StageRunner Podcast
The entertainment industry is experiencing its most profound transformation in a century. The systems that built Hollywood—studio control, theatrical distribution, linear television—are collapsing in real time. Meanwhile, new forces are emerging: AI filmmaking tools, creator economies, virtual production, algorithm-driven discovery, and platforms that bypass traditional gatekeepers entirely.
The StageRunner Podcast maps this extraordinary moment of change. Hosted by former Disney+ Head of Production Jason Fisher and entertainment strategist Gannon Murphy, the series goes beyond predicting what's next to examining the fundamental forces reshaping how content gets made, distributed, and consumed.
Each episode features in-depth conversations with the people actively building the future of entertainment: studio executives navigating streaming's economics, AI pioneers transforming production workflows, digital creators bypassing Hollywood altogether, technologists reimagining what's possible on set, and investors betting on which models will survive.
This isn't a show about nostalgia for the old system or breathless hype about the new one. It's an honest examination of an industry in transition—where legacy companies struggle to adapt, where new entrants challenge decades of precedent, and where the very definition of "entertainment" is being rewritten.
From soundstages to smartphones, from blockbusters to TikTok, from theatrical releases to vertical video—The StageRunner Podcast helps industry professionals understand not just where entertainment is headed, but how we're getting there and what it means for everyone who makes their living creating content.
Distribution, destroyed. Production, paralyzed. Pipeline, broken. Welcome to the era of asymmetry.
Listen on:
Episodes
Tuesday May 26, 2026
Tuesday May 26, 2026
Jonas Barnes spent 20 years producing major studio films. Then Hollywood contracted — and he built something in the gap nobody saw coming.
Micro dramas. Minute-and-a-half episodes. Cliffhanger structure. Paywall monetization. $200K budgets. 12-week shoots. Predominantly female audience. Brand-funded from the jump — and studios are already circling for IP.
Jonas breaks down exactly how the format works, who's watching, how the money moves, and why Hollywood professionals are quietly crossing over while pretending they aren't.
The new entertainment economy doesn't look like the old one. This is what it actually looks like.
Friday May 01, 2026
Friday May 01, 2026
On this episode of the StageRunner Podcast, we sit down with PJ Ace—a commercial filmmaker who went from scaling YouTube channels to 1M subscribers to running an AI ad agency charging six-figure budgets.
PJ walks us through the two-day Kalshi NBA Finals campaign, the shift from text-to-video to photoreal talking heads with Google Veo 3, and why his team is already turning down work.
We dig into viral "Bible influencer" sketches, the four-panel consistency trick, hybrid LED stages like House of David, and why 22-year-olds are making $500K/year creating AI ads. Plus: why studios should abandon $400M series and make 10 hyper-niche Star Wars shows instead, and how long the ad automation window stays open before tools commoditize and taste becomes the only edge.
Friday Apr 17, 2026
Friday Apr 17, 2026
Kevin Reilly joins the Stagerunner podcast to map the seismic shifts reshaping the entertainment industry: shrinking budgets, studio consolidation, the fading era of pilot season, labor pressures, and the rapid arrival of generative AI.
They discuss what AI can and can’t replace, how creators and workers should adapt, and where new opportunities will emerge as the business rebuilds around changing audience behavior and technology.
Tuesday Apr 07, 2026
Tuesday Apr 07, 2026
A new long-form podcast exploring the future of film and TV with the people shaping it. Each episode dives into how production, distribution, and emerging technologies like AI are transforming the industry—and what it all means for the jobs, workflows, and creative opportunities ahead.
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