You’re Picture Locked. Now What? (Plus Dir. Ruben Fleischer!)

In this episode of the No Film School podcast, GG Hawkins and Ryan Koo dig into the often‑murky world of film release strategy and distribution from multiple angles—and then sit down with acclaimed filmmaker Ruben Fleischer to trace his path from indie start to big‑budget studio productions.

In this episode, No Film School’s GG Hawkins, Ryan Koo, and guest Ruben Fleischer discuss…

• GG’s journey with her micro‑budget feature I Really Love My Husband: festival strategy, light theatrical run, and streaming rollout

• The importance of marketing and audience‑building even for indie films (“the extra 50% of effort after picture‑lock”)

• Festival submission strategy: premium “buyer’s festivals” vs regional festivals, world‑premiere constraints, and timing decisions

• Tools and tactics: creating trailer/sizzle assets, leveraging sales & festival reps, doing the reference‑check on distributors

• Real‑world rejection: extracting learning from “pass” notes and small deals, how to choose between flashy name vs partner who will work for you

• The one‑to‑one interview with Ruben Fleischer: his early career, moving from shorts/commmercials to features, how he handles large‑scale shoots, visualising scenes, leading big crews, and navigating reshoots

• Ruben’s key pieces of advice for emerging filmmakers: making things now, learning by doing, honing your craft by continuing to create

• A bonus deep‑dive into how even locked‑picture films still require a lot of narrative strategy, deliverables, and business savvy in order to land distribution

Memorable Quotes:

• “If you are going to bend over backwards, invest all this time, energy, and effort into making a film, but you’re not going to do the same for getting the word out there … you are setting yourself up for failure.”

• “Submitting to a film festival is like getting down on one knee and asking someone to marry you, but then you have to wait months for the response.”

• “I always go in with an intention of how I would imagine blocking the scene… but I’m also very flexible in working with actors.”

• “The only real way to direct stuff is to go out and do it.”

Guests:

• Ruben Fleischer

Resources:

• Shoot in Three Months – No Film School

• Filmmaker’s Guide to SXSW – No Film School

• A First‑Timer’s Guide to the Cannes Film Festival – No Film School

• Microbudget Filmmaker Podcast – No Film School

• Why Indie Film Distribution Is About to Go Punk Rock – No Film School

• Where to watch I Really Love My Husband:

• Apple TV: I Really Love My Husband

• Amazon: I Really Love My Husband

• Google Play: I Really Love My Husband

• Where to watch Amateur (Ryan’s first feature): Netflix

• Ryan’s podcast series First Feature – a case study about the making of Amateur: SoundCloud – No Film School

Find No Film School everywhere:

• On the Web: No Film School (https://nofilmschool.com/)

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• YouTube: No Film School on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/user/nofilmschool)

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•  📩 Send us an email with questions or feedback: podcast@nofilmschool.com

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