## Tom Malloy — Magic Castles, Film Markets & The Ant Theory Tom Malloy crashes the Tracksuit Pod (filling in for Brad Pitt, who shockingly could not make it) for a wide-ranging conversation about 30+ years of being an actor-writer-producer-distributor-magician in Hollywood. From his first movie *Graves End* shot guerrilla-style on the streets of Brooklyn with Oliver Stone attached, to running Glass House Distribution's 230-film catalog and now operating inside Shaked Berenson's Studio Dome across 12+ international markets, Tom is one of the most quietly prolific multi-hyphenates working in indie film. Tom also digs into the philosophy of staying in it — the ant theory, the mailman theory, grit over luck — and why Los Angeles is still the only place to be if you're serious. **Key topics:** - Tom's origin story: *Graves End* (Brooklyn streets, Oliver Stone, 1997), the agent who told him to pick one lane, and becoming the "pretty girl at the prom" as a producer who could raise money - *BankRoll* — the bestselling film finance book that launched filmmakingstuff.com and accidentally inspired Mike Flanagan's first feature - Glass House Distribution acquired by Studio Dome: going from 4 markets a year to 12+, doing deals in Mongolia, Malaysia, and Singapore while competitors retreated - Repping the Full Moon / Charles Band catalog (including Surrender Cinema's erotic films — and Mongolia's unexpected enthusiasm for them) - Why Sundance is a lottery ticket, not a distribution plan — and the real numbers behind festival movies that never get picked up - How international territories actually buy: Africa (family-friendly), Middle East and LGBT content, Europe vs. the US, the death of DVD revenue - The Nollywood detour: Nigeria's film industry, *I Do Not Come to You by Chance*, and satellites pointed at the sky - Tom's "Ant Theory" (Brian Regan's ants + film financing = never stop rebuilding), the mailman theory, and the book *Grit* - Why LA is still essential — the Nick Chartier / *Dallas Buyers Club* script-under-the-door story, and hiding that you know Mike Flanagan from your Rochester improv friends - Bringing kids Tyler and Ella to film markets, red carpets, and the set of *The Alphabet Killer* (Tyler as a newborn extra) - Martin Kove, Christa Locan, Sean Ferris — on the surreal moment when people you watched on screen start texting you - *Orge's Justice* — Tom's comedy film with improv partner Scott Baker, born from their extra work on *Anger Management* (Adam Sandler, Jack Nicholson) - *The Wicked of Oz* — Tom and James's horror Wizard of Oz collaboration, now on Tubi and Amazon - Where to find Tom: [@tommalloy](https://instagram.com/tommalloy) on Instagram and [filmmakingstuff.com](http://filmmakingstuff.com) for free lessons on film finance and distribution