Cinema, Meet the Creator Economy
How creators are reshaping the way films are made, funded, and discovered and how filmmakers can learn from them
The rise of the creator economy has changed how stories are being made and distributed, but the most interesting experiments might be happening at the intersection of digitally-native creators and filmmaking.
We think filmmakers working in traditional modes might be able to borrow a lot from how they operate! Join Jon Reiss and 8 Above for a conversation with Richard Rushfield, editorial director and co-founder of The Ankler & Ankler Media, and Max Reisinger, co-founder and CEO of Creator Camp, a digitally-native media company empowering next-generation filmmakers. Through Creator Camp, Max and his collaborators are building an ecosystem designed to identify online storytellers and help them evolve into filmmakers—bridging the gap between the algorithm and the cinema.
This is an opportunity to learn how Max and his team build relationships with audiences, rethink the traditional multi-year production timeline, and strategize multiple revenue streams for their films. We’ll also look at the success of Creator Camp’s debut film, Two Sleepy People, which may well serve as a case study of what a new filmmaking ecosystem built by creators might look like: fast, inexpensive, audience-first, and community-focused. And not without results: the film earned 2.5 times its production budget after a week in theaters. For filmmakers, the lessons that can be learned from Creator Camp’s approach might prove invaluable. Save the date for our March 26, 2026 webinar for an opportunity to talk about how the pipeline of films coming into existence is changing.
What We’ll Cover:
What can filmmakers learn from creators?
Why are creators having more successful theatrical releases than filmmakers?
How might filmmakers approach release strategies in a more “creator-forward” way?
How can filmmakers build an audience in advance to ensure a successful release?
What are the benefits and risks of building an audience before a film is finished?
What do traditional filmmakers misunderstand about the creator economy?
What role will festivals play in a creator-driven ecosystem?
Is there such a thing as “pure filmmaking” vs. “creator filmmaking”? Will the creator economy compete with cinema?
About Max Reisinger:
Max Reisinger is Co-Founder and CEO of Creator Camp, the digitally native media company empowering next-generation filmmakers. After building a community of 750,000+ subscribers through his documentary YouTube series, Max co-founded Creator Camp to help digital creators make work for the big screen. With 300 curated creators and 3 billion yearly views, the company brings Gen Z to theaters by converting online audiences into box office momentum. Their Debut film, Two Sleepy People, grossed 2.5x their production budget after 1 week in theaters, with almost an entirely organic marketing strategy that reached 50+ million people.
About Richard Rushfield
Richard has covered Hollywood and American culture as a reporter, editor and critic for over 20 years. A native of Los Angeles, he had a first career as a grassroots political field organizer, working for the 1992 campaign of Bill Clinton, among others. He began covering L.A. as a reporter for Los Angeles magazine, later working as a contributing editor of Vanity Fair and author of its long-running Intelligence Report column. Additionally, he was an editor and columnist for the Los Angeles Times, The Daily Beast, Gawker, BuzzFeed and Yahoo and was editor-in-chief of the website Hitfix. Richard is also the author of three books.