s near-production: from writing the script on his honeymoon and securing his dream lead, John Turturro, to the painful collapse of the deal. John Turturro perfectly captured the chaos, calling the process like "holding on to the horns of a bull and I'm wearing roller skates". We present Joe with a modern pitch deck for The Fall—complete with Paul Dano as the lead and a hot take from an AI film executive—forcing Joe to confront his “biggest regret” and consider if the bittersweet film that was not made is now ready for its resurrection. Tom Hall's Back Row Manifesto https://backrowmanifesto.substack.com/ [https://backrowmanifesto.substack.com/] Joe Maggio's Incidental Films https://www.incidentalfilms.com/ [https://www.incidentalfilms.com/] Go to https://filmsnotmade.com/ [https://filmsnotmade.com/] for info on the show, transcripts and more. Follow the show on https://www.youtube.com/@FilmsNotMade [https://www.youtube.com/@FilmsNotMade] Subscribe to our https://substack.com/@filmsnotmade [https://substack.com/@filmsnotmade]

Shot by Shot: Inside the AI Trailer Workflow

Host Avi Weider walks you inside the actual workflow behind the AI trailers we make for every guest — shot by shot, prompt by prompt. From Claude Code to GPT Image 2 to Kling to Premiere, nothing is theoretical here. And it's constantly evolving. This is what it looks like when the tools meet the timeline and you're still trying to make something that feels like a real movie. We're showing you how we use AI as a tool to finally see the films that never got made. Here's what that looks like behind the scenes. Go to https://filmsnotmade.com/ [https://filmsnotmade.com/] for info on the show, transcripts and more. Follow the show on https://www.youtube.com/@FilmsNotMade [https://www.youtube.com/@FilmsNotMade] Subscribe to our https://substack.com/@filmsnotmade [https://substack.com/@filmsnotmade]

DJ Natalie's Neighborhood with Natalie Weiss

Musician and playwright Natalie Weiss has come to resurrect her children's show concept, DJ Natalie's Neighborhood, which she pitches as “Pee-wee’s Playhouse meets Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood set to a DJ beat”. The series is rooted in her real-life, viral "Baby DJ School" and features Natalie as the host alongside her zany puppet roommates in a magical Brooklyn apartment, including Ms. Hay Hay, the glamorous horse diva, and LD the glow worm lighting designer. The core premise is teaching kids musical concepts and ASL to solve everyday problems. Despite getting her foot in the door with top-tier executives at networks like Netflix and Sesame Street, Natalie learned the industry was shifting away from adult hosts in favor of child protagonists. The executives "wanted sanitized boring Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood". Natalie got a renewed sense of purpose, leaving her energized, as she states, with a "total fire under my ass. I just want to work on this again." Come to the playhouse "where beats are dope and life is good." https://www.natalieelizabethweiss.com/ [https://www.natalieelizabethweiss.com/] https://www.instagram.com/djnatalienyc/ [https://www.instagram.com/djnatalienyc/] Go to https://filmsnotmade.com/ [https://filmsnotmade.com/] for info on the show, transcripts and more. Follow the show on https://www.youtube.com/@FilmsNotMade [https://www.youtube.com/@FilmsNotMade] Subscribe to our https://substack.com/@filmsnotmade [https://substack.com/@filmsnotmade] #DaveedDiggs #DonaldGlover #BillyPorter #AyoEdebiri #AliWong #KeeganMichaelKey #StephenRoot #FilmsNotMade #DJNataliesNeighborhood #BabyDJSchool #NatalieWeiss #KidsTV #PuppetShow #UnmadeProjects #KidsMusic #IndieFilm #ChildrensTelevision #PeeweesPlayhouse #MrRogersNeighborhood #Brooklyn #MusicEducation #ASL #PodcastLife #HollywoodDevelopment #WhatIfWeMadeItNow #HollywoodStories

Backlot: Adam Schartoff of Filmwax Radio

Adam Schartoff of Filmwax Radio is a veteran nearing 900 episodes interviewing everyone from Gus Van Sant to Werner Herzog. Filmwax began in 2011 as a small film series in a Brooklyn bar, quickly evolving into a podcast by 2012. Adam, Avi and Amy discuss the biggest challenges in getting a film seen, changes in distribution, incorporation of AI, and working from the heart. We asked his dream guest: Jim Jarmusch, the ultimate New York indie filmmaker he’s been "orbiting" for 15 years. Put that wish out there! Find Adam’s terrific archive at FilmwaxRadio.com [http://FilmwaxRadio.com].

Stamp & Deliver with Dan MIrvish

Dan Mirvish, co-founder of Slamdance, comes on to talk about the unmade film that haunted him for years. Stamp & Deliver was a darkly comic postal western — think No Country for Old Men meets Office Space — and it got closer than most. Sets were built in Austin. Brittany Murphy auditioned. Ed Asner and Peter Fonda were in. Neil Young was going to produce and score it. Then 9/11 happened. We go through the whole story, run the original script through our AI pipeline, and give Stamp & Deliver the trailer it never got and still deserves. Our film executive Meredith also stops by with notes — and sounds exactly like every development meeting you've ever sat through. If you love indie film, hollywood stories, development hell, and the ones that got away — this one's for you. https://linktr.ee/atomicfondue [https://linktr.ee/atomicfondue] https://substack.com/@danmirvish [https://substack.com/@danmirvish] https://www.danmirvish.com/Stamp-Deliver [https://www.danmirvish.com/Stamp-Deliver] next film, Atomic Fondue (still raising money!) https://www.danmirvish.com/Atomic-Fondue [https://www.danmirvish.com/Atomic-Fondue]" Go to https://filmsnotmade.com/ [https://filmsnotmade.com/] for info on the show, transcripts and more. Follow the show on https://www.youtube.com/@FilmsNotMade [https://www.youtube.com/@FilmsNotMade] Subscribe to our https://substack.com/@filmsnotmade [https://substack.com/@filmsnotmade] #FilmsNotMade #UnmadeFilms #DevelopmentHell #StampAndDeliver #PostalWestern #Slamdance #IndieFilmHistory #DanMirvish #IndieFilm #IndependentFilm #FilmHistory #AIFilmmaking #GenerativeAI #AITrailer #FilmPodcast #HollywoodStories #Screenwriting #MakingMovies #MovieTrailer